In a move necessitated by the team’s acquisition of reliever Neftali Feliz, Tony Sanchez was designated for assignment today by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The move brings an end to a colorful time with the team besotted by off-the-field incidents and lackluster progression. If a rival MLB club does not claim Sanchez during the waiver period, he will remain in the Pirates’ system but will not be on their 40-man roster. Taken with the fourth overall pick of the 2009 MLB Entry Draft, Sanchez ... Read More
Indianapolis loses Game 2 of IL final
After leading the International League in comebacks in the regular season with, the Indianapolis Indians were no stranger to battling back after giving up an early lead. Unfortunately, in Game 2 of the Governor's Cup, the Indians were unable to overcome their early deficit to the Columbus Clippers and lost 5-4. The Game 2 loss to Columbus gives the Clippers a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five game series that will now head to Indianapolis for the rest of the series. Wilfredo Boscan got the ball ... Read More
Diaz embraces Pirates debut
All of the hard work culminated into one moment for Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz. Diaz, the 14th ranked Pirates prospect heading into the season, saw his major league dream become a reality when he was one of the team's six September call-ups this season. Saturday night, Diaz saw another dream become a reality when he made a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning of the team's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. “It was amazing," Diaz said. "I feel great, I don’t have words ... Read More
Neal Huntington talks Kang, minor leagues
Pittsburgh Pirates Neal Huntington met with assembled media members prior to Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers and discussed a variety of topics.There has been media speculation that the Pirates may send Jung-ho Kang to Triple-A Indianapolis. Huntington however had one question for the media. Why?"We have a ton of respect for what he did in Korea and what our scouts saw and for what we’ve seen so far," Huntington said. "Ten plate appearances into the season after 30-some plate ... Read More
Pirates pregame 4/17: Sanchez sent down; Rodriguez starts at second
After a series loss the Pittsburgh Pirates look to start anew against the Milwaukee Brewers. These two teams met a week ago with the Pirates holding a 2-1 season series advantage. Last game out: The Pirates were shutout as Alfredo Simon and Joakim Soria combined to allow two hits in a 1-0 Tigers victory. The Pirates offense struggled to get base runners as evidenced by the 13 consecutive batters Simon retired to end his outing. The Pirates have not had a walk since Saturday and Andrew ... Read More
McCutchen’s bat brings Pirates series win
Pittsburgh Pirates fans have seen this script before. A pitcher with a high ERA holding the Pirates at bay and stealing a series win. That would not be the case Sunday, as one swing of the bat changed the course of the game and re-energized the Pirates bats en route to a 10-2 victory Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers. Andrew McCutchen's three-run home run was his second of the season and came on the first pitch of his at-bat against Kyle Lohse [0-2] which scored both Gregory Polanco and ... Read More
Pirates ‘obviously’ win with Tomlin in town, send down Holdzkom
On a day that Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin visited McKechnie Field, it was the Pirates that put up football type numbers as part of an 18-4 victory. The Pittsburgh Pirates [14-10-3] defeated the Philadelphia Phillies for its fourth consecutive victory. In the game the Pirates had 16 hits and six home runs. Mark Melancon [1-0] got the start allowing one hit but striking out two batters. Tony Watson and Arquimedes Caminero each followed with an inning of work and zero runs allowed. ... Read More
Pirates major league roster shaping up; team wins shortened game
Jeff Locke pitched 5.2 innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates won a rain-shortened game 4-2 Friday against the Minnesota Twins. The game was called due to rain in the bottom of the eighth inning. Locke is now 1-1 on the season and lowered his ERA from 9.00 to 6.59. He allowed: eight hits, two runs, walked three and struck out two batters. Antonio Bastardo picked up his first save and allowed a hit while striking out two batters in his inning of work. Blake Wood got the final out of the sixth ... Read More
Pirates win two games; Sanchez makes big league roster
On the day that Buster Olney predicted that the Pittsburgh Pirates would win the World Series, the team won both of its split squad games. The Pirates are now 8-7-2 after a 6-5 win against the Philadelphia Phillies and a 4-2 victory against the Minnesota Twins. Vance Worley got the start against the Phillies and was the first pitcher to be stretched out to five innings this spring. Worley allowed six hits, three runs and struck out four batters, all in a no-decision. Worley has walked one ... Read More
Pirates fans provide record in victory
The Pittsburgh Pirates lived life in Wednesday's game outside McKechnie Field, hitting three times the home runs, and now have five times the sellout crowds with an 8-7 Spring Training victory Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers. A.J. Burnett, now firmly the third pitcher in the Pirates rotation, received a no-decision throwing 3.2 innings, allowing five hits, two runs, two walks and five strikeouts. Charlie Leesman picked up the win, his first of the spring getting the final out of the ... Read More