Pittsburgh Pirates

A little bit of everything today...1906 - Martin Dihigo was born in Matanzas, Cuba. Best known for his play in the Mexican League, he also spent a couple of decades in the Negro Leagues and 1927-28 with the Homestead Grays. Dihigo was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977. The multi-talented Dihigo played all nine positions as a pro, though he’s best known as a pitcher and second baseman. He’s the only player ever to be inducted to the American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican and Venezuelan Halls of Fame. 1919 - Casey Stengel had been traded to Pittsburgh by the Brooklyn Dodgers, and when he returned to Ebbet’s Field as a Bucco, his old fans gave him the razzberries. Bowing to the grandstand, he doffed his cap, and out flew a sparrow that he had somehow picked up in the outfield. That was the highlight of Stengel’s day. He went 0-for-4 in a 5-0 loss. 1935 - Babe Ruth hit his 714th and final home run off Guy Bush at Forbes Field in an 11-7 Boston Braves loss to the Pirates, a career record that would stand for almost 40 years before Hammerin' Hank claimed the crown. The Bambino went 4-for-4, hitting three home runs and driving in six runs. The final drive, launched in the seventh inning, cleared the right field roof, the first time that feat was ever done. According to local lore, the ball didn't quit rolling until it stopped near Boundary Street in Junction Hollow. 1953 - Ralph Kiner became the 12th MLB player to hit 300 HR with a blast off the NY Giants Al Corwin in a 6-3 loss at Forbes Field. 1958 - One of the largest bench clearing brawls in Bucco history erupted when manager Danny Murtaugh charged the mound after Ruben Gomez began headhunting. Orlando Cepeda, the Baby Bull, joined the melee with a bat before he was tackled by teammate Willie Mays. The bad blood was carried over from some beanballing in the prior visit to Candlestick Park. It fired up the G-Men more than Pirates as they swept the doubleheader at Forbes Field 5-2 and 6-1. 1969 - Jim Bunning won his 200th game, scattering five hits and striking out eight in a 2-1 victory over Gaylord Perry and the Giants at Candlestick Park. It was a good day for the Bucs as they also took the nightcap of the twinbill by a 6-2 score behind Bob Moose. 1979 - Due to fog, the Buc-Met match ended in a 3-3 tie after 11 innings and a 73-minute delay. The umps finally gave in when Bill Robinson lost Joel Youngblood's ball in the Shea Stadium mist. 1983 - In the third inning of an eventual 6-0 loss to the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Pirates' starter Jim Bibby (4) and reliever Jim Winn (3) combined to walk seven consecutive batters to tie a major league mark set back in 1909. 1985 - Rick Rhoden won his 100th game and SS Bill Almon hit his first grand slam while driving in five runs as the Pirates jumped on the Braves 8-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. 2009 - The Pirates beat the Cubs 10-8 at Wrigley Field. Freddy Sanchez went 6-for-6 with four runs, three RBI, a double and a homer to become first Pirate in 19 years to have six hits in a game. The Bucs, which had just finished an interleague set against the White Sox, became the first team in major league history to play consecutive series against the Cubs and White Sox in Chicago.

MILWAUKEE - Marco Estrada pitched seven innings of four-hit baseball and Alex Gonzalez provided all the offense with a two-run, second inning double to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night at Miller Park. Read more Alex Gonzalez news

I feel like every single time I get all riled up about the Pirates' struggles with the Brewers and go all fire-and-brimstone about how great it would be to beat them, the Pirates lose and I feel like a huge idiot. Let's try this instead: one game only means something in baseball if you let it. The Pirates went from eleven games over .500 to ten games over .500 in this game. Don't let this loss mean more than that. It sounds like I'm giving a pep-talk to the players here, but I mean it for the fans. Pirate fans are volatile (and for good reason). Let's settle in for the long run.

