The Pirates have released their 2012 Spring Training Schedule. Here it is. The only really strange thing about it, at least from just eyeballing it, is that the Pirates will play their final two exhibition games against the Phillies in Philadelphia, then actually start their regular-season schedule against the Phillies at home on April 5.

March 2 Black & Gold Charity Game (split-squad)
March 3 @ Blue Jays (Dunedin)
March 4 Blue Jays
March 5 @Orioles (Sarasota)
March 6 Yankees
March 7 Blue Jays
March 8 @ Phillies (Clearwater)
March 9 @ Red Sox (Fort Myers)
March 10 Twins
March 11 @ Rays (Port Charlotte)
March 12 Phillies
March 13 Off
March 14 @ Orioles (Sarasota)
March 15 @ Twins (Fort Myers)
March 16 Phillies
March 17 Rays
March 18 @ Twins (Fort Myers)
March 19 Off
March 20 @ Yankees (Tampa)
March 21 Red Sox
March 22 Rays
March 23 Tigers
March 24 Astros
March 25 @ Astros (Kissimmee)
March 26 Orioles
March 27 @ Phillies (Clearwater)
March 28 @ Rays (Port Charlotte)
March 29 Twins
March 30 Rays
March 31 Orioles (split-squad)
March 31 @ Twins (split-squad – Fort Myers)
April 1 @ Blue Jays (Dunedin)
April 2 @ Phillies (in Philadelphia)
April 3 @ Phillies (in Philadelphia)

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies acquired outfielder John Bowker from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday for a player to be named or cash, adding a left-handed hitter to their bench.

The 28-year-old Bowker played in 19 games for the Pirates this season, going 4 for 17 with a double before he was designated for assignment on May 4. Bowker batted .306 in 106 games for Triple-A Indianapolis with 15 homers and 76 RBIs.

He drove over from Indianapolis and joined the Phillies before the third game of their series against the Cincinnati Reds.

“I’m kind of in shock,” Bowker said. “I’m pretty excited. I started the season with Pittsburgh, then I was designated for assignment. While I was in Indy, I tried to keep a good attitude. It helped to get at-bats. That was important.”

The NL East-leading Phillies wanted to improve their outfield depth and their bench. Bowker will be eligible for the playoff roster. He has played right field, left field and first base.

“The scouts say he’s a good hitter,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “He’ll give you a good at-bat and a little bit of pop. He gives us some balance. He’ll definitely help us.”

Philadelphia optioned reliever Michael Schwimer to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following a 9-0 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday night. The Phillies also transferred right-hander Jose Contreras to the 60-day disabled list to create an opening on the 40-man roster for Bowker.

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies acquired outfielder John Bowker from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday for a player to be named or cash, adding a left-handed hitter to their bench.

The 28-year-old Bowker played in 19 games for the Pirates this season, going 4 for 17 with a double before he was designated for assignment on May 4. Bowker batted .306 in 106 games for Triple-A Indianapolis with 15 homers and 76 RBIs.

He drove over from Indianapolis and joined the Phillies before the third game of their series against the Cincinnati Reds.

“I’m kind of in shock,” Bowker said. “I’m pretty excited. I started the season with Pittsburgh, then I was designated for assignment. While I was in Indy, I tried to keep a good attitude. It helped to get at-bats. That was important.”

The NL East-leading Phillies wanted to improve their outfield depth and their bench. Bowker will be eligible for the playoff roster. He has played right field, left field and first base.

“The scouts say he’s a good hitter,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “He’ll give you a good at-bat and a little bit of pop. He gives us some balance. He’ll definitely help us.”

Philadelphia optioned reliever Michael Schwimer to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following a 9-0 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday night. The Phillies also transferred right-hander Jose Contreras to the 60-day disabled list to create an opening on the 40-man roster for Bowker.

Read More: Jeff Keppinger (2B – SFG), Orlando Cabrera (2B – SFG), Carlos Beltran (RF – SFG), Charlie Morton (P – PIT), Ryan Vogelsong (P – SFG), San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Pirates at San Francisco Giants, Aug 8, 2011 7:15 PM PDT

In a perfect world for the San Francisco Giants, they’d play a struggling Pittsburgh Pirates team directly after struggling through a tough series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Well, perhaps that not “perfect world.” That term would be reserved for them beating the struggling Pirates after struggling themselves with the Phillies. Judgement for that scenario shall be reserved until, you know, the game has actually been played.

