July 4
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"
Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez (tightness in lower back) was scratched from Friday's lineup against the Florida Marlins. According to a team spokesman, Sanchez felt a muscle in his back grab as he got out of a cab at Land Shark Stadium. His status is day-to-day. • Ryan Doumit (right wrist) caught the first five innings in the first game of a Gulf Coast League doubleheader against the Blue Jays' rookie league club in Dunedin, Fla. Doumit went 0-for-2 (walk, strikeout, fly out). Doumit will join Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday to continue his rehab assignment. • Steve Pearce has started just two games since being called up by the Pirates on June 21. Management has said it would make ..."
July 4
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"
Imagine how good Charlie Morton might be when he finally gets to pitch a normal game on a normal, five-day rotation. Friday, Morton outlasted a pair of rain delays and dominated the Florida Marlins to pace the Pirates to a 7-4 victory. It was Morton's first victory in four starts since being traded to the Pirates from the Atlanta Braves in the Nate McLouth deal. "It's been weird for him," manager John Russell said. "He's been pitching on (more) days' rest, then he comes in today and there's a rain delay. It'd be nice to see this guy pitch on a fifth day without anything going on." Morton (1-1) perplexed the Marlins with lively fastballs and nifty breaking pitches that were harder to read ..."
July 3
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"
Paul Maholm can count on one hand how many times he's allowed five earned runs in a game since May 25 of last season. Now, he's done it three times in the past 16 days. "We had a five-run lead, and I gave it up," he said. "On my part, that's pretty pathetic." Maholm wasted an early five-run cushion in what turned into a 9-8, 10-inning loss to the New York Mets in a back-and-forth make-up game Thursday afternoon at PNC Park. Trailing, 8-6, in the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates tied the score on Adam LaRoche's two-run homer run off All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez. But Ryan Church lined a run-scoring, two-out single off Matt Capps (1-4) in the top of the 10th, as the Mets won for the ..."
July 2
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"
After earning their first June winning record in 12 years, the Pirates opened their July schedule on Wednesday night with a more typical outcome of past seasons. Derrek Lee smashed a two-run homer measuring 438 feet in the first inning, and the Chicago Cubs led the rest of the way in a 4-1 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park. The Pirates mustered just six hits, but they managed only four -- all singles -- during the final eight innings off Cubs starter Randy Wells (3-3) combined with two relievers to hold the Bucs hitless after the fifth. "We fall into these ruts," said Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson, who was 0 for 3. "We've got to score runs. We should have made it more of a game, ..."
July 2
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"
Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson apologized this afternoon for his comments criticizing the team's most recent trades, including popular outfielder Nyjer Morgan. Wilson, the longest-tenured Pirates said he "really didn't sleep last night" and stressed yesterday's tirade was emotional and uncharacteristic. "Some of my comments were pretty harsh," he said. "When you are in the moment and everyone's bummed out, you tend to lose your head a little bit and vent. A lot of the things I said I thought about last night. I definitely don't want to be that guy that's butting heads with the organization. I apologize for that. That's not the person or the player I want to be." The Pirates traded Morgan ..."
July 1
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"
If only every trade with the New York Yankees worked out this well. Right-hander Ross Ohlendorf tossed seven scoreless innings and struck out a career-high eight, as the Pirates clipped the Chicago Cubs, 3-0, on Tuesday night at PNC Park. On a day dominated by news of the trades of outfielders Nyjer Morgan and Eric Hinske and reliever Sean Burnett, Ohlendorf, acquired as part of last year's Xavier Nady deal with the New York Yankees, enjoyed the best start of his burgeoning major-league career. "A big key is that I didn't try to throw as hard as I could," Ohlendorf said. "I just tried to make good pitches." The 26-year-old Ohlendorf (7-6) allowed four hits and no walks, and he didn't allow ..."
June 30
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"
The Pirates today traded ultilityman Eric Hinske to the New York Yankees in exchange for two minor leaguers. Outfielder Garrett Jones was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis to replace Hinske, and is expected to be in uniform for tonight's game against the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates acquired catcher/outfielder Eric Fryer and right-hander Casey Erickson. Fryer, 23, hit .250 with 11 doubles, two homers and 24 RBI in 59 games with Class A Tampa. He will be assigned to Class A Lynchburg"
June 30
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"
The Pirates on Monday were able to put pressure on Chicago Cubs right-hander Rich Harden. Scoring runs, however, was a different story. The Pirates knocked out eight hits - seven of them singles - over Harden's final three innings, but all it added up to was a 3-1 loss against the Cubs. Once again, left-hander Zach Duke (8-6) was the victim of poor run support. The Pirates have scored a total of five runs in Duke's six losses. "We've struggled to give a lot of our pitchers support this year," Freddy Sanchez said. "We've been up and down. Zach's pitched great all year and we haven't been able to give him run support on a consistent basis." Sanchez went 0 for 4 and twice failed to come ..."
June 30
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"
So much attention has been paid to what the Pirates have lost this season - their cleanup hitter, an All-Star outfielder, a couple of pitchers - that it's easy to overlook where they stand. Going into Monday's game against the Chicago Cubs, the Pirates were just five games out of first place in the NL Central. "Whether people realize it or not, we're right there," manager John Russell said. "We're not that far back. If we can start sneaking a few games here and there and continue to play well, we really feel we're right there where we need to be." The flip side is, they still were in last place in the division and five games under .500. The NL Central race figures be a tight the rest of ..."
June 30
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"
The Pirates did not have too much trouble last night putting pressure on Chicago Cubs right-hander Rich Harden. Scoring runs, however, was a different story. The Pirates knocked out eight hits - seven of them singles - over Harden's final three innings, but all it added up to was a 3-1 loss against the Cubs. Harden (5-4) won for the first time since May 12, snapping a career-worst three-game losing streak. He worked seven innings and allowed a run on nine hits and a walk and struck out nine. The Cubs came into the game having lost six of their previous eight games. Their 35-37 record marked the first time they had been two games under .500 since the fourth game of the 2008 season. Once ..."