Pirates/MLB category, Page 78
Altoona Curve begin season with 3 of Pirates’ top-10 prospects in starting rotationVideo
ALTOONA — Plenty of eyes are on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, whose roster includes top prospect Paul Skenes, fellow right-hander Quinn Priester and several others who likely will hear their number called soon. But the situation at Double-A Altoona should not be overlooked, with first-year manager...
Renegade Dog among Pirates’ new food offerings this season at PNC ParkVideo
Pirates pitcher David Bednar’s walk-up song inspired one of the new food items at PNC Park. The Renegade Dog is a footlong hot dog, with pot roast, mini pierogies and pickle slices — which all start with the letter “P” — on a bun. There are onions, too. It will...
Connor Joe leading the way (literally) for Pirates’ red-hot offensive start to seasonVideo
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton could have gone several ways to begin the season when it came to picking his leadoff hitter. He could have done a repeat of 2023, putting Oneil Cruz there. Ke’Bryan Hayes, whose 45 games in the leadoff slot led the club last year, was another...
Offense keeps rolling as Pirates beat Nationals, move to 5-0 for 1st time since 1983
Five games, five wins. After Monday’s 8-4 victory over Washington at Nationals Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates have begun the season 5-0 for the first time in 41 years and only the sixth time in franchise history. Potent offense throughout the lineup powered the Pirates over the Nationals in the first...
Following 4-0 start, Pirates see needle move on win total expectations, division crown chances
Following the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Easter Sunday victory the Miami Marlins in extra innings, manager Derek Shelton offered a fitting assessment of how his club just pulled off a four-game sweep to open the season. “The thing that stands out to me is that we have 26 guys on our roster...
Tim Benz: Another Pirates April Fools’ joke? Or is there reason to buy Bucs’ hot start?
If the Duquesne basketball team can win its first NCAA Tournament game since 1969, can the Pirates perhaps win their first full playoff series since 1979? Or their first division crown since 1992? OK, maybe we are getting ahead of ourselves. But the Bucs just opened 2024 with a four-game...
Pirates farm report: Quinn Priester allows 1 hit, fans 9 as Indy edges Louisville
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 1-2) beat Louisville (Reds), 6-4. RHP Quinn Priester (1-0, 1.59 ERA) allowed one hit and struck out nine batters over 5 2/3 innings to earn the win. RHP Kyle Nicolas struck out one in 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief to earn the save. 1B Malcom Nunez (.231)...
Pirates top Marlins in 10 innings to earn 4-game sweep in season-opening series
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ season-opening four-game series in Miami against the Marlins already was full of firsts entering Easter Sunday’s finale. Jared Jones dazzled in his MLB debut Saturday, picking up his first win in his first MLB start. Before that, reliever Ryder Ryan earned his first big-league win Friday. And,...
Pirates activate righty Roansy Contreras, option lefty Jose Hernandez to Triple-A
Ahead of their series finale Sunday at the Miami Marlins, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a handful of roster moves, activating right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras from the MLB paternity leave list and optioning lefty Jose Hernandez to Triple-A Indianapolis. Contreras, 24, went 0-2 with a 5.65 ERA over seven Spring Training...
‘We should be excited’: Sizzling debuts by Paul Skenes, Jared Jones look promising for Pirates
Before Jared Jones made his major-league debut Saturday, he drew inspiration by watching a minor-league game. Jones saw Paul Skenes top triple digits on a dozen fastballs and strike out five of the nine batters he faced in three perfect innings against Louisville in his debut for Triple-A Indianapolis. “I...
Jared Jones strikes out 10 in MLB debut as Pirates beat Marlins, improve to 3-0
Jared Jones promised to shove in his major-league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the 22-year-old right-hander exceeded expectations against the Miami Marlins. Jones recorded 10 strikeouts — one shy of the franchise record for a debut — while allowing three runs on three hits and two walks in 51⁄3...
Pirates farm report: Despite perfect start from Paul Skenes, Indianapolis falls to 0-2
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 0-2) lost 4-3 to Louisville (Reds). RHP Paul Skenes made his first Triple-A start and pitched three perfect innings with five strikeouts. He hit 100 mph on the radar gun on 12 of the 46 pitches he threw. Veteran LHP Eric Lauer came on in relief and allowed...
