Tag Archives: Pittsburgh Pirates

Oneil Cruz arrives with a bang

Posted on by
Advertisements

After much anticipation Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop prospect Oneil Cruz was promoted to the big league club and made his presence known. It was a dynamic outing for Cruz who went 2-5 with four runs driven in and two runs scored in Pittsburgh’s 12-1 drubbing of the Chicago Cubs Monday night. Cruz’ first hit for the Buccos this season was a bases clearing double in the 3rd making it a 7-0 game.

The second hit for Cruz came in the 7th as he drove in Daniel Vogelbach with the game already decided.

While the offensive display is the headline, do not let his defensive ability go unlooked. In the 3rd inning Oneil Cruz registered the hardest tracked throw by an infielder at 96.7 MPH.

The Pirates still have some work to do in regards to becoming competitive, but it appears they are piecing a good foundation together. Oneil Cruz in addition to Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds should provide some excitement while the team begins their upswing towards escaping the cellar of the National League Central.

If you still have not bought stock in Oneil Cruz now is the time. Enjoy the ride as the towering 6’7″ shortstop is working towards making Pirates baseball appointment television.

Yu Chang traded to Pirates

Posted on by
Advertisements

After being designated for assignment just a few days earlier Yu Chang is heading to Pittsburgh. The Pirates acquired Chang from Cleveland for cash.

This was a move that seemed destined to happen for quite some time. Yu Chang was never going to be an integral part of the Guardians lineup. Add in others stepping into positions he is able to play and outperforming Chang and the writing was on the wall. Cleveland’s infield seems set with Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Owen Miller, Josh Naylor, and Ernie Clement playing full-time or part-time roles. The positional flexibility of players such as Gimenez, Miller, and Clement led to Chang being a redundancy. A redundancy that was not performing at an acceptable level.

Yu Chang struggled in his limited play time this season, striking out seven times in just 10 at-bats. High strikeout rates are more tolerable than the past, but that usually comes with extreme power potential or at least some hits, the latter being completely absent in his four games of action.

Over his career Chang is a .208/.265/.372 hitter with 10 career home runs (nine coming last season) with 102 strikeouts in 331 at-bat. Chang’s career WRC+ stands at just 71 while his best season as a professional was just 85 (average is 100). In Pittsburgh Chang should get an opportunity as bench/role player of some sort. Is is possible that semi-regular playing time produces better numbers. The concern is that his pedestrian at-best production across all levels leaves a lot to be desired.

Cleveland avoids sweep in Pittsburgh with 2-1 win

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Baseball Club managed to avoid being swept in Pittsburgh by defeating the Pirates by a score of 2-1 Sunday.

The trip to Pittsburgh was not going well for the Cleveland Baseball Club as they dropped the first two games against one of the worst teams in baseball. Facing the possibility of being swept by the Pirates, Cleveland made sure that did not happen with a slim one-run victory.

The game was scoreless until the 5th inning when Harold Ramirez came up and launched a solo home run to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead.

It was the third home run for Harold Ramirez in two games as the former Marlin appears to be quite comfortable at the plate as of late.

After the Pirates tied the game at 1 in the 6th, it was Josh Naylor who came to the rescue with a RBI single which drove in Eddie Rosario.

Cleveland only managed four hits and two walks in the contest, not necessarily a dynamic offensive output. The team really needs some answers to fix the offense if they plan on competing this season. Luckily Cleveland was able to get an impressive outing from their pitching staff to come away with a win.

Sam Hentges started the game for Cleveland, pitching five shutout innings and only allowing two hits and one walk with four strikeouts. This was by far the best start of the season for Hentges, even though he did not come away with a win.

Sam Hentges started the game for Cleveland, pitching five shutout innings and only allowing two hits and one walk with four strikeouts. This was by far the best start of the season for Hentges, even though he did not come away with a win.

Phil Maton pitched the 6th, giving up the only Pirates run of the game on a Jacob Stallings RBI single. Maton struck out three batters and allowed three hits in his one inning of work.

Trevor Stephan relieved Maton and allowed just one hit and one walk in the contest. This was the last Pittsburgh hit of the game.

