Category: MLB

Reds keep rolling, hit 4 HRs to back Castillo, sweep Pirates

Reds keep rolling, hit 4 HRs to back Castillo, sweep Pirates
By JEFF WALLNER Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) — Tyler Naquin hit another leadoff home run and the high-scoring Cincinnati Reds kept rolling, backing Luis Castillo to rout the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-4 for their fifth straight win. The Reds have started a season 5-1 for the first time since 2016. They outscored the Pirates 30-8 in the three-game series sweep. Their 56 runs are the most in Reds franchise history through the first six games of a season. The 1976 Big Red Machine scored 51 en route to a second straight championship.  Naquin hit a leadoff homer for the second straight day. Nick Castellanos, Tyler Stephenson and Aristides Aquino also homered for the Reds.

Bucs Lose Third Straight Game

Castellanos, Moustakas lift Reds to third straight win
By JEFF WALLNER Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Castellanos hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning hours after deciding to appeal a two-game suspension for his part in a brawl, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3. Jose De Leon tied a career high with nine strikeouts and allowed two runs, three hits and two walks over five innings to help the Reds secure a third straight win. Mike Moustakas tied it at 2 in the fifth with his first home run of the season, a solo shot to right field off Luis Oviedo. Moustakas also doubled and scored in the eighth.

Kuhl’s the rule; Pirates name Chad Kuhl opening day starter

Kuhl’s the rule; Pirates name Chad Kuhl opening day starter
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chad Kuhl will be the opening day starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The assignment comes more than two years after the right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery. Kuhl did not pitch at all in 2019. He returned in 2020 and went 2-3 with a 4.27 ERA in 11 games. The 28-year-old called the assignment a blessing. Kuhl is the fifth opening day starter for the Pirates in the last five years.

Pirates acquire RHP Underwood in trade with Cubs

Pirates acquire RHP Underwood in trade with Cubs
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired right-hander Duane Underwood Jr. in a trade with the Chicago Cubs. The 26-year-old Underwood went 1-0 with a 5.66 ERA in 17 games with Chicago during the pandemic-shortened season. He was designated for assignment on Tuesday. The Cubs received minor league first baseman Shendrik Apostel in the deal.

Former Bucs Reliever Jared Hughes retires after pitching 10 major league seasons

Jared Hughes retires after pitching 10 major league seasons
NEW YORK (AP) — Jared Hughes says he is retiring after 10 years of pitching in the major leagues. Hughes made his announcement on Instagram. “It was time,” he wrote. The 35-year-old right-hander was 1-2 with a 4.84 ERA in 22 1/3 innings over 18 relief appearances for the New York Mets last year. Hughes went 30-26 with a 2.96 ERA in 542 relief appearances for Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and the Mets.

Hank Aaron, baseball’s one-time home run king, dies at 86

Hank Aaron, baseball’s one-time home run king, dies at 86
By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — The baseball great and one-time home run king Hank Aaron has died. The Atlanta Braves said he died peacefully in his sleep early Friday. No cause was given. Aaron endured racist threats with stoic dignity during his pursuit of Babe Ruth but went on to break the career home run record in the pre-steroids era. “Hammerin’ Hank” set a wide array of records during a 23-year career spent mostly with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, including RBIs, extra-base hits and total bases. But the Hall of Famer will be remembered for one swing above all others, the one that made him baseball’s home-run king., died early Friday. Hank Aaron was 86.

Baseball Hall of Famer, knuckleballer Phil Niekro dies at 81

Baseball Hall of Famer, knuckleballer Phil Niekro dies at 81
By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro has died at the age of 81 after a long fight with cancer. Niekro pitched well into his 40s with a knuckleball that baffled big league hitters for more than two decades, mostly with the Atlanta Braves. The Braves announced his death, saying he died Saturday night in his sleep. Niekro won 318 games over his 24-year career, which ended in 1987 at age 48 after he made one final start with the Braves. Niekro also pitched for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays late in his career.

Pirates’ Polanco breaks wrist in winter ball, OK for spring

Pirates’ Polanco breaks wrist in winter ball, OK for spring
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco broke a bone in his right wrist playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic. The Pirates said Polanco has a small nondisplaced fracture of the triquetrum bone and that the wrist will be immobilized for a short time. The 29-year-old Polanco is expected to be 100% by the start of spring training. Polanco batted just .153 with seven homers and 22 RBIs during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He tested positive for the coronavirus during the team’s summer camp.

Pirates trade slugger Josh Bell to Nationals

Pirates trade slugger Josh Bell to Nationals
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Bell is heading to the Washington Nationals. The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded the slugging first baseman to Washington for pitching prospects Will Crowe and Eddy Yean. The 28-year-old Bell was an All-Star in 2019 following a torrid first half in which he hit .302 with 27 home runs and 84 RBIs. That form has been elusive over the last year-plus. Bell hit .233 with 10 home runs during an injury-shortened second half of 2019 and hit just eight home runs while batting a career-low .233 in 57 games for the Pirates in 2020.

MLB reclassifies Negro Leagues as major league

MLB reclassifies Negro Leagues as major league
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball has reclassified the Negro Leagues as a major league and will count the statistics and records of its 3,400 players as part of its history. The league said it was “correcting a longtime oversight in the game’s history” by elevating the Negro Leagues on the centennial of its founding. The Negro Leagues consisted of seven leagues that existed from 1920-48. Those leagues were excluded in 1969 when the Special Committee on Baseball Records identified six official “major leagues” dating to 1876. The change means Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige could add nearly 150 victories to his total.