The Pittsburgh Pirates made more expected roster moves on Thursday as they continue to work their way to the 25-man limit that all teams need to be at by Opening Day. RHP Collin Balester – reassigned to minor league camp LHP Jeremy Bleich - reassigned to minor league camp OF Willy Garcia – optioned to Altoona INF Gift Ngoepe - reassigned to minor league camp OF Mel Rojas, Jr. - reassigned to minor league camp INF Alen Hanson - optioned to Indianapolis Hanson batted .400 ... Read More
Liriano to start opening day; Pirates lose to Astros
Jeff Locke's quest for a spot in the Pirates rotation took a hit during Tuesday's 13-7 loss to the Houston Astros. On a day when Francisco Liriano was revealed to be the Opening Day pitcher in Cincinnati, Locke pitched three-plus innings, allowing seven hits, six runs and a walk. “I just left some pitches over the plate,” Locke said. “They just fell in.” Locke is battling with Vance Worley for the final position in the Pirates rotation and currently, the Spring Training statistics favor ... Read More
Consistency key for Alvarez, first base
It is no secret that the Pedro Alvarez once again goes into a Pittsburgh Pirates season as a key factor to the team's success, however this year Alvarez moves across the diamond to first base. Alvarez committed a Major-League leading 25 errors in 122 games, his fewest played since the 2011 season. The Pirates tried to be patient with Alvarez and did everything from extra reps before games to rest but nothing worked. This coupled with Josh Harrison's breakout season meant the Pirates scaled ... Read More
Caminero continues to make case in Pirates victory
Vance Worley pitched four shutout innings in his attempt to create separation in the battle for the fifth spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates starting rotation. The Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-2 Sunday to move to 6-5-2 in Spring Training. The game was played in front of 7,603 fans, good for the fourth Pirates sellout of the spring. It was the Pirates that struck first on a first inning Neil Walker double off Wei-Yin Chen to score Josh Harrison. An additional run was tacked on in ... Read More
Pirates catching depth provides options
The Pittsburgh Pirates are heading into its 15th anniversary at PNC Park with a team that is expected to contend in the National League Central for the third consecutive season. After two straight seasons of making the playoffs, now the Pirates are being projected by many to make a run in the playoffs. A lot of this is because of the Pirates depth. Previous outcries from Pirates fans have now turned into words of thanks. This piece is the first of several breaking down Pirates positions. ... Read More
Marte, Pirates end Spring Training losing streak
The Pittsburgh Pirates ended what was a three0game Spring Training losing streak with a 5-2 road victory against the Boston Red Sox Saturday. Clayton Richard [1-0] picked up the win throwing two shutout innings and striking out three batters. The victory is his first since June 16, 2013. The game started with Gerrit Cole throwing 3.2 innings. His twos miscues were Mike Napoli's first and second home runs. Napoli's first was a solo shot that came in the second inning, and the second also ... Read More
Hughes, Sadler rocked in Pirates loss
The Pittsburgh Pirates saw its Grapefruit League losing streak run to three games with an 8-3 defeat Friday at the hands of the Minnesota Twins. With the loss, the Pirates fell to 4-5-2 on the spring. Casey Sadler was scored on for the first time this spring, in his third start. Sadler [1-1] threw 2.1 innings and allowed five hits, four runs and a walk. The Twins scored three runs in the first inning, the first of which came on one of the Pirates three errors, as Jordan Schafer reached ... Read More
Burnett shaky in Pirates loss
The Pittsburgh Pirates continued their Spring Training scheduled with a 5-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox Thursday. The Pirates are now 4-4-2 on the spring. This contest marked the Pirates third sellout of the spring in five home games, and the 8,455 people in attendance represented the third-largest crowd at McKechnie Field. Clay Buchholz picked up the win for the Red Sox and is 2-0 this spring, while A.J. Burnett earned his first loss. Burnett pitched 2.1 innings and while he did not allow ... Read More
Jordy Mercer goes deep as Pirates lose to Phillies
The Pittsburgh Pirates lost its first game in a week losing 3-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies in a Wednesday Spring Training game. The Pirates were 3-0-2 during this stretch. Charlie Morton started for the Pirates and had command troubles in the first inning. Morton walked lead-off hitter Ben Revere on five pitches with all four balls in the sequence missing the strike zone by a comfortable margin. Morton then had his pick off throw dropped by Deibinson Romero allowing Revere to advance to ... Read More
Nick Leyva is underrated part of Pirates success
After smacking a double off of the Clemente Wall, Pedro Alvarez is standing on second base. It’s a 3-2 game, in the bottom of the ninth inning of the National League Wild Card play-in game. With two outs, trailing by one and a berth to the second round of the playoffs on the line, Jordy Mercer steps up to the dish and lines a single into left field. Alvarez makes his way to third and looks up to his third-base coach to see if he’s going or if he’s staying put. In a season with 162 ... Read More