A.J. Burnett has pitched like a staff ace so far in 2013 but does not have the record to show for it. The Pirates scored three or fewer runs in seven of A.J. Burnett’s 10 starts prior to Friday. Photo Credit: David Hague Granted, wins and losses are not good statistics to judge a pitcher’s performance but what is troubling has less to do with Burnett and more to do with the Pirates offense. Burnett has been great at the top of the Pittsburgh rotation and the Pirate offense has shown the ability to score runs, yet somehow the two have not found a way to cross paths. One could argue that Burnett has pitched well enough to win the majority (if not all) of his starts but the Pirate bats have been hiding when he’s on the hill. Prior to Friday’s game at Milwaukee, Burnett had started 10 games for Pittsburgh so far this season with the Pirates managing just four wins. In those games Pittsburgh has only scored more than five runs once (in a 6-5 win against Cincinnati on April 12). The only times the Pirates scored five in a Burnett start (which they have done twice with both coming in games against St. Louis) they’ve won. In the six losses the Pirates have scored 1, 0, 2, 1, 1 and 2 runs. Add the one run Pittsburgh scored Friday and that gives you a grand total of nine runs in the seven games Burnett has started the Pirates would go on to lose. It has gotten to the point where one almost feels bad for Burnett. On Friday at Milwaukee he was at it again — seven innings pitched, three hits, six strikeouts, two runs — with the end result another Pittsburgh loss. In his previous state against Houston he allowed just one run on five hits with seven strikeouts while lasting seven innings and, you guessed it, the Pirates lost. Before that he went seven innings on May 13 at Milwaukee with four runs allowed (three earned) to go with six strikeouts and no walks. Again, the Pirates lost. While Burnett is not quite in 2012 Cliff Lee territory getting wins with the ace on the mound is something the Pirates are going to need to see a lot more of as the season gets into the long summer months and the team is (potentially) battling to stay with the Cardinals and Reds in the National League Central race. Being able to win games when your pitchers do not have their best stuff helps, but winning when they are on is equally, if not, more important. Links and Notes **Tim is away from the site this weekend so First Pitch will be passed around for a few days. Obviously I took over for today’s edition and we’ll have James Santelli on duty Saturday with John Dreker taking the reigns on Sunday. **The 2013 Prospect Guide and the 2013 Annual are both available on the products page of the site. If you order them together, you’ll save $5. **The newest Pirates Prospects Podcast is up and available for download or streaming. P3 Episode 5: Polanco the Top Prospect? Can Pirates Keep Winning? Mark Melancon Interview **Karstens Feels Pain While Rehabbing Shoulder **Baseball America’s Second Mock Draft Has the Pirates Taking Hitters **Draft Prospect Watch: NCAA Tournament Talk and Reese McGuire News **Minor League Schedule: Cole Gets The Afternoon Start Today **Prospect Watch: Big Night For Allie, Taillon Gets Good Results Without Best Stuff

Jeff Karstens is coming back to Pittsburgh for an evaluation after feeling pain in his right shoulder while throwing Friday, according to a report by Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Jeff Karstens felt pain in his right shoulder while rehabbing on Friday. Karstens had been rehabbing the injured shoulder with Triple-A Indianapolis when the setback occurred. Pirates general manager Neal Huntington told Pirates Prospects he would have a decision to make about what role Karstens would have when he returned from the disabled list but now it appears that decision could be pushed back.