But it is true that they’re in a great situation to recover from the recent slump. Although, maybe the Pirates are looking at the Giants and thinking “Well, they’ve been losing lately, this is a good chance for us to get back on the horse!” Something will give, and seeing it give will probably be hilarious, given the recent showings. The Pirates are losers in every one of their last ten outings, and the Giants have barely salvaged series against the Diamondbacks and Phillies with one win in each.

Tonight, Ryan Vogelsong will take the mound for the Giants. He’s looking to get a winning streak going for the defending World Champions, as well as extend his own streak of not losing games. He’s 9-1 with a 2.19 earned run average in eighteen starts (twenty games) and hasn’t lost since May 26th. His last six games were wins, including an 8-1 beatdown of the Diamondbacks. He beat the Pirates earlier this year on April 28th, going 5 2/3 innings with two runs and eight strikeouts. 

Vogelsong will have the support of guys like Orlando Cabrera and Chris Stewart. That last sentence was a funny one … it was a joke, you see, though those two aren’t without their moments, driving in RBIs in Sunday’s 3-1 win over the Phillies, alongside Jeff Keppinger, who went 4-4. Unfortunately, he won’t have Carlos Beltran, who won’t be in the lineup today, according to Hank Schulman.

Charlie Morton will be taking the mound for Pittsburgh, hoping to get something going after going 1-3 over his last seven. He did pitch well in his last outing though, throwing seven shutout innings good for a no-decision against the Cubs. San Francisco will be looking for the Morton of the game prior, the one that gave up eight runs (six earned) and nine hits over just four innings to the Phillies.

It’s not all bad. He’s sporting a 8-6 record with a 3.80 ERA on the season and has a 5-2 record when on the road (nine starts). Credited with a no-decision the last time he played the Giants, Morton is 1-3 with a 3.48 ERA all-time against them. 

The game is set for 7:15 p.m. on Monday night.

(Sports Network) – In just a matter of weeks the Pittsburgh Pirates have gone
from the penthouse to the outhouse and watched their brief lead atop the NL
Central standings turn to dust.

Mired in a season-worst 10-game losing streak and 10 games off the pace in the
division, the Pirates are out west hoping to put an end to their woes in
Monday’s opener of a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants at
AT&T Park.

Pittsburgh was able to split a four-game series in Atlanta before suffering
sweeps at the hands of the Phillies, Cubs and Padres. It lost all seven games
on a recent homestand, including three straight versus San Diego over the
weekend. The Pirates tried to stop the bleeding on Sunday, but dropped a 7-3
decision to fall for the 12th time in the past 13 games. Starting pitcher
Kevin Correia allowed four runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings to suffer the
loss and Brandon Wood led the offense, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three
runs batted in. Xavier Paul chipped in two hits for the Pirates, who were
seven games over .500 (51-44) after a win over the Reds on July 19 and now
have just three wins since then (3-15).

“It’s amazing how quick things can change. On the other hand, we can change
them in our direction quick as well,” Wood said about his team’s recent
struggles.

San Diego outscored Pittsburgh by a count of 35-10 in the series. The Pirates
will also visit Milwaukee for three games on this upcoming road trip. Hoping
to get the Buccos back into the win column tonight will be starter Charlie
Morton. Morton is just 1-3 over his last seven starts and threw seven shutout
innings for a no-decision in Wednesday’s 1-0 loss to the Cubs. Morton was
coming off a start at Philadelphia in which he gave up eight runs — six
earned — and nine hits in four innings.

Morton has performed rather well on the road this season with a 5-2 mark in
nine visiting assignments, but is just 1-3 with a 3.48 ERA in five career
starts against San Francisco. He faced the Giants in a 3-2 loss on April 26 at
PNC Park and did not figure into the decision with six innings of one-run ball
and six strikeouts.

San Francisco has endured its struggles as well and was able to gain some sort
of order with Sunday’s 3-1 win over the Phillies in the finale of a four-game
series from AT&T Park. Giants ace Tim LIncecum hit the 10-win mark (10-9) by
holding Philadelphia to a run on seven hits with five K’s over 7 2/3 innings.
Javier Lopez got the final out of the eighth inning before closer Brian Wilson
came on to register his 34th save of the season. Wilson and Braves rookie
closer Craig Kimbrel are tied for the most saves in the majors.

The Giants were able to maintain their slim half-game lead over the Arizona
Diamondbacks in the National League West.

“We got the Diamondbacks nipping at our heels … We have to use this as a
[spark] to a winning streak,” Lincecum said.

Jeff Keppinger went 4-for-4 with an RBI, while Orlando Cabrera and Chris
Stewart both drove in runs for San Francisco, which salvaged the finale of the
series to win for just the second time in 10 tries. The Giants are 2-5 on a
10-game homestand and have held the top spot in the NL West for the past 44
days.

