PNC Park -- The Pirates (68 - 44) look to take yet another series as they take on the Marlins (43 - 68) in game two of their three game set. Charlie Morton (3 - 3, 4.07 ERA) will face Tom Koehler (3 - 6, 4.34 ERA). Leading Off Last night's pinch-hit, walkoff home run by Josh Harrison was the first by a Pittsburgh player since Craig Wilson took Milwaukee's Chad Fox deep in the second game of a doubleheader on 9/3/2001 for a 3 - 2 victory. Hurdle's Quotes On the contributions of everyone in ... Read More
MLB and PEDs: The real victims in an era of deceit
Another baseball player idolized by millions of children throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s is now just another painful reminder that the past 20 years may have been as synthetic as that 7-11 hot dog you ate for lunch. Our National Pastime has been dealing with the steroid and performance-enhancing drug problem since 2003, although the recent Biogenesis scandal has turned the baseball world completely upside-down. Now that Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez (among 12 more, virtually unknown players) ... Read More
Harrison Walk-Off Lifts Pirates to 4 – 3 Victory
(Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar / AP) PNC Park -- Josh Harrison sent a 1 - 1 fastball from left hander, Mike Dunn into the right-center field seats for a Pirates walk-off 4 - 3 victory on Tuesday night. It completed a comeback from an early 3-run hole created by the Marlins against starter, Jeff Locke. They got on the board once in the second when they lead off the inning by loading the bases. Locke would then get Jeff Mathis to pop out to first, but Marlins starter, Henderson Alvarez would ... Read More
Pirates Gameday: Liriano Named N.L. POTW, Hurdle Talks Closers
(Photo Credit: Matt Freed/Post-Gazette) PNC Park -- The Pirates (67 - 44) look to enact revenge on the Marlins (43 - 67) after dropping 2-of-3 in Miami a week and a half ago. Jeff Locke (9 - 3, 2.36 ERA) will face Henderson Alvarez (2 - 1, 2.61 ERA). Leading Off Francisco Liriano was named NL Player of the Week after going 2 - 0 in two starts last week, ranking among the league leaders with 14 innings pitched (2nd) and 14 strikeouts (T-4th). His 0.64 ERA (1 ER / 14 IN) was the lowest among ... Read More
Pirates’ McGuire off to stellar start to pro career
Lost amidst the success the Pittsburgh Pirates are currently having at the major league level this season is the fact that some of their top minor prospects have performed above the level that their lofty expectations would have even suggested. One of those such guys is 2013 first-round pick Reese McGuire. Not only did the Pirates sign both of their first-round selections this season, but McGuire has gotten off to such a strong start to his professional career that you can see what all the ... Read More
Burnett Goes The Distance In 5 – 1 Victory
(Photo Credit: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) PNC Park – A.J. Burnett pitched his best game of the season (so far) as he went the distance in a Pirates 5 – 1 victory on Sunday afternoon. His battery mate, Russell Martin, provided most of the offense with a three run homer in the fifth inning to break things open. “They threw me a lot of breaking balls today and talking to Jay (Bell), the guy throws a lot of sliders so I decided to wait for one and he threw the first pitch right where I ... Read More
The Journey of Tony Sanchez
(Photo Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports) Most major league catchers make their debut in low-leverage situations. Tony Sanchez made his first career catching start in a larger atmosphere. With back-up catcher, Michael McKenry shut down for the rest of the season, the team looked to Sanchez in the heart of a pennant race. To make things even more interesting, manager, Clint Hurdle set that first start against the St. Louis Cardinals in the middle of the “Biggest series in PNC Park ... Read More
Pirates Back On Track With 5-2 Victory
(Photo Credit: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) PNC Park – Francisco Liriano pitched another gem Saturday night as he threw 7 innings of shutout ball to halt the Pirates 2-game losing skid with a 5 - 2 win over the Rockies. The Rockies threatened early against Liriano as they had second and third in the first with one out. Francisco would then get Michael Cuddyer to strikeout and Will Rosario to groundout to end the threat. They would have two more on in the third thanks to two one ... Read More
Pirates Gameday: Bucs Look To Snap Skid With Liriano
(Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) PNC Park – The Pirates (65 - 44) look to snap a 2-game skid tonight as they take on the Rockies (52 - 59) in the second game of a 3-game set. Francisco Liriano (11 – 4, 2.16 ERA) will face Jorge De La Rosa (10 – 5, 3.21 ERA). Leading Off Francisco Liriano brings a team-leading 11 wins into tonight’s start. That figure represents the most wins by a southpaw since Zach Duke recorded 11 victories in 2009. The last Bucco to win 12 or more games in a ... Read More
Don’t expect Taillon to pitch for the Pirates this season
On Friday, it was reported by multiple outlets that Jameson Taillon was promoted to AAA Indianapolis. Immediately after the announcement, there was speculation that Taillon could join the major league club in September for the final push before the playoffs. It's not crazy to think Taillon could be in Pittsburgh before the end of this season. The Tampa Bay Rays promoted David Price to AAA Durham on August 10th of 2008. He would pitch in the majors a month later and ended up tossing 3 1/3 ... Read More