Kevin Gorman stories, Page 118
Jesse Winker homers twice for Reds, who rough up Pirates with four-run seventh inning
Jesse Winker was one of the hottest hitters in baseball, so the Pittsburgh Pirates certainly were wary of the Cincinnati Reds designated hitter. Where Chad Kuhl missed on his pitches, Winker didn’t. The left-handed Winker homered twice off the Pirates righty for his first career multi-homer game to spark the...
Pirates’ Derek Shelton repeats lineup for 1st time this season
Derek Shelton snapped a streak, sort of, when the Pittsburgh Pirates manager filled out the starting lineup for Friday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. For the first time this season, the Pirates used the same lineup. “No, it’s not!” Shelton quickly corrected, noting that Jarrod...
Pirates lefty Steven Brault believes he will be more effective in consistent role as a starter
Steven Brault bid adieu to his piggyback partner, preparing to pitch solo after three outings in tandem. Just don’t look for Brault to kiss Chad Kuhl goodbye. “It was a sad breakup. It was tough. It was a very difficult time for us both,” Brault deadpanned. “Now, we we move...
MLB reschedules Pirates-Cardinals postponements as pair of doubleheaders
After postponing games since July 29 because of a coronavirus outbreak, the St. Louis Cardinals will return to playing with a doubleheader Saturday against the Chicago White Sox, and MLB announced a rescheduling of the Cardinals’ games against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The three-game series, originally scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and...
Keone Kela overcomes nerves in season debut as Pirates closer
Keone Kela was full of nerves, pacing back and forth in the bullpen before his long-awaited first appearance of the season. The Pittsburgh Pirates ordained Kela their closer at the start of spring training, but baseball’s shutdown kept him waiting four months to pitch, and a positive test for covid-19...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Aggressive approach helps Pirates reset offense against RedsVideo
A three-day break might have been the best thing for the Pittsburgh Pirates to snap a three-game losing streak, so it was no surprise to hear players treating their trip to Cincinnati as an offensive reset. Before three of their first six batters hit home runs and scored nine runs...
Pirates hit 3 early home runs, hold on to beat Reds
Cincinnati Reds right-hander Anthony DeSclafani hadn’t allowed an earned run this season before playing the Pittsburgh Pirates. That lasted only one pitch. Adam Frazier hit DeSclafani’s second pitch for a leadoff home run, Colin Moran added another solo shot and Gregory Polanco led off a seven-run second inning with a...
Josh Bell spent Pirates’ downtime working to identify why the timing is off with his swing
Josh Bell knows his numbers through the first 16 games are down compared to his hot start last season, and the Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star first baseman isn’t one to make excuses for his struggles. But Bell has spent this week working to identify why he was slashing .213/.246/.328 with two...
Pirates’ pitching woes continue as Joe Musgrove goes on IL, Nick Tropeano claimed
Derek Shelton won’t deny managing an injury-depleted pitching staff is “challenging” for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and their juggling act continued Tuesday with a couple of roster moves. The Pirates placed right-hander Joe Musgrove, their Opening Day starter, on the 10-day injured list with right triceps inflammation. Musgrove (0-3, 6.75 ERA)...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates are rebuilding, even if they refuse to say so
The Pittsburgh Pirates might refuse to say the word, but all evidence has pointed to rebuilding since the end of the 2019 season. If firing the president, general manager and field manager wasn’t an indication that the Pirates are going in a different direction, trading their best all-around player, center...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 20: No disputing Josh Gibson’s greatness with Homestead Grays
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. 20: Josh Gibson To say Josh Gibson’s career was the stuff of legend is a nod to the tales about the power-hitting catcher hitting...
With MLB’s worst record, Pirates off to historically bad start in shortened season
The postponement of their three-game series at St. Louis because of the Cardinals’ covid-19 outbreak couldn’t have come at a better time for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who own MLB’s worst record (3-13) and are the only team with a winning percentage below .300 (.188). To say this shortened season has...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 21: Roberto Clemente stands alone, but has tragic connections
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. 21: Roberto Clemente The greatest player to wear No. 21 in Pittsburgh sports history needs no introduction. That honor is reserved for Roberto Clemente,...
