McCutchen's two home runs vaults the Pirates over the Nationals (Flickr.com/RJ Schmidt) Scoring the most runs in a game since July 5th, the Pittsburgh Pirates staved off a late Nationals' rally to defeat Washington 6-5. Unfortunately, the victory is not the top story. Closer Jason Grilli left in the 9th with what Clint Hurdle described as "right forearm discomfort". He did not provide any additional details. Andrew McCutchen got the Pirates on the board in loud fashion with a two run ... Read More
Pirates Avoid Sweep, Defeat Reds 3-2
Mark Melancon preserves the win over the Reds (Flickr.com/RJ Schmidt) On the heels of a strong start from Jeff Locke and late-inning timely hitting, the Pittsburgh Pirates avoided a sweep at Great American Ball Park to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2. The Pirates got on the board early off a Garrett Jones' solo shot in the second versus Reds' starter Homer Bailey. It was his second bomb in as many days and tenth of the season. Locke held the Reds scoreless until the fifth. He issued ... Read More
Pirates unable to mount comeback win over Reds
For the second day in a row, the Pirates found themselves in an early hole against the Reds. And for the second day in a row, their comeback effort fell just short, as Cincinnati hung on for a 5-4 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday at Great American Ball Park. Trailing, 5-3, heading into the top of the eighth, the Pirates cut the lead to one on a Travis Snider pinch-hit RBI double off of Alfredo Simon, who walked a batter and hit another to load the bases with two outs. Jose Tabata then came to ... Read More
Pirate of the Week: Andrew McCutchen
With the All Star break this past week, the week was a short one for the Pittsburgh Pirates. They played games last Saturday, Sunday and Friday, winning just one of those games. Nonetheless, Andrew McCutchen was a bright spot for the Pirates, who landed five guys on the National League Squad. Here's how McCutchen's week shaped up. Last Saturday, the team's only win of the week, McCutchen went 2-4 with a home run and two RBI's. McCutchen's two RBI's were the difference in the 4-2 victory. On ... Read More
Pirates Minor League Roundup
Altoona Curve's Alex Dickerson (Flickr.com/Gamma Man) Before the Pittsburgh Pirates begin the second half of the season tomorrow in Cincinnati, it’s time to comb through and evaluate each of the Buccos’ minor league affiliates. Indianapolis Indians (AAA) 61-38: As the record indicates, the Indians are leading the West Division of the International League by a wide margin, 13 games up on the second place Louisville Bats. Ivan DeJesus, who we’ve covered before, continues to hit at a high ... Read More
Will this finally be the year for the Pirates?
Stop me if you’ve heard this before; the Pittsburgh Pirates are above .500 at the All Star Break. Oh what’s that? You were stopping me, because you have heard this before. The past two seasons, the Pirates have shown signs of breaking the long steak of losing seasons being above .500 at the All Star Break. The team even was in first place in the NL Central in late July. However, the Pirates could not sustain the success and would extend the streak each year, finishing 72-90 and 79-83 ... Read More
“Mark and Cheese” Take to the Big Apple
Jason Grilli and Mark Melancon are the first bullpen duo to make the All-Star game from Pittsburgh in the history of the Midsummer Classic. That’s 83 years without this happening. It goes to show you how important the back end of the bullpen, also known by fans as “Mark and Cheese”, has been for the Bucs this season. Jason Grilli’s numbers have been solid in his first year as closer for the Pirates going 29 of 30 in save opportunities while holding a 1.99 ERA in 40 2/3 innings (9 ER). He has ... Read More
Pedro has good showing, but can’t get out of first round
For the past week, the talk around the city was that Pedro Alvarez was snubbed for not being named to the home run derby. After Carlos Gonzalez pulled out of the competition with an injury, Captain David Wright named Alvarez as the replacement. Before the competition, Alvarez was second only to Chris Davis as a 12-2 favorite to win the competition. In his hometown New York, you could see some nerves from the slugging third baseman for the Pirates. Unfortunately, Alvarez was unable to advance ... Read More
What if?
Throughout life, we find ourselves asking the question, "what if" to numerous topics. As it pertains to sports, there are a lot of these moments. What if Roberto Clemente never hopped on the plane to Managua to provide supplies to victims of the earthquake? What if Barry Sanders and Jim Brown didn't retire in the prime of their career. Would they be No. 1 and No. 2 on the all-time rushing list instead of Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton? What if Twitter or social media sites were around ... Read More
The amazing journeys of Chris Davis and Jose Bautista
I remember with great clarity the very first time I saw Jose Bautista step into the batters box at PNC Park. The date was August 11, 2004 and the Pittsburgh Pirates were 53-58 – still well within striking distance of their first non-losing season in over a decade. Bautista was an interesting story, having bounced around the majors all summer as a Rule 5 player. He had started the campaign in Baltimore, where the Orioles were essentially languishing as the Pirates A.L. doppelganger. The ... Read More