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Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Central

Limiting mistakes is the key for Marshall against No. 3 Louisville

MILWAUKEE — The Pittsburgh Pirates are clinging to playoff hopes and got a great start from rookie Chad Kuhl to keep them in the hunt. Sean Rodriguez hit a home run and a two-run single, Andrew McCutchen went deep, rookie Chad Kuhl pitched six strong innings and the Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1 on Wednesday night. The Pirates won their sixth straight at Miller Park, and sixth of seven overall to improve to 76-75. Pittsburgh began the day 4 1/2 games behind San Francisco for the second NL wild card spot. The Pirates also have to hurdle the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami ...

Pirates preserve playoff chances with 6-3 win over Brewers

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Andrew McCutchen, Jody Mercer and Josh Bell each drove in two runs and the Pittsburgh Pirates preserved their faint playoff hopes alive with a 6-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. The Pirates won their fifth straight at Miller Park, and fifth of six overall to improve to .500 (75-75) for the first time since they were 69-69 on Sept. 8. Pittsburgh began the day five games behind San Francisco for the second NL wild card spot and St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins in between the Pirates and Giants. McCutchen’s two-run double in the first staked ...

Galvis hits homer to lead Phillies past Pittsburgh

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Freddy Galvis has a handwritten note stuck on his locker reminding him to keep the ball out of the air. There’s no signature. It’s simply inscribed “#No. 20.” Even Mike Schmidt (yes, The No. 20) could agree that if Galvis does put the ball in the air, it may as well soar out of the park. Galvis continued his home run surge, hitting his 19th of the season to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. Galvis connected on a two-run shot in the second inning off Steven Brault (0-3) for his 10th homer in ...

Rodriguez hits homer to lift Bucs over Phillies

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sean Rodriguez is having his most productive big league season yet, and he had a memorable blast Tuesday night to keep the Pittsburgh Pirates’ slim postseason hopes alive. Rodriguez had a pinch-hit three-run homer in the ninth inning, lifting the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh remained six games behind the Mets for the second NL wild card. Rodriguez’s home run was his career-high 13th of the season and first since Aug. 14. It was also his first pinch-hit home run since May 25, 2013. “A couple years ...

Fading Pirates lose 8-0 to Reds

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are running out of time. It may already be too late. Ryan Vogelsong pitched four shaky innings in Pittsburgh’s 8-0 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday, closing a disappointing four-game set against the last-place Reds. The Pirates have dropped 11 of 13 overall to fall off the pace in the NL wild-card race. After Cincinnati got to Vogelsong (3-5) for five runs in the second on its way to a big lead, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle emptied his extensive bench, giving playing time to some younger and little-used players. But Hurdle insisted he isn’t ...

Votto powers Reds past reeling Pirates 8-7

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joey Votto celebrated his 33rd birthday with four hits, including a home run, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the collapsing Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 on Saturday night. Votto led off the ninth inning with his 23rd homer, a drive to right off Juan Nicasio that gave the Reds a two-run cushion. The 2010 NL MVP is hitting .427 in 51 games since the All-Star break and could become the first major leaguer to hit .400 in the second half since Ichiro Suzuki had a .429 average in 2004 with the Seattle Mariners. The Pirates’ flickering hopes of a fourth consecutive postseason ...