Pirates/MLB category, Page 193
Slugger Albert Pujols designated for assignment by Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Albert Pujols was cut by the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, abruptly ending the 41-year-old superstar slugger’s decade with his second major league team. The Angels surprisingly announced the move to designate Pujols for assignment one day after he wasn’t in the lineup for the slumping club’s...
Pirates’ Hunter Owen enjoys making MLB debut after ‘crazy cool experience’ in year awayVideo
When Hunter Owen accompanied the Pittsburgh Pirates on their road trip on the taxi squad, he knew being added to the major league roster was a possibility but considered it a remote one. So far-fetched that when told Derek Shelton wanted to talk with him, Owen figured that it was...
Pirates farm report for May 5, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 1-1) lost 8-3 to Iowa (Cubs). After LF Dustin Fowler tied the game, 3-3, with a solo homer in the top of the eighth inning, reliever Nick Mears gave up five runs on two hits and three walks in the bottom half. Starter Beau Sulser lasted 2⅔ innings...
3-error game by third baseman Erik Gonzalez proves costly as Padres beat Pirates
Erik Gonzalez had been the best glove on the Pittsburgh Pirates this season — save perhaps Ke’Bryan Hayes, the player he has replaced at third base — before Wednesday night’s game at San Diego. After not committing an error all season, Gonzalez had three in a dozen chances against the...
Carnegie Mellon seminar to tackle the sweet science of sports analytics
About two decades ago, even the most hardcore baseball fans never had heard of OPS. At that point in time, the concept of an NBA team scoring more points on field goals behind the 3-point line than in front of it? Folly. Back in the olden days of the early...
Pirates: No wrist discomfort or soreness for Ke’Bryan Hayes as rookie 3B resumes swinging
When Ke’Bryan Hayes resumed the return-to-swinging progression of his rehabilitation from a left wrist injury this week, he didn’t experience discomfort or soreness. That was the good news from Pittsburgh Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk, who said the symptoms that kept the rookie third baseman sidelined after he...
Mike LaValliere, Bob Walk remember former Pirates pitching coach Ray Miller’s fun side
Ray Miller taught Bob Walk and Mike LaValliere much about pitching, relationships and how to deal with umpires. But Miller, the former Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitching coach, also knew about something else that those two teammates remembered Wednesday when they heard their mentor had died. “Ray certainly appreciated a good prank...
Former Pirates pitching coach Ray Miller dies at 76
Ray Miller, who was the Baltimore Orioles’ pitching coach when they lost the 1979 World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates and later held the same job for the Pirates for 10 seasons, has died, his family told the Baltimore Sun. He was 76. “One of the top pitching coaches in...
Pirates closer Richard Rodriguez completes reliever’s equivalent of a perfect game
When Austin Nola hit a deep fly to left field, the Pittsburgh Pirates had to hold their breath a moment before Ka’ai Tom made a catch at the warning track. Even before getting the final out of the 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night for his...
Travis Swaggerty hits leadoff homer, as Pirates prospects start minor league season with blasts
The Pittsburgh Pirates raised eyebrows by having outfielder Travis Swaggerty report to the Indianapolis Indians, skipping a step in the minor leagues to make the jump to Triple-A. Ranked the Pirates’ No. 9 prospect by MLB Pipeline (and No. 14 by Baseball America), the 2018 first-round pick rewarded their confidence...
Safe at home: Pierogies will once again race inside PNC Park
The racing pierogies are back where many fans believe they belong. Cheese Chester, Sauerkraut Saul, Jalapeno Hannah, Bacon Burt and Oliver Onion will once again be participating in the “The Great Pittsburgh Pierogy Race” inside PNC Park starting Monday. Brian Warecki, Pirates senior vice president for communications, confirmed the races...
Mitch Keller’s strong start leads Pirates past Padres to snap 5-game losing streak
Mitch Keller had a game plan to establish command of his fastball and use it inside and out, and the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander followed every sign catcher Jacob Stallings threw down for him. The result was Keller’s longest and most successful outing of a season where he has struggled, one...
Pirates farm report for May 4, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 1-0) blanked Iowa (Cubs), 3-0. Chase DeJong allowed two hits and struck out 10 in six innings. Geoff Hartlieb, Chasen Shreve and Jandel Gustave each pitched a perfect inning of relief with Gustave earning the save. CF Travis Swaggerty, a 2018 first-round pick, went 3 for 4 and...
