Raise it! For the first time this season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have something in the win column after Friday's 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park in the home opener. Pittsburgh (1-2) lost its first two games of the season to the Boston Red Sox, and a scheduled third game was rained out. Ivan Nova got the start for the Pirates and allowed just one run on six hits in six innings. It was his first Opening Day start of any sort, and he struck out four and gave up no walks. Mike ... Read More
Fifth inning derails strong Opening Day start for Gerrit Cole, Pirates
In the first four innings of Monday's season opener against the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates starter Gerrit Cole gave up one hit and one walk on 50 pitches. But all that was derailed in one frame. In the fifth inning, Cole faced all nine of Boston's batters and gave up five runs on six hits. Those five runs were all the Red Sox would need to take home the “W” on opening day at Fenway Park, beating the Pirates by a final score of 5-3. That fifth inning started innocuously enough when ... Read More
Pirates can’t sweep Brewers in 3-1 loss
All that separates the Pittsburgh Pirates from the end of regular season play is 10 games. And those 10 games are against teams that currently project as playoff teams — the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs concluding the home portion of the regular season-schedule and the St. Louis Cardinals on the road. So it would have been nice to get ‘W’ against a team that's 69-84. But the Pirates couldn't secure a second consecutive road sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers, with Pittsburgh falling 3-1 ... Read More
Pirates defeat Brewers, 6-3, Tuesday night
The Pittsburgh Pirates opened up their series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night with a 6-3 win. The Pirates (75-75) scored quickly in the first inning off the Brewers’ starting pitcher, Matt Garza (5-8, 4.52 ERA). Andrew McCutchen hit a double toward the deep left side of the field, scoring both Adam Frazier and Josh Bell. On the hill for Pittsburgh was 24-year-old Steven Brault (0-3, 4.26 ERA), who was starting his seventh game in a major league uniform. Brault looked solid ... Read More
Pirates win in Cincinnati in extra innings
It took extra innings, but the Pittsburgh Pirates took the first of a three-game road series by a 9-7 score Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds. The game was tied at six heading into the 10th inning, when the Reds brought in closer Tony Cingrani. A total of eight Pirates batters would step up to face him. Cingrani (2-5) started the inning with a four-pitch walk to Jung Ho Kang, which was followed by a Sean Rodriguez single and a Francisco Cervelli bunt single that was upheld after a ... Read More
Column: Series sweep could be beginning of the end
Wednesday night's 6-5 Chicago Cubs victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates not only resulted in a sweep but confirmed what has been believed for a while. The Pittsburgh Pirates are not a playoff team. They have yet to prove otherwise. This second half has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster for the team, which statistically had the easiest second-half schedule this season. Recently the Pirates had a 5-1 road trip that transitioned to a return to PNC Park and a 1-5 homestand. It ... Read More
Phelps golden against Pirates
Miami Marlins starting pitcher David Phelps was too much for the Pittsburgh Pirates' offense to handle, and the road team came away with a 3-1 victory Saturday night at PNC Park. Phelps, who tied a career-high with nine strikeouts, allowed two hits in six scoreless innings, good for a game score of 77. Phelps' strong pitching meant, for the first time, that the Pirates (62-58) lost a game started by Chad Kuhl. He had 10 ground ball outs while allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits ... Read More
Sean Rodriguez’s home run leads Pirates to victory
It was a short night for Cincinnati Reds pitcher Ross Ohlendorf. At PNC Park, Ohlendorf's outing Friday night lasted all of four pitches — on a mound that previously served as home. This time, though, it wasn't so kind. The Pittsburgh Pirates' Sean Rodriguez led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a game-winning home run on a 2-1 fastball to secure the 3-2 victory over the Reds (44-64). Pittsburgh is now 54-53 on the season. The homer was Rodriguez's 11th of the season, and he's now ... Read More
Four-run sixth highlights Pirates’ win vs. Braves
A day after the Pittsburgh Pirates made some tough decisions at the trade deadline, the team gave fans something to cheer for. For the first time since last Wednesday, the Pirates (53-51) found themselves in the win column with a 5-3 road victory Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves (37-69). Tony Watson made his debut as the Pirates' closer and pitched a scoreless inning to earn his first save since April 22, 2015 (and his sixth career save). He struck out one batter and walked another ... Read More
Miller Park a house of horrors for Pirates
It is no secret that the Millwaukee Brewers have dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park in recent years. On paper, the Pirates have the easiest second-half schedule in Major League Baseball, but that includes this series and two more at Miller Park, not to mention several other National League Central opponents with many of these series occurring on the road. The Brewers once again handled the Pirates, this time by a 3-1 score Friday night, spoiling a good outing from Steven ... Read More