Ryan Vogelsong will try to stretch San Francisco’s stay in first place when
he takes the mound Monday night. The All-Star right-hander hasn’t lost since
May 26 versus Florida and is 9-1 with a 2.19 ERA in 20 games (18 starts) this
season. He has won his last six decisions and defeated Arizona in last
Wednesday’s 8-1 drubbing by the Bay. He allowed one run and five hits over six
innings and struck out seven batters.

Vogelsong, who played with the Pirates in parts of 2001-2006, beat Pittsburgh
in a 5-2 victory on April 28 from the Steel City, as he delivered 5 2/3
innings of two-run ball and eight K’s. He is 6-1 with a 1.30 ERA in 11 games
(10 starts) at home this season.

San Francisco won two of three meetings in Pittsburgh from April 26-28 and is
10-5 in this series since the beginning of the 2009 campaign.

The Sports Network

Ibanez homered twice and hit the game-winning double in the 10th inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

“Any of these guys can carry you for a day,” Pence said. “That’s the beauty of it,”

The Phillies trailed 5-3 in the eighth when Ibanez hit a two-run shot for his second homer of the game. He doubled to right off Tony Watson (0-2) in the 10th to score Pence and help the Phillies complete a three-game sweep.

“We stay together and pull together when we need to,” Ibanez said.

Antonio Bastardo (4-0) struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the win.

Ibanez hit a solo homer in the second off Pirates starter Jeff Karstens and his tying blast was off Jose Veras. The Phillies are a season-high 29 games over .500 (68-39) and swept their fifth series of the season.

The Pirates, trying to keep pace in a crowded NL Central race, left Philadelphia reeling but with two new bats. A day after they traded for Derrek Lee, the Pirates acquired outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the San Diego Padres.

Pence, acquired Friday from Houston, hit a one-out double in the 10th and Ibanez followed with his 21st double of the season. The Phillies increased their lead to six games over Atlanta in the NL East and are starting to pull away.

“It’s electric,” Pence said. “Everyone has a different charisma about them where you expect it to happen.”

The Pirates are fading in the division and hope Lee and Ludwick can get them back on track.

Lyle Overbay hit a two-run homer and Karstens pitched seven solid innings for the Pirates.

On the brink of losing his starting first baseman’s job, Overbay connected on a two-run shot off Phillies starter Vance Worley in the sixth for a 4-3 lead. Overbay, a disappointment in his first season with the Pirates, will hit the bench once Lee joins the team. Lee, acquired from Baltimore on Saturday, should take over at first when the Pirates return home.

The Pirates then got Ludwick from the Padres for a player to be named or cash considerations.

Ludwick batted .238 with a team-leading 11 home runs and 64 RBIs in 378 at-bats. He was scratched two minutes before the start of the Padres game Sunday against Colorado.

“I’m excited because I’ve got another chance to make the playoffs, going to a team that’s in the pennant race, back in the Central to an area I’m familiar with,” Ludwick said. “It’s just sad things didn’t work out here.”

Karstens got a big boost when Overbay connected to right to put the Pirates ahead. It was one of the few times this season Overbay delivered in the clutch as the Pirates hoped when they signed him a one-year deal in the offseason.

The veteran first baseman was signed to provide Pittsburgh’s offense with some much-needed pop, but he has struggled in hitter-friendly PNC Park. He entered the Philadelphia series with just one RBI since July 4, or two fewer than pitcher Kevin Correia. Overbay was batting only .217 in July and was 2 for 22 in his last eight games entering Sunday.

With Lee on the way, he was scheduled to join the team Monday, Overbay should find himself on the bench.

Asked for an interview, Overbay said, “As long as it’s not about the Derrek Lee trade.”

He later said he didn’t know what was ahead for him after a talk with manager Clint Hurdle.

The Pirates open a seven-game homestand today against the Cubs.

After allowing 17 runs to the Phillies in the first two games of the series, Karstens turned in a nice little outing. But the Pirates couldn’t solve.

“They have a bunch of answers,” Hurdle said. “Today, it was Ibanez.”

He hit his 15th homer in the second, a solo shot, for a 1-0 lead and Jimmy Rollins singled in two runs in the fifth that gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead.

The Pirates scored another run in seventh on Garrett Jones’ RBI double off reliever Brad Lidge. Xavier Paul had a two-RBI single in the fifth.