Pirates place RF Gregory Polanco on IL, select Hunter Owen from taxi squad
The Pittsburgh Pirates placed right fielder Gregory Polanco on the injured list Tuesday and selected infielder/outfielder Hunter Owen to the major league roster from the taxi squad. Polanco is batting .200 with three doubles, three home runs and five RBIs through 24 games. He was 0 for 3 in the...
Pirates call Gov. Wolf lifting restrictions ‘exciting, welcomed news’ for fans at PNC Park
The Pittsburgh Pirates called Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement that the state’s covid-19 mitigation orders will be lifted on Memorial Day “exciting and welcomed news” for their fans and community. The Pirates, who weren’t permitted to have fans in attendance for their 30 home games last season, are following Wolf’s orders...
Neil Walker to join ‘The Fan Morning Show’
Pirates fans who miss seeing Neil Walker on the baseball diamond can now catch him on the radio. Walker, a former Pirates infielder who recently retired as a player, is joining 93.7 The Fan’s (KDKA-FM) Morning Show as a weekly guest beginning May 10 at 9 a.m. “The Fan Morning...
Newest challenge for Pirates: Stopping scoreless streak after back-to-back shutouts
Derek Shelton demonstrated his dismay with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ lack of offensive production by shuffling the batting order with eyebrow-raising moves amid what is now a five-game losing streak. On Sunday, the Pirates manager moved Bryan Reynolds and Colin Moran up in the order to the Nos. 2 and 3...
Padres end Tyler Anderson’s no-hit bid in 7th inning, rally to shut out Pirates
When Tyler Anderson reached the seventh inning, the Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander was aware that he hadn’t allowed a hit against the San Diego Padres — and also that the game was still a scoreless tie. Anderson wasn’t about to put pressure on himself to throw a no-hitter, let alone worry...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Return of Ke’Bryan Hayes would be boost for slumping Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates limped out of town Sunday after being swept by the St. Louis Cardinals to cap a homestand in which they lost four of five games, yet there was hope on the horizon. This rollercoaster of a season, where we have watched the Pirates lose six straight, win...
Harrison Bader’s 3-run homer off Wil Crowe lifts Cardinals to sweep of Pirates
After Wil Crowe left a hanging slider that Harrison Bader hit for a three-run homer in the first inning, the Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher came to a quick realization about his pitch repertoire. Though his fastball never felt better, the rookie right-hander couldn’t count on his offspeed stuff. So he...
Pirates manager: Adam Frazier’s backhand stop ‘one of best plays I have ever seen a 2B make’
The Pittsburgh Pirates weren’t sure which was more unbelievable: the backhand stop and jump-throw Adam Frazier made or the way the second baseman shrugged it off afterward. “It’s one of the best plays I have ever seen a second baseman make,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said after the 12-5 loss...
Cardinals crank out 15 hits to pound Pirates, clinch series
Trevor Cahill allowed three of the first four batters he faced to reach base and already gave up a run by the time he faced Paul DeJong with runners on first and second base in the first inning. DeJong cleared the bases with a three-run homer to get the St....
Pirates GM ‘encouraged’ by progress made by third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes with wrist injury
Ben Cherington is encouraged by the progress being made by Ke’Bryan Hayes, and the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager said Saturday he expects the rookie third baseman to join the club on its road trip. Hayes, who has been on the injured list since April 4, is throwing and running to...
Pirates 1st-rounder Travis Swaggerty to start in Triple-A Indy
When the Pittsburgh Pirates announced the rosters for their minor league affiliates, Travis Swaggerty’s name was missing from the Altoona Curve for a good reason. The Pirates decided to have the 23-year-old outfielder skip Double-A and report directly to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he will compete for playing time with Anthony...
Mistakes cost Pirates, who drop below .500 after loss to Cardinals
Searching for an outfielder, the Pittsburgh Pirates turned to the waiver wire to find Ka’ai Tom. The Rule 5 pick with the memorable name had a forgettable starting debut. Tom misplayed two fly balls in left field that fell for RBI doubles and made a baserunning gaffe that might have...