Pirates sign pitcher Henderson Alvarez, who once threw a no-hitter, to minor league deal
The Pittsburgh Pirates are so desperate for pitching they signed one out of an independent league. This one has a major league resume that includes a no-hitter and an All-Star selection. The Pirates signed Henderson Alvarez to a minor league contract Sunday, adding the 30-year-old right-hander to their 60-man roster...
Wild pitch proves costly for Pirates as Tigers win to sweep series
The Pittsburgh Pirates keep finding new ways to lose, and Richard Rodriguez delivered one that was way outside the strike zone. After hitting Jonathan Schoop with a pitch, Rodriguez lost control of the ball and threw one that sailed in the direction of the home dugout. As catcher John Ryan...
Pirates’ Phillip Evans out for season with concussion, broken jawVideo
Phillip Evans suffered a concussion and a fractured jaw in the outfield collision with Gregory Polanco during Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers, injuries that will cause the Pittsburgh Pirates corner infielder/outfielder to miss the remainder of the season. The Pirates placed Evans on the 45-day injured list Sunday and...
Pirates cancel flight to St. Louis, series against Cardinals postponed
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ series at St. Louis was postponed because of a covid-19 outbreak with the Cardinals. MLB announced Sunday afternoon the series scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Busch Stadium would not be played. ESPN first reported the postponement. The upcoming Pirates-Cardinals series has been canceled.— Buster Olney...
Pirates scratch Joe Musgrove (ankle) from Sunday’s game, will start Steven Brault instead
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton said right-hander Joe Musgrove has been scratched from Sunday’s start against the Detroit Tigers with right ankle soreness. “Just in his last side session, he felt a little soreness in his ankle, and obviously with where we’re at and what’s going on, we are not...
Pirates notebook: GM Ben Cherington says team ‘planning and preparing’ to play in St. Louis
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ trip to St. Louis is in serious jeopardy after MLB postponed the Cardinals’ weekend series against the Chicago Cubs because of a covid-19 outbreak throughout the club. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Saturday afternoon the team is “expecting and planning and preparing as if we’re going...
Tigers hammer Derek Holland for 5 homers, but outfield collision casts pall over Pirates’ loss
Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Phillip Evans chased the fly ball into right field at full speed, briefly looking up before a full-speed collision with right fielder Gregory Polanco in foul territory in the sixth inning. A hush came over PNC Park when Evans dropped to the ground, as the automated...
Pirates’ Phillip Evans carted off on stretcher after outfield collision with Gregory Polanco
In a scary scene at PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Phillip Evans appeared to be knocked unconscious after a collision with right fielder Gregory Polanco and was taken off the field on a stretcher in the sixth inning of Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers. Evans was chasing a...
Keone Kela throws live batting practice, as Pirates option Miguel Del Pozo, add Nick Mears
The Pirates selected right-handed pitcher Nick Mears from their satellite camp in Altoona and optioned left-hander Miguel Del Pozo, who allowed three runs on five hits in two innings on Friday night. Mears, 23, started last season in Class A Greensboro and finished in Double-A Altoona, compiling a 5-3 record,...
Pirates mount several rallies before losing in 11th to TigersVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates were down a manager, seven pitchers and five runs against the Detroit Tigers, and it looked like a loss to the Detroit Tigers was inevitable. That was before they rallied to tie it on Adam Frazier’s two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth and...
Gregory Polanco taking aggressive approach at the plate for Pirates: ‘Just keep swinging’
As Gregory Polanco talked with Miguel Sano, the Minnesota Twins slugger shared something with which the Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder can relate: Sano has been feeling tired since testing positive for covid-19. And it was showing in his swing, until Thursday’s game. “I said, ‘Just keep swinging,’” Polanco said to...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Having Kevin Newman available to pinch-hit paid off for Pirates
Derek Shelton has made some head-scratching moves this season, even for a rookie manager, and the Pittsburgh Pirates skipper has taken the most heat for constantly shuffling the lineup. But his decision to sit shortstop Kevin Newman in favor of JT Riddle paid off handsomely on Thursday afternoon, as it...
