Results tagged ‘ cardinals ’
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
Pirates finding success on the road
Despite losing 6-0 to the Marlins on Tuesday evening, the Pirates have been successful on the road this season. The Bucs are 7-4 away from PNC Park this year. A huge difference from 2010 when the Bucs went 17-64 on the road.
The Pirates have won all three of their road series (Cubs, Cardinals, Reds) –the first time they have three straight series wins on the road since April of 2002.
So what is the team doing differently this year?
Manager Clint Hurdle told David Villavicencio of MLB.com, “We’ve tried to simplify it. You throw first-pitch strikes, get the first batter of an inning out, and on offense you get the first hitter on base. When there are opportunities to score, you get them in. These are the baseball staples.
“I wasn’t here last year but I know these are some areas that we weren’t very good in. They’ve taken it to heart that for us to go where we want to go, we’ve got to become a much better ballclub on the road. We’ve gotten out of the blocks pretty clean so far. There are a lot of games left to play, but I’m pleased with the effort and the attitude on the road, and I anticipate it will turn around back home when we get there.”
Notes:
- Third baseman Pedro Alvarez was back in the lineup on Tuesday, after getting the day off on Monday. Alvarez was moved down the order, batting in the seventh spot –for the first time in his career.
Hurdle told David Villavicencio of MLB.com, “There is ownership to a lineup, and you give guys the opportunity to move, and when guys aren’t getting things done, you shuffle them around. I’m going to be proactive rather than reactive with it. Right now, Jones has earned five and Pedro has earned seven.”
- Right-hander Jeff Karstens will start for the Pirates on Friday against the Washington Nationals in D.C. Karstens will make his second spot start for Ross Ohlendorf (right shoulder posterior strain) who was placed on the disabled list (April 9th).
- Jose Ascanio (right elbow tightness) was scheduled to make a rehab appearance for Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday but the game was postponed due to weather
Pre-game News and Notes 4/13: Brewers @ Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates (5-5) will face the Milwaukee Brewers (5-5) at 7:05 for the first of a now two-game series.
Tuesday’s game was postponed due to rain. It will be made up on August 22 in part of a double-header. The first game will begin at 5:05 p.m. ET.
Right-hander Kevin Correia will face righty Shaun Marcum.
Correia out dueled Chris Carpenter during his last start pitching a seven inning shutout, limiting the Cardinals to just five hits while walking two and striking out three. Correia has been the Bucs most consistent starter this season. He even pitched an inning of relief during Friday’s 14-inning marathon game. Correia has allowed two earned runs over two starts (three appearances), 14 innings.
Marcum allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts over six innings against the Atlanta Braves his last start. Marcum is still working on his command after missing his next-to-last spring start with a stiff shoulder.
News:
- Jeff Karstens will no longer start in the rotation behind Kevin Correia and Paul Maholm (Thursday) because of the rainout, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.
Instead, Charlie Morton will pitch on Friday and James McDonald will go on Saturday. Sunday’s starter is still listed as TBD.
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com also reports that reliever Evan Meek has been cleared and is ready to go out of the bullpen tonight.
- Lefty Joe Beimel reported to have no issues on Wednesday after pitching on back-to-back days for the Triple-A Indians.
Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that the Pirates want Beimel to have two days off to make sure he doesn’t have any negative effects.
Beimel could be with the big league team as early as Friday.
- After seeing video footage of Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers sliding head first into home plate on Tuesday, Manager Clint Hurdle discussed to the players the dangers of the head-first slide. Hamilton will be out six to eight weeks with a shoulder fracture.
Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “You are very susceptible to injury, especially at home plate. I understand why people do it. I’m just not a big fan of it.”
