Pirates/MLB category, Page 195
Pirates closer Rodriguez attributes solid start to being in good place mentally, physically
As the hair — on his face and on the top of his head — has grown over the past three years, so has Richard Rodriguez’s role and stature within the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen. Rodriguez joined the Pirates as a castoff from the woebegone Baltimore Orioles, making his debut in...
Neil Walker announces retirement after 12 big league seasons
Local baseball fans watched Neil Walker grow from a superstar high school athlete at Pine-Richland to an important contributor for the Pittsburgh Pirates as they returned to the playoffs after a two-decade absence in 2013. On Tuesday, Walker announced his retirement after 12 years in the major leagues. “Officially retired,...
Pirates-Tigers game postponed by wintry weather; doubleheader Wednesday
Early evening in Pittsburgh featured clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s. About 4½ hours to the northwest, though, cold and snowflakes led to a postponement of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ game. The Pirates’ scheduled game at the Detroit Tigers was called just before 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Tigers...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Did Derek Shelton’s double switch foreshadow a change in center?
The Pittsburgh Pirates are preparing for the impending return of rookie third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, and manager Derek Shelton made a double switch on Sunday that possibly foreshadowed their future lineup. Shelton sent Kevin Newman to pinch-hit for Dustin Fowler in the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. Newman remained...
Colin Moran’s double in 10th inning lifts Pirates to win over Brewers
Colin Moran had put the Pittsburgh Pirates on the scoreboard with an opposite-field, three-run home run in the third inning. When he came to bat in the top of the 10th, the left-hander was looking for a pitch to pull. With Bryan Reynolds starting extra innings on second base, Moran...
Pirates GM: Ke’Bryan Hayes will play ‘a game or two’ at alternate site
Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday on his weekly radio show that Ke’Bryan Hayes, out with a wrist injury, will join the alternate site team for “a game or two” in Toledo. The rookie third baseman was placed on the 10-day injured list April 4, a day after...
Pirates leadoff hitter Adam Frazier finding opposite is true with his approach to plate
The ballpark name has changed from Miller Park to American Family Field, but when it comes to batting against the Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier is right at home. “I do like hitting in Milwaukee,” Frazier said. “I can say that.” Frazier has a career .307/.358/.471 slash...
Pirates fall in deep hole early, lose to Brewers
MLB over the past two seasons has instituted a variety moves intended to shorten games. Perhaps the Pittsburgh Pirates should propose eliminating the first inning. The first inning continued to haunt the Pirates on Saturday in Milwaukee. The Brewers scored five runs in the bottom of the first and cruised...
Pirates’ Erik Gonzalez takes aggressive mindset into batter’s box
There’s a reason Derek Shelton likes turning around in the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout and seeing Erik Gonzalez waiting to be called into the game. “He plays three positions on the infield, above average,” Shelton said of his utility player who can handle the chores at shortstop, second and third base....
JT Brubaker finds strike zone, leads Pirates past Brewers
There were fewer than 12,000 people in American Family Field on Friday night, but all of them seemed to be rooting for JT Brubaker to fail. Funny thing: The louder the noise level grew in the third inning of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 6-1 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers, the more...
Cracked fingernail puts Pirates reliever Michael Feliz on injured list
Michael Feliz was able to maintain his control and pitch through the discomfort of a cracked nail on his right middle finger in two relief appearances this week. But the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to employ caution in Feliz’s situation and put him on the 10-day injured list Friday before their...
AP study: MLB salary down 4.8% in 2 years; top 100 earn half
NEW YORK — The average major league salary dropped 4.8% to just under $4.17 million on opening day from the start of the previous full season in 2019. The average has fallen 6.4% since the start of the 2017 season, when it peaked at $4.45 million, according to a study...
Pirates take long-term approach by sitting catcher Jacob Stallings despite his hot bat
Jacob Stallings was the hottest bat in the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup, coming off a three-hit, three-RBI game when manager Derek Shelton removed his catcher from the starting lineup the following day. Despite Stallings batting .500 over a five-game stretch, Shelton had scheduled a day off for Stallings on Wednesday night...
