Results tagged ‘ brandon wood ’

Wood comes up big in Bucs 4-2 win

Former first-rounder Brandon Wood never lived up to the hype for the Angels, but received fresh start when the Pirates claimed him off waivers on Friday.

Wood may have flied to right in his first at-bat as a Bucco, but came through with a two-run double in the 4th, for the go-ahead run in the 4-2 win agasint the Washington Nationals on Monday night at PNC Park.

The double came after a short rain delay. With Neil Walker on Third base, and Steve Pearce was on first when Wood doubled to right center field. Jose Tabata scored on an error by right fielder Jayson Werth before the delay. Chris Snyder singled for the fourth run of the inning, and give the Pirates a 4-2 lead.

Left-hander Paul Maholm started for the Pirates and after allowing two runs to score on three hits in the 1st, he settled in and was solid. He allowed just one more hit –in the third inning– and put up zeros the rest of his outing.

Maholm was charged with two runs on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts over seven innings (99 pitches). He picked up his first win on the season.

Righty John Lannan ran into trouble after the rain delay, giving up the four runs in the 4th to the Bucs. He allowed four runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts over 5.2 innings.

With the win, the Pirates took the series from the Nats and improved to 10-12 on the season.

The Pirates will open up a three game series against the 2010 World Series Champs, the San Francisco Giants. The Giants will send Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong to the mound against the Bucs.

Pregame News and Notes: Nationals @ Pirates 4/25

The Pittsburgh Pirates (9-12) will face the Washington Nationals (10-10) at 7:05 PM at PNC Park for the makeup game that was postponed on Friday.

Left-hander Paul Maholm (0-3, 4.30 ERA) will start for the Bucs against John Lannan (2-1, 3.43 ERA).

Maholm allowed six runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings against the Florida Marlins during his last start. Lannan allowed two runs on seven hits over five innings with two walks, three strikeouts against the Cardinals.

News and Notes:

  • Andrew McCutchen’s final out at the plate on Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Nationals is becoming somewhat of a controversy. If you didn’t see what happened, McCutchen, who was on third base with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, was called out at home plate when he tried to tag up and score. Right fielder Jayson Werth made a perfect throw to get McCutchen at the plate.

Manager Clint Hurdle defended McCutchen’s decision to try to score and recently so did third base coach Nick Lyeva. Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, has more on the story here.

  • Infielder Brandon Wood will be making his Pirates debut today, starting at third base. Wood was recently claimed off waiver from the Angels.

 

Pirates:

Andrew McCutchen CF, Jose Tabata LF, Matt Diaz RF, Neil Walker 2B, Steve Pearce 1B, Brandon Wood 3B, Chris Snyder C, Ronny Cedeno SS, Paul Maholm LHP

Nationals:

Danny Espinosa 2B, Ian Desmond SS, Jayson Werth RF, Andy LaRoche 1B, Michael Morse LF, Wil Ramos C, Jerry Hairston CF, Brian Bixler 3B, John Lannan LHP

Pregame News and Notes: Nats @ Pirates 4/23

The Pittsburgh Pirates will face the Washington Nationals at 7:05 PM ET.

Right-hander Jeff Karstens (1-0, 4.50 ERA) will start for the Bucs against Livan Hernandez (2-1, 2.88 ERA).

Karstens spot started for Ross Ohlendorf (right shoulder posterior strain) on Sunday against the Reds. He allowed five runs on eight hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 4.1 innings. It will be his second start (five appearance) this season.

Hernandez is coming off a great start against the Brewers. He allowed just one run on six hits over seven innings with no walks and three strikeouts.

 

News and Notes:

  • Infielder Brandon Wood arrived in Pittsburgh in the early am on Saturday. He took a red eye from California to get to PNC Park before the game today. Although he’s not in the starting lineup today, he is excited for his opportunity.

Wood told Colin Dunlap of the Post-Gazette, “The Angels had to make a move, I understand that. Now, for me, this is an unbelievable opportunity. I’m fortunate for my time and my opportunity with the Angels, I am. But now, this is an all new opportunity and, really, a chance to redeem myself.”

“I talked to Neal Huntington and Clint Hurdle and I can tell this is an organization that wants me and is working toward the right direction. They want to succeed and they want to add me to it.”

“When it comes to hitting, Clint is one of the best to work with. He has a great reputation and he’s developed a lot of young guys and made a lot of players better. Just look at what he did with the young players in Colorado. He’s a guy I want to work with and I want to have him involved with helping me improve. Like I said, I just can’t wait to get there and get a uniform and get to work.”

  • With Wood arriving to Pittsburgh, Pedro Ciriaco was optioned to Triple-A.

Pirates:

Andrew McCutchen CF, Jose Tabata LF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Garrett Jones RF, Ryan Doumit C, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ronny Cedeno SS, Jeff Karstens RHP

Nationals:

Danny Espinosa 2B, Rick Ankiel CF, Jayson Werth RF, Adam LaRoche 1B, Wilson Ramos C, Michael Morse LF, Ian Desmond (SS), Jerry Hairston 3B, Livan Hernandez RHP

Wood claimed from Angels; Rodriguez DFA; Ciriaco recalled

  • The Pirates claimed infielder Brandon Wood off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. Wood was designated for assignment earlier this week after batting .143 in six games this season.

brandon wood.jpgThe 26-year-old was a first round pick (23rd overall) by the Angeles in the 2003 draft. Once a highly touted prospect, Wood was ranked the 3rd best prospect in baseball by Baseball America in 2006, 8th in 2007.

Since making his debut with the Angles in 2007, Wood has a .168 career average in the majors.

Wood hit .146 with 14 RBIs and four homers in 81 games last year. He is out of options and is arbitration eligible for the first time after the 2011 season.

Manager Clint Hurdle appeared on MLB Network radio this afternoon where he discussed Brandon Wood. He told Jim Bowden, that he will play the entire infield: some third base, shortstop, first base and second base.

  • In order to make room for Wood on the roster, infielder Josh Rodriguez was designated for assignment. The Pirates selected Rodriguez from the Indians in the rule-5 draft.

Rodriguez collected his first hit during Thursday night’s 9-5 loss to the Florida Marlins in Miami, Fla. It was the lone hit by Rodriguez in 12 at-bats.

If Rodriguez is not claimed off waivers or traded, the Pirates must offer him back for $25,000. The Bucs can also attempt to work out a trade with the Indians to place him in the minor league system.

Manager Clint Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “He’s a young man that we would like to keep in our organization. We knew going in that it would be a challenge and a big jump, but we wanted to take the opportunity to try and get the best feel we could for him. I think one of the best things that will come out of this experience for him is that now he’s gotten to see the Major League level.”

  • The Pirates also recalled infielder Pedro Ciriaco from Triple-A Indianapolis for the game on Friday. It’s assumed that Ciriaco will be with the Pirates until Wood joins the team.

There is no word as of yet on when Wood’s arrival time will be.

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