Brewers:
Rickie Weeks 2B, Carlos Gomez CF, Ryan Braun LF, Prince Fielder 1B, Casey McGehee 3B, Mark Kotsay RF, Yuniesky Betancourt SS, Jonathan Lucroy C, Shaun Marcum RHP
Pirates:
Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Matt Diaz RF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C Ronny Cedeno SS, Kevin Correia RHP
Pre-game News and Notes 4/12: Brewers @ Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates (5-5) will open up a three game series against the Milwaukee Brewers (5-5) tonight at 7:05. Right-hand pitcher Kevin Correia will face Righty Shaun Marcum.
Correia out dueled Chris Carpenter during his last start pitching a seven inning shutout, limiting the Cardinals to just five hits while walking two and striking out three. Correia has been the Bucs most consistent starter this season. He even pitched an inning of relief during Friday’s 14-inning marathon game. Correia has allowed two earned runs over two starts (three appearances), 14 innings.
Marcum allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts over six innings against the Atlanta Braves his last start. Marcum is still working on his command after missing his next-to-last spring start with a stiff shoulder.
- The Pirates were 5-13 against the Brewers last season (3-6 at PNC Park).
- Eight of the Bucs 10 games have been decided by two-runs or less.
- The Pirates started the season with 10 consecutive days with out a day off. After having Monday off, the Bucs will play 13 straight games until they get another off day (4/25).
News:
- Brad Lincoln was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list and was optioned to Triple-A on Monday according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
- Lefty Joe Beimel (left elbow) has made two rehab appearances (on back-to-back days) for Triple-A Indianapolis. He has retired all six batters he’s faced with three strikeouts.
- Andrew McCutchen has been ranked as the No.1 Center Fielder by MLB Network. But is he a 5-took player just yet? Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette dives into the argument.
- Shortstop Ronny Cedeno has been very inconsistent. We’ve seen him make amazing plays, and we’ve also seen him bobbled a routine grounder. The Pirates believe he has the tools to become a good major league shortstop and are not giving up on him just yet.
General Manager Neal Huntington told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “Part of the reason why we continue to give him the opportunity is that if it clicks, we’ve got a pretty good Major League shortstop. In the interim, we’ve got a Major League shortstop. Whether we like it or not, he’s not as far behind the average shortstop that you might like to feel he is and he makes you feel he is sometimes.”
“You look tools-wise, he can run, throw, hit and hit for power,” Huntington said. “He can do a lot of things that Major League shortstops can’t do. They just are more consistent. If we can get him to be consistent, we’ve got a pretty good player. It’s a big year for Ronny Cedeno.”
Brewers
Rickie Weeks 2B, Carlos Gomez CF, Ryan Bruan LF, Prince Fielder 1B, Casey McGehee 3B, Mark Kotsay RF, Yuniesky Betancourt SS, Jonathan Lucroy C, Shaun Marcum RHP
Pirates
Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Ronny Cedeno SS, Kevin Correia RHP
Pre-game news and notes: Rockies @ Pirates 4/7
The Pirates (4-2) will face the Colorado Rockies (3-1) today at 1:35 PM for the first of a four game series. The Bucs kick off the season home opener today. Left-hander Paul Maholm will face right-hander Esmil Rogers.
- Maholm will be making his second start of the season. He’s coming off a great start where he pitched a shutout over 6.2 innings, limiting the Chicago Cubs to just five hits. Maholm walked two and struck out three but picked up a no-decision.
- Rogers will be making his first start of the season after winning the 5th spot in the rotation. Rogers appeared in 28 games (eight starts) and last year with the Rockies where he posted a 6.13 ERA.
- Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle will be facing his former team, the Colorado Rockies, in the home opener. Hurdle spent 2002-09 as the Rockies Manager before getting fired during the 2009 season. He went 534-625 and led the Rockies to their first and only World Series appearance in 2007.
Hurdle was replaced by Jim Tracy, who managed the Pirates from 2005-07.
Hurdle told Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com, “It drips with irony. I’ll leave all that up to [the media]. It’s perfect. Matter of fact, it’s a layup. The irony of [Jim] Tracy managing over there and I’m managing over here. I haven’t given it any more thought than that. You can’t write this stuff up by yourself. Life takes care of things and sports takes care of things.”
