There is always a saying Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle tells the media after games, and it certainly applied to Monday's 8-5 victories over the Atlanta Braves. "So what? Now what?" There was the classic debacle for a Pittsburgh sports fan about whether to watch this game or the Penguins-Lightning Eastern Conference game, and the Pirates attempted to make the decision easier. After three innings, the Pirates led 5-0, and the game appeared over. The Braves have won nine games ... Read More
Cole, Kang shine in Pirates win
It was just less than two weeks ago that Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole had a start against the Chicago Cubs in which he did not get out of the fifth inning. The Pirates needed him to come through in a big way in order to avoid a sweep. This task became harder when Jon Lester was matching him pitch for pitch, but Cole was not going to let up. His eight-inning performance was one of the main keys to a 2-1 victory. Cole (4-3) had not thrown more than six innings this season, and ... Read More
Column: Simple mistakes cost Pirates
Jake Arrieta appeared mortal. At least that was the case early on, but a Josh Harrison grounder that appeared destined for a single ended that. Arrieta clearly was not pitching his best in the fourth inning and paid the price for it. In that fourth inning, Arrieta allowed two earned runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates for the first time since Sept. 13, 2013 and with Francisco Cervelli on third base after a wild pitch, seemed destined for a third run. That third run never came, and the ... Read More
Pirates fall in Game 1 of three-game set at Wrigley
Pittsburgh Pirates starter Francisco Liriano once again found himself in trouble early on in Game 1 of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The 32-year-old yielded three home runs in the contest, leading to a 9-4 win for the Cubs, their fifth consecutive victory over the Pirates dating back to the 2015 National League Wild Card game. In the fourth inning, Liriano yielded a three-run home run to Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, who deposited his third home run of the ... Read More
Pirates earn split in Cincinnati
Wednesday was supposed to be Josh Harrison's day off, but a Starling Marte ejection quickly changed things. Marte was ejected along with manager Clint Hurdle when a call was reversed by replay in the sixth inning. Marte was ruled out at second base on a stolen base attempt as a result. Harrison turned around and hit one of four Pittsburgh Pirates home runs on the game in a 5-4 victory against the Cincinnati Reds. This Pirates win puts the team at 18-15 on the season while earning a ... Read More
Pirates’ Jonathon Niese an easy target but not solely to blame
At the end of Monday night’s game, Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jonathon Niese's record stood at 3-2, but that doesn’t tell the story of the game. In the loss to the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ballpark, a place where he hasn’t fared well, Niese allowed three solo home runs, but each barely cleared the wall. Those home runs are outs in practically any other ballpark. Is it alarming that a ground ball pitcher surrendered three long fly balls? Sure. At the same time, though, ... Read More
Pirates get much-needed win over Cardinals
The Pittsburgh Pirates needed to rebound after being swept by the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates were flat-out embarrassed by the Cubs, so when Pittsburgh crushed the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 on Sunday to secure a series win, it provided a little vindication. Pittsburgh's Gerrit Cole (3-3) had a 33-pitch first inning — 12 pitches more than should have been necessary after he failed to locate a strikeout pitch to Matt Holliday. On that play, Pirates' catcher Chris Stewart couldn't block the pitch, ... Read More
Pirates’ comeback attempt falls short in St. Louis
The Pittsburgh Pirates fell by a 6-4 score Saturday afternoon when Matt Carpenter hit a walk-off two-run home run securing the victory for the St. Louis Cardinals. Jeff Locke had another quality start, allowing three runs in six innings of work and coming away with a no-decision. Locke teammates spotted him a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Carpenter led off the inning with a double, and Locke then walked both Stephen Piscotty and Matt Holliday. Randal Grichuk then singled two runs ... Read More
Jung Ho Kang returns to Pirates in big way
With the approach the Pittsburgh Pirates have taken this season, swinging at the first pitch is often frowned upon. Jung Ho Kang, in his 2016 debut, apparently didn't get the memo Friday night in a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Kang, in his first game back from left knee surgery, swung at the first two pitches he saw, which resulted in a double play and a pop-out. His approach seemed to be unsuccessful. That is, until Cardinals' pitcher Tyler Lyons threw a sixth-inning pitch to ... Read More
Zika fears move Pirates series from Puerto Rico
As the 2016 baseball season continued, it appeared increasingly less likely that the series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins which were to be played in Puerto Rico would be cancelled. Friday that was confirmed as Major League Baseball officially cancelled the games which were to be played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium because of the Zika virus. Recently, MLB representatives met with the Pirates and Marlins in order to update both teams on the risks with the Zika virus. At the ... Read More