Pirates bust loose with 7-2 victory

May 8, 2015

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Gregory Polanco ignored the stop sign from Pittsburgh Pirates third-base coach Rick Sofield and kept on churning. Considering the way the Pirates are struggling to score, the risk seemed worth the reward.A poor throw from Cincinnati centerfielder Billy Hamilton allowed Polanco to sprint across home plate to give Pittsburgh an early lead Thursday. And for the first time in a week, one run served as the beginning of Pittsburgh's offense, not the end.Andrew McCutchen broke out of a long slump with three hits in a 7-2 win over the Reds as the Pirates ended a five-game ...

Marte’s homer leads Bucs to another win

May 12, 2015

PHILADELPHIA - Gerrit Cole figured singles couldn't hurt him.Cole pitched seven effective innings, Starling Marte hit a three-run homer and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 on Monday night.Cole (5-1) allowed two runs and six hits - all singles - while striking out six and walking two, shaking off his first loss in 10 starts with another good outing. The right-hander had won four straight before Wednesday's 3-0 home loss to Cincinnati."They were not terrible pitches, but they were singles," Cole said. "It was important to minimize the damage."Making his first ...

Philly snaps Pirates’ win streak

May 14, 2015

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - With the game on the line, Jeff Francoeur wanted the ball. He responded with a perfect throw.Cole Hamels struck out nine over seven strong innings, Francoeur threw out the potential tying run at the plate to end the game and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 Wednesday night."As an outfielder who likes to throw, you live for that moment," Francoeur said.Hamels (3-3) allowed two runs and five hits to snap Philadelphia's four-game losing streak. He outpitched Matt Harvey in the Phillies' previous win last Friday night.Pirates lefty Francisco ...

Pirates finish series in Philly with 4-2 defeat

May 15, 2015

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Vance Worley insisted he felt no extra adrenaline rush in his return to Philadelphia for his second career start against the team that drafted him.Perhaps he could have used some.The righty lasted just four innings and failed to strike out a batter for the second consecutive game as the Pittsburgh Pirates lost 4-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.Worley (2-3) allowed three runs - one earned - on eight hits and a walk."I wasn't around the zone, not locating well at all," he said. "It's all about execution. Mechanically I was a little off, just a little out of ...

Pirates spill their coffee

May 16, 2015

CHICAGO - Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle's strategy to prolong an extra-inning game and give the Pirates another chance to pull out a dramatic comeback almost worked perfectly - twiceBut Pittsburgh right fielder Gregory Polanco tripped and fell trying to catch a routine fly and the ball dropped for an RBI single in the 12th inning that sent the Chicago Cubs to a startling 11-10 win on Friday."It looked to me like (Polanco) got to the ball without a problem," Hurdle said. "He didn't have to go far to get to the ball and then he made a little move to his left and crossed his feet and ...

Pirates stop 4-game slide with 3-0 win over Cubs

May 18, 2015

CHICAGO - The Pittsburgh Pirates needed another strong outing from their most consistent starter, and A.J. Burnett stepped up again.Burnett worked around five walks while pitching seven innings in his third consecutive win, and the Pirates stopped a four-game losing streak by cooling off the Chicago Cubs with a 3-0 victory on Sunday.Burnett (3-1) allowed three hits and struck out seven while handing Jake Arrieta his first loss in six career starts against Pittsburgh. He has allowed two runs or less in each of his eight starts this year after losing 18 games with Philadelphia last ...