It’s a big Friday night in college baseball as the draft is now just 13 days away. With the Pittsburgh Pirates picking #9 and #14, they are getting some last looks in at the players in their range. A lot of the talk recently has centered around players that have either dropped in the rankings, like Georgia HS outfielders Clint Frazier and Austin Meadows, or we have heard about college bats that they may be looking at. Those bats for the most part are guys who were ranked lower this year, but have surpassed some of the college pitchers that have faltered recently. Some of these players mentioned below are ones to watch in the second round, possible guys that could fall and give the Pirates a strong pick at the 51st spot in the draft. Kris Bryant and San Diego, took on San Francisco today, facing off against Alex Balog. The big right-hander has been getting mention recently as a possible first round pick. Baseball America had a special article on him recently worth checking out. It was a tough outing for Balog, who gave up six runs on 11 hits and four walks in six innings. Bryant went 1-for-4, with a walk and two runs scored. The walk was intentional and the hit was a single to lead off the game. Bobby Wahl from Ole Miss never got to pitch this weekend because his team was eliminated from the SEC tournament on Thursday. Also not pitching this week is Jonathon Crawford, as his team was eliminated on Tuesday by Texas A&M. Colin Moran from North Carolina seems to be the best bat from the college ranks that could possibly fall to the Pirates. On Friday night, his team took on Clemson. North Carolina scored five runs in the ninth inning to send it to extra innings. Moran didn’t help much in the win on the offense side, going 1-for-7, with a walk and no runs scored or RBI’s. The hit was a seventh inning single. North Carolina won 12-7 in 14 innings. Stanford took on UCLA on Friday night with Mark Appel on the mound. He had a great outing, going eight innings, with one run allowed on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. He recorded nine strikeouts and threw 123 pitches. Austin Wilson went 1-for-3, with a single in Stanford’s 2-1 win. DJ Peterson from New Mexico has been linked to the Pirates recently, more times than anyone else. He took on UNLV on Friday night and went 2-for-4 in his team’s 7-1 win. He had two singles, scored a run and struck out twice. Aaron Judge went 1-for-4, with two strikeouts in his team’s 4-0 loss. Fresno State was eliminated from the Mountain West tournament with the loss. Judge had a single, run scored and walk in a 10-1 win over Nevada earlier in the day. Yesterday he hit his 12th homer of the season in a 6-4 with over Navy. Notre Dame third baseman Eric Jagielo went 2-for-3 Wednesday in the first game of the Big East tournament. He had his 18th double and drove in two runs. On Thursday, he went 1-for-4, stealing his third base of the season. Notre Dame has won both games so far and they will play again tomorrow. Ryan Eades from LSU, pitched today against Alabama and went seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk, while striking out four batters. He left with a 2-1 deficit, but LSU came back and won it late, helping Eades avoid what would have been just his second loss all season. Last night, Marco Gonzales lost to San Francisco in the WCC tournament. The lefty from Gonzaga has really slipped in the rankings since being highly rated early on and his start on Thursday didn’t help. He went seven innings, giving up six runs on 11 hits and three walks. He struck out four batters and threw 130 pitches. It could be possible that he slips to the second round, giving the Pirates a chance at a polished/athletic lefty, with four pitches. He may not project to have huge upside, but he could move quickly through the system and being a lefty helps at PNC. Draft Notes Earlier today, we posted a recap of Baseball America’s second mock draft, which can be

