Kevin Gorman stories, Page 35

The Pittsburgh Pirates had been one of baseball’s hottest teams over the past 10 games, and their bullpen was a big reason why. With a .191 batting average against and 1.46 ERA, the Pirates’ bullpen ranked second in baseball in both categories. So it was with confidence that manager Derek...

On a night when emotions ran high as the Atlanta Braves retired the jersey number of one of their greats and had a chance to clinch a playoff spot, the Pittsburgh Pirates played the perfect spoiler to the celebration. Bryan Reynolds, who has an affinity for playing at Atlanta, led...

The Atlanta Braves got so many bloops, they didn’t need a blast. They got a couple anyway. A six-single inning featured three bloops that scored four runs against Pittsburgh Pirates starter Mitch Keller in the third inning, then Ronald Acuna Jr. and Eddie Rosario added blasts in the fourth to...

ALTOONA — Bubba Chandler arrived this week with a strong feeling of accomplishment, given that his goal was to end the season here, but a greater sense of humility after a slow start. A 20-year-old right-hander who is a top-10 prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chandler is scheduled to make...

ALTOONA — The highly anticipated meeting between the former LSU teammates who were the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the 2023 MLB Draft happened Thursday, just nothing like expected. Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews met here for lunch at the Knickerbocker Tavern instead of facing each other when the...

As Andrew McCutchen dealt with the shockwaves of a season-ending injury — a partial tear in his left Achilles tendon — he reflected on his return to the Pittsburgh Pirates with a focus on the future. Most of all, McCutchen reveled in the reception from PNC Park crowds after a...

Hunter Stratton’s journey to the major leagues became real when the Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed reliever took the ball and threw his first pitch to Mark Canha for a swinging strike in the eighth inning. An inning that started with a strike ended with an exhale when Stratton struck out Tyrone...

For Andre Jackson, the first time pitching through the Milwaukee Brewers’ batting order was a breeze. The second time was a disaster. After Jackson pitched three perfect innings, the Brewers took advantage of his command issues by drawing five walks and used a six-run fifth inning to take a commanding...

Saying that pitcher Paul Skenes “checked all the boxes” and emphasizing that there are no health concerns, the Pittsburgh Pirates placed the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick on the development list Tuesday and shut him down from pitching for the remainder of the season. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington...

Hunter Stratton was in his third season with Triple-A Indianapolis and the final year of his minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, so he had reached the now-or-never stage of his pro baseball career. A 16th-round pick out of Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn. — where Stratton...

Andrew McCutchen was swinging like he wanted to hit his 300th home run against the Milwaukee Brewers — the same team against which he hit Nos. 100 and 200 — but ended up running into trouble. The Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter was removed from Monday’s game with tightness in his...

The cutter that made Corbin Burnes a Cy Young winner was the best Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton had seen it in four years, until the Milwaukee Brewers ace left a pair of them over the plate. Jack Suwinski and Ke’Bryan Hayes hit the cutter for home runs to boost...

Connor Joe often doesn’t know what position he’s going to play or which spot in the order he’s going to bat, but after a career of bouncing from team to team he’s not about to complain. Joe, 31, has a career-best 27 doubles in a career-high 114 games this season...

Johan Oviedo followed the best start of his major league career — a complete-game shutout Monday at Kansas City — with one of his shortest and worst starts. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander dealt with command problems and tied his career-worst with six walks, as the St. Louis Cardinals loaded the...

When Ji-Hwan Bae returned from a prolonged rehabilitation assignment for a left ankle sprain in mid-August, one Pittsburgh Pirates player in particular was thrilled to see the rookie return to the lineup. “Bae’s a key piece to the puzzle,” Andrew McCutchen said. “He’s a guy who can use his speed...

That Jack Suwinski was all smiles was a welcome sign for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the second-year outfielder ended a five-week homerless streak by going to the deepest part of Kauffman Stadium. When Suwinski crushed Collin Snider’s 0-1 sinker 436 feet and off the back of the batter’s eye in...

Andre Jackson’s start against the Kansas City Royals was only the third of his major-league career, and the right-hander gave the Pittsburgh Pirates reason to consider making it a more permanent role. Jackson struck out the first five batters he faced and a career-high seven of the first 10. Six...

Liover Peguero knew the moment he connected with Steven Cruz’s slider that it was gone, so the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie admired the ball as it sailed 416 feet into the seats just below the scoreboard in left field at Kauffman Stadium. Pirates players watching from the visitor’s dugout looked at...

For seven-plus innings, the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn’t get a runner past second base, let alone score a run against the Kansas City Royals. One Ke’Bryan Hayes swing changed everything. The Pirates third baseman continued his blistering August by blasting a two-run home run in the eighth inning, and Liover Peguero...

The ball came off Bobby Witt Jr.’s bat at an exit velocity of 106 mph, a sure extra-base hit that could have scored a run for the Kansas City Royals if it wasn’t hit in the wrong direction. His problem: Witt drilled it down the third base line, where Ke’Bryan...

Johan Oviedo was sitting at 97 pitches through eighth scoreless innings, and Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton had no intention of sending the 25-year-old right-hander out for the ninth. Then Pirates rookie catcher Endy Rodriguez stood behind Shelton and pitching coach Oscar Marin in the visitor dugout, repeatedly urging them...

Amid an abysmal August, Jack Suwinski has to remember to remind himself that he’s leading the Pittsburgh Pirates in home runs, ranks second in RBIs, walks and on-base percentage and is the fastest player in franchise history to reach 40 career home runs. That’s no easy task for Suwinski. The...

The Chicago Cubs signaled they were making a chase for the NL Central title by trading for Jeimer Candelario at the deadline, reacquiring the hot-hitting corner infielder for a potential playoff run. Candelario continues to pay dividends, batting .305 with with 11 extra-base hits and 11 RBIs in 23 games...

Cody Bolton was back in the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse Sunday, clean-shaven and ready to pitch in relief. The right-hander was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and added to the active roster for the series finale against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. To make room for Bolton, the Pirates optioned right-hander...