With the Pittsburgh Pirates leading the Cincinnati Reds by one, Todd Frazier came to the plate against Arquimedes Caminero. Frazier came into the contest batting .375 against the Pirates in 2015 and hit a sinking liner. Starling Marte came in and dove headfirst to record the third out of the seventh inning stranding Billy Hamilton. Caminero celebrated with a fist pump and Frazier slammed his helmet in disgust. “I didn’t know he was so shallow," Caminero said. "When I saw that play it was ... Read More
Pirates pregame 6/23: Locke regains confidence
It is the start of another home stand for the Pittsburgh Pirates as the team returns to town to face the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates are 1-5 against the Reds this season and 1-2 at PNC Park. Locke goes back to basics Jeff Locke gets the start for the Pirates and is 1-0 in his last three starts. He also has not allowed a run at PNC Park in his last 16.2 innings pitched. Locke was a winner in his last start which was Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox. He allowed two runs on three ... Read More
Checking in on Travis Snider
When the Pittsburgh Pirates traded Travis Snider to the Baltimore Orioles for two minor league pitchers in February, many questioned why the Pirates traded a Major League player for prospects. The 27-year-old Snider looked like he was finally coming into his own last year, as he had a post All-Star line of .288/.356/.524 and added nine home runs after the Midsummer Classic. He looked like a challenger for the right field starting job in 2015, or at the very least be a strong contributor ... Read More
Dugout advice saves Hughes’ career
It was the middle of another long season in the minor leagues, and in the Altoona, Pa. dugout, Jared Hughes was talking with his catcher Kris Watts. Hughes was frustrated with his progress in Altoona and was struggling to find answers. Watts decided this was the time to approach his teammate and motivate him to become the fearless pitcher he remembered. "We've got half a season left, let it all out on the table. Don't worry about mechanics or anything, just have fun, play hard and play any ... Read More
Nationals sweep punchless Pirates
Sunday afternoon's game against the Washington Nationals [36-33] would end up a game to forget for pitcher Charlie Morton and the rest of the Pittsburgh Pirates [39-29]. Coming into the final game of this three-game series, Morton sported a 1.62 ERA and five wins in six starts. He would end up lasting only two thirds of an inning and gave up nine runs in a 9-2 loss. The Nationals took advantage of an erratic Morton, who was leaving balls on a tee for hitters. He gave up two home runs, a ... Read More
Hart needs to build on last start
Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Corey Hart may have gotten the break he needed. In the top of the seventh inning against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Hart hit what would be a routine fly ball out to shallow center field. Shortstop Alexei Ramirez and centerfielder Adam Eaton converged towards where the ball was landing, but both stopped and the ball dropped in for a hit. Ramirez looked at Eaton and shrugged, and Hart picked up his third single of the night. He finished the game 3-3 at ... Read More
POLL: Where would you rank Gerrit Cole?
With Gerrit Cole enjoying his breakout season, where would you rank him among all starting pitcher in the league? [poll id="139"] ... Read More
Pirates winning streak a season high after victory
Pedro Alvarez has had his struggles against left-handed pitching this season going 2-for-20 on the season, however his single helped the Pittsburgh Pirates score the game-winning run in a 3-2 victory against the Chicago White Sox.This victory game the Pirates a major league leading eighth sweep of the season. They had five sweeps all of last season. The Pirates also earned its eighth consecutive win, a season high."We're playing very good baseball," manager Clint Hurdle said to assembled media ... Read More
Kang homers; solid pitching continues in Pirates victory
The Pittsburgh Pirates won its seventh consecutive contest Wednesday night after defeating the Chicago White Sox by a 3-2 score. The Pirates now have tied their season high winning streak and are 20-5 in their past 25 games. Jeff Locke [4-3] came into the contest with a 2.82 ERA in seven career Interleague starts and backed that up allowing two runs on three hits over six innings. Locke also walked two batters while striking out a season high eight. This was his highest total since he struck ... Read More
Pirates use long ball to win game; series
The Pirates combined timely hitting with a solid Charlie Morton outing, winning Tuesday night by a 3-0 score over the Chicago White Sox. In the two games the Pirates hosted at home, their outhit the White Sox 28-6. Morton earned his fifth win of the season in as many starts. He threw seven scoreless innings allowing four hits on 94 pitches and 65 were strikes. Morton retired 13 batters on three pitches or less and had 12 ground ball outs. Morton's main trouble came in the first inning when ... Read More