Pirates/MLB category, Page 221
Ben Cherington: ‘A lot of people … spending time on’ facilitating PNC Park hosting Blue JaysVideo
“A lot of people” from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays organizations continue to discuss and work through the logistics of PNC Park hosting Blue Jays “home” games this season, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Tuesday, and a final decision for Blue Jays’ home base is expected within...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 41: Pirates’ Jerry Reuss a player of the decadesVideo
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 41: Jerry Reuss When Jerry Reuss was added to the Pittsburgh Pirates roster for their stretch run in September 1990, he was just an...
Pirates preview: Thin ranks in outfield could become problem
This is the first of a four-part position-by-position preview of the Pirates heading into Friday’s season opener in St. Louis. Thursday: Starting pitchers When you look at the thin numbers in the Pittsburgh Pirates outfield, you think of former starters and .300 hitters Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte. And you...
Pirates preview: Outfield spotlight
Breakout candidate Cole Tucker He loves the game and is athletically gifted, so Tucker might be equipped to handle a reserve role in the outfield, a position he never has played as a pro. A first-round pick six years ago, it’s Tucker’s time — somewhere. Pressure’s on Gregory Polanco Regarded...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Schedule allows for Pirates, Blue Jays to share PNC Park
Just when you thought MLB blurred the lines between the American League and National League this season, with interleague games and a universal designated hitter, PNC Park is ready to blow your mind. The Pittsburgh Pirates are willing to welcome with open arms their neighbors from the True North, the...
Cole Tucker’s spectacular sliding catch marks a memorable outfield debut for Pirates shortstop
Never mind that Cole Tucker had never played outfield before. He has a knack for making dramatic debuts with the Pittsburgh Pirates, whether it’s hitting a game-winning home run or making a sliding catch. This one didn’t get a curtain call, but Tucker tipped his cap anyway. The 6-foot-3 shortstop,...
Trevor Williams ready for regular season but Pirates’ bullpen blows up in loss to Indians
In his final outing of training camp, Trevor Williams looked like he was ready for the regular season. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander retired seven consecutive batters before leaving with two outs, a runner on third and a two-run lead. Then the bullpen blew up, as the Cleveland Indians punished the...
Pirates open to idea of PNC Park as possible home field for displaced Toronto Blue Jays
Rejected from playing at Rogers Centre by the Canadian government amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Toronto Blue Jays are looking into the possibility of playing home games at PNC Park this season. And the Pittsburgh Pirates are welcoming the idea with open arms. The Pirates’ home ballpark is one of...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Many roster decisions might already be made for the Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are down to the final days of training camp, with exhibition games Monday and Wednesday against the Cleveland Indians before making final decisions on the 30-man Opening Day roster. Most of the decisions were made for them. The Pirates started training camp at PNC Park with 39...
Pirates preview: Infield spotlight
Breakout candidate Jacob Stallings No one will mistake him for Jason Kendall, but Stallings hit a cumulative .290 in three Triple-A seasons and .262 for the Pirates last year. Not bad, but he’ll get more at-bats in 2020 and will need to improve on his total of 13 RBIs. Pressure’s...
Pirates preview: Starting infield isn’t perfect but appears solid
A position-by-position preview of the Pirates heading into Friday’s season opener in St. Louis: Critics will point to first baseman Josh Bell’s erratic arm and third baseman Colin Moran’s tendency to allow ground balls to reach the outfield. Those are fair criticisms of the Pittsburgh Pirates infield. And if the...
Biggest issues as Pittsburgh sports return to play: Which Josh Bell will Pirates get
It seems as if Pittsburgh’s three professional sports teams finally are on the verge of returning to play after the coronavirus lockdown. The Pirates’ first regular-season game is Friday. The Penguins’ first exhibition game is July 28 against the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s also the day the Steelers are supposed to...
Pirates bench coach Don Kelly receives rave reviews for running training camp at PNC Park
As a former bench coach who is well aware of the job requirements, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton has been deferential to Don Kelly when it comes to mapping out the minutiae of his first spring training and the subsequent three-week training camp. Where Shelton heaps constant credit on Kelly...