- Reliever Evan Meek pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning during Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Meek was coming off back-to-back bad outings. It was reported that he was under the weather, but Meek did not use that as an excuse. He wanted the ball back to prove himself.
Meek told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, “(I wanted the ball) really badly, actually. It was one of those things where I knew I wasn’t far off. You don’t want to sit on it, you don’t want to wait, and that’s one of the good things about being a reliever is you get thrown back out there. I love that (manager Clint Hurdle) put me back out there with a two-run lead, I love that he has the confidence in me and that was big for me. Now I can build off that, take that into my next outing and just get on with it.”
- Happy Birthday to PNC Park, who turns 10-year-old on Saturday, April 9th. Re-live some of the memories from the stadium (read more here).
- President Frank Coonelly hosted a web chat with fans on Wednesday afternoon (you can read the entire transcript here).
- The Pirates currently lead the league in strikeouts. The pitching is picking up the slack and keeping games rather close. I know it still early in the season, but is this of any concern?
Coonelly: “The pitching, particularly the starting pitching, has been strong to date. On the high strikeout totals, yes, that is a concern for Clint [Hurdle] and his staff, and Clint has addressed the issue with the players. Giving the opponent free passes and making outs without putting the ball in play are both issues that we have prioritized”
- Will Pedro move to first base?
Coonelly: “After not taking charge on two infield popups on Opening Day, Pedro’s defense at third base has been solid-to-spectacular at times. It has been very encouraging — even on nights when he has struggled at the plate, he has not taken that to his defense. Again, last night Pedro made several solid plays at third. The best answer to the question has been provided by Pedro himself, as I’m sure you have seen. Pedro is committed to doing what in necessary for him to remain at third base. He has, as we have said many times, all of the tools necessary to remain at third base given his commitment and his tools. A move to first base is hardly inevitable.”
Pirates:
Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Ronny Cedeno SS, Paul Maholm LHP
Rockies:
Dexter Fowler CF, Ryan Spilborghs RF, Carlos Gonzalez LF, Troy Tulowitzki SS, Lopez 2B, Todd Helton 1B, Ty Wigginton 3B, Chris Iannetta C, Esmil Rogers
Correia dominant, Bucs win back-to-back series on road
Right-hander Kevin Correia was dominant in the final game of the three game series against the Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis.
He pitched seven scoreless innings (89 pitches), holding the Cardinals to just five hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Corriea’s battery mate, Ryan Doumit told Nate Latasch of MLB.com, “He had all his pitches working and he was throwing them for strikes, keeping people off-balance. When you’ve got that combination, you are going to be tough. When you have four pitches and you can locate all four of them, it’s tough to hit.”
Neil Walker added, “He was very much in control, moving it around — inside, outside, cutting, sinking. He was really, really good today, and he was good on Opening Day in Chicago. I think that’s a big confidence booster for him, too, and the way he looked is very encouraging.”
The game remained scoreless until the 4th inning, when the Pirates were able to take a lead. Lyle Overbay lead off the inning by hitting a single to first baseman Albert Pujols, but advanced to second because of a throwing error.
Two batters later, Ryan Doumit doubled to right center to jump ahead, 1-0.
Neil Walker hit his second home run of the year in the 5th to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. The ball stayed just inside the right field foul pole.
“I thought I hooked it a little bit,” Walker said. “Fortunately, he was kind of throwing hard enough that the barrel couldn’t get too far in front.”
With the lead still intact, Evan Meek took the mound in the 8th inning. Meek, who has had two bad outings this year, pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning.
The Pirates added an insurance run in the top of the 9th after Andrew McCutchen and Lyle Overbay hit back-to-back doubles. McCutchen scored all three runs on the afternoon.
Joel Hanrahan allowed a lead off double to Lance Berkman and a two-out double by Yadier Molina, ending the Pirates shutout.
