Pirates/MLB category, Page 157
Pirates farm report for April 19, 2022: Sam Howard, Anthony Alford rehabbing with Indy
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-6) was doubled up by Columbus (Guardians), 4-2. LHP Sam Howard (0-1, 5.40), rehabbing a back injury, started and gave up a run on one hit and one walk in 1.2 innings. RHP Chase De Jong (2.08) allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in two...
DH Daniel Vogelbach embracing non-traditional look as leadoff hitter for Pirates
Daniel Vogelbach didn’t treat his return trip to Milwaukee as a homecoming, even though he spent the past two seasons playing for the Brewers. To him, it’s just another series he wants to win. That it coincided with the one-year anniversary of his two-home run game against the Pittsburgh Pirates...
Pirates homer twice off Corbin Burnes but 4-run 2nd inning boosts Brewers to win
The Pittsburgh Pirates knew they couldn’t count on Corbin Burnes to make many mistakes, given that the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander won the NL Cy Young Award last season. For five innings, Burnes was nearly untouchable. The Brewers took advantage of the Pirates’ mistakes in a four-run second inning and survived...
One batter too long: Brewers slam Pirates after Derek Shelton sticks with starter Zach Thompson in 4th inning
The way the game of baseball is played and managed in 2021, starting pitchers don’t often work beyond the fifth or sixth inning. But all Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton was trying to do Monday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee was get Zach Thompson through the fourth. It...
Pirates utility player Michael Chavis learns to harness his diverse skills in quest for playing time
Michael Chavis can do so much on a baseball field that he needs to be careful: Sometimes, he ends up trying to do too much. That was his dilemma with the Pittsburgh Pirates in spring training while competing for playing time. He settled down in the final days before the...
Pirates farm report for April 17, 2022: Luke Brown’s grand slam sparks Bradenton’s blowout win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-5) lost 5-1 to St. Paul (Twins). SS Oneil Cruz (.219) was 0 for 4 but knocked in the lone run for the Indians. DH Travis Swaggerty (.194), Crus, 3B Rodolfo Castro (.333) and 1B Mason Martin (.359) combined to go 0 for 14 at the top of...
Workload doesn’t bother David Bednar in Pirates’ victory against Nationals
David Bednar stands 6-foot-1, 250 pounds, with a muscular upper body and the look of a guy who believes he can do almost anything. So it was no surprise when — several hours before the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 5-3 victory against the Washington Nationals on Sunday at PNC Park — the...
Pirates farm report for April 16, 2022: Rehabbing Anthony Alford doubles in Bradenton win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-3) lost by a field goal to St. Paul (Twins), 16-13. Four Indianapolis pitchers gave up at least three runs. RHP Jerad Eickhoff (8.53) started and surrendered five runs on five hits and three walks in 2.2 innings. LHP Cam Alldred (0-1, 5.06) took the loss, allowing three...
Backup catcher Andrew Knapp delivers as Pirates beat Nationals
When the Pittsburgh Pirates were searching for a backup catcher before the season opener, they didn’t hesitate when Andrew Knapp became available because of his reputation behind the plate. With starter Roberto Perez out with a quad contusion after taking a foul tip off his left leg Friday night, Knapp...
Josh VanMeter ready, willing in case Pirates need to break glass on emergency catcher
When Roberto Perez took a foul tip off his left quad, the Pittsburgh Pirates turned to backup catcher Andrew Knapp but knew that they had to have someone else ready, in case of an emergency. That’s how Josh VanMeter learned he was the backup to the backup catcher, when Pirates...
Pirates farm report for April 15, 2022: Liover Peguero hits 2nd homer for Curve
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-2) lost 6-4 to St. Paul (Twins). RHP Cody Bolton (0-1, 4.50) started and went 2.1 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts. RF Jared Oliva (.267) went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles. LF Canaan Smith-Njigba (.222) went 1...
With Pirates catcher Roberto Perez day to day, backup Andrew Knapp gets ‘ready to go’
Mitch Keller was on the mound when a Nelson Cruz foul tip hit Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Roberto Perez flush in the left leg, so the right-hander got a good view and was “definitely concerned.” “I saw it foul tip right down,” Keller said of Perez, who was set up on...
Nationals beat Mitch Keller in shift to pound Pirates, as C Roberto Perez leaves with injury
Whether it was the lack of command on his off-speed pitches or just plain bad luck, Mitch Keller got the shaft against the shift. The Washington Nationals repeatedly hit through defensive shifts against Keller on their way to pounding the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-2, on Friday night before 13,076 at PNC...
