The Pittsburgh Pirates have assembled its starting pitching rotation well ahead of Sunday's 3 p.m. deadline to finalize a 25-man roster. Last season, the Pirates ranked eighth in all of Major League Baseball and fifth in the National League with a 3.47 ERA and ranked fourth with a 3.05 ERA in the second half of the season. Pirates starters combined for a 3.60 ERA, seven shutouts, two complete games, a .249 batting average against and 798 strikeouts in 971 innings of work. Though the ... Read More
Alvarez, defense keys in Pirates tie
The Pittsburgh Pirates saw its first two pitchers on staff have good outings in a 3-3 extra inning tie Wednesday evening against the Baltimore Orioles. Francisco Liriano was the first to pitch and threw three innings while allowing his first run of Spring Training. Liriano now has a 0.75 ERA. He allowed three hits and struck out two batters in his time on the mound. Liriano was replaced by Gerrit Cole who threw three scoreless innings allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three ... Read More
Clayton Richard declines opt out clause; to remain with Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates still have roster decisions to make, but pitcher Clayton Richard made his intentions clear Wednesday; he wants to stay with the team. When the Pirates signed Richard to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, he had an opt out clause Tuesday and opted not to use it. This spring, Richard has a 1-1 record with a 3.12 ERA in 8.2 innings. Richard has been considered to be a 'reclamation project' by many however under pitching coach Ray Searage and ... Read More
Pirates outfield considered among the best in 2015
Many have wondered which of the Pittsburgh Pirates trio of outfielders is the fastest. It was an idea tossed around at PirateFest, the annual way the team thanks fans for their support, this question was raised and it was split right down the middle. This is a great problem to have as speed and power have led to the discussion that the Pirates outfield is the best in all of Major League Baseball. "We're all out there, speedsters, guys that can run down balls," Andrew McCutchen said to ... Read More
Pirates use fourth inning in win over Tigers
Andrew McCutchen and Francisco Cervelli each went 2-for-3 at the plate to help the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Detroit Tigers by a 7-3 score Tuesday. Vance Worley [1-1] started the game and pitched three innings allowing five base runners and a single run. Worley struck out a batter and has a Spring Training ERA of 4.95. The run off Worley came in the second inning when Nick Castellanos hit a sacrifice fly to score Yoenis Cespedes. In the fourth inning, the Pirates scored four runs to ... Read More
Pirates will start Harrison at hot corner
Pittsburgh Pirates fans are very excited about the prospects of the third base position in 2015 as Pedro Alvarez has moved across the diamond. Alvarez played himself off the hot corner with a cold bat and also the most errors in all of Major League Baseball. It became a mental issue and this combined with Josh Harrison's dependability led to a switch. Now Harrison goes into 2015 as the clear starter although Jung-ho Kang and Sean Rodriguez will serve as back ups. Harrison likely will be ... Read More
Pirates ‘obviously’ win with Tomlin in town, send down Holdzkom
On a day that Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin visited McKechnie Field, it was the Pirates that put up football type numbers as part of an 18-4 victory. The Pittsburgh Pirates [14-10-3] defeated the Philadelphia Phillies for its fourth consecutive victory. In the game the Pirates had 16 hits and six home runs. Mark Melancon [1-0] got the start allowing one hit but striking out two batters. Tony Watson and Arquimedes Caminero each followed with an inning of work and zero runs allowed. ... Read More
Pittsburgh March Madness: North and South Side Elite Eight
Sixty-four of Pittsburgh's best athletes started, but only eight remain. It's crunch time, folks. Today, we will look at the left side of the bracket, where two athletes will make the venture to the Final Four. Let's take a look at the match ups. #1. Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers quarterback) vs. #2. Maurkice Pouncey (Steelers All-Pro center) [poll id="122"] #16. Monica Wignot (Pitt women's basketball) vs. #10. Francisco Liriano (Pirates Opening Day Starter) [poll id="123"] ... Read More
Locked up: Pirates set rotation, talk extension with Gregory Polanco
The Pirates took care of business today on and off the field. In Grapefruit league action, the Pirates dominated the Phillies for a 19-4 victory. After the victory, Manager Clint Hurdle announced that Jeff Locke will take the team's fourth spot in the Opening Day rotation while Vance Worley will begin the season in the bullpen for long-relief. Locke went 7-6 for the Pirates in 2014 with a 3.91 ERA in 21 starts with 89 strikeouts and 40 walks in 131 1/3 innings. After struggling through the ... Read More
Pirate pitchers continue to battle for limited spots in victory
Jung-ho Kang played the hero in the Pittsburgh Pirates third consecutive Spring Training victory Saturday. Kang came into the game hitting .129, but left with a .171 average after a 2-for-4 day with three RBI. Kang broke what was a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning with an RBI single then won the game in the ninth inning with a two-run home run, his second homer of the spring. Kang's seventh inning RBI came against former Pirate closer Jason Grilli. Stolmy Pimentel made the start for the ... Read More