The Pittsburgh Pirates never had a runner in scoring position in Wednesday night's game — yet it still took 12 innings for the Boston Red Sox to get the 3-0 win. With one out in the bottom of the 12th, Boston catcher Sandy León drilled a ball 359 feet to deep left center, scoring Jackie Bradley Jr. and Pablo Sandoval, both of whom got on base via walks given up by Pittsburgh reliever Antonio Bastardo. León made a base running error in the third inning that could have had the game ended ... Read More
Column: Great, now what?
Mercifully, the Pittsburgh Pirates' season (78-83) ended Sunday afternoon after a 10-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Let's be honest for a second, what reason is there for you to waste your time with another recap about how the bullpen didn't hold up their end of the bargain? None? That's what I thought, too. So, let's take a look at what needs to change for next season. This season has been over for some time now, arguably when the offseason ended and both Jeff Locke and Jon ... 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 continue to sink after loss to Reds
Tony Watson has had a rather consistent career as a relief pitcher, that is unless the Cincinnati Reds are the opponent. This was the case again Friday as the Pittsburgh Pirates were bested by these same Reds, 4-3. Jose Peraza was responsible for bringing home what proved to be the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly that brought Eugenio Suarez back to the Reds dugout with several high fives immediately following. This was set up by Suarez's lead-off single, a Ramon Cabrera sacrifice ... Read More
Kang’s blast ends Pirates’ 8-game losing streak
Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang will admit that this season has been a very disappointing one, but an eighth-inning home run ended the Pirates' eight-game losing streak and secured a 4-3 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals. Kang entered this Wednesday night contest having hit two home runs the night before against the Cardinals, and he added another, blasting a 1-2 pitch left in the upper-middle portion of the strike zone for his 17th home run of the season. Equally as ... Read More
Pirates bested by Cubs in 13th inning
The Pittsburgh Pirates had the opportunities to extend their road win streak to nine games, but they fell 8-7 to the Chicago Cubs in 13 innings. It was a case of the Pirates running out of bullpen arms, and reliever Jeff Locke (9-8, 5.39 ERA) threw his highest pitch total since Aug. 3 as a result. Locke threw three innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. Eventually, Locke seemed to tire, and he didn't record a single out in the 13th inning before Chicago's Miguel Montero recorded the ... Read More
Pirates secure rare Miller Park sweep
After Francisco Cervelli caught the final strike in the ninth inning of Sunday afternoon's game, the Pittsburgh Pirates not only defeated National League Central rival Milwaukee Brewers 3-1, but clinched a road series sweep for the first time since 2004. While this is reason enough for the Pirates to be satisfied by their extended weekend, the sweep was well timed as now the Pirates are half a game behind the St. Louis Cardinals for a Wild Card Spot. Ivan Nova (10-6, 4.55 ERA) allowed a ... Read More
Sixth inning keys Pirates’ 5-3 win vs. Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer turns 30 Saturday, and he decided to give himself an early birthday present: a grand slam, which came in the six inning off Milwaukee Brewers starter Matt Garza. It was Mercer's 10th homer of the season. Mercer's blast helped the Pirates (65-61) secure a 5-3 victory over the Brewers. Garza (4-6, 4.89 ERA) had Mercer in an 0-2 count before the grand slam. This season, Alex Dickerson, Seth Smith and Adam Eaton are the only other Major League players ... Read More
McCutchen powers Pirates’ fifth inning rally
Wednesday afternoon featured a pitching matchup between Ivan Nova and Matt Cain, and the Pittsburgh Pirates (62-56) came away with a 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants (66-54) to ensure a series sweep. Pittsburgh's Nova (9-6, 4.83 ERA) pitched well, allowing four runs on six hits in four innings. The former Yankee who the Pirates acquired around the trade deadline threw 62 pitches — and 42 of those were strikes. On the other side, for the Giants, Cain (4-8, 5.81 ERA) looked good early ... Read More
McCutchen, Mercer help Pirates end road skid
The Pittsburgh Pirates entered this game 2-8 in its last 10 road games, but that did not matter in a 5-1 defeat of the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night. A three-run first inning set the Pirates on a path for victory against Dodgers starter Ross Stripling (3-4). After the Pirates successfully challenged a Josh Harrison lead-off single, Starling Marte's single set up the rest of the inning. Andrew McCutchen singled on a 1-2 Stripling pitch bringing home the first run of this game. The ... Read More