Restless Pittsburgh Pirates fans waited out a long rain delay however over 4.5 hours into its game against the Cincinnati Reds, the patience did not pay off. Brandon Phillips hit his fourth home run of the season in the 13th inning off Rob Scahill [2-4] allowing the Reds to win 5-4. The Pirates had numerous opportunities to get a go-ahead or game-winning hit however the ball did not carry and instead made loud outs. “I feel like there were balls hit today that a lot of times go out but they ... Read More
Pirates pregame 6/25: Kang makes defensive strides; law of averages comes into question
It is the rubber match between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds as each team won a game in the first two days of the series. The Pirates won a 7-6 decision on Tuesday and the Reds countered with a 5-2 victory Wednesday. The loss Wednesday also saw Gerrit Cole have his shortest outing while allowing the most runs in a start this season. “It boiled down to me not making pitches and just being flat," Cole said. "It happens sometimes.” Tonight the Pirates will have A.J. Burnett toe the ... Read More
Burnett goes nine innings; Pirates walk off in extra innings
For a second time in three days, fans at PNC Park were treated to a pitcher's duel from both sides. In the end an 11th inning Josh Harrison walk-off single scored Neil Walker and resulted in a 1-0 victory. The victory secured a series sweep for the Pirates. Cole Hamels had his best start of the season with the Phillies allowing no runs on four hits in seven innings. His 12 strikeouts were a season high and most since September 14, 2010 when he had 13. He threw seven innings and allowed ... Read More
Pirates pregame: Hart rejoins lineup; Kang bats fourth
The Pittsburgh Pirates will be playing for its sixth sweep of the season this afternoon when it takes on the Philadelphia Phillies. This is possible because the Pirates won a 1-0 game Friday in 13 innings and then a 4-3 game yesterday in which Gerrit Cole earned his major league leading 10th win of the season. Today’s starters: The Pirates will send A.J. Burnett to the mound to face Cole Hamels. The two pitchers have a combined 25 years of major league experience. Burnett lost his ... Read More
Pirates lose rainy contest to Brewers
You could hear the dozens of PNC Park fans left screaming "cheater" to Ryan Braun. That's what two rain delays totaling two hours and 13 minutes will do. A runner sliding on the bag, the ball hitting the backstop, the ball popping in Herbie Andrade's glove in the bullpen could be heard by everyone left at PNC Park. None of this did the Pittsburgh Pirates any well as it lost 2-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers. Almost every last one of the 18,016 in attendance left during one or both of the ... Read More
Pirates offense backs Burnett to secure series win
It was the second consecutive below average outing for A.J. Burnett, however the Pittsburgh Pirates offense, led by a four-hit performance from Andrew McCutchen, defeated the San Francisco Giants 7-4 Tuesday night. McCutchen fell a home run short of hitting for the cycle as the Pirates secured a series win against the Giants who coming into the series had won 13 of their past 17 games. McCutchen is batting .292 on the season now and is 36-for-89 in his last 25 games, good for a .404 ... Read More
Pirates score season high in victory
For the vast majority of his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, fans complained that A.J. Burnett did not receive run support. That was not the case against the San Diego Padres as the Pirates gave their starting pitcher the most runs in a game he pitched since July 8, 2012 in an 11-5 victory over the San Diego Padres. The 11 runs were a season-best and the most the team has scored since August 11 against the Detroit Tigers. The Pirates scored in each of the first four innings with home ... Read More
Burnett goes seven in Pirates win
New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey came into Saturday afternoon's game with 16 consecutive scoreless innings. He left allowing a career high seven runs in the shortest outing of his career. The Pittsburgh Pirates offense capitalized off Harvey's [5-2] fastball en route to an 8-2 victory. “We had a plan," Francisco Cervelli said. "It was just a bad day for him and everybody’s going to have a bad day and today was his day. He’s still a great pitcher and still one of the best but the credit is ... Read More
Pirates pregame 5/23: Burnett meets Harvey in afternoon contest
The Pittsburgh Pirates hope to earn a series win this afternoon against the New York Mets. The Pirates won a 4-1 contest last night to take game one of the series. Today’s starters: Pirates manager Clint Hurdle offered this assessment of today's pitching battle: “You’ve got the young pitcher that’s really special and you have the old experienced veteran." The Pirates will send A.J. Burnett to the mound against Matt Harvey. Burnett last won his third consecutive outing allowing no ... Read More
McCutchen’s defense helps Pirates avoid sweep
Though A.J. Burnett struggled at times with his control, he was able to pitch seven shutout innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates avoided a sweep with its 3-0 victory against the Chicago Cubs. Andrew McCutchen is not known for his defense, however two plays he made significantly helped the Pirates in this game. In the bottom of the second inning with Miguel Montero on first base after a single, Burnett got Chris Coghlan to fly out to the Pirates center fielder. McCutchen got a late break on ... Read More