Follow @TBerardi_OVA The Pirates (88 - 65) open up a crucial 3-game set against the Reds (87 - 66) to close out the home portion of the 2013 regular season. Francisco Liriano (16 - 7, 2.92 ERA) faces Matt Latos (14 - 6, 3.14 ERA) Leading Off With nine games remaining, the Pirates trail the Cardinals by one game in the NL Central race. Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 4, meaning they could clinch as early as tomorrow night. Hurdle's Quotes On Neil Walker's hot bat as of late ... Read More
Cole Plays Stopper in Pirates 10 – 1 Victory
Follow @TBerardi_OVA The Pirates got a phenomenal start by Gerrit Cole and used a five run fourth inning, which included two homers, to propel them to a 6 - 1 victory over the Padres on Thursday afternoon. Cole had his usual rough start to the game as he allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out two. The inning was highlighted by a Chase Headley RBI groundout putting the Padres on the board first for the fourth straight day. Cole would shut down the Padre offense after that, allowing ... Read More
Padres Score Twice in Ninth to Stun Pirates
Follow @TBerardi_OVA Logan Forsythe and Rene Rivera each singled with two out in the ninth off of Mark Melancon to give the Padres a 3-2 come-from-behind win at PNC on Wednesday night. It erased a dominant performance by Charlie Morton as he allowed a single run over eight innings of work while giving up two hits and tying his career single-game strikeout total of nine. "I thought John [Buck] did a great job behind the plate and the defense made some great plays," said Morton. "For the ... Read More
Pack PNC Park if you want
Since April, Pirates fans couldn't get too high or get too low. It is, after all, a 162-game season. Although with some panic meters this year, you'd think it was a NFL season. Finally, the home stretch is here. The Pirates are in the middle of a division title race and a wild card race with the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and technically the Washington Nationals. The Pirates tied the season record for most sellouts in a season, and the fans have been flocking out ... Read More
Pirates Fall 5 – 3, Lose Ground In Central
Follow @TBerardi_OVA PNC Park -- Morgantown, WV native, Jedd Gyorko has replaced Chase Headley as this year's Pirate killer as the second basemen (A diehard Pirate fan growing up) went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer and two runs scored in a Padres 5 - 2 victory over the Pirates on Tuesday night. Jeff Locke had a rough outing as he allowed four runs and ten base runners over five innings of work. Three of those runs came in the third inning when Chris Denorfia and Will Venable led-off the ... Read More
Pirates Gameday: Hurdle Talks Playoff Roster Competition, Extra Wild Card Spot
Follow @TBerardi_OVA The Pirates (87 - 63) look to bounce back after yesterdays one-hitter against the Padres (69 - 80). Jeff Locke (10 - 5, 3.14 ERA) will take on Eric Stults (8 - 13, 4.03 ERA). Leading Off Starling Marte is starting in left field and batting first. It's the first time since Marte has gone on the DL that he's started. "We're a much more dynamic team with him in left field," Hurdle said. Hurdle's Quotes On if there's a competition for playoff roster spots -- "There ... Read More
Cashner Near-Perfect In Blanking of Pirates
For the second day in-a-role, there was a gem pitched at PNC. This time, it was from the visiting side as Andrew Cashner went the distance with a one-hit shutout of the Pirates on Monday night. "He's a good, good young pitcher," said manager, Clint Hurdle. "I mean, it's a power arm. He had a three-pitch mix tonight. The breaking ball, changeup, the fastball command. Not only was the stuff sharp, but he was very efficient throwing strikes all night long." Cashner actually had a perfect game ... Read More
Lambo, Glasnow Named Pirates’ MiLB Player / Pitcher-of-the-Year
The Pittsburgh Pirates today named outfielder Andrew Lambo their minor league Player-of-the-Year and Tyler Glasnow their minor league Pitcher-of-the-Year for the 2013 season. The announcement was made by Larry Broadway, Pirates’ Director of Minor League Operations. Lambo hit a combined .282 (125-for-444) with 24 doubles, five triples, 32 home runs, 99 RBI, and a .574 slugging percent- age in 120 games between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis. He led all Pirates minor leaguers with ... Read More
Pirates Postseason Pressure
The Pittsburgh Pirates will make the playoffs. Yes, this is going to be a reality in the steel city this year. Not only will this be a new experience for the younger generation fan, it will be one for some of the young players as well. Only a handful of players on the Pirates active roster have experienced the postseason, but manager, Clint Hurdle said he's had the team prepared for this race all season. "We've had a check-and-balance system that we put in on opening day and it's continued to ... Read More
Liriano Throws 6 Innings Of No-Hit Ball, Pirates Win 3 – 2
Francisco Liriano took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before allowing three straight hits, one being a game-tying homer to Wellington Castillo, but Justin Morneau backed him up with a RBI single in the 8th, propelling the Pirates to a 3 - 2 series-clinching victory on Sunday afternoon. Liriano dominated the Cubs offense through six innings while walking four. He did encounter a jam in the sixth without surrendering a hit. He walked Cubs pitcher, Travis Wood to lead off the inning. Wood ... Read More