Top prospect Gerrit Cole will make the start this afternoon for Indianapolis, trying to bounce back from a tough outing six days ago. Also looking for a bounce back is Stolmy Pimentel, who has been hit hard since the calendar flipped from April to May. All four Pirates affiliates won yesterday. For a look at the possible starters over the next few weeks, please check out our Probable Pitchers Chart. We have added a Recent Transactions section to the bottom of this page, for all Pirates minor league transactions. A full recap of yesterday’s action can be found here. Gerrit Cole defeated Buffalo last time they met AAA: Indianapolis (34-15) @ Buffalo (26-20) 1:05pm Probable starter: Gerrit Cole (3-2, 3.75) Yesterday’s Result: Indianapolis 6, Buffalo 5 Gerrit Cole will make his tenth start of the season this afternoon. He is coming off his worst start of the year, eight runs over 5.2 innings against Pawtucket on Sunday. Cole has pitched a total of 48 innings this season, giving up 36 hits, four homers and 23 walks, while picking up 35 strikeouts. Three of those homers he has served up, came against today’s opponent on 5/14, when he allowed four runs over six innings. Cole struck out 136 batters in 132 innings last year, but this season he has yet to pick up more than five strikeouts in any game. He has a 1.33 GO/AO ratio and a .214 BAA. AA: Altoona (20-27) vs Richmond (23-23) 6:00pm Probable starter: Stolmy Pimentel (2-2, 3.35) Yesterday’s Result: Altoona 14, Richmond 4 Stolmy Pimentel will get his tenth start of the season tonight. He started the season off strong, going 2-0, 0.30 in five April starts. Since May has started however, he is 0-2, 7.33 in four outings. He has faced Richmond twice already this year with vastly different results. In April, he threw six shutout innings, striking out a season high eight batters. In May, he allowed six runs over 4.1 innings, his worst start of the year. Pimentel has been excellent against right-handed batters this year, holding them to a .190 BAA, while lefties are hitting .292 against him. Oddly enough, he has almost the same exact split at home and on the road. On the road, he is holding hitters to a .193 BAA, while in home starts, batters are hitting .293 against him. High-A: Bradenton (20-28) @ St Lucie (26-20) 6:30pm Probable starter: Eliecer Navarro (0-8, 3.78) Yesterday’s Result: Bradenton 8, St Lucie 6 Eliecer Navarro will make his ninth start of the year tonight. He has also pitched once in relief. Navarro has been the victim of tough luck all season, allowing more than three earned runs just once all year (4 ER two starts ago). Despite that, he leads the organization in losses. He has faced St Lucie twice already this year, allowing five earned runs over 9.1 innings. In 47.2 innings this season, Navarro has given up just nine walks, while striking out 44 batters. He has yet to give up a walk or a home run to a left-handed batter this season. Low-A: West Virginia (26-22) vs Lakewood (19-27) 7:05pm Probable starter: Joely Rodriguez (3-3, 2.76) Yesterday’s Result:  West Virginia 11, Lakewood 2 Joely Rodriguez will make his tenth start of the season tonight. He has been very strong since a slow beginning to his year. In his first four starts, he allowed 20 runs over his first 19.2 innings. Since then, Rodriguez has given up just two earned runs in his last five starts combined, a total of 29.1 innings. At home this year, he is 1-2, 3.16 in five starts. His last two home starts, he has given up one earned run over 12 innings and didn’t walk a batter in either game. Rodriguez has 39 strikeouts in 40 innings, with a 2.03 GO/AO ratio and a .263 BAA. Recent Transactions 5/23 Vic Black placed on disabled list. 5/22 Orlando Castro assigned to Jamestown. Josh Smith added to West Virginia roster 5/20 Alex Dickerson placed on DL. Justin Howard added to Altoona roster. 5/19 Chase d’Arnaud assigned to Altoona roster. 5/18 Jeff Karstens added to

