July 8, 2015
Four hours to first pitch…
Game: Pirates (49-34) vs. San Diego Padres (39-47), 7:05 p.m., PNC Park
Pitchers: RHP Charlie Morton (6-2, 4.30) vs. RHP Andrew Cashner (3-9, 4.06)
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Media notes
Gregory Polanco tears into his eighth-inning RBI triple that proved decisive for the Pirates. -- GETTY
July 8, 2015
On Monday night at PNC Park, Gregory Polanco saw more pitches, 17 in three plate appearances, than any of the Pirates against the Padres’ James Shields. But the dividend of his approach was a 1-for-4 night.
On Tuesday, he saw four or more pitches in four of his five plate appearances, for a whopping one-man total of 19, and the results appeared: Polanco finished 1 for 3 with two walks and an eighth-inning RBI triple that proved the difference in a 3-2 victory.
“It’s good for him,” Clint Hurdle said of the results. “He’s another guy that’s got to settle into that mindset that ‘I’m looking for pitches I want to hit.’ Once it’s out of the pitcher’s hand, you’ve got to own it.”
It all starts with taking care of the field. PNC Park this afternoon. -- NATE BARNES
July 7, 2015
Four hours to first pitch…
Game: Pirates (48-34) vs. San Diego Padres (39-46), 7:05 p.m., PNC Park
Pitchers: LHP Francisco Liriano (5-6, 2.99) vs. RHP Tyson Ross (5-7, 3.63)
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Media notes
Matt Kemp reacts after striking out swinging against Tony Watson in the eighth inning. -- GETTY
July 7, 2015
A.J. Burnett buried a curveball behind the Padres’ Derek Norris for strike three, then ripped off a 360-degree, two-handed fist-pump to cap eight innings of one-run baseball Monday night at PNC Park.
It would have been a perfect ending to a day in which Burnett, at 38, was selected to his first All-Star Game, joining three fellow Pirates.
But just as he strode back to the dugout, home plate umpire Paul Emmel ruled Norris fouled the pitch off.
“Foul ball? Come on, man!” Burnett could be gleaned to say through lip-reading, before he turned around huffed back to the mound.
July 6, 2015
Four hours to first pitch…
Game: Pirates (47-34) vs. San Diego Padres (39-45), 7:30 p.m., PNC Park
Pitchers: RHP A.J. Burnett (7-3, 2.20) vs. RHP James Shields (7-3, 4.14)
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Media notes
Andrew McCutchen had a blast at his fourth All-Star Game last year in Minneapolis. -- GETTY
July 6, 2015
Major League Baseball’s 2015 All-Star rosters will be announced in their entirety Monday and, even though no Pirates were selected Sunday among the starters, the Pittsburgh contingent still could be sizable.
That’s been the case since the 20-year losing streak ended, as the Pirates sent five in 2013, three last year and, in general, are far removed from sending the mandatory Evan Meek.
Neal Huntington sees this as a good omen for the organization:
Josh Harrison celebrates a run Sunday at PNC Park. -- GETTY
July 8, 2015
Harrison has thumb surgery, out seven weeks
30by Nate Barnes • Coverage • Pirates
The Pirates will be without Josh Harrison for seven weeks after he underwent thumb surgery Wednesday. Dr. Thomas Graham, a hand specialist with the Cleveland Clinic, repaired a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the thumb on his left hand that was injured during an awkward slide Sunday.
Harrison had sounded cautiously optimistic earlier in the week after his initial examination, but the team’s statement about the surgery said this diagnosis confirmed the first.