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Starter Spotlight: Sweet Cris-mas!

6-8-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X The Pirates will try once more for their first sweep of the season, one of the few teams in MLB who have yet to achieve this feat. To do that, they’ll need to go through Cristopher Sanchez, who has been one of the best starting pitchers in theContinue reading “Starter Spotlight: Sweet Cris-mas!”

Starter Spotlight: Go, Go, Power Ranger

6-7-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X The Pirates walked it off last night after a bullpen battle for both sides but will have to contend with a much more established starting pitcher for today’s game in Ranger Suarez, who enters today with a perfect 4-0 record and sparkling 2.72 ERA through his first 36.1Continue reading “Starter Spotlight: Go, Go, Power Ranger”

Starter Spotlight: Bullpen Battle Time

6-6-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X Heading to Philly after a late-night loss has the Pirates looking to face a bullpen game with Joe Ross, who is looking to make his first start for Philadelphia. He enters play today with a 2-1 record and a 4.34 through 29 innings pitched. Fans shouldn’t expect RossContinue reading “Starter Spotlight: Bullpen Battle Time”

Starter Spotlight: The Gambler Framber

6-5-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X After trading ‘3-0’ games, the Pirates will look for the series win against the Astros today facing their lefty ace, Framber Valdez, who is 5-4 with a 3.12 ERA through 12 starts this season but his reliance on pitch-to-contact is certainly a risky one at times. In hisContinue reading “Starter Spotlight: The Gambler Framber”

Starter Spotlight: Once More With Gusto

6-4-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X Following yet another shutout performance by the anemic offense, the Pirates will look to fill their sails tonight against rookie Ryan Gusto, who has a 3-2 record and 4.62 ERA through his first 39 MLB innings. Gusto has been thrust into a starting role due to injury woesContinue reading “Starter Spotlight: Once More With Gusto”

Starter Spotlight: Culling McCullers

6-3-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X Back home in Pittsburgh after a solid road trip as the Pirates welcome the Astros and veteran starter Lance McCullers Jr., who is looking to get back to normal after missing more than two full seasons. Injuries have plagued the Houston starter who had Tommy John Surgery inContinue reading “Starter Spotlight: Culling McCullers”

Series Preview: Houston Astros (32-27) at Pittsburgh Pirates (22-38)

6-3-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X While the Pirates and Astros don’t face off nearly as often as they did when Houston was still part of the National League Central Division, there’s still the undertones of rivalry among the two teams who have faced off 715 times previously with the Pirates claiming victory inContinue reading “Series Preview: Houston Astros (32-27) at Pittsburgh Pirates (22-38)”

Starter Spotlight: Cut Up Randy

6-1-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X With the first two months of the season in the books, the Pirates are eager to cut their losses and look forward to the next chapter of the year. Can they continue their recent surge of offense to complement the strong pitching they’ve been running out lately? TheyContinue reading “Starter Spotlight: Cut Up Randy”

Starter Spotlight: Cease’s Pieces

5-31-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X Despite a rough month where the Pirates have won just 9 of 27 games, the team will look to end May on a high note against the struggling former Cy Young-winner, Dylan Cease. Cease enters play today with a 1-3 record and 4.58 ERA through 11 games, strikingContinue reading “Starter Spotlight: Cease’s Pieces”

Starter Spotlight: Learning To Pivot-ta

5-30-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X We finally saw what happens when everything is clicking for this Pirates offense as they scored 19 runs over the final 13 innings of the series against the Diamondbacks. If they can get even close to that level of production, with this pitching, they’ll have a chance inContinue reading “Starter Spotlight: Learning To Pivot-ta”