Marco Estrada had an easy first; three balls hit in the air, two skied and a changeup that Cutch took to the track. AJ matched him, with two grounders and a track shot to right by Jean Segura. The second was a repeat for Estrada; a couple of routine outs and a liner to center by Neil Walker pulled in just short of the track. It didn't go as well for Burnett.A-Ram led off with a five pitch walk. Carlos Gomez fell behind 0-2, took a pitch, then lined a sinker away the opposite way for a double; Gaby didn't have a play as he was holding the runner. AJ picked up a K, but Alex Gonzalez stroked a knee-high change over the middle of the plate to the gap in left center, and it was 2-0 Brew Crew after two frames.Estrada struck out the bottom third of the Buc order swinging in the third. Maybe next time around they'll get aggressive at the plate; the Bucs are taking 89 MPH fastballs over the outer half; six of nine Pirates so far have been behind 0-2. AJ had been struggling in the opening pair, but looked more like himself in the third, putting away the top of the order in order.The Pirates went down 1-2-3 again; that's 12 in a row for Estrada. His stuff isn't overwhelming, but the Bucs can't seem to square up on a fastball away tonight. The Brewers went down quietly in the fourth, too. After fourteen Bucs down, Walker dropped a two-out pop into left for the Bucs' first hit. Inge followed with a liner up the middle; Estrada stuck up his mitt while ducking and it stuck. AJ had his streak snapped at 11 Brewers when Estrada one-hopped a pitch into right with two down in the fifth; Norachika Aoki almost cashed him in, flying out to the wall in right center.Starlin Marte raced to a two out triple lined into the LF corner with two down in the sixth, but Snider K'ed for the second time, swinging through a fastball. AJ kept dealing, issuing a 3-2 walk with one out to A-Ram sandwiched around swinging strikeouts of Ryan Braun and Gomez.Pittsburgh came close to breaking out big against Estrada in the seventh, but settled for a run. Cutch roped an at 'em ball to Braun, who backpedaled to make the grab. Gaby lined a single to right, but was erased at second when Segura made a sweet play in the hole and got the force on Russell Martin's bid for a hit. Walker one-hopped a high heater to the wall in right center to plate Martin and make it 2-1. Inge finished the inning with a check swing comebacker. AJ pitched another clean inning.Brandon Kintzler came on for Milwaukee. After Gomez chased down Clint Barme's fly short of the track in right, Garrett Jones walked on a 3-2 pitch. The Brew Crew gloves came in handy again; Aramis Ramirez tossed out Mart on a little roller on a 50-50 call; Marte would have likely beat it if he hadn't watched the play while running down the line. Gonzo took the ball to face Snider; Hurdle countered with JT. he shot a 3-2 liner, but it was another at 'em ball, right into the glove of 1B Gonzalez. That was it for AJ, who went seven innings, giving up two runs on three hits with two walks and six K. Bryan Morris took the bump. With two down and 0-2 on Segura, the SS rolled a pitch off the end of his bat that was away and almost in the dirt. Braun followed with a liner at the box; Morris knocked it down to get the last out.Jim Henderson came in for the save. Cutch dropped a 3-2 single into center, falling a short hop in front of Gomez, who was playing a no doubles D. Sanchez took a big cut, but got under the ball and skied a fly to left. Martin banged one up the middle, off Henderson's glove, but it deflected right to Segura, who forced Cutch at second. Henderson had to leave the game; he hurt his leg trying to make the play.Francisco Rodriguez climbed the hill, and took two pitches to get The Kid on a roller to second. Miller Field continues to be a no fly zone for Pittsburgh.Lots of little things contributed to the loss. Hurdle's oddball lineup put the two guys you most want up in a one run game, Jones and Pedro (who never batte

Miller Park struck again as the Pirates lost 2-1 to the Brewers Friday night. Milwaukee's only two runs came in the second, when Aramis Ramirez walked, Carlos Gomez doubled (with an assist from Travis Snider, who appeared to have trouble picking up the ball), and Alex Gonzalez brought them both home with a double to the gap. Other than that, A.J. Burnett was excellent as usual, striking out six over seven innings. But Marco Estrada flummoxed the Bucs with his changeup, racking up eight strikeouts in seven innings. Starling Marte hit a two-out triple to left (which isn't easy to do -- his speed continues to amaze) in the sixth, but got stranded. Neil Walker doubled home a run in the next inning, but that would be all the Pirates would get. * * * Jeff Karstens was shut down with shoulder pain today, so it sounds like it may be awhile before we see him again.

