Pirates/MLB category, Page 221

Broadcaster Steve Blass came under fire Wednesday for on-air comments he made during Tuesday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves. In the fourth inning, Pirates pitcher Steven Brault hit Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. in the elbow with a 2-2 pitch. Blass made note of Acuna’s animated...

The Pirates selected Quinn Priester in the first round of the MLB Draft on Monday. In this podcast, I interviewed his coach, Ryan Passaglia. Passaglia coached Priester at Cary-Grove High School in Illinois and has been working with the right-hander since he was in middle school. Priester has committed to...

We haven’t seen Troy Polamalu at Heinz Field in quite some time. But maybe he’ll be at PNC Park soon. To watch his cousin. The Steelers legend has a second cousin named Blake Sabol, who’s a standout baseball player at Southern Cal. And he just got drafted by the Pirates....

An optimist might say that three Pittsburgh Pirates errors that led to three unearned runs Tuesday night created an insignificant wrinkle that easily can be ironed out. A pessimist – and their numbers are growing – will note that the Pirates’ 12-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves before a crowd...

Pirates INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 32-23) lost 7-6 to Louisville (Reds). The Indians fell behind 5-0 after two innings and trailed 7-2 after five before scoring four runs in the seventh, falling a run short of the tie. SS Jung-Ho Kang (.476) went 4 for 5 with two doubles and three RBIs....

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected eight college players Tuesday in Rounds 3-10 during the second day of the MLB Draft. Six came from Power 5 conferences. Clint Hurdle was too busy with game preparations to comment on those picks, but he spent part of his day watching video of the first...

True to his nature, Josh Bell took the news calmly and without much comment. Perhaps that’s because he didn’t know what to say or how to react to sitting and watching a baseball game. When you start every one of your team’s first 58 games for more than two months...

I know. This has become a trend. It’s another “Madden Monday” podcast on a Tuesday. Between Memorial Day weekend and concert activities, Mark Madden and I have had a few three-day weekends of late. We’ll get on a proper schedule again eventually. Or, if not, no big deal. It’s summer....

The defense of the Chris Archer trade always has been, and always will be, its intent. It was a rare moment the Pirates went for it. A rare instance when they sacrificed prospects to get an established veteran, with a willingness to absorb salary in the process. Criticism of that...

Tuesday’s “First Call” some high praise for the Pirates’ first-round draft pick, an injury to Andrew McCutchen and a lucky break for the Steelers. Mighty Quinn? The Pirates are getting high praise for their first-round pick. It’s right-handed high school pitcher Quinn Priester from Illinois. On MLB network, Jim Callis...

Neal Huntington might have foreshadowed the Pittsburgh Pirates’ first-round draft pick when he cited an old baseball adage Sunday on his weekly radio show. The right high school player gets to the majors faster than the wrong college player. The Pirates had strong ties to both in Monday’s MLB Draft,...

Pirates INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 32-22) won 7-6 in 10 innings against Louisville (Reds). The Indians scored the tying run in the top of the ninth inning. 2B Jake Elmore (.388) doubled to center field, scoring LF Pablo Reyes (.214) to tie the score 6-6 in the ninth. CF Jason Martin (.248)...

a The first words out of Quinn Priester’s mouth Monday night when he talked with reporters on a conference call was an apology. “I’m a little hoarse,” he said not long after the Pittsburgh Pirates made the 18-year-old right-handed pitcher a first-round pick (18th overall) in the MLB Draft. He...

Josh Bell, whose monumental and historic home runs are turning him into the face of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise, was named Monday as the National League player of the month. Bell, 26, led the Major Leagues with 46 hits and 31 RBIs in May, but five of his 12 home...

With “hundreds of people” gathered around the television, Cole Tucker and his family just wanted to go somewhere quiet. It was MLB Draft day in 2014, and with the Los Angeles Dodgers on the clock at No. 22, Tucker’s agent had just called with the news. “Hey, man, it’s happening....

When Josh Bell was asked Sunday whether he will enter the Home Run Derby, he smiled and said “maybe.” Neal Huntington wouldn’t have been upset if Bell’s answer was “no.” The Pittsburgh Pirates slugger, the National League Player of the Month for May, appears to be a lock to receive...

After Josh Bell played 27 games in 27 days, don’t expect to see him at PNC Park on Monday. The Pittsburgh Pirates are off, and Bell plans to go out and do — of all things — some costume shopping for an upcoming road trip. “I’m definitely not coming to...

Neal Huntington lamented the unfortunate reality of the MLB Draft. “There doesn’t seem to be a ton (of pitchers),” the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager said Sunday on 93.7 FM. The draft begins at 7 p.m. Monday — there will be 78 players drafted — and continues through 40 rounds before...

Jordan Lyles was one-on-one with 27 Milwaukee Brewers batters Sunday at PNC Park, and he handled 18 of them without a problem. But teams are judged on victories and defeats, and that’s why his first outing since leaving the game in Cincinnati last Tuesday with a hamstring strain wasn’t good...

Once upon a time, I considered myself something of a draft junkie, tracking and charting every pick of the NFL and NBA drafts long before it was my job to do so. But the MLB draft doesn’t have the same cachet, as it involves a mix of high school and...

Pirates INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 31-21) lost 7-6 in 10 innings against Gwinnett (Braves). The Indians scored once in the bottom of the 10th after giving up two runs but couldn’t complete the extra-inning comeback. SS Jung-Ho Kang went 3 for 4 with a double, a walk and a strikeout. LF Corey...

They overcame an early five-run deficit and took the lead from down two runs in the eighth inning. But that only made Saturday that much tougher to swallow for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Orlando Arcia hit his second homer of the game in the 13th inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat...

John Calipari regularly makes an annual stop at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, and he’s developed a friendship with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. The same can be said of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Clint Hurdle. Calipari, the University of Kentucky basketball coach, attended Saturday’s Pirates game against the Milwaukee Brewers at...

There are plenty of reasons why Josh Bell has been one of the best players in the majors over the past month. But as the saying goes, sometimes the best ability is availability. And no one has been more available than Bell. Heading into Saturday’s game, the Pittsburgh Pirates had...

Seventy-seven times during his decade-long MLB career, Clint Hurdle pinch hit. His .243 average during those at-bats translates into simple advice to his players. “My expectations,” the Pittsburgh Pirates manager said, “are to let them know that they can’t do bad.” The Pirates are doing anything but bad when pinch...