Sunday was an important day for Pittsburgh Pirates fans as it was their first chance to see Gerrit Cole on a mound in game action. Cole suffered a rib inflammation and it delayed the start of his throwing program. He was able to throw his two scheduled innings as the Pirates won 9-5 over the Detroit Tigers in front of a sold out crowd at McKechnie Field. 8,771 fans attended Sunday's game, the third-largest crowd in McKechnie Field history. Cole was able to use all of his pitches in the ... Read More
Pirates spring training preview: Pirates young outfield ready to take next step
As part of our Spring Training preview, we will be highlighting each unit of the Pittsburgh Pirates, spotlighting what they might be working on as they get ready to face the rigors of the Major League Baseball season. In part one we focused on what the starting rotation should work on. Now, the outfielders get their turn. The Pittsburgh Pirates have arguably the best young outfield in baseball. Gregory Polanco, Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen combined for 12.9 WAR (wins above ... Read More
Starling Marte wins first Gold Glove Award
There's been talk over the past few years that Starling Marte should move to center field, as he's the superior defender. On Tuesday night, he has the hardware to back it up, as he won his first career Gold Glove Award for his play in left field for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Marte beat out Justin Upton of the San Diego Padres and Christian Yelich of the Miami Marlins to take home the award. Marte's arm was a big reason for winning the award, as he led all National League outfielders with 16 ... Read More
2015 most valuable Pirates player: Part 2
Part two of the Pirates most valuable player list will highlight players ranked fifth through second. This list includes all-stars, consistent play and an MVP award. Let the debate and countdown continue. #5 Starling Marte- This is the second outfielder to appear in the countdown. Marte is the best two-way outfielder on the team and arguably in the league. Though he showed a couple of defensive lapses this season with not hitting the cutoff man in a timely manner, Marte's arm is the most ... Read More
Pirates seek to secure home field advantage; Burnett makes final regular season start
A 12 inning 6-4 victory for the Pittsburgh Pirates that a win today or a Chicago Cubs loss, would secure home field advantage for the NL Wild Card Game. With manager Clint Hurdle's announcement that Gerrit Cole will get the Pirates and the Cubs equally slam dunk decision in starting Jake Arrieta for Wednesday's game, the location is one of the few things left to determine. A.J. Burnett hopes to be able to solve the puzzle with his 10th win of the season when he faces Brandon ... Read More
Marte lifts Pirates in extra innings
Starling Marte's second game-winning home run of the season gave the Pirates a 6-4 win in 12 innings over the Cincinnati Reds Friday night. This also gave the Reds their 13th loss, the most since 1945. "This is a big win for us, a resilient win for us because we’ve done this a few times this year," Jordy Mercer said. Jay Bruce entered play 2-for-21 lifetime against Francisco Liriano, however had two hits against him in this contest. The first was a second inning single which was ... Read More
Pirates clinch third straight playoff berth
Merry Clinchmas, Pirates fans. September 23 has been a good day for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as they've clinched their playoff spot on that day in each of the last three years. This season, the Pirates defeated the Colorado Rockies by a 13-7 score to punch their ticket to the postseason. Neil Walker went 4-for-5 at the plate, hitting his 15th home run of the season in the third inning, while also batting in a career-high six runs. The Pirates had a total of 19 hits in the game. As far as ... Read More
Pirates use two-out scoring, bullpen to earn victory
Aramis Ramirez slid safely into third base for his first triple since Aug. 2, 2014 and his Pittsburgh Pirates teammates were grinning ear-to-ear. Why were they smiling? For one Ramirez is not known for his speed, and secondly, the Pirates scored all of their runs on two-out hitting, with this fourth inning triple being one of those runs. The Pirates used this to defeat the Colorado Rockies by a 6-3 score Tuesday night reducing their magic number to one game. If the Pirates win Wednesday or ... Read More
Marte making case for Gold Glove
The Pittsburgh Pirates almost definitely have the fastest outfield in the major leagues, but they're also making a case to have the best arms as well, especially Starling Marte. While Gregory Polanco has also recently showed off his arm, making runners think twice about tagging up on him, Marte has shown the range and arm, which puts eyes on him at all times. “Sitting out there in the bullpen when the game is going on, whatever ball is hit to Marte, it’s almost exciting to see what he’s ... Read More
Pirates lose opener to Dodgers; lead over Cubs down to one game
The Los Angeles Dodgers have defended Dodgers Stadium well all season and did so once again on Friday night, winning 6-2 over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak that the Pirates had over L.A. and dropped them to 21-6 against National League West opponents this season. Early inning woes again reared their head again as the Dodgers scored single runs in both the first and second inning of the contest. Pirates catchers have had trouble getting runners out ... Read More