Pirates/MLB category, Page 113

When the Pittsburgh Pirates were searching for a backup catcher before the season opener, they didn’t hesitate when Andrew Knapp became available because of his reputation behind the plate. With starter Roberto Perez out with a quad contusion after taking a foul tip off his left leg Friday night, Knapp...

When Roberto Perez took a foul tip off his left quad, the Pittsburgh Pirates turned to backup catcher Andrew Knapp but knew that they had to have someone else ready, in case of an emergency. That’s how Josh VanMeter learned he was the backup to the backup catcher, when Pirates...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-2) lost 6-4 to St. Paul (Twins). RHP Cody Bolton (0-1, 4.50) started and went 2.1 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts. RF Jared Oliva (.267) went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles. LF Canaan Smith-Njigba (.222) went 1...

Mitch Keller was on the mound when a Nelson Cruz foul tip hit Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Roberto Perez flush in the left leg, so the right-hander got a good view and was “definitely concerned.” “I saw it foul tip right down,” Keller said of Perez, who was set up on...

Whether it was the lack of command on his off-speed pitches or just plain bad luck, Mitch Keller got the shaft against the shift. The Washington Nationals repeatedly hit through defensive shifts against Keller on their way to pounding the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-2, on Friday night before 13,076 at PNC...

Cole Tucker glanced at the Pittsburgh Pirates jersey hanging at his locker with No. 42 in Dodger blue before Friday’s game and couldn’t help but feel a connection to Jackie Robinson. As MLB celebrated the 75th anniversary of Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier, the Pirates talked about the occasion as...

The Pittsburgh Pirates kept coming back to the same description of Roansy Contreras after he earned his first major league win Thursday night against the Washington Nationals. Electric stuff. The 22-year-old right-hander, ranked the Pirates’ top pitching prospect and No. 80 overall by Baseball America, had his own one-word answer...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-2) was snowed out at St. Paul (Twins). The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader May 25. Next: Friday at St. Paul (Twins), 7:37 p.m. ALTOONA (Double-A, 2-4) gave up three runs in the seventh and lost to Richmond (Giants), 5-4. RHP JC Flowers...

Derek Shelton is well aware that Daniel Vogelbach isn’t your traditional leadoff hitter, but the Pittsburgh Pirates manager loves that the 270-pound designated hitter can work counts and get on base. Vogelbach led off three innings against the Washington Nationals with hits — a home run in the first, a...

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a file-and-trial policy when it comes to arbitration, attempting to avoid a hearing by reaching a settlement but not negotiating after MLB’s salary exchange date. They made an exception for Bryan Reynolds. Twenty three days after a $650,000 difference separated their salary requests, the Pirates avoided...

Everything about being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan is weird right now. Who am I kidding? It’s been weird most of my life. I’m 47. Over that time, I can cognitively remember about seven or eight years when I genuinely felt like this franchise had a chance to compete for a...

Wil Crowe attempted to fix his hair, still wet after rinsing the residue from the celebratory shower that was courtesy of his Pittsburgh Pirates teammates to commemorate his first major league save. “Everything under the sun has been poured on me in the last 20 minutes,” Crowe said Wednesday afternoon...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-2) threw the 15th no-hitter in team history, with RHP Chase De Jong (1-0, 0.82) going seven innings and RHP Austin Brice (0.00) and RHP Yerry De Los Santos (0.00) pitching one inning each in a 5-0 win over St. Paul (Twins). De Jong struck out nine and...

A day after the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated the signing of Ke’Bryan Hayes to the richest contract in club history, the 25-year-old third baseman showed why he was worthy of the long-term investment. Hayes went 4 for 4, scoring two runs, driving in another and saving at least one with his...

Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed reliever Duane Underwood Jr. has resumed throwing and is making “steady progress” from the right hamstring strain sustained in the season opener. Underwood is one of a handful of Pirates players on the 10-day injured list for which the team’s director of sports medicine, Todd Tomczyk, provided...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 5-2) won its fourth straight game, beating St. Paul (Twins), 5-1, in a game shortened to five innings by rain. SS Oneil Cruz (.300) went 2 for 3 with a double, triple and two runs scored. 3B Rodolfo Castro (.400) went 2 for 3. 1B Mason Martin (.364)...

After coming to an agreement on the richest contract in Pittsburgh Pirates history, Ben Cherington got a scare when he saw Ke’Bryan Hayes leave the season opener in the first inning. As the Pirates celebrated the official signing of Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million contract extension Tuesday before their...

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday marked the third home opener at PNC Park for manager Derek Shelton. But it was the first one approaching what he dreamed of having before the word “coronavirus” became part of our everyday vocabulary. “You know your fans are...

Ke’Bryan Hayes was all smiles pregame. Bob Nutting and Ben Cherington, too. Joe Manganiello, likewise, wore a smile after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Most of the 34,458 in attendance on a sunny April afternoon serving as Pittsburgh’s 136th Opening Day? They, as well, seemed to be smiling. Unfortunately...

Imagine if during the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home opener in 2019, someone would have told the gathered 37,336 fans that it would be three years before there would be another full-capacity, unrestricted Opening Day at PNC Park. It probably would have sounded like a bad April Fool’s joke. Imagine if on...

Getting things started in true ’Burgh fashion for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ opening day will be two of the city’s own celebrities named Joe. Recording artist Joe Grushecky will sing the national anthem and actor Joe Manganiello, a Mt. Lebanon native who attended Carnegie Mellon University, will throw out the ceremonial...

The eventual winners in the two trades the Pittsburgh Pirates made with the New York Yankees in 2021 won’t be determined for several years. Will Hoy Park or Diego Castillo — acquired in July for relief pitcher Clay Holmes — one day turn into valuable infielders who could help the...

Opening day weather for the Pirates has largely been hit-and-miss over the last decade or so. More often than not, the high temperature hasn’t reached 60 degrees. But Tuesday’s forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and temperatures near 70 for the game between the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs at...