Pirates’ Cole Tucker on 75th Jackie Robinson Day: Wearing No. 42 ‘a storybook thing’
Cole Tucker glanced at the Pittsburgh Pirates jersey hanging at his locker with No. 42 in Dodger blue before Friday’s game and couldn’t help but feel a connection to Jackie Robinson. As MLB celebrated the 75th anniversary of Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier, the Pirates talked about the occasion as...
‘Electric’ Pirates pitcher Roansy Contreras celebrates 1st MLB win after striking out a hero
The Pittsburgh Pirates kept coming back to the same description of Roansy Contreras after he earned his first major league win Thursday night against the Washington Nationals. Electric stuff. The 22-year-old right-hander, ranked the Pirates’ top pitching prospect and No. 80 overall by Baseball America, had his own one-word answer...
Pirates farm report for April 14, 2022: Lolo Sanchez homers for Altoona
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-2) was snowed out at St. Paul (Twins). The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader May 25. Next: Friday at St. Paul (Twins), 7:37 p.m. ALTOONA (Double-A, 2-4) gave up three runs in the seventh and lost to Richmond (Giants), 5-4. RHP JC Flowers...
Daniel Vogelbach’s 4-hit game falls short of cycle but leads Pirates past Nationals
Derek Shelton is well aware that Daniel Vogelbach isn’t your traditional leadoff hitter, but the Pittsburgh Pirates manager loves that the 270-pound designated hitter can work counts and get on base. Vogelbach led off three innings against the Washington Nationals with hits — a home run in the first, a...
Pirates avoid arbitration with Bryan Reynolds by signing All-Star CF to 2-year, $13.5M contract
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a file-and-trial policy when it comes to arbitration, attempting to avoid a hearing by reaching a settlement but not negotiating after MLB’s salary exchange date. They made an exception for Bryan Reynolds. Twenty three days after a $650,000 difference separated their salary requests, the Pirates avoided...
Tim Benz: Start of 2022 reminds us of the many weird dynamics that go into being a Pirates fan
Everything about being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan is weird right now. Who am I kidding? It’s been weird most of my life. I’m 47. Over that time, I can cognitively remember about seven or eight years when I genuinely felt like this franchise had a chance to compete for a...
Pirates celebrate Wil Crowe’s 1st save as converted starter thrives in new relief role
Wil Crowe attempted to fix his hair, still wet after rinsing the residue from the celebratory shower that was courtesy of his Pittsburgh Pirates teammates to commemorate his first major league save. “Everything under the sun has been poured on me in the last 20 minutes,” Crowe said Wednesday afternoon...
Pirates farm report for April 13, 2022: Indy’s Chase De Jong, 2 relievers combine on no-hitter
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-2) threw the 15th no-hitter in team history, with RHP Chase De Jong (1-0, 0.82) going seven innings and RHP Austin Brice (0.00) and RHP Yerry De Los Santos (0.00) pitching one inning each in a 5-0 win over St. Paul (Twins). De Jong struck out nine and...
Ke’Bryan Hayes has 4 hits, Ben Gamel smacks 3-run homer as Pirates roll past Cubs
A day after the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated the signing of Ke’Bryan Hayes to the richest contract in club history, the 25-year-old third baseman showed why he was worthy of the long-term investment. Hayes went 4 for 4, scoring two runs, driving in another and saving at least one with his...
Pirates reliever Duane Underwood Jr. has resumed throwing after hamstring strain in opener
Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed reliever Duane Underwood Jr. has resumed throwing and is making “steady progress” from the right hamstring strain sustained in the season opener. Underwood is one of a handful of Pirates players on the 10-day injured list for which the team’s director of sports medicine, Todd Tomczyk, provided...
Pirates farm report for April 12, 2022: Oneil Cruz goes 2 for 3 as Indy wins 4th in a row
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 5-2) won its fourth straight game, beating St. Paul (Twins), 5-1, in a game shortened to five innings by rain. SS Oneil Cruz (.300) went 2 for 3 with a double, triple and two runs scored. 3B Rodolfo Castro (.400) went 2 for 3. 1B Mason Martin (.364)...
Pirates notebook: ‘Anxious moment’ in opener turns ‘terrifying’ for Ke’Bryan Hayes’ agent
After coming to an agreement on the richest contract in Pittsburgh Pirates history, Ben Cherington got a scare when he saw Ke’Bryan Hayes leave the season opener in the first inning. As the Pirates celebrated the official signing of Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million contract extension Tuesday before their...
