The mission for the Pirates coming into a three-game weekend series against the Diamondbacks at PNC Park had to be a sweep. With the first postseason tiebreaker now head-to-head matchups (the one-game playoff is a thing of the past thanks to the expanded postseason field), a sweep would have given Pittsburgh a 4-2 edge in… read more

If someone had told you that the Pirates dealt pitcher Martin Perez, a veteran they signed to a one-year, $8 million deal in the offseason, at baseball’s trade deadline, you’d probably say, “Yep, that’s our Buccos.” But the Perez deal was an afterthought by the time Pirates general manager Ben Cherington was done wheeling and… read more

With the MLB deadline fast approaching, the Pirates made two trades on Monday, but neither was of the all-in variety. No, in the afternoon, hours before the Bucs took on the Astros in the first of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park, it was announced that Pittsburgh had sent pitching prospect Quinn Priester to… read more

What’s the next best thing to taking two of three against a team just ahead of you in the wildcard standings? How about avoiding a sweep? Sadly, after losing the first two matchups against the Diamondbacks on Friday and Saturday, respectively, that’s all Pittsburgh could hope for on Sunday afternoon at Chase Field. Thankfully, the… read more

As the Pirates took on the Diamondbacks in the first of a three-game weekend series at Chase Field on Friday night, they did so as one of the hottest teams in baseball. Pittsburgh had won 10 of its previous 13 and was just one-and-a-half games out of the third and final wildcard spot in the… read more

Mitch Keller allowed one run over seven innings, while second baseman Nick Gonzales singled to drive in Bryan Reynolds with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Pirates took the first of a crucial three-game series against the Cardinals by a score of 2-1 at PNC Park on Monday night…. read more

The Pirates lost to the Phillies by a score of 6-0 on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park. By escaping Pittsburgh with a victory, Philadelphia avoided a sweep and salvaged the final game of the weekend series. If you had told Pirates fans before the weekend series that Pittsburgh would take two of three from the… read more

Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales is not a rookie. No, the 25-year-old, selected seventh overall in the 2020 MLB Draft, debuted for Pittsburgh in 2023. In 35 games, Gonzales batted .209 with 24 hits–including eight doubles, one triple and two home runs–and 13 RBI. There was concern about his future. Would Gonzales be another of… read more

Continuing my 2 part series on major league baseball midseason awards and turning my attention to the National League. You can read part 1 here. The National League has what I believe to be some candidates that are a lock, and I will not have any disagreement (or not much). You can’t look at some… read more

Paul Skenes pitched a scoreless bottom of the first inning during his brief appearance as the starting pitcher for the National League in the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Global Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday night. Not only did Skenes pitch a scoreless bottom of the first inning, but he also… read more