But Hanrahan worked out of the inning, notching his fourth save of the season –a major league best.
With the 3-1 victory, the Pirates won their first back-to-back road series since August of 2007. The Bucs will have start their home opener on Thursday at 1:35 ET with a 4-2 record.
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus pointed out that it was the first time the Pirates have beaten Chris Carpenter since June 29th, 2004 at PNC Park. He had been 11-1 with a 2.12 ERA in 15 starts against them.
Pre-game news and notes: Pirates @ Cardinals 4/6
The Pirates will face the St. Louis Cardinals at 1:35 this afternoon for the final game of the three game series. Right-hand pitcher Kevin Correia will face Righty Chris Carpenter in the rubber match of the series.
- Some injury updates:
Right-hander Jose Ascanio pitched one inning in an intrasquad game.
Left-hander Joe Beimel (left elbow soreness) pitched one inning in an intrasquad game.
Right-hander Brad Lincoln (right forearm contusion) pitched three innings in an infrasound game.
Lefty-hander Scott Olsen (left shoulder inflammation) threw a bullpen.
Catcher Chris Snyder (lower back tightness) caught five innings and had three at bats in an intrasquad game.
–All without issue on Tuesday.
- The Pirates are 3-2 so far this season on the road and are just one game from picking up back-to-back road series wins since August of 2007.
Manager Clint Hurdle has been trying different things this season and is trying to shake things up. He told Nate Latasch, “We’re just trying to do some things differently, trying to find a way to recreate an atmosphere … maybe a routine that they fall into more at home than on the road. You become a slave to routines in this game and on the road, you can get into some bad ones. You get home late. You eat late. You sleep in. You get up. You go right to the park and eat. We’re just trying to get them up and get them moving.”
Pirates:
Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Josh Rodriguez SS, Kevin Correia RHP
*Josh Rodriguez, will be making his major league debut today.
Cardinals:
Ryan Theriot SS, Colby Rasmus CF, Albert Pujols 1B, Lance Berkman RF, Allen Craig LF, Skip Schumaker 2B, Yadier Molina C, Daniel Descalso 3B, Chris Carpenter RHP
Post game news and notes: 4/5
- The Pirates struck out for a total of 11 times during Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Cardinals. First baseman Lyle Overbay told Nate Latasch of MLB.com, I think we’re kind of doubting our game plan a little bit,. You end up taking the pitches that you should be hitting and swinging at their pitches. It’s just a matter of getting up and making sure we’re swinging at our pitches and not letting the pitcher dictate what we want to swing at.”
- The Pirates signed Left-hand pitcher Dan Meyer and right-hander Tim Wood on Tuesday according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. They both were assigned them to Triple-A Indianapolis to begin season.
Meyer was released by the Phillies on Monday. He appeared in 13 games with the Florida Marlins in 2010 where he allowed 10 runs on 15 hits with 12 walks over 9.1 innings.
Wood appeared in 26 games for the Marlins last season where he allowed 19 runs (17 earned) with 15 walks and 10 strikeouts over 27.2 innings.
- The Triple-A Indians rotation this year will be: Brian Burres, Sean Gallagher, Justin Wilson, Daniel McCutchen and Rudy Owens.
- Neil Walker has had a hot bat so far this spring. Walker has a team leading seven hits and seven RBI over four games. Manager Clint Hurdle has been impressed from what he’s seen from the second baseman.
He told Nate Latsch of MLB.com, “He’s a ballplayer. I do hear comments from time to time that he can’t do this and he can’t do that. We live in a society that we’re so quick to try and point out how smart we are and something that somebody can’t do.”
“You let the kid play and you watch him play. He comes to play. He comes to win. He’s going to do whatever it takes on the offensive and defensive side of the ball to win a ballgame. He’ll lay out. Does he have work to do? Can he improve? All of us can. I like the way he embraces the game and he has embraced this opportunity.”