Pirates 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes, team’s top position prospect, tested positive for covid-19
Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, the team’s top position prospect, has tested positive for covid-19, manager Derek Shelton announced on Sunday. Hayes has not practiced with the Pirates at all during training camp at PNC Park and remains in quarantine. “He’s not back with us yet,” Shelton said of...
John Ryan Murphy ‘excited’ to step into backup catcher role for Pirates
Until a few days ago, John Ryan Murphy didn’t know whether he would start the season on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 30-man roster, their taxi squad or be sent to their alternate training site in Altoona. That was nothing new to a 29-year-old catcher on his fifth team in eight seasons,...
Holland, Walker, Volquez make opening-day MLB rosters
NEW YORK — Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Derek Holland, Philadelphia second baseman Neil Walker and Texas pitcher Edinson Vólquez have made opening-day rosters. So have Milwaukee first baseman Logan Morrison, Cincinnati pitcher Nate Jones, Tampa Bay pitcher Aaron Loup and New York Yankees pitcher Luis Avilán. The seven were among the...
John Steigerwald: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of a 59,000-seat mistake
Thursday was the 50th anniversary of a really bad idea. Three Rivers Stadium opened July 16, 1970, and I was there. It was a spectacular debut, even though the Pirates lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2. After having watched baseball in dingy old Forbes Field, with its view-destroying pillars and...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates’ first exhibition game at PNC Park was weird, wonderful
Perhaps the best way to describe the first baseball game of 2020 at PNC Park is to say it was an exhibition game that looked like a Major League Baseball regular-season game, was played like a spring training game and pretended to play to a packed house instead of an...
Joe Musgrove has strong showing, but Pirates blow three-run lead in exhibition loss to Cleveland
Joe Musgrove struck out five while allowing one hit and one walk in three scoreless innings, a strong performance for the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander a day after he was named the Opening Day starter. Guillermo Heredia drove in two runs with a fifth-inning single to center, a solid debut for...
Pirates lose backup catcher Luke Maile for the season after surgery on right index finger
The Pittsburgh Pirates lost catcher Luke Maile for the season when he underwent surgery Friday for a fractured right index finger, a day after being hit by a pitch in an intrasquad game. Maile’s surgery was performed by Dr. Edward Birdsong at Allegheny Health Network in Wexford. Maile is expected...
Kyle Crick has ‘driving force’ when he takes mound, with possibility as Pirates closer
Through a tumultuous season followed by a difficult offseason, Kyle Crick has found “a driving force” as a relief pitcher whose role could become even more important for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Crick’s rollercoaster 2019 season, which ended with a fractured index finger from a fistfight, was only a prelude to...
As Pirates play ball at PNC, no fans doesn’t mean no fanfare
The Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the first major sporting event in Pittsburgh since March 10 — a 129-day stretch — but there were no fans for their exhibition game against Cleveland on Saturday night at PNC Park. There were, however, plenty of cheers. The Pirates have been playing training camp intrasquad...
For Pirates, right-hander Joe Musgrove the natural choice to earn Opening Day start
Upon being named Opening Day starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Joe Musgrove’s mind couldn’t help but drift to the man who shared his love of baseball and pushed him to chase his dream of playing in the majors. “I just think about how proud my dad probably is right now,”...
Pirates confirm starting right fielder Gregory Polanco has tested positive for covid-19
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting lineup suffered a big blow with the announcement Gregory Polanco has tested positive for covid-19, which threatens to force the right fielder to miss the start of the season. Pirates manager Derek Shelton confirmed the positive test Friday afternoon after receiving consent from Polanco to go...
Pirates place closer Keone Kela on 10-day injured list
The Pittsburgh Pirates placed closer Keone Kela on the 10-day injured list, according to MLB transactions. The 27-year-old right-hander has not participated in training camp for undisclosed reasons. Kela was ordained the closer by new Pirates manager Derek Shelton at the outset of spring training at Pirate City in Bradenton,...
