Pirates/MLB category, Page 120
On Sports: Pirates payroll is NL’s smallest; Penguins push for .500 as Kraken surpass it with familiar faces
Now that the MLB season has opened we know where the Pittsburgh Pirates rank in regards to payroll. (Spoiler: not high). The Penguins resort to striving to achieve true mediocrity, while the neophyte Seattle Kraken blow past them — with the help of some old friends. But at least people...
Pirates rookie Ji Hwan Bae has Monster game with 1st career homer, spectacular catch
Ji Hwan Bae had a Monster night, one that left everyone in Boston green with envy. The Pittsburgh Pirates rookie was the talk of Tuesday’s game against the Red Sox, thanks to a pair of amazing plays he made to bookend the 4-1 win. Bae hit his first career home...
Pirates farm report for April 4, 2023: Quinn Priester roughed up as Indy drops 4th straight
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 0-4) lost its fourth game in a row to start the season, falling to Louisville (Reds), 7-2. RHP Quinn Priester (14.73) started and was touched up for six runs, all earned, on nine hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. He struck out four. LHP Angel Perdomo (0.00)...
Ji Hwan Bae hits 1st career homer, Bryan Reynolds adds 2 RBIs as Pirates top Red Sox
Ji Hwan Bae picked a towering target and a historic ballpark to hit the first home run of his career, and Bryan Reynolds made some personal history of his own by going deep for the third consecutive game. Bae blasted an improbable two-run home run over the famed Green Monster...
Pirates place catcher Austin Hedges on 7-day concussion IL, add Tyler Heineman as backup
After using eight players at the position last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ catching carousel has started early. The Pirates placed Austin Hedges on the seven-day concussion injured list Tuesday and selected the contract of Tyler Heineman, who will join Jason Delay as the backstops while Hedges is out. To make...
PNC Park enhancements include new scoreboard, faster entry and new foods
The long lines to get into PNC Park should move more quickly at Friday’s home opener. The Pirates have installed a new technology called Evolv at all gates, which speeds up entry to one person per second. As people walk through, it will detect anything shaped like a weapon or...
Bryan Reynolds overcomes muffed fly ball, homers twice to help Pirates defeat Red Sox
Teammates at Vanderbilt and best friends off the field, Bryan Reynolds and Jason Delay were drafted in 2016 by the San Francisco Giants. Nearly seven years later on Monday night, circumstances placed them in Boston’s Fenway Park, teammates again. This time, members of the Pittsburgh Pirates. And as the first...
‘You can be (ticked) off’: Henry Davis, Pirates prospects motivated by assignment to Altoona
ALTOONA — Henry Davis was blunt as could be about his minor-league assignment, starting this season with the Altoona Curve again after finishing last year with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Double-A affiliate. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, the 23-year-old catcher doesn’t dance around any notions that...
Pirates farm report for April 2, 2023: Nick Gonzales homers as Indy falls to 0-3
Indianapolis (Triple-A, 0-3) dropped an 8-3 decision to Omaha (Royals) on Sunday. Omaha scored seven runs in the eighth inning to seal the win. RHP Mike Burrows (1.80) allowed one run on two hits with two walks and a strikeout in five innings. LHP Daniel Zamora (0-1, 27.00) took the...
Henry Davis, Liover Peguero to start at Altoona as Pirates announce minor league rosters
ALTOONA — The Pittsburgh Pirates announced their minor league assignments Monday, revealing that MLB Pipeline top 10 prospects Henry Davis and Liover Peguero will return to Double-A Altoona to start the season. Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, slashed .207/.324/.379 but played in only 31 games after being...
Reds homer twice off Pirates starter Vince Velasquez to win opening weekend series
The Pittsburgh Pirates like the pitch repertoire right-hander Vince Velasquez offers but believe he needs to stay in the strike zone to be effective as a starting pitcher. Just not up in the zone. Velasquez surrendered a pair of solo home runs in his Pirates debut as the Cincinnati Reds...
Pirates move starter JT Brubaker to 60-day IL, claim righty reliever Edwin Uceta off waivers
The Pittsburgh Pirates don’t know the severity of JT Brubaker’s arm injury except that it’s serious enough to keep him out of the starting rotation for the next two months. The 29-year-old right-hander, who left spring training with right elbow/forearm discomfort, was moved from the 15-day injured list to the...
Kevin Newman hits 1 of Reds’ 3 home runs to defeat Pirates
Rich Hill has stepped on and off too many pitching rubbers throughout his 19-season career to think about anything other than winning and losing. Sure, he recorded his 1,300th career strikeout Saturday (1,301 by the time he left Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati). Good for him, he retired 13...