Pirates top prospect Paul Skenes perfect in 3 innings in Triple-A debut for Indianapolis
Paul Skenes’ Triple-A debut was short but perfect. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound right-hander, selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, struck out five of the nine batters he faced and didn’t allow a baserunner in three innings Saturday afternoon for the Indianapolis...
‘Calm in a crucial spot’: Pirates reliever Ryder Ryan impressive in earning 1st MLB win
After making the Opening Day roster, Ryder Ryan was excited to make his Pittsburgh Pirates debut. Instead, he watched and waited through a 12-inning game in the season opener at Miami. When Ryan got the bullpen call in the fifth inning against the Marlins on Friday night, the 28-year-old right-hander...
Pirates farm report for March 29, 2024: Nick Gonzales homers in Indy’s opener
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 0-1) lost 9-8 in its season opener against Louisville (Reds). 2B Nick Gonzales went 2 for 5 with a home run. 1B Jake Lamb went 1 for 5 and homered in the top of the ninth to bring Indy within a run. RHP Colin Holderman, on a rehab...
Pirates practice patience early in drawing walks, use timely hits to beat Marlins
After striking out 17 times in the season opener, the Pittsburgh Pirates found it better not to swing against the Miami Marlins. The Pirates were content to wait and see if closer-turned-starter A.J. Puk could throw strikes, which the 6-foot-7 left-hander struggled to do with any consistency. After allowing only...
Pirates trade injured pitcher JT Brubaker to Yankees
The Pittsburgh Pirates made a surprise move Friday, trading right-handed pitcher JT Brubaker and international bonus pool money to the New York Yankees for a player to be named later. A 2015 sixth-round draft pick from Akron, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Brubaker avoided his second year of arbitration by signing for...
Mark Madden: Pirates could try to be a real baseball team, but they don’t have to
The Pirates have the most interesting psychology, if that’s how to put it, of any Pittsburgh sports franchise. Perhaps of any team on the continent. The Pirates are the little engine that could but won’t. They’re a perpetual underdog with a great ballpark and hot dogs piled with pierogis and...
Tim Benz: Pirates’ tension-packed season-opener feels like a forecast of what’s to come
The reaction of Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton was one of bemused relief when he was asked a question following his team’s exhausting 6-5 season-opening win over the Miami Marlins. Is this how it’s going to be for his team all year? “Ha! I hope not,” Shelton said via the...
Luis Ortiz, Jose Hernadez shine in extra innings as bullpen boosts Pirates to Opening Day win
Jose Hernandez threw the 0-2 slider, then spun around to watch it when Bryan De La Cruz drove it deep to right field before it landed in the glove of Bryan Reynolds at the warning track. Hernandez punched his glove then pumped his left fist in the air to celebrate...
Jared Triolo delivers winning RBI in 12th, Jose Hernandez earns save as Pirates win opener
The Pittsburgh Pirates got an extra-inning win on Opening Day thanks to a hit by a player in his first season opener and a save by a pitcher who wasn’t even supposed to be on the active roster. Jared Triolo singled in the winning run in the top of the...
Henry Davis earns Opening Day start at catcher for Pirates, Connor Joe to bat leadoff at Marlins
Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 MLB Draft, will make the first start behind the plate of his major league career Thursday for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day in Miami. Davis is one of two Pirates players, along with second baseman Jared Triolo, making their...
Pirates DFA Canaan Smith-Njigba, 2 others to make Opening Day roster room for pitchers
In the span of a year, Canaan Smith-Njigba went from starting in right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day at Cincinnati to being designated for assignment to make room on the active roster. Smith-Njigba was one of three casualties to clear 40-man roster space before Thursday’s season opener...
Tim Benz: Going over on Pirates’ win total this year is a tough call — and that’s a good thing
Projecting a win total for the 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates is difficult, because there is a significant amount of uncertainty over how good or bad this year’s version of the team will be. Strangely, that’s … encouraging? Actually, it really is. After all, in recent seasons, so little has been expected...
U mad, bro?: Still more on Kenny Pickett trade; venting about the state of Steelers, Penguins, Pirates
You didn’t think one week was enough for Pittsburgh to properly expel all of its emotions over the Kenny Pickett trade, did you? Plus, the Penguins are bad, and another season of expected failure for the Pirates is on the horizon. That’s what this week’s “U mad, bro?” is all...
