Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell punched their ticket to the Elite Eight yesterday, joining Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey, Monica Wignot and Francisco Liriano. Today, the last two athletes will fill out the next round. Let's take a look at today's match ups, shall we? #1. Sidney Crosby (Penguins captain) vs. #4. Gerrit Cole (Pirates pitcher) [poll id="120"] #11. Gregory Polanco (Pirates right fielder) vs. #2. Evgeni Malkin (Penguins forward) [poll id="121"] ... Read More
Pirates win as Polanco homers for second straight game
Charlie Morton's up and down Spring Training continued with an 8-3 victory over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays Saturday at McKechnie Field. Morton [1-1] saw his ERA fall from 7.71 to 6.46 this spring after pitching six innings and allowing three runs. Morton also surrendered six hits and walked two batters. Morton's three runs came on a first inning Daric Barton home run, a second inning Munenori Kawasaki double and a fourth inning Danny Valencia homer. “I thought he showed progress as ... Read More
Pittsburgh March Madness: Mt. Washington Sweet 16
The Pittsburgh March Madness Elite Eight is halfway filled out, as No. 16 seed Monica Wignot continued her Cinderella run by beating No. 5 March-Andre Fleury. While Wignot's run will continue, another surprise run came to an end, as No. 11 Kelly Johnson was knocked out by Pirates Opening Day starter, No. 10 Francisco Liriano. Today, we finally get a region where the top four seeds will square off. Let's take a look and see who will advance. #1. Antonio Brown (Steelers All-Pro receiver) vs. ... Read More
Pittsburgh Sporting News: South Side Region Sweet 16
In undoubtedly the oddest looking region of the bracket, the South Side has zero top four seeds in the Sweet 16. In face, No. 5 seed Marc-Andre Fleury is the only single-digit seed left. Fleury will look to stop the momentum that Pitt's Monica Wignot has had so far, as she has taken out No. 1 seed Andrew McCutchen and No. 8 Ryan Shazier in consecutive rounds. Then, two other high seeds — #11. Kelly Johnson and #10. Francisco Liriano — will go head to head for a spot in the Elite Eight. Who ... Read More
Pirates major league roster shaping up; team wins shortened game
Jeff Locke pitched 5.2 innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates won a rain-shortened game 4-2 Friday against the Minnesota Twins. The game was called due to rain in the bottom of the eighth inning. Locke is now 1-1 on the season and lowered his ERA from 9.00 to 6.59. He allowed: eight hits, two runs, walked three and struck out two batters. Antonio Bastardo picked up his first save and allowed a hit while striking out two batters in his inning of work. Blake Wood got the final out of the sixth ... Read More
Jose Tabata among 12 Pirates cuts
With just 10 days until Opening Day, the Pittsburgh Pirates continued to trim their roster on Friday, cutting 12 players. Among those who were cut included outfielder Jose Tabata, who was competing for the final bench spot as a fourth outfielder. Along with Tabata, also cut on Friday include: Steve Lombardozzi, Charlie Leesman, Josh Wall, Bobby LaFromboise, Deolis Guerra, Brad Lincoln, Gorkys Hernandez, Brent Morel, Gustavo Nunez, Sebastian Valle and Deibinson Romero. LaFromboise was ... Read More
Worley continues to make starting case; Pirates lose
Vance Worley's six-inning start had some peaks and valleys in the Pirates 7-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves Thursday. Worley threw six innings allowing seven hits, five runs and striking out three batters. The vast majority of the damage came in the first inning in which the Braves scored five runs. The highlight was a Chris Johnson two-run homer, his first of the spring. Jace Peterson, Christian Bethancourt and Kelly Johnson also registered RBI in the frame. The Braves opened the game with four ... Read More
Pittsburgh March Madness: North Side Region Sweet 16
From 64 to 16, the field has shrunk down exponentially. Now, the match ups will get more and more interesting, as the fans will have tough choices from this point forward. The final 16 athletes in the Pittsburgh March Madness are: Ben Roethlisberger Starling Marte Cam Heyward Maurkice Pouncey Monica Wignot Marc-Andre Fleury Kelly Johnson Francisco Liriano Antonio Brown Neil Walker Josh Harrison Le'Veon Bell Sidney Crosby Gerrit Cole Gregory ... Read More
Middle-infield looks solid for Pirates
There were questions going into the 2014 season about the lack of offense at the middle-infield positions for the Pirates. At second base, Neil Walker had shown glimpses of power, but injuries plagued him forcing him to sit when things seemed to be coming around. At shortstop, there wasn't much to look forward to. Clint Barmes could barely keep his head above the Mendoza line and a young Jordy Mercer looked to be at least a full year or two away from being a solid starter. To the surprise ... Read More
Pittsburgh March Madness: Station Square Round of 32
Twelve athletes have made the Sweet 16, as there were no real upsets yesterday. Today, however, will be interesting, as there are numerous matchups that could go either way. As usual, it's up to you to vote the last four athletes into the next round. Let's take a look at who is up today. #1. Sidney Crosby (Penguins captain) vs. #9. Jordy Mercer (Pirates shortstop) [poll id="110"] #5. Tony Watson (Pirates All-Star setup man) vs. #4. Gerrit Cole (Pirates ace of the future) [poll ... Read More