Pirates/MLB category, Page 254
Cardinals ride another wave of home runs to beat Pirates, sweep seriesVideo
Since the Pittsburgh Pirates fooled everyone and looked like playoff contenders at the All-Star break, problems, question marks and a string of defeats have emerged. The losing streak reached five in a row (11 of 13) on Thursday after a 6-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park....
Pirates’ Gregory Polanco, Jameson Taillon deal with injuries, uncertainty
Before the season, a good case could have been made that Gregory Polanco and Jameson Taillon were the two most important players on the Pittsburgh Pirates roster. Given, of course, a sound shoulder in Polanco’s case and a pain-free forearm for Taillon. Polanco has hit 62 home runs in the...
First Call: New suitors for Felipe Vazquez, plus 2 other Pirates may move
In “First Call” Thursday, three Pirates pitchers could be traded. Hue Jackson won’t try to bury the hatchet with Baker Mayfield. Emmanuel Sanders is improving. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is on full tilt. Pirates on the move? If reports are right, the Pirates are trying to trade a few players....
U mad, bro? Readers rage over coverage of Mike Tomlin, Le’Veon Bell, Pirates commercial
In “U mad, bro?” this week, readers disagree about Mike Tomlin. They feign disinterest over Le’Veon Bell. And they find the real root of the Pirates’ problems. Richard sent me an email responding to my column about Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s denial of distractions impacting his locker room last year....
Podcast: JuJu Smith-Schuster will outperform Antonio Brown; Pirates’ trade activity
Jeff Erickson is off this week for our fantasy sports podcast. Kevin Payne, also of Rotowire, pinch hits. NFL training camps are underway. It’s time to start thinking about your fantasy draft. Payne tells us whether JuJu Smith-Schuster or Antonio Brown will have a bigger year. His answer may surprise...
Pirates pitch position players Jose Osuna, Jacob Stallings to save bullpen
When Jose Osuna was a 15-year-old prospect in Venezuela, he was a pitcher of some note. So, when the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 14-8 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals was getting out of hand Wednesday night and Clint Hurdle was looking to save his bullpen some unnecessary wear and tear, someone...
Pirates farm report for July 24, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 52-49) shut out Syracuse (Mets), 1-0. RHP James Marvel (3-0, 1.90 ERA) threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, four walks and a hit allowed to earn the victory. 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (.258) scored on a balk in the seventh inning with 2B Kevin Kramer (.257) batting. Hayes...
Pirates’ losing streak hits 4 in a row in blowout loss to CardinalsVideo
Jordan Lyles chose his words carefully, but in the end, there was only one way to say it. “I didn’t do my team any service,” said Lyles, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting pitcher Wednesday night in a 14-8 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. “I stunk it up.” The result was...
Disabled Pirates fan gets trip to game courtesy of Twilight Wish
Samuel Nania has two hopes for his Thursday trip to PNC Park. “To have a day of something different than my usual days, and to see the Pirates win,” he said. Nania, 58, has been confined to a wheelchair since suffering two strokes about eight years ago. He lives at...
Keone Kela declines to confirm or deny reported altercation with Pirates officialVideo
Keone Kela looked relaxed, comfortable, even happy, as he sat in front of his locker Wednesday afternoon in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ clubhouse. Certainly not like a player who had spent the past two games on the Pirates’ suspended list. There was a report from Yahoo Sports on Tuesday night that...
Pirates notebook: Jameson Taillon suffers setback during rehab
Pitcher Jameson Taillon received bad news in his attempt to return from an elbow strain. While throwing from 90 feet in the past four days, Taillon experienced a recurrence of his right forearm discomfort that has kept him on the Pittsburgh Pirates injured list since May 4. The next step...
Pirates’ Keone Kela reportedly suspended because of altercation with team employee
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Keone Kela was suspended as a result of an altercation in the clubhouse with a team employee, Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday night. According to sources, Pirates reliever Keone Kela was suspended by the club due to an altercation with Hector Morales, team’s director, cultural readiness and...
