Pirates/MLB category, Page 130

After hitting his first home run with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Michael Chavis celebrated with his new teammates in the dugout and then pulled out a little black book to commemorate the occasion. Dating to his days with the High-A Salem (Va.) Red Sox in the minor leagues, Chavis has kept...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 45-51) fell, 3-2, to Louisville (Reds). LHP Sam Howard, on a rehab assignment for an oblique injury, was the opener, pitching a scoreless inning with a walk and two strikeouts. RHP James Marvel (4-6, 5.42) followed and gave up three runs on five hits with six strikeouts in...

JT Brubaker was closing in on three months between earning wins, a stretch the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander called a continuous cycle where he learned to focus on his next start instead of his last. Brubaker got his groove back against the Arizona Diamondbacks, thanks to improved fastball command and a...

When Kevin Newman works on ground balls, he uses it as a chance to practice plays like making a backhand stop and following with a jump-throw from deep in the hole or going left to make a spinning toss. Never did the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop imagine pulling off both plays...

Tuesday’s “First Call” tells us what’s become of former Steelers cult hero Devlin “Duck” Hodges in Los Angeles. What some thought was a potential trade destination for Mason Rudolph has come and gone. The Yankees and Braves recreated some old time Pirates history. And “Hard Knocks” needs a soft landing...

Look at the box score from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 6-5 victory Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and you’ll see more runs than the home team has scored in any of their previous eight games. The bats came alive at PNC Park, right? In certain crucial moments they did when...

Returning to PNC Park for the start of a seven-game homestand, the Pittsburgh Pirates turned the page toward another chapter in their ongoing rebuilding process. This time, however, there’s a twist. Gregory Polanco’s still here. There were multiple reports Sunday night that Polanco, the longest-tenured and highest-paid Pirates player, was...

In the five seasons before the arrival of Gregory Polanco, the Pittsburgh Pirates conducted what amounted to one-year tryouts in right field. From 2009-13, management always wanted to find a keeper to insert in front of the Clemente Wall at PNC Park. But Brandon Moss, Lastings Milledge, Garrett Jones, Jose...

This might be a difficult concept for many Pittsburgh Pirates fans to embrace after yet another season of unmitigated failure. Well, failure at the Major League level, anyway. I know that a large chunk of the fan base is chalking up what may become a 100-loss campaign as a raging...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 45-50) lost to Toledo (Tigers), 9-8, on a walk-off. RF Michael Chavis (.256) hit a three-run home run. SS Erik Gonzalez (.167) was 1 for 2 with an RBI and run scored. CF Jared Oliva (.243) was 2 for 4 with a double and RBI. LHP Cam Vieaux...

Adam Wainwright has two nice streaks going against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Only one really matters. Wainwright, who turns 40 on Aug. 30, doubled Sunday for the second time in his past two pitching appearances against the Pirates. Meanwhile, he ran his winning streak against Pittsburgh to nine in a row...

Derek Shelton knew he would have to mix and match to reconstruct a Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen decimated by ineffectiveness, injuries and trades, especially over the final two months of the season. The Pirates have turned a starter into a reliever, transformed a veteran from a multi-innings eater into a high-leverage...

The Pittsburgh Pirates arrived in St. Louis trying to snap a five-game losing streak. Now, they are on the brink of sweeping the Cardinals and spoiling their Hall of Fame weekend at Busch Stadium. Where the Cardinals presented red jackets to some of their all-time greats in a pregame ceremony,...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 45-49) held on to beat Toledo (Tigers), 5-4. SS Cole Tucker (.232) went 1 for 3 and hit his sixth home run, a solo shot in the seventh. 3B Hunter Owen (.234) went 1 for 4 with a homer, his 14th. CF Jared Oliva (.234) went 2 for...

Once he made contact, Yoshi Tsutsugo watched the ball and pointed his bat toward the home bullpen in right-center field at Busch Stadium as the ball sailed over the outstretched glove of Lars Nootbaar. Tsutsugo’s first home run for the Pittsburgh Pirates was a pinch-hit solo shot that traveled 397...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 44-49) blanked Toledo (Tigers), 5-0. RHP Max Kranick (2-3, 4.97) threw six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, fanning three. LHP Sam Howard, rehabbing an oblique injury, threw two perfect innings of relief with two strikeouts. RHP Tyler Bashlor (2.92) pitched a perfect ninth. RF Jared...

Mitch Keller’s season has been a head scratcher, especially for the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander, so trying to make sense out of his mastery of the St. Louis Cardinals is something of a mystery. Where Keller’s struggles with his fastball command got him demoted to the minors midseason, he was at...

After a bout with covid-19, Chad Kuhl is back with the Pittsburgh Pirates but the right-hander will be used in a new role. Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Kuhl, reinstated to the active roster on Friday after being out since Aug. 2, will pitch out of the bullpen “as of...

Roberto Clemente’s birthday was this past Wednesday. If Clemente were still alive, Gregory Polanco would be his superior in right field, but only marginally. Keep in mind Clemente would be 87. Clemente’s birthday sparked debate over how the Pirates might have fared had Clemente not been killed in that New...

Friday’s “First Call” puts stats behind some impressive Pittsburgh Steelers pass rushing efforts so far this preseason. Antonio Brown gets into a practice fight with a Tennessee Titans player. The Pirates try to find some solid ground in St. Louis. More news on Robert Morris ice hockey transfers. And Pittsburgh’s...

If you were mad that this week’s “U mad, bro?” was delayed by a day, I apologize. I was at a work function in Las Vegas for two days. However miffed you may have been doesn’t even approach my level of anger with some of the cards I got on...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 43-49) lost to Toledo (Tigers), 5-2. RHP Miguel Yajure (.343) is continuing a rehab stint in the minors for a forearm injury and got the start after being reinstated from the 60-day IL. He allowed one run on two hits with six strikeouts and a walk in four...

There wasn’t much promise in the post-trade deadline Pittsburgh Pirates, and they didn’t make any after dealing away their All-Star second baseman, a starting pitcher and three relievers, including the closer. The Pirates won their final two games of July to finish the month with an 11-14 record, their best...

JT Brubaker watched in disbelief as the ball sailed over the left field wall at Dodger Stadium, courtesy of Max Muncy muscling a sinker on the outside corner only four pitches into the bottom of the first inning. It was the first of four home runs the Los Angeles Dodgers...