The 8th inning belonged to Emmanuel Clase and he kept the Pirates off the base-paths. This was the third hold of the year for Clase.

James Karinchak struck out one batter in the 9th as he came away with his eighth save of the season.

Cleveland continues their road trip on Monday as they take on the Cubs in Chicago at 8:05 P.M.

Cleveland come back falls short in Pittsburgh

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Baseball Club’s comeback effort fell just short as they lost 11-10.

Things did not start off well for the Cleveland Baseball Club in Pittsburgh. Jean Carlos Mejia allowed five runs in the 1st inning, not exactly the start imagined by anyone facing this Pirates team. Even after the poor start, Mejia was able to give the team some length as he went 5 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits along the way. 

Kyle Nelson also allowed five runs in an inning as he failed to get out of the 6th. Nelson’s issue was walks as he allowed three free passes in addition to two hits. It was a walk, a hit by pitch, and a three RBI double which chased Nelson. 

Finding themselves down 11-1 in the 7th, Cleveland staged quite the comeback effort. A bases loaded RBI single from Josh Naylor got things started. Rene Rivera also followed with a bases loaded RBI single which set the stage for Cesar Hernandez. Hernandez clobbered a grand slam to cut the Pirates lead to four. 

Cleveland continued their comeback effort in the 8th as it was Rivera again delivering with the bases loaded. This time a throwing error allowed all runners on base to score making the deficit just one. Unfortunately, that’s all Cleveland could muster as they were unable to drive in any of the two runners on base in the 9th. 

The series continues at PNC Park Saturday at 4:05 P.M. 

Chris Archer returns to Tampa Bay

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to a deal to bring back the veteran pitcher.

Funny how things sometimes come full circle. That is the case when it comes to the Tampa Bay Rays and Chris Archer The two sides have agreed to a deal which will have Archer return to the Rays after being deal to Pittsburgh in 2018.

Chris Archer did not have a great tenure with the Pirates and was hit hard on a fairly regular basis. Archer compiled a 4.92 ERA, 1.395 WHIP and a 10.6 K/9 in 33 starts in Pittsburgh, hardly worth the price tag given up to acquire him. That price tag? Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows, and Shane Baz. Glasnow and Meadows are key pieces for the Rays and Bay is a promising pitching prospect in A ball.

This officially closes the door on a disastrous deal for the Pittsburgh Pirates while the Tampa Bay Rays are reaping the benefits. While Chris Archer has not pitched well the past few seasons, returning to the pitching factory that is the Rays could bring him back to his former form. Something that Tampa Bay would like after trading Blake Snell to the San Diego Padres earlier this offseason. Even 60-70% of former Archer would be a huge win for the Rays and that is not out of the question.

Petty trade destinations for Mike Clevinger

Posted on by
Advertisements

The future of Mike Clevinger in Cleveland is in question and the possibility he is traded is very real. If the Cleveland Baseball Club were to be petty here is where he could end up. (Note: These are not real trade ideas or proposals, only ideas for the sake of pettiness).

1. Kind of petty

Trading Mike Clevinger to Pittsburgh would qualify as kind of petty. The Pirates are not a good team and Clevinger’s win totals would take a hit big time. Clevinger has double-digit wins in the previous seasons and that could take a hit if ending up on a team like the Pirates.

2. A little more petty

This is a little more petty. Trade Mike Clevinger to the Houston Astros. Now, some may think this should qualify as completely petty, but we will get there. Sending Clevinger to a team that he has been quite vocal about in regards to their cheating scandal would be pretty petty. Becoming teammates with people that he has criticized would be awkward for both parties.

3. Completely petty

Here it is, completely petty. Trading Mike Clevinger to the New York Yankees. Hear me out on this one, take the fact that Yankees are a good team out of this equation, this is not about team performance This is about everything else that going to the Yankees entails. Not only would Clevinger be sent to team with a former Astros pitcher (Gerrit Cole), he would be on a team with requirements about personal appearance. Clevinger would have to cut his long hair, something that has become a signature look of sorts. Having to undergo a physical transformation like this does not seem like something that would be all that appealing to Clevinger who really isn’t the conforming type.