Change in course: Pirates move pierogies race from PNC Park to Clemente BridgeVideo
Alana and Jimmy Maxey came from Austin, Texas, to PNC Park Thursday to catch a Pirates afternoon game. They had heard about the racing pierogies as well. “Friends and family told me about the pierogies race, so I was excited to see that,” said Alana Maxey, a huge Pittsburgh sports...
Padres hit Mitch Keller hard to beat Pirates, earn series split
Mitch Keller has had trouble with his fastball command this season, so finding the strike zone has been a challenge for the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander since spring training. Against the San Diego Padres, Keller attacked the zone. And they hit him hard from the start. The Padres battered Keller for...
Pirates GM Ben Cherington sees a ‘good sign’ with Ke’Bryan Hayes, still early in center field
Seeing Ke’Bryan Hayes is back to taking swings is a “good sign,” yet Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said he doesn’t want to “guess on a day” the rookie third baseman will be ready to be activated from the 10-day injured list. Cherington spoke with the media for 20...
U mad, bro?: Pirates fans vent; Steelers fans deflect criticism; Penguins fans reject concerns about Jeff Carter
Want a real reason to be mad, Pittsburgh sports fans? Here’s one for you. There will be no “U mad, bro?” next week. I know. I know. I can feel the anger welling up inside of you already. But it’s time for a vacation. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t...
Gregory Polanco homers off Joe Musgrove as Pirates beat Padres
Gregory Polanco was scuffling so much at the plate that the Pittsburgh Pirates gave their right fielder successive days off against the San Diego Padres to work on the timing of his swing. Polanco returned to the lineup just in time. The Pirates bet on a batting order filled with...
Pirates rookie Ke’Bryan Hayes back swinging, but not ready to return from IL
Ke’Bryan Hayes took a “step in the right direction” by taking swings in the batting cage, but the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie third baseman isn’t ready to return from the injured list yet. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said the club is being careful to monitor how Hayes, out...
Auction for rare Honus Wagner baseball card already hits $110,000
The 1909 T206 Honus Wagner baseball card is considered to be the Holy Grail by many in the sports collectible world, with only a few dozen known to exist. But another card featuring the Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop that’s considered to be even rarer is now up for...
‘That was quite a baseball game’: Pirates beat Padres in wild, 4-hour affair
If this was supposed to be a pitcher’s duel, Blake Snell and Chad Kuhl unloaded most of their ammunition in a 75-pitch first inning that lasted 51 minutes and set the tone for a long night of baseball. Mostly bad baseball. By the time this one was over, four hours...
After no-hitter, Joe Musgrove makes bittersweet return to Pittsburgh with Padres
After tossing the first no-hitter in San Diego Padres history Friday, donating a hat and ball to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and having a mural painted in his honor at his alma mater, only one thing could bring down Joe Musgrove from the natural high he’s been riding....
Pirates turned to Wilmer Difo in a pinch, and the super utility player is delivering
When the Pittsburgh Pirates pursued Wilmer Difo in free agency, the attraction was as much for his magnetic personality as it was his switch hitting at the plate and versatility in the field. While Difo didn’t make the Opening Day roster out of spring training, he has slid seamlessly into...
Luis Oviedo struggles in relief, as Wil Myers has 5 RBIs to lead Padres past Pirates
It’s not a typo that Wil Myers spells his first name with only one L. He handed the other L to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The San Diego right fielder went 3 for 5 with five RBIs, including a two-out, two-run homer to break a tie in the sixth inning, as...
Pirates celebrate video coordinator Kevin Roach’s successful challenges against Cubs
Kevin Roach is locked in a video room next to the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse during home games at PNC Park and locked into the game, watching every play with a close eye in search of a mistake. As the team’s video coordinator, Roach collaborates with bench coach Don Kelly to...
