The Pittsburgh Pirates have laid the groundwork to compete with the Chicago Cubs. Hear me out. Pittsburgh has a good core of veteran players and a talented group of prospects who broke into the Majors last season; and the Pirates have even more young players set to help in 2017. That's not to say the Pirates can muscle their way past Chicago — well, they possibly could if the Cubs have a few injuries or drastically under-perform after winning the World Series. But, right now, a ... Read More
COLUMN: Pirates season doomed from the start
Heading into Tuesday night's games, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a magic number of two and were able to secure their fate for the 2016 season. Unfortunately for the Pirates, that magic number was what it took for them to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. First the Pirates fell 6-4 to the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Colorado Rockies, 12-3. This sequence ends a streak of three consecutive seasons with playoff berths. Now the Pirates fall to ... Read More
Pirates can’t sweep Brewers in 3-1 loss
All that separates the Pittsburgh Pirates from the end of regular season play is 10 games. And those 10 games are against teams that currently project as playoff teams — the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs concluding the home portion of the regular season-schedule and the St. Louis Cardinals on the road. So it would have been nice to get ‘W’ against a team that's 69-84. But the Pirates couldn't secure a second consecutive road sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers, with Pittsburgh falling 3-1 ... Read More
Pirates drop series finale to Reds, 8-0
The Pittsburgh Pirates were trying to salvage what was a disappointing homestand but instead lost 8-0 Sunday afternoon to the Cincinnati Reds. This was a game in which Ryan Vogelsong struggled through four innings and the offense stranded the bases loaded on two separate occasions. The loss puts the Pirates at 69-72 with 21 games remaining. This loss put the Pirates at 2-8 in their 10-game home stand. "My vision is to get us playing better," manager Clint Hurdle said. "I’m not going to ... Read More
Pirates seeking series split with Reds
The Pittsburgh Pirates enter play Sunday afternoon losers of 10 out of its past 12 games and are looking to avoid dropping a fourth consecutive series, this time against the Cincinnati Reds. Ryan Vogelsong (3-4, 4.07 ERA) will be facing Brandon Finnegan (8-10, 4.17 ERA). Vogelsong is coming off a no decision against the St. Louis Cardinals in which he allowed five runs on six hits over four innings. He is 5-5 with a 4.34 ERA in 21 career appearances (11 starts) against the ... Read More
Column: Series sweep could be beginning of the end
Wednesday night's 6-5 Chicago Cubs victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates not only resulted in a sweep but confirmed what has been believed for a while. The Pittsburgh Pirates are not a playoff team. They have yet to prove otherwise. This second half has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster for the team, which statistically had the easiest second-half schedule this season. Recently the Pirates had a 5-1 road trip that transitioned to a return to PNC Park and a 1-5 homestand. It ... Read More
Sixth inning keys Pirates’ 5-3 win vs. Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer turns 30 Saturday, and he decided to give himself an early birthday present: a grand slam, which came in the six inning off Milwaukee Brewers starter Matt Garza. It was Mercer's 10th homer of the season. Mercer's blast helped the Pirates (65-61) secure a 5-3 victory over the Brewers. Garza (4-6, 4.89 ERA) had Mercer in an 0-2 count before the grand slam. This season, Alex Dickerson, Seth Smith and Adam Eaton are the only other Major League players ... Read More
Marlins top Pirates to sweep weekend series
For a second time this season, Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong was down on the ground after not getting a bunt attempt down. This time the result was not as dramatic as Vogelsong fouled a ball on the bunt and was immediately checked on by head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk and manager Clint Hurdle. "I asked him at the plate if he was good to put it down, and he said he would get it down," Hurdle said. "He's been gritty ever since he's shown up. He's a tough ... Read More
Defensively, Pirates’ Bell a continued work in progress
Sunday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Miami Marlins will be looking for their first sweep of the season since July 7-9 against the Cincinnati Reds. In Game One of this series against the Pirates, the Marlins prevailed in a seesaw game by a 6-5 score. And Saturday, Miami won again 3-1 behind six innings of shutout baseball from starting pitcher David Phelps. Sunday's game concludes a seven-game road trip for the Marlins — while the Pirates are looking to end this skid going ... Read More
Phelps golden against Pirates
Miami Marlins starting pitcher David Phelps was too much for the Pittsburgh Pirates' offense to handle, and the road team came away with a 3-1 victory Saturday night at PNC Park. Phelps, who tied a career-high with nine strikeouts, allowed two hits in six scoreless innings, good for a game score of 77. Phelps' strong pitching meant, for the first time, that the Pirates (62-58) lost a game started by Chad Kuhl. He had 10 ground ball outs while allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits ... Read More