After losing shortstop Jordy Mercer to a left leg injury during Sunday’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pittsburgh Pirates plan to purchase the contract of third baseman Brent Morel from their Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, according to a report by Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Morel had been a late scratch from the Indianapolis lineup on Sunday night. Brent Morel is indeed joining the Pirates, according to his agent. — Bill Brink (@BrinkPG) July 20, 2015 On ... Read More
Pirates potentially lose Mercer; swept by Brewers
The hits keep coming for the Pittsburgh Pirates following a 6-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Not only did the Brewers battle back and spoil Jeff Locke's start, but Jordy Mercer was removed from the game in the second inning. Mercer was injured trying to tag Carlos Gomez to start a double play. Gomez stepped on Mercer's leg well short of second base and the Pirates shortstop went down in pain. After being checked out by Todd Tomczyk and Ben Potenziano was placed on a cart. Pirates PR ... Read More
Pirates lose series to Brewers
Prior to the first pitch the Pittsburgh Pirates revealed that Francisco Liriano would not start Saturday night's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. It was not the only loss of the night as the Pirates fell by an 8-5 score. Liriano was scratched from the start due to neck stiffness and as a result, Vance Worley made his first start of the season since May 14, an appearance which came against one of his former teams, the Philadelphia Phillies. Worley [3-5] allowed five runs [four earned] on ... Read More
Pirates lose to start second half of season
Miller Park used to be a ballpark the Pittsburgh Pirates could not find success with and this held true once again Friday night as the home Milwaukee Brewers came away with a 4-1 victory. Charlie Morton [6-3] suffered the loss allowing four runs on five hits in six innings pitched. He also walked more batters [3] than he struck out [2] in 90 pitches, 54 of which were strikes. Morton's first blemish came in the first inning when Gerardo Parra hit a leadoff double. He moved to third base on ... Read More
Pirates call up Jaff Decker
Prior to Friday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pittsburgh Pirates have called up Jaff Decker to help fill a bench role. This is the corresponding move for Wilfredo Boscan being sent down following Sunday's extra inning win against the St. Louis Cardinals. Boscan was brought up because the game the day prior was over five hours and took 14 innings to play. Boscan was also in play because it was his day to pitch and both Deolis Guerra and Vance Worley were unavailable to make a ... Read More
COLUMN: Polanco could be Pirates biggest X-Factor in second half
Now more than ever the Pittsburgh Pirates need Gregory Polanco to live up to his potential. The Pirates are in the midst of a tightly contested NL Central race with the St. Louis Cardinals, but Josh Harrison’s injury will keep him out at least another month, while Starling Marte has been battling the injury bug lately. This is the perfect chance for Polanco’s star to shine: to be the guy that steps up and helps deliver the Pirates to their first ever NL Central crown. The Pirates need ... Read More
Pirates top-10 first half moments
It was a very successful first half of the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates as it has the third best record in the major leagues. With that in mind it is time to revisit some of the successes in the first half of the season. 10. Home opener- This was mentioned in an earlier article so I will keep the description short. A home opener always makes every baseball fan excited as they have waited a long time for the season to begin. The familiar sights, smells and sounds bring a smile to every ... Read More
Checking in on Pirates top prospects
As Pittsburgh Pirates fans may be all too familiar with by now, the lower budget Major League club’s lifeblood is the team’s farm system. With the MLB All-Star Future’s Game now in the rear view mirror, now is a good time to see how some of the club’s top prospects have been performing this year. Keep in mind pitchers Jameson Taillon and Nick Kingham were omitted due to having both suffered a major injury that cost them most of their seasons. Tyler Glasnow - The right-handed pitcher was ... Read More
Pirates leave their mark on All-Star game
Though the National League Team lost the 2015 MLB All-Star Game, three Pittsburgh Pirates made contributions. Andrew McCutchen started for the NL and got the chance to bat leadoff. When he batted in the bottom of the sixth he was 2-for-10 in his career at the All-Star Game. McCutchen faced Chris Archer of the Tampa Bay Rays who has earned some consideration for the AL Cy Young Award. The Pirates center fielder wasted no time hitting a home run to left field to cut the NL deficit to one run ... Read More
Pirates option Boscan before All-Star break
The Pittsburgh Pirates have optioned relief pitcher Wilfredo Boscan to Triple-A Indianapolis. No corresponding roster move will be announced until after the all-star break. Boscan, 25, was called up from Indianapois on Sunday after the Pirates and Cardinals went 14 innings on Saturday night. He was brought in as help for the beleaguered bullpen, but the manager Clint Hurdle ended up not calling on the young Venezuelan despite starting pitcher Francisco Liriano only going 6 1/3 ... Read More