- Evan Meek has had back-to-back shaky innings where he has allowed seven runs (four earned ) in two appearances.
John Wehner, the Pirates color analyst, reported that Meek has also been fighting a cold. It’s still very early to be worried about two bad performances.
Meek told Karen Price of MLB.com, “It’s a long season, and obviously I’m not pitching how I can or how I should be right now, but it’s too early to panic.”
“This situation is just one of those things where you have to have a good outing to build off of, and you have to do the best you can not to be negative and dwell on your last outing or your last couple outings because that’s not going to be productive.”
Bucs can’t hold on to early lead, lose 3-2 to Cardinals
The Pirates quickly got to right-hand pitcher Kyle McClellan, scoring two runs in the 1st inning, but the bats fell silent as they lost 3-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Tuesday.
Jose Tabata lead off the 1st inning with a double to center field before Lyle Overbay hit a home run, his first as a Bucco, to give the Pirates an early 2-0 lead.
James McDonald, who was sidelined several weeks in spring training due to left side soreness, allowed two runs on four hits over 4.2 innings in his season debut while walking four and striking out four. He threw 87 pitches, 51 for strikes.
McDonald told Nate Latasch of MLB.com, “It was progress. I got into some situations, but I’m proud of the way I controlled the situations and got out of jams. I didn’t have my great stuff today, but I had enough stuff to compete and keep my team in the game, so I was happy.”
Manager Clint Hurdle added, “His arm was strong. Threw some good breaking balls. Command a little iffy right now, but he battled. To almost get through five and give up two runs, it was a good step forward for him. He got up in the higher 80s with his pitches from 69 last time. He needs to get in front of hitters a little bit more. He was behind a lot of hitters today. But I thought it was a good effort for him.”
McClellan, who made his first major league start, held the Pirates to two runs on six hits with one walk and seven strikeouts over six innings.
Overbay told Matthew Leach of MLB.com, “You have to give credit to the other pitcher. He did real well. He kept the ball down. When he got in trouble he made the big pitch.”
McDonald didn’t allow a hit until Lance Berkman doubled in the 4th inning. The leadoff hit proved to be costly, as he was driven by a single hit by Allen Craig.
The Cardinals tacked on another run in the 5th after McDonald allowed back-to-back singles to Ryan Theroit and Colby Rasmus. Albert Pujols hit a sac fly to center to tie the game at two.
Lefty Scott Olson allowed a walk to Theroit and a single to Colby Rasums before Pujols stepped to the plate. After being rather quiet against the Bucs during Monday’s game, Pujols picked up his second RBI of the game, knocking in Theriot, and putting the Cardinals on top, 3-2.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Late in the game, walks don’t help. They usually hurt. And the walk to Theriot hurt. … Chris [Resop] made a good pitch to Pujols.”
“Got a two-hopper, found a hole.”
With two outs in the 8th inning, Andrew McCutchen hit a single and Lyle Overbay drew a walk but the opportunity was wasted as Pedro Alvarez struck out (for the third time of the night) to end the threat.
The Pirates struck out a total of 11 times. With the loss, the they drop to 3-2 this season, the Cardinals improved to 2-3. If the Bucs can pick up a victory on Wednesday, it would be the first time since 2007 that the Pirates have won back-to-back series on the road.
Pre-game News and Notes: Pirates @ Cardinals 4/5
The Pirates (3-1) will face the St. Louis Cardinals (1-3) at 8:15 PM/ET tonight.
Right-hander James McDonald will be making his season debut against righty Kyle McClellan.
McDonald was limited to just 6.2 innings this spring. He was sidelined with left side soreness.
McDonald pitched well after being acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in July last season. He posted a 3.52 ERA in 11 starts while striking out 61 batters in 64 innings.
- Some positive notes:
The Pirates are leading the league in several categories this season. Jose Tabata leads the National League with six runs scored, Neil Walker leads with six RBI and Joel Hanrahan is tied in the league with three saves.