TOP OF THE SYSTEM A look at how the current top 20 prospects did today.  Note that this list doesn’t include players currently in the majors. If a player is in the majors, he will be removed, everyone below him will be shifted up a spot, and a new player will be added to the bottom of the list. Rankings are from the pre-season rankings, and links to each prospect writeup can be found by clicking the player names below. Players who weren’t in the original top 20 are linked to their player page on the site. 1. Gerrit Cole, RHP, Indianapolis (3-2, 3.75) - DNP 2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Altoona (3-5, 2.91) - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR 3. Gregory Polanco, CF, Bradenton (.319) - 1-for-4, BB 4. Alen Hanson, SS, Bradenton (.285) – 1-for-4, SB, BB 5. Luis Heredia, RHP, Extended Spring Training (Luis Heredia Close to Joining West Virginia) 6. Josh Bell, RF, West Virginia (.278) – 1-for-4, RBI, BB 7. Barrett Barnes, CF, West Virginia (.220) - Low-A DL 8. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, West Virginia (3-0, 2.31) – DNP 9. Kyle McPherson, RHP, Indianapolis (0-1, 19.29) – Triple-A DL 10. Nick Kingham, RHP, Bradenton (6-2, 3.21) - 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 0 HR 11. Clay Holmes, RHP, West Virginia (1-3, 6.08) - DNP 12. Dilson Herrera, 2B, West Virginia (.319) - 2-for-4, 3 Runs, RBI, 2B 13. Tony Sanchez, C, Indianapolis (.304) – DNP 14. Wyatt Mathisen, C, West Virginia (.185) – DNP 15. Adrian Sampson, RHP, Bradenton (2-1, 6.10) – DNP 16. Vic Black, RHP, Indianapolis (0-2, 2.63) – Triple-A DL 17. Andy Oliver, LHP, Indianapolis (3-2, 2.87) - DNP 18. Jin-De Jhang, C, Extended Spring Training 19. Stolmy Pimentel, RHP, Altoona (2-2, 3.35) - DNP 20. Jordy Mercer, SS, Indianapolis (.333) - In Majors ORDER YOUR 2013 PROSPECT GUIDE The 2013 Prospect Guide is now available, and is the perfect resource to follow the minor league system during the 2013 season. You can order your copy on the products page of the site. Order together with the 2013 Annual and save $5! DAILY SUMMARY Top Pitcher: Nick Kingham, RHP (6-2, 3.21) – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 0 HR Top Hitter: Stetson Allie, 1B (.345) – 4-for-4, BB, 2B, 4 RBI Home Runs: Matt Hague (3), Daniel Grovatt (2) AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS   Box Score Result: Indianapolis 6, Buffalo 5 Starting Pitcher: Kris Johnson, LHP (5-3, 3.78) -5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 7 K, 0 HR Top Hitter: Matt Hague, 1B (.302) – 2-for-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI Other Notable Performers: Tim Alderson, RHP (1.88) – 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR Alex Presley, CF (.282) – 2-for-4, 2 2B, BB Jerry Sands, RF (.189) – 1-for-4 Game Notes: Kris Johnson battled through some wildness(five walks, wild pitch) to go five innings, allowing two runs, while striking out seven. He threw 101 pitches on the night, 60 went for strikes. He was followed by Tim Alderson, who threw two scoreless innings. Jared Hughes got his second save with 1.1 scoreless of his own. He hasn’t allowed a run in his eight AAA appearances, covering nine innings. Matt Hague homered for the second game in a row, after hitting just one homer in his first 47 games. He was also the top hitter on Indianapolis for the second game in a row. The first place Indians moved to 34-15 on the year, the best record in the International League AA: ALTOONA CURVE    Taillon picked up the win in Altoona’s blowout Box Score Result: Altoona 14, Richmond 4 Starting Pitcher: Jameson Taillon, RHP (3-5, 2.91) – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR Top Hitter: Jarek Cunningham, 2B (.219) – 4-for-6, 2 RBI Other Notable Performers: Quinton Miller, RHP (0.00) – 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR Adalberto Santos, 3B (.255) – 1-for-4, HR, BB Andrew Lambo, LF (.290) – 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI Game Notes: Jameson Taillon allowed just one run over five innings tonight, that run coming on a solo homer. The homer led off the game, an inning in which