Pirates farm report for April 1, 2023: Miguel Anduar smacks RBI single but Indy gets routed by Omaha
Indianapolis (Triple-A, 0-2) was pummeled 11-2 by Omaha (Royals) Saturday afternoon. Starting pitcher Caleb Smith allowed eight runs, all earned, in 4 2/3 innings on eight hits with five strikeouts and three walks. He gave up two homers, including a grand slam by Jackson Reetz in the fifth inning. Carmen...
Analysis: Pirates would be better to pay Bryan Reynolds’ asking price than include an opt-out
Asked if he could envision signing a player to a $100 million contract in the near future, Pirates chairman Bob Nutting told the Tribune-Review that it was “definitely inside the realm of possibility.” Nutting knew that it would be met with skepticism by a fan base that views him as...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Pirates should give Bryan Reynolds what he wants
The Pirates and outfielder Bryan Reynolds have reportedly agreed on money and term, namely an eight-year contract that would pay $106.75 million. Reynolds has dropped his demands by over $27 million. The sticking point: Reynolds wants an opt-out clause after the fourth year. The Pirates should give it to him....
Pirates farm report for March 31, 2023: Endy Rodriguez homers in Indy’s season-opening loss
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 0-1) gave up four runs in the ninth and lost its season opener to Omaha (Royals), 8-6. C Endy Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat of the season. DH Mark Mathias went 3 for 4 with a double. 2B Nick Gonzales went 2 for 5...
Last to make Pirates roster, reliever Rob Zastryzny’s 1st Opening Day worth the wait
CINCINNATI — Rob Zastryzny wanted to absorb the atmosphere of his first Opening Day but was trying to keep his emotions in check after days of uncertainty if he even would make the Pittsburgh Pirates. A non-roster invitee to spring training, the 31-year-old left-hander’s status was the ultimate cliffhanger. Zastryzny...
Despite reported ‘agreement on dollars,’ Pirates, Bryan Reynolds fail to extend contract
CINCINNATI — The deadline for a deal passed without the Pittsburgh Pirates and Bryan Reynolds finalizing a contract extension, which the star outfielder wanted to complete by first pitch on Opening Day. MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweeted Thursday afternoon that “while there’s agreement on dollars”...
Oneil Cruz shines as Pirates rally past Reds for Opening Day win
CINCINNATI — The first Opening Day for Oneil Cruz will go down as one to remember, as the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop started their scoring with a solo home run and ended it by driving in the winning run. The 6-foot-7 shortstop went 1 for 2 with two runs scored and...
Pirates notebook: Rookies offer different reactions to starting nods on Opening Day
CINCINNATI — Ji Hwan Bae was surprised to see his name in the Opening Day lineup at second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Canaan Smith-Njigba wasn’t surprised at all to be starting in right field. Derek Shelton had different reasons for starting a pair of rookies Thursday against the Cincinnati...
Opening Day: 5 things to know before Pirates’ 1st pitch in CincinnatiVideo
At just after 4 p.m. today, the Pittsburgh Pirates will embark on their 142nd season, hoping to improve on back-to-back 100-loss campaigns behind a new group of veteran voices and a talented pool of young players. Bucco fans’ expectations again are a mix of cautions optimism for a new season...
U mad, bro?: Penguins fans seeing red, Steelers fans in a funk, Pirates fans ticked even before 1st pitch
Pittsburgh Penguins fans have reached peak angst. Steelers fans are languishing. And Pirates fans are already ticked off — even though the season hasn’t even started yet. Here’s something else to get mad about. There will be no “U mad, bro?” next week as “Breakfast With Benz” is on vacation....
Pirates notebook: Ke’Bryan Hayes hoping for a healthy Opening Day, Mitch Keller’s wait is over
CINCINNATI — Ke’Bryan Hayes is hoping for an Opening Day that more closely resembles his first than his last, even though he has 70 million reasons to feel the opposite. If the Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman prefers the two-run homer he hit as a rookie in the 2021 opener against...
Entering 4th season as manager, Derek Shelton expects that Pirates ‘have a team that’s better’
CINCINNATI — Derek Shelton sat in the visiting dugout at Great American Ball Park on the eve of Opening Day, believing his fourth season managing the Pittsburgh Pirates finally will bring progress. If that’s received with a shrug, it’s because Shelton’s first three seasons have been a bit of a...