Neil Walker has seven hits & seven RBI after his first four games this season. The last Pirates infielder to produce such totals in his first four games was Johnny Ray, 25 years ago.
The Bucs pitching staff also ranks fourth the NL with a 2.83 ERA (11 earned runs in 30 innings).
If the Pirates beat the Cardinals tonight (or tomorrow) and take the series, it would be the first time since 2007 that the Bucs have won back-to-back series on the road.
- Charlie Morton made a solid season debut on Monday allowing just one run on three hits over six innings against the Cardinals. He’s also coming off of a great spring where he had a 2.63 ERA over 24 innings.
Morton really looks like a different guy on the mound. Manager Clint Hurdle told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, “I think he honestly self-evaluated (over the winter), he didn’t stick his head in the sand, he didn’t point fingers, he took responsibility and accountability for the breakdowns and the things that didn’t go well. He found focus points to work on all winter long and came out in spring training, put them into play and stayed with it. The first outing where he had some turbulence, might have been Port Charlotte where he had five runs, most he gave up in spring training, he still pitched through traffic and never let an inning get away. I think that had been some of the issues he had in the past. Just a kid who feels like it’s his time to start pitching the way he’s capable of pitching.”
Morton clearly has a new found confidence in himself this year. His teammates enjoy watching him pitch so well.
Closer Joel Hanrahan told Nate Latsch of MLB.com, “What Charlie did out there today was awesome. I told him it was fun to watch. When Charlie believes in himself and believes in his stuff, that’s what he can do, because his stuff is so good out there. He’s riding off that confidence he had in Spring Training and feeling good.
McCutchen added, “This is his first start and a good win for him. It’s good that he can have a good start like this and start off quick and get some wins and just get the confidence. … He went out and he did a great job. It’s good to be able to see that.”
- Andrew McCutchen sat out on Sunday’s game due to ‘upper body stiffness’. He told Root Sports that it was nothing serious, and just precautionary. “If it was a need for me to play [on Sunday] at that time, I would have played. Since it is pretty early you don’t want to turn something into something that could just take a day or two off. I just wanted to give it a days rest and see how I feel the next day. I feel good enough to play and I’m just going to go out there and go out and play.”
McCutchen went 1-for-4 with a two-run homerun against the Cardinals on Monday. I’d say he’s just fine.
- I’ve said it time and time again how much I love Manager Clint Hurdle and his impact on the players. I believe it was the best decision the Pirates made during the offseason in hiring him as skipper.
Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror wrote about how the great start of the season (3-1) is in large part because of Hurdle (read more here).
- The Pirates announced on Tuesday the festivities for the home opener against the Colorado Rockies on April 7th.
The gates will open at 11:30 am (first pitch is at 1:35 PM).
The Pirates will have a pre-game ceremony in honor of hall of fame manager Chuck Tanner who passed in February. Members of his family are scheduled to attend along with former players John Candelaria, Phil Garner, Grant Jackson, Bruce Kison, Jim Rooker, Manny Sanguillen, Dave Parker and Kent Tekulve. They will also unveil a tribute to Tanner that will be at PNC Park all season long and they will also have a video tribute prior to the first pitch.
There will also be a military tribute, a moment of silence for the victims of the earthquake in Japan. Pirates Charities will be collecting donations for UNICEF.
You can read more information regarding the pre-game festivities here.
- Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror reports that Bryan Morris will start opening day for Altoona Curve, Jeff Locke pitching game two. Double-A opens in Erie on Thursday.
Pirates:
Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Pedro Alvarez 2B, Matt Diaz RF, Jason Jaramillo C, Ronny Cedeno SS, James McDonald RHPCardinals:
Ryan Theriot SS, Colby Rasmus CF, Albert Pujols 1B, Lance Berkman RF, Allen Craig LF, David Freese 3B, Skip Schumaker 2B, Gerald Laird C, Kyle McClellan RHP
Kristy Robinson
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