Pirates/MLB category, Page 166

The Pittsburgh Pirates started Wednesday’s game the same way Jacob Stallings ended their walk-off win the night before, with Adam Frazier and Ke’Bryan Hayes hitting back-to-back home runs in the first inning. “We went back-to-back-to-back homers,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton cracked. “We just waited 24 hours to do it.” It...

The Pittsburgh Pirates introduced Wednesday an enhanced, reward-based benefits program called Pirates Points for season-ticket holders for the 2021 season. Pirates season-ticket holders can earn points “based on longevity and commitment level” that can be redeemed for discounts at the clubhouse store, ticket discounts, free subscriptions to MLB.TV, a flexible...

Wednesday’s “First Call” shows us that the Pirates may be in line for Kumar Rocker atop the MLB draft after all. We try to figure out when the NBA and NHL may restart for next season. And the NFL keeps handing out mask fines for coaches. Ready to Rock? ESPN’s...

Steven Brault finished the season on a high note, and Jacob Stallings provided the big finish. After Brault pitched seven scoreless innings, only to see the Pittsburgh Pirates blow a two-run lead, Stallings smacked an Andrew Chafin fastball into the left-field seats for a walk-off home run to lift the...

Dominican Republic investigators say Oneil Cruz, one of the top prospects for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was under the influence of alcohol when he was involved in a collision Monday night that killed three people, according to an ESPN report. Oneil Cruz está siendo acusado de provocar la muerte de tres...

Bryan Reynolds was as succinct as he was honest when asked to evaluate his performance during this almost-completed season. “I think I played decent defense,” the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder said, “and my offense was terrible.” It’s difficult to dispute Reynolds’ latter self-assessment. Reynolds was hitting .180 heading into Monday night....

Somehow, in this drastically shortened 2020 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates matched the 2019 team in one rather dubious way. Games under .500. A 5-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs in the opener of the final home series of the season Monday dropped the Pirates to 15-39. The 24 games under...

It’s a shortened season in 2020, but tell that to Carson Fulmer. The right-handed pitcher has changed teams four times. For the second time in less than a month, he was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fulmer on Monday was awarded to the Pirates off the roster of...

In a shortened season that rookie manager Derek Shelton repeatedly referred to as “a sprint, not a marathon,” the Pittsburgh Pirates are limping toward the finish line. The Pirates lost 12 of 13 games leading into the final week of their 60-game campaign, blowing strong pitching performances over the weekend...

Frustrated by the feeling he was carrying the weight of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff on his shoulders, Joe Musgrove took a “selfish mentality” to the mound against the St. Louis Cardinals. Musgrove recorded a career-best 11 strikeouts in six shutout innings, only to see the bullpen blow the lead...

The Pirates made three trades involving prospects Sunday, two for additional capacity in the 2019-20 international bonus pool and another to complete an earlier deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Pirates sent left-handed pitcher Domingo Robles to St. Louis and right-hander Conner Loeprich to Baltimore, both for international bonus pool...

From the start, Derek Shelton had no designs on designating a designated hitter. The Pittsburgh Pirates manager preferred a rotation, using that spot to keep players in the lineup but off the field. The results have been disastrous. The Pirates have used six players as designated hitters, a position new...

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost Kevin Newman for the remainder of the season when he suffered a contusion to the peroneal nerve on his left knee after being hit by a pitch Saturday night. Newman was hit by reliever Genesis Cabrera’s 97 mph fastball with one out in the ninth of...

Of all their pitcher-catcher conversations, Jacob Stallings never mentioned to Mitch Keller through six scoreless innings that the St. Louis Cardinals had failed to get a hit off the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander. “I did not say a word about the no-hitter,” Stallings said. “Maybe I should have. Maybe it would...

For all his lineup shuffling this season, Derek Shelton had tinkered the least with the first spot in the batting order. The Pittsburgh Pirates manager used only four hitters there, starting with Kevin Newman, then Adam Frazier and Cole Tucker before trying out Erik Gonzalez. That changed Friday, when Shelton...

It was a bad sign from the beginning for Trevor Williams, who gave up a home run to the first batter and another in the second inning to tie for the major league lead in home runs allowed. That another start ended in another loss is the story of Williams’...

The Pittsburgh Pirates placed outfielder Cole Tucker on the seven-day concussion injured list Thursday after he slipped and hit his head on a concrete floor at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. “Obviously, any time you have something like that, it’s precautionary,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “It’s just better off...

Despite striking out at an alarming rate and owning one of the worst batting averages in baseball, Gregory Polanco received a vote of confidence this week from the Pittsburgh Pirates. General manager Ben Cherington cited Polanco’s hard contact as an encouraging sign, and field manager Derek Shelton was enthused about...

This week’s “U mad, bro?” ranges from the Steelers, to a Big Ten reboot, to Pirates ineptitude, to Justin Timberlake. It also ranges from substantive to silly. Alejandro Villanueva’s agenda. Mason Rudolph’s helmet. Accusations of NFL officials on the take. And covid-19 propaganda. Aside from that … eh, it’s rather...

Derek Shelton was the first to pump the brakes on the hyperbole surrounding the defensive play of Ke’Bryan Hayes by reminding everyone there was a seven-time Gold Glove third baseman in Colorado by the name of Nolan Arenado. Now, the Pittsburgh Pirates manager marvels on a nightly basis at Hayes’...

The Pittsburgh Pirates were looking for a bounce-back game by JT Brubaker, as the rookie right-hander was seven days removed from his worst start of the season. What they got was a pitcher’s duel. And Brubaker was better, just not good enough to win. Brubaker pitched four scoreless innings before...

Blake Cederlind couldn’t sit still, bouncing around the bullpen until he heard the phone ring. That’s when he got excited, knowing his major league debut was about to go down. The Pittsburgh Pirates have been awaiting Cederlind’s arrival since spring training, when he turned heads with a sizzling fastball that...