For a second consecutive game, the Pittsburgh Pirates struck first, but it wasn't enough, as the San Francisco Giants won the game, 5-3, to clinch the series victory Thursday afternoon. This defeat means the Pirates have lost four consecutive series losses and drops them to 34-39 on the season. Once again, the Pirates started off fast with a first inning sacrifice fly off center fielder Gregory Polanco's bat. He was down 0-2 in the count before his fly ball was deep enough to score second ... Read More
Fifth inning does in Liriano, Pirates
Occasionally, an opposing pitcher has his way with a team, and there isn't much that can be done. This was the case Saturday night as Carlos Martinez and the St. Louis Cardinals bested the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-1. Martinez (7-5) went a career-high 8.1 innings in this game, and his 122 pitches were the most by a Cardinals pitcher this season. He also kept the ball on the ground, getting 12 ground-ball outs. While Martinez kept things rather clean, it took a little time for his mound ... Read More
Watson’s struggles continue in loss to Angels
Tony Watson's struggles continued Sunday afternoon and his two runs allowed in the eighth inning cost the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The runs came from a familiar source in Albert Pujols' bat. Pujols tormented Pirates fans for years with his power and with this homer, he now has 30 for his career at PNC Park. Watson (1-2) has been known as one of the best and consistent set-up men in baseball but has now given up at least one run in his last ... Read More
Column: The future is now with Pirates’ Polanco
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco dominated in just about every facet of Tuesday night's game. Polanco's 3-for-5 night at the plate came with a career-high five RBIs as part of a 12-1 Pirates win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at PNC Park. Really this should be no surprise, as through the first quarter and change of this season, you could easily make the case for Polanco being the team's MVP. Perhaps Starling Marte is the lone competition standing in the way of the outright ... 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 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
Gerrit Cole’s off night costs Pirates
An 87 mile-per-hour fastball was the only thing needed to confirm that the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs are indeed in a rivalry. The game was long decided when Pirates pitcher Kyle Lobstein hit Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist with a pitch in the seventh inning of a 7-2 Cubs win. An inning earlier, Starling Marte was hit by a pitch for the sixth time this season, a mark that ties Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Brandon Guyer for the Major League lead. After Zobrist was hit, home plate umpire ... Read More
Pirates pregame 4/30: Jared Hughes returns
Following a 4-1 victory Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates will look for a series victory as Francisco Liriano (1-1 4.64 ERA) takes on Alfredo Simon (0-2 16.39 ERA). Liriano has a 1-5 record with a 3.96 ERA in 13 regular season starts against the Reds. One of those starts came this season, and he allowed three runs on five hits in five innings. Liriano threw 90 pitches in that appearance and struggled with control all night, having to consistently battle through ... Read More
Pirates beat Reds 4-1 Friday night after long road trip
It was a long 12 days away from PNC Park for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but a 4-1 victory Friday against the Cincinnati Reds has extended the Pirates' current win-streak to a season-high five games. The Pirates now improve to 14-9 on the season, while the Reds drop to 9-14. The win had four big takeaways: Nicasio has best start of season Seven games isn't a large sample size, but it was telling enough that, coming into this game, Juan Nicasio was 0-2 with a 5.12 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched ... Read More
Why Josh Harrison deserves the everyday 2B job
This offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates were faced with change. An abundance of players moved on to different clubs, but one in particular had a way bigger impact amongst Pirates fans. On Dec. 9, the Pirates agreed to trade Neil Walker to the New York Mets in exchange for starting pitcher Jonathon Niese. This trade brought on a huge buzz amongst Pirates fans due to Walker's popularity in the city in which he was born and raised. However, as the 2016 season has gone on, the Pirates may have ... Read More