Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Central

Pirates-O’s finish in tie

SARASOTA, Fla. - Andrew McCutchen hit a ninth-inning home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles played to a 7-7, 10-inning tie on Sunday.McCutchen, who also doubled, is batting .529 this spring.Gerrit Cole allowed six runs and eight hits in 6 innings.Cole, who will probably be Pittsburgh's No. 2 starter this season, allowed three home runs among his eight hits: a leadoff homer to Nick Markakis in the first, a two-out blast to Chris Davis, his fourth this spring, and a two-run shot by Ryan Flaherty in the sixth."It's not fun giving up six runs and three bombs. A game like ...

Marte records five of Pirates’ 29 hits in 22-5 rout of Blue Jays

BRADENTON, Fla. - Pitcher Wandy Rodriguez contributed a two-run homer and RBI single as the Pittsburgh Pirates got 29 hits Tuesday and routed the Toronto Blue Jays 22-5.Starling Marte and Jose Tabata each homered and drove in four runs. Marte got five hits and Tabata had four. The Pirates finished with nine extra-base hits.In his first at-bat of the spring, Rodriguez hit a full-count fastball from J.A. Happ into the Pirates' bullpen in right field."It's a 3-2 count and I knew the fastball was coming," Rodriguez said with a laugh. "I made good contract and the wind helped me, too. I don't ...

Morton, Pirates blank Phillies

PHILADELPHIA - Neil Walker had three hits and an RBI to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.Pirates starter Charlie Morton allowed one hit in three scoreless innings, striking out one. Morton, who is scheduled to start the Pirates' second regular-season game on Wednesday against the Cubs, ended the spring with a 0.82 ERA in four starts.Tony Watson pitched a scoreless inning. Watson hasn't given up a run in five innings this spring. Russell Martin and Clint Barmes added RBIs for the Pirates.Chase Utley had all three of ...

Pirates and Cubs ready to start anew

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The family reunion will be short. Whether it will be sweet hardly matters. At last, the wounds of 21 years of futility have finally started to heal.One magical summer took care of all that.When the Pittsburgh Pirates take the field for Monday's opener against the rebuilding Chicago Cubs, they'll do it without the burden of two decades of losing. They'll do it with the momentum that comes after the best season in a generation, and something just as valuable as they try to prove their breakout 2013 was no fluke: legitimate optimism."I feel very confident about the hunger ...

Play ball

Express yourself

STEUBENVILLE - Zack D'Ulisse always has loved baseball.From the Little League fields at Belleview Park to playing baseball at Catholic Central High School and then helping to organize a club team at the University of Akron, the 24-year old D'Ulisse always has wanted to be involved in the game.He even interned with the Akron Racers, a professional women's softball team in Akron.D'Ulisse couldn't attend today's home opener in Pittsburgh against the Chicago Cubs but he does plan on being at PNC Stadium on Sunday when the Pirates host the St. Louis Cardinals."I realized at Akron University I ...