Worley, coming off his first career complete game, picked up where he left off, fanning five straight batters over the first and second innings. With his glasses and quirky mohawk, Worley has become an instant fan favorite. He struggled after his fast start, allowing seven hits and four runs in six innings.

Notes

The Pirates transferred C Ryan Doumit to the 60-day disabled list. … The Pirates have three games left against the NL East. … Ibanez had his first multi-homer game of the season

CBSSports.com wire reports
July 31, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — New to the area, Hunter Pence hitched a ride to the ballpark with Chase Utley.

Pence knows his way around the bases, though, and when he scored the winning run on Raul Ibanez’s double, he found Utley and most of his new teammates at the plate to mob him.

Two days into his stint with the Phillies, Pence knows this: “They have fun, they work hard, they play hard.”

And they win.

Ibanez homered twice and hit the game-winning double in the 10th inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. “Any of these guys can carry you for a day,” Pence said. “That’s the beauty of it,”

The Phillies trailed 5-3 in the eighth when Ibanez hit a two-run shot for his second homer of the game. He doubled to right off Tony Watson (0-2) in the 10th to score Pence and help the Phillies complete a three-game sweep of the Pirates.

“We stay together and pull together when we need to,” Ibanez said.Antonio Bastardo (4-0) struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the win.

Ibanez hit a solo homer in the second off Pirates starter Jeff Karstens and his tying blast was off Jose Veras. The Phillies are a season-high 29 games over .500 (68-39) and swept their fifth series of the season.

The Pirates, trying to keep pace in a crowded NL Central race, left Philadelphia reeling but with two new bats. A day after they traded for Derrek Lee, the Pirates acquired outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the San Diego Padres.

Pence, acquired Friday from Houston, hit a one-out double in the 10th and Ibanez followed with his 21st double of the season. The Phillies increased their lead to six games over Atlanta in the NL East and are starting to pull away.

“It’s electric,” Pence said. “Everyone has a different charisma about them where you expect it to happen.”The Pirates are fading in the division and hope Lee and Ludwick can get them back on track.

Lyle Overbay hit a two-run homer and Karstens pitched seven solid innings for the Pirates.

On the brink of losing his starting first baseman’s job, Overbay connected on a two-run shot off Phillies starter Vance Worley in the sixth for a 4-3 lead. Overbay, a disappointment in his first season with the Pirates, will hit the bench once Lee joins the team. Lee, acquired from Baltimore on Saturday, should take over at first when the Pirates return home.

The Pirates then got Ludwick from the Padres for a player to be named or cash considerations.Ludwick batted .238 with a team-leading 11 home runs and 64 RBI in 378 at-bats. He was scratched two minutes before the start of the Padres game Sunday against Colorado.

“I’m excited because I’ve got another chance to make the playoffs, going to a team that’s in the pennant race, back in the Central to an area I’m familiar with,” Ludwick said. “It’s just sad things didn’t work out here.”

Karstens got a big boost when Overbay connected to right to put the Pirates ahead. It was one of the few times this season Overbay delivered in the clutch as the Pirates hoped when they signed him a one-year deal in the offseason.

The veteran first baseman was signed to provide Pittsburgh’s offense with some much-needed pop, but he has struggled in hitter-friendly PNC Park. He entered the Philadelphia series with just one RBI since July 4, or two fewer than pitcher Kevin Correia. Overbay was batting only .217 in July and was 2 for 22 in his last eight games entering Sunday.

With Lee on the way, he was scheduled to join the team Monday, Overbay should find himself on the bench.Asked for an interview, Overbay said, “As long as it’s not about the Derrek Lee trade.”

He later said he didn’t know what was ahead for him after a talk with manager Clint Hurdle.The Pirates open a seven-game game homestand Monday against the Cubs.

After allowing 17 runs to the Phillies in the first two games of the series, Karstens turned in a nice little outing. But the Pirates couldn’t solve.”They have a bunch of answers,” Hurdle said. “Today, it was Ibanez.”

He hit his 15th homer in the second, a solo shot, for a 1-0 lead and Jimmy Rollins singled in two runs in the fifth that gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead.

The Pirates scored another run in seventh on Garrett Jones’ RBI double off reliever Brad Lidge. Xavier Paul had a two-RBI single in the fifth.

Worley, coming off his first career complete game, picked up where he left off, fanning five straight batters over the first and second innings. With his glasses and quirky mohawk, Worley has become an instant fan favorite. He struggled after his fast start, allowing seven hits and four runs in six innings.

Notes

• The Pirates transferred C Ryan Doumit to the 60-day disabled list.
• The Pirates have three games left vs. the NL East.
• Ibanez had his first multi-homer game of the season.