Pirates minor league report: July 23, 2019
Pirates INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 51-49) won 7-6 over Syracuse (Mets). The Indians led 3-0 before the Mets scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Indianapolis followed with three unanswered scores to end the game, including two in the ninth. SS Erik Gonzalez (.235) batted in the tying and...
Pirates bats go down meekly in 4-3 loss to Cardinals
No one in the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse Tuesday night was willing to say the season has reached a critical point. But Clint Hurdle came close after the 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in front of a crowd of 15,778 at PNC Park. It was the Pirates’ third in...
Pirates notebook: Keone Kela, Kyle Crick could boost bullpen
Not surprisingly, Clint Hurdle declined to talk about relief pitcher Keone Kela’s two-game suspension that ended Tuesday night. But the Pittsburgh Pirates manager said the team intends to activate Kela on Wednesday. “We may look for a non-leverage situation, first and foremost out of the gate,” Hurdle said. “Obviously, we...
Even in bad times, Pirates’ Clint Hurdle knows how to create balance in life
The Pittsburgh Pirates reached the 100-game mark Tuesday night at PNC Park with playoff hopes disappearing. While the season gets shorter, so do opportunities to reverse their current losing trend (eight losses in the first 10 games after the All-Star break). Of course, what happens next is that it becomes...
Pirates’ wild rally in 10th comes up short as post All-Star break slide continues
From the moment the baseball left Jacob Stallings’ bat in the bottom of the 10th inning at almost 92 mph, Kevin Newman’s mind raced while he carried the potential tying run Monday night: Score. Tie the game. Don’t let someone else decide the outcome. Pittsburgh Pirates third-base coach Joey Cora...
Pirates minor league report for July 22, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 50-49) was idle. The Indians have yet to announce a starting pitcher for Tuesday evening. Next: Tuesday at Syracuse (Mets), 6:35 p.m. ••• ALTOONA (Double-A, 52-45) defeated Erie (Tigers), 4-1. LHP Brandon Waddell (3-1, 2.67 ERA) earned the victory after throwing six scoreless innings with six strikeouts and...
Pirates’ Joe Musgrove puts his athleticism on display in many ways
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Joe Musgrove was on his way to becoming a first-round draft choice in 2011. So it’s no surprise he wisely, but reluctantly, gave up football and basketball before his senior season at Grossmont (Calif.) High School. But he believes it’s best for young people to play as...
Pirates’ Clint Hurdle recalls time ‘Kissing Bandit’ ignored him
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said he was pleased no one was injured Sunday when a 24-year-old man casually strolled onto the field and attempted to shake the hand of the Philadelphia Phillies’ Brad Miller. “It was weird,” Hurdle said. “I’ve never seen that before.” The unidentified man’s casual gait might...
Pirates’ problem may be that hitting slumps can be contagious
Don’t try to convince Josh Bell participating in the Home Run Derby has contributed to the hitting slump he carried into the Pittsburgh Pirates’ four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night. He was struggling at the plate before he sold out for home runs July 8 at...
Pirates suspend relief pitcher Keone Kela for 2 games
The Pittsburgh Pirates suspended relief pitcher Keone Kela for two games because of an unspecified violation of his Uniform Player’s Contract. The suspension occurs simultaneously with his reinstatement from the 60-day injured list. He hasn’t pitched since May 4 while recovering from shoulder inflammation. The team announced it will have...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden preview Steelers training camp, discuss Pirates’ stumble
In this week’s “Madden Monday,” Mark Madden of 105.9 the X joins me to preview the 2019 Steelers training camp. Are we relying too much on “addition by subtraction” for hope this year? We also kick around a few position concerns such as cornerback, safety and kicker. Then we get...
Former Pirates infielder Dale Berra reflects on ‘unique’ childhood
Dale Berra was a first-round draft choice in 1975, reached the big leagues at age 20 and won a World Series ring with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. But all of those events — spawned through his athletic gifts and hard work — can’t compare to the one of which...
First Call: Questions about fan on field at PNC Park during Pirates-Phillies game
In “First Call” Monday, I have so many questions about that fan who got on the field at PNC Park. Also tarp terrors and a Big Ten coach should just keep preachin’ on. I’m so confused A fan casually walked up to home plate in the middle of the Pirates-Phillies...
