Good morning, Pittsburgh. Here's your day in sports for Friday, September 11, 2015. What's on tap for today: The Pirates (83-56) were lucky to not lose any ground in the NL Central after their loss to the Brewers last night. The Cardinals also lost, keeping the Bucs 4.5 games back of the Redbirds. Charlie Morton will toe the rubber for the Pirates tonight. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ROOT Sports Pittsburgh The votes are in! We asked and you answered in yesterday's reader poll, in ... Read More
Farm report: Pirates affiliates go 2-1 on Thursday
With four of the Pirates minor league teams in the playoffs, let's check in on them to see how they did on Thursday. Indianapolis Indians- Triple-A The Indianapolis Indians played host to Game 2 in their opening round Governors’ Cup playoff series in front of 3,706 faithful fans at Victory Field. Taking the mound in Game 2 for the Indians against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders was Vance Worley. Worley only needed 91 pitches to get through eight innings of work against the ... Read More
Pirates fall in extra innings
The Milwaukee Brewers snapped the Pittsburgh Pirates eight-game winning streak in extra innings when Logan Schafer hit a go-ahead single which scored Nevin Ashley in the 13th inning of the Brewers 6-4 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park on Thursday night. The Pirates have now lost their past seven contests against the Brewers. A.J. Burnett made the start and allowed three first-inning runs in his return from injury. Scooter Gennett led off the game with a double, his 14th of the ... Read More
Pirates pregame 9/10: Burnett returns to the mound
The Pittsburgh Pirates return to PNC Park for their first home game in the month of September. The opponent is a familiar one in the Milwaukee Brewers. This is the last series between these two teams in 2015. The Pirates have lost their past six contests against the Brewers and are 6-9 against them this season. Tonight, A.J. Burnett makes his return to the Pirates rotation and will face Wily Peralta. Burnett is returning from right elbow inflammation and missed 37 games overall. He is ... Read More
It’s playoff time down on the farm
Four of the Pittsburgh Pirates' seven farm teams have advanced to the minor-league playoffs, which began on Wednesday. The Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, Double-A Altoona Curve, and High-A West Virginia Power got playoff action underway last night as the Low-A West Virginia Black Bears were rained out, and instead will start their road to the championship tonight against the Williamsport Crosscutters. Here's a look at the current playoff matchups for the aforementioned farm ... Read More
Opinion: the Pirates can still win the NL Central
Are you really surprised? The Pirates are headed for another season on the back burner of the NL Central; another season headed for a wildcard berth, and another season in which the St. Louis Cardinals give Pirates fans extra gray hairs that they (and I) could seriously live without. Despite playing in the toughest division in baseball, the Pirates would have a multi-game lead over the current leader in four of the five other divisions. Let that just sink in for a moment. A team cursed by ... Read More
AM Joe: Deebo or Batman?
Good morning, Pittsburgh. Here's your day in sports for Thursday, September 10, 2015. What's on tap for today: The Pirates (83-55) are back at PNC Park after a 4-5 road trip to Milwaukee, St. Louis and Cincinnati. A.J. Burnett (above) will make his return to the starting rotation after missing six weeks with a forearm injury. The Bucs are hosting the Brewers for four games this weekend. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ROOT Sports Pittsburgh The Steelers will kick off the 2015 National ... Read More
Kang’s grand slam leads Pirates over Reds
The Pittsburgh Pirates game into Wednesday night's game, the 138th of the regular season, without a grand slam. One swing of Jung Ho Kang's bat in the sixth inning changed that, and his first career grand slam led the Pirates to victory over the Cincinnati Reds. On the mound, J.A. Happ also continued his string of success, allowing two runs over six innings while striking out a season-high 10 batters. It was the first time he struck out 10 or more batters since Aug. 7, 2014. Despite all of ... Read More
AM Joe: Bucs get 82, still chasing Cardinals
Good morning, Pittsburgh. Here's your day in sports for Wednesday, September 10, 2015. What's on tap for today: The Pirates (82-55) will try for a series win in Cincinnati tonight. The Bucs are now just 4.5 games back of the Cardinals in the NL Central. The Cardinals play the Cubs this afternoon. ROOT Sports Pittsburgh Pittsburgh headlines: The Bucs beat the Reds 7-3 as starter Francisco Liriano struck out 10 over six innings and went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double. While ... Read More
Then versus now: The significance of win No. 82
The Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated their 7-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday with their usual line of high-fives. There was no fanfare, no parade planned or champagne popping. It was just another win. Much like their 1-0 victory over the Texas Rangers on September 9, 2013 was just another win, as was their 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on September 18, 2014. All three of the aforementioned wins secured the Pirates a winning season. Did you know they did? Did you care? If you ... Read More