Cleveland travels to Pittsburgh to face Pirates

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Baseball Club will continue their road trip as they will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates in a three game series.

Cleveland had a day off after completing their sweep of the Detroit Tigers and will now face the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Carlos Carrasco will take the mound for Cleveland and he has only faced one hitter in the Pirates lineup before, Jarrod Dyson. Carrasco has limited Dyson to 4 hits, all singles and has struck him out 5 times. Cookie will look to bounce back after a lackluster outing against the Cubs last week. Carrasco allowed 3 runs in 4.1 innings and walked 5 batters. Luckily the Pirates are not the same quality of team as the Cubs so there is some hope he can last a bit longer and allow fewer runs.

JT Brubaker will start for Pittsburgh and this will be his second career start. Brubaker has pitched a total of 8 innings in his 3 appearances this season, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 9. Brubaker will have a tough time navigating a lineup that is starting to get hot. Franmil Reyes has been on an absolute tear, going 10-18 with 1 double and 3 home runs in his last five games. Reyes heating up has certainly been a welcome sight for Cleveland as he struggled out of the gate. Cleveland will lean on Reyes until some of the other bats in the lineup start pulling their weight, facing Pittsburgh this week will give some of the other batters in the lineup a chance to heat up.

Tuesday’s game is scheduled to start at 7:05 P.M.

Pittsburgh “off the table” for Blue Jays

Posted on by
Advertisements

It appears that the Toronto Blue Jays will not be playing their home games at PNC Park this season and right now they are homeless.

Well, things changed rather quickly. Despite an earlier report that PNC Park in Pittsburgh would be the home of the Toronto Blue Jays this season, it appears that is now off the table. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported the news Wednesday afternoon.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health did not approve of the plan.

The possibility of Toronto having to play all of their games on the road this season is very real and would be exhausting. While half of their games they would be the home team, having to adapt to a new city every few days and not having some sort of makeshift home facility is not ideal.

The MLB season starts on Thursday and the Toronto Blue Jays are homeless.

Blue Jays to play “home” games in Pittsburgh

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Toronto Blue Jays will be sharing PNC Park in Pittsburgh with the Pirates for their “home” games this season as Toronto is not an option.

After a few days of uncertainty the Toronto Blue Jays have a ballpark to call home for the 2020 season. PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

Toronto was no longer an option after the Canadian government told the club and Major League Baseball that games were not going to be permitted to take place at Rogers Centre. Buffalo and Baltimore were discussed as options, but it is Pittsburgh where the Blue Jays will play the majority of their home games this season. There are two times when they will not play a home game in Pittsburgh. Toronto will be the “home team” when facing the Yankees and Nationals in their stadium due to the Pirates having priority over the Blue Jays at PNC Park.

While the stadium problem is solved, it does present a new issue. Part of the reason for the way the season was constructed was to limit the players/teams contact with each other. Now more teams than initially planned will make trips to the same stadium, calling into question the integrity of the season they are about to embark upon. Ensuring that everyone involved in this season is safe will now be a much larger endeavor than previously imagined which could present more difficulties they may not be adequately prepared for.

Cleveland to face Pirates in three exhibition games

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Basball Club will face the Pittsburgh Pirates in three exhibition games before the shortened season starts.

The Cleveland Baseball Club will participate in some much needed exhibition games against the Pittsburgh Pirates next week. There will be two games in Pittsburgh and one in Cleveland. The game at Progressive Field will be broadcast on SportsTime Ohio.

These games will be very important as it will give the team a look at batters and pitchers who are not in their own organization. Facing a different team will give Cleveland a better idea of how their opponents will approach the team during this 60-game sprint.

The team will also be able to figure out exactly what they are doing with their outfield. Outfielder Delino DeShields landed back on the injured list Sunday with an undisclosed issue. DeShields just returned to the team after testing positive for COVID-19. Seeing how the other outfielders perform against Pittsburgh may impact how the team utilizes the position group when the games start to count.