Pirates/MLB category, Page 171

Pittsburgh Pirates president Travis Williams tested positive for covid-19, he announced Thursday in a statement. Williams said the team has conducted contact tracing, and he wasn’t around any players or members of the coaching staff or baseball operations because the Pirates were in Cincinnati last week. The Pirates had three...

Erik Gonzalez couldn’t help but cringe when he watched Phillip Evans run full speed into Gregory Polanco’s elbow in right field, a memory the Pittsburgh Pirates infielder didn’t want to watch let alone relive. Gonzalez waited three years with the Cleveland Indians for his chance to become an everyday player....

For the second consecutive night, Carlos Santana crushed a three-run home run to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates. This time, he left no doubt about whether it was fair or foul. Santana broke a scoreless tie by smacking a 401-foot shot over the Clemente Wall in the sixth inning, and another...

The broken jaw Phillip Evans suffered in an outfield collision with Gregory Polanco will require surgery and be wired shut, Pittsburgh Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday. Evans was leading the Pirates with a .359 batting average and nine RBIs before suffering the season-ending injury while playing...

Wednesday’s “First Call” features the Pittsburgh Pirates reaction to the Fernando Tatis Jr. controversy. Steelers tight end Vance McDonald makes a Pittsburgh folklore faux pas. A former Penguins prospect has a new home. And a tip of the cap to Roberto Clemente on his birthday. Taillon on Tatis The big...

No one needs to float this idea past Pittsburgh Penguins fans. They’ve already gotten the message. But one trend is becoming noticeable in the coronavirus-era rebooted sports world. Reformatted training camps, empty stadiums, herky-jerky schedules and covid-19-related absences have heightened competitive balance within the leagues. The playing field is a...

To the Pittsburgh Pirates, this loss wasn’t what it seemed. Jarrod Dyson was safe at second in the ninth. Carlos Santana’s home run was foul in the 10th. Pirates manager Derek Shelton was sure of both scenarios that the cameras didn’t catch — or couldn’t convince the umpires to reverse...

There might not be fans in the stands to see the Pittsburgh Pirates play at PNC Park, but Derek Holland made sure there was a celebrity sighting for Tuesday night’s game against the Cleveland Indians. The Pirates left-handed pitcher had cardboard cutouts of actor and comedian Rob Schneider strategically placed...

The Cleveland Indians conducted a rally rhythm from the visitors dugout at PNC Park, a cadence of claps by pounding the padded railing and drums by beating baseballs against water coolers. Cleveland’s musical mischief stopped with the sound of the crack of the bat by Carlos Santana, who crushed a...

The Pittsburgh Pirates were desperate for pitching. Tyler Bashlor was looking for a fresh start. So the right-handed reliever was almost as excited about being traded by the New York Mets on Aug. 2 for cash considerations as he was about being recalled by the Pirates Tuesday from their alternate...

Jacob Stallings couldn’t decide which was weirder, the Pittsburgh Pirates being stuck in isolation in Cincinnati when their weekend series was postponed because of coronavirus concerns or waiting until MLB decided whether they would play a doubleheader Monday. Safety concerns beat the boredom. “Sunday was more stressful and more up...

On Monday afternoon, I visited five websites to track how sports on television ratings were tracking amid the pandemic restarts. I got four different answers. Monday’s news from NBC was that the first two days of the Stanley Cup Playoffs official first round “averaged 620,000 viewers across NBC Sports’ TV...

The Penguins have already successfully pulled off a mini-rebuild within their current era of championship success. What’s now being called the “core three” of the Penguins team — Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin — used to have a much broader membership. The perception was that “core” also used to...

By the time JT Brubaker throws the first pitch Tuesday night at PNC Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have more games to play (42) than there are days remaining (41) in the season. With a 4-14 record that is the worst in MLB and eight pitchers on the injured list...

The two games postponed in Cincinnati because a Reds player tested positive for covid-19 won’t be played Monday, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced Sunday afternoon. Manager Derek Shelton said he was not told why there won’t be a doubleheader Monday when both teams are idle. “Major League Baseball has decided, protocol-wise,...

When Nicholas Castellanos came to bat with two outs and a runner on second base, Pittsburgh Pirates outfield coach Tarrik Brock signaled for Cole Tucker to move in at center field in anticipation of making a throw to the plate. “I felt good about that,” Tucker said, “because I want...

The Pittsburgh Pirates-Cincinnati Reds games Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park were postponed after a Reds player tested positive for covid-19 on Friday. MLB announced that the games were postponed “to allow for additional testing and to complete the contact tracing process.” Contact tracing helps identify...

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. 16: Al Oliver Thanks to his knack for plucking balls out of the dirt at first base, Al Oliver was given an appropriate nickname...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Neil Walker completed his WPIAL career at Pine-Richland High School as one of the best athletes in Western Pennsylvania history. He was a three-sport star with the Rams (football, baseball, basketball), playing multiple positions along the way. Walker emerged as one of the best baseball prospects in the country as...