It turns out the Ryan Vogelsong start that will occur Wednesday night is not the only change to be announced in the past 24 hours. A.J. Schugel, a right-handed pitcher, has been called up to the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Indianapolis Indians, the team's Triple-A affiliate. To allow for Schugel to get called up, Michael Morse was designated for assignment. Schugel does have major league experience as he was called up on April 12, 2015 with the Arizona Diamondbacks when Gerald Laird went ... Read More
Liriano scratched from Wednesday start because of hamstring tightness
At the start of the season, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Ryan Vogelsong was certainly disappointed to see a starting rotation job that was projected to go his way didn't. He was sent to the bullpen with the explanation that it wasn't so much him as that other pitchers just took his spot. Now, Vogelsong will get his first start as a Pirate since Sept. 29, 2004, after Wednesday's scheduled starter Francisco Liriano was scratched with hamstring discomfort. Quite a bit has changed since that day ... Read More
Reports: Pirates release John Holdzkom
The Pirates released pitcher John Holdzkom Monday, according to reports. John Holdzkom cleared waivers, but the #Pirates were unable to outright him to Triple-A because he wasn’t “healthy”. Thus, the release. — Tim Williams (@timwilliamsP2) April 11, 2016 Holdzkom, an asset for the 2014 Pirates toward the end of the season, was designated for assignment April 3, when it was clear that the right-handed pitcher was not a part of the Pirates Opening Day roster plans. It was widely ... Read More
Pirates struggle with runners in scoring position, drop series to Reds
On Sunday, the Cincinnati Reds' Jay Bruce hit a game-winning RBI triple in the bottom of the ninth inning off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Arquimedes Caminero to give the Reds the 2-1 win and the series. Though the game wasn't high-scoring, there certainly were things to take from it. Pirates struggle with runners in scoring position Not to borrow from "Sesame Street," but this first point is brought to you by the number '34'—the number of Pirates who were left on base in the three-game ... Read More
Pirates unable to capitalize on opportunities in season’s first loss
The fifth, sixth and seventh hitters in Saturday's Pittsburgh Pirates lineup went 7-for-10 at the plate, but, outside of John Jaso hitting leadoff, the rest of the lineup couldn't deliver. It was that middle of the order that was responsible for the lone run scored in the Pirates' first loss of the season, a 5-1 defeat against the Cincinnati Reds. This game mirrored Friday's win in many ways, but it was missing the big, crucial, timely hit. There were times in Saturday's game where the ... Read More
Starling Marte’s grand slam powers Pirates’ comeback win
Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach Jeff Branson gave Starling Marte some last minute advice as the right-handed cleanup hitter prepared to face J.J. Hoover with the bases loaded. It was a simple message, really: Keep your foot down. For three games and 7.2 innings on Friday night (the fourth game of the season), the Pirates hadn't connected on a home run, but all of that was about to change. Hoover made a mistake and threw a pitch right down the middle of the plate, and Marte made him pay. ... Read More
Nicasio’s stellar performance leads Pirates to sweep Cardinals
Just a season ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates put themselves in a large hole with a poor month of April. Now, the Pirates have gotten off to a strong start in April with an opening series sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, following a 5-1 victory Wednesday night. The Pirates are now 3-0, but they are doing their best not to make too much of this sweep. “I don’t think we’ll ever surprise ourselves when we play well, we’re past that point,” said manager Clint Hurdle. “We expect to play well. We ... Read More
Pirates pregame: Bullpen effective at changing speeds
Last night, Jordy Mercer took a changeup to the opposite field for the game-winning hit in the 11th inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5. Tonight, the Pirates will attempt to make a statement with an opening series sweep against the Cardinals, a team coming off a season-high 100 wins last season. Pittsburgh righthander Juan Nicasio will get the start for the Pirates, and his mound opponent will be Mike Leake. Nicasio is coming off a spring training ... Read More
Three Takeaways from Jon Niese’s debut
As Neil Walker launched his first home run of the season for the New York Mets, his counterpart in the December trade that sent him to the Big Apple was laboring through his first start with the Pittsburgh Pirates. To be sure, Jon Niese did not have an overtly memorable night for his Pittsburgh debut. In five innings, Niese allowing four earned runs and struck out seven, giving the hometown crowd a mixed bag. However, looking deeper into his start, there are several takeaways. Niese is a ... Read More
Jordy Mercer’s 11th inning single gives Pirates 6-5 win over Cardinals
Jordy Mercer had been fooled twice by Seth Maness’ changeups, so Mercer wanted to make sure the third time was a charm. After all, he and his Pittsburgh Pirates teammates had been huddled by the PNC Park dugout heater for over six innings in a game that was deep in the 11th inning. So when Maness (0-1) took the bait and fired a third changeup, Mercer made him pay with an opposite field single that sailed past St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams’s outstretched glove. Mercer’s ... Read More