BRADENTON, Fla. – Pedro Alvarez will remain the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting third baseman, despite a deep batting slump that began last season and has carried over into spring training.

In Grapefruit League play, Alvarez is hitting .133 and has struck out in 13 of 30 at-bats.

However, two of his four hits were home runs, and general manager Neal Huntington cast aside the notion that Alvarez might not break camp with the Pirates.

“The rumors of him starting at Triple-A have never come from the Pirates,” Huntington said. “It’s been outside speculation. It’s not what we’ve thought (of doing). We asked him to do some things coming into spring training and he’s done those. He’s going through a tough stretch right now.

“Are we going to be able to get him out of it? We believe we will.”

Last season, Alvarez hit .191 with four homers and was limited to 74 games due to a quadriceps injury. He has missed the past three spring training games with what the team has called “minor irritation” in his left knee, but he is expected to be back in action this week.

Although the Pirates urged him to play winter ball this past offseason, Alvarez instead worked out on his own with a trainer in California.

“I have a little more flexibility in my swing,” he said, “and I’m able to stay through some balls and let the ball get deep.”

Alvarez also added a toe tap to his swing as a timing mechanism, and has admitted it’s taken a while to feel comfortable with the new mechanics.

“He uses it to gather himself, get himself in a position where he feels athletic,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “When that front foot hits the ground, he needs to be in a good foundation, with his hands in a strong position, to get to the ball and stay through it.”

Alvarez was drafted second overall in 2008 and received a four-year, $6.355 million contract with a $6 million signing bonus. He made his big league debut in 2010 and hit .256 with 16 home runs in 74 games.

Huntington indicated Alvarez would benefit more from remaining in the majors as an everyday player than by going back to Triple-A.

“There are times when guys are able to get away with flaws at Triple-A that they can’t get away with at the major league level,” Huntington said. “He may be one of those guys. There are guys who are tremendous Triple-A performers and they need to learn and adjust at the major league level. We can’t put too much stock in Triple-A performance, good or bad, or spring training performance, good or bad.”

A left-handed batter, Alvarez has a career .211 batting average against lefty pitchers. The Pirates are slated to face several tough southpaws in the first two weeks of the season, which could put Alvarez on the bench.

“While I don’t anticipate a platoon setting,” Huntington said, “we may protect some of our young left-handed hitters against the likes of (Los Angeles’ Clayton) Kershaw, (Philadelphia’s Cliff) Lee and (San Francisco’s Madison) Bumgarner.”

The Pirates, who opened up 4-2 and 9-7 last season, are hoping for a strong start this time around, as well, though the schedule is not kind. In the season’s first three weeks, the Pirates play the last two World Series champions – San Francisco and St. Louis – and they open the season with three games at home vs. the Phillies.

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Pedro Alvarez will remain the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting third baseman, despite a deep batting slump that began last season and has carried over into spring training.

In Grapefruit League play, Alvarez is hitting .133 and has struck out in 13 of 30 at-bats.

However, two of his four hits were home runs, and general manager Neal Huntington cast aside the notion that Alvarez might not break camp with the Pirates.

“The rumors of him starting at Triple-A have never come from the Pirates,” Huntington said. “It’s been outside speculation. It’s not what we’ve thought (of doing). We asked him to do some things coming into spring training and he’s done those. He’s going through a tough stretch right now.

“Are we going to be able to get him out of it? We believe we will.”

Last season, Alvarez hit .191 with four homers and was limited to 74 games due to a quadriceps injury. He has missed the past three spring training games with what the team has called “minor irritation” in his left knee, but he is expected to be back in action this week.

Although the Pirates urged him to play winter ball this past offseason, Alvarez instead worked out on his own with a trainer in California.

“I have a little more flexibility in my swing,” he said, “and I’m able to stay through some balls and let the ball get deep.”

Alvarez also added a toe tap to his swing as a timing mechanism, and has admitted it’s taken a while to feel comfortable with the new mechanics.

“He uses it to gather himself, get himself in a position where he feels athletic,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “When that front foot hits the ground, he needs to be in a good foundation, with his hands in a strong position, to get to the ball and stay through it.”

Alvarez was drafted second overall in 2008 and received a four-year, $6.355 million contract with a $6 million signing bonus. He made his big league debut in 2010 and hit .256 with 16 home runs in 74 games.

Huntington indicated Alvarez would benefit more from remaining in the majors as an everyday player than by going back to Triple-A.

“There are times when guys are able to get away with flaws at Triple-A that they can’t get away with at the major league level,” Huntington said. “He may be one of those guys. There are guys who are tremendous Triple-A performers and they need to learn and adjust at the major league level. We can’t put too much stock in Triple-A performance, good or bad, or spring training performance, good or bad.”

A left-handed batter, Alvarez has a career .211 batting average against lefty pitchers. The Pirates are slated to face several tough southpaws in the first two weeks of the season, which could put Alvarez on the bench.

“While I don’t anticipate a platoon setting,” Huntington said, “we may protect some of our young left-handed hitters against the likes of (Los Angeles’ Clayton) Kershaw, (Philadelphia’s Cliff) Lee and (San Francisco’s Madison) Bumgarner.”

The Pirates, who opened up 4-2 and 9-7 last season, are hoping for a strong start this time around, as well, though the schedule is not kind. In the season’s first three weeks, the Pirates play the last two World Series champions – San Francisco and St. Louis – and they open the season with three games at home vs. the Phillies.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Pedro Alvarez will remain the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting third baseman, despite a deep batting slump that began last season and has carried over into spring training.

In Grapefruit League play, Alvarez is hitting .133 and has struck out in 13 of 30 at-bats.

However, two of his four hits were home runs, and general manager Neal Huntington cast aside the notion that Alvarez might not break camp with the Pirates.

“The rumors of him starting at Triple-A have never come from the Pirates,” Huntington said. “It’s been outside speculation. It’s not what we’ve thought (of doing). We asked him to do some things coming into spring training and he’s done those. He’s going through a tough stretch right now.

“Are we going to be able to get him out of it? We believe we will.”

Last season, Alvarez hit .191 with four homers and was limited to 74 games due to a quadriceps injury. He has missed the past three spring training games with what the team has called “minor irritation” in his left knee, but he is expected to be back in action this week.

Although the Pirates urged him to play winter ball this past offseason, Alvarez instead worked out on his own with a trainer in California.

“I have a little more flexibility in my swing,” he said, “and I’m able to stay through some balls and let the ball get deep.”

Alvarez also added a toe tap to his swing as a timing mechanism, and has admitted it’s taken a while to feel comfortable with the new mechanics.

“He uses it to gather himself, get himself in a position where he feels athletic,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “When that front foot hits the ground, he needs to be in a good foundation, with his hands in a strong position, to get to the ball and stay through it.”

Alvarez was drafted second overall in 2008 and received a four-year, $6.355 million contract with a $6 million signing bonus. He made his big league debut in 2010 and hit .256 with 16 home runs in 74 games.

Huntington indicated Alvarez would benefit more from remaining in the majors as an everyday player than by going back to Triple-A.

“There are times when guys are able to get away with flaws at Triple-A that they can’t get away with at the major league level,” Huntington said. “He may be one of those guys. There are guys who are tremendous Triple-A performers and they need to learn and adjust at the major league level. We can’t put too much stock in Triple-A performance, good or bad, or spring training performance, good or bad.”

A left-handed batter, Alvarez has a career .211 batting average against lefty pitchers. The Pirates are slated to face several tough southpaws in the first two weeks of the season, which could put Alvarez on the bench.

“While I don’t anticipate a platoon setting,” Huntington said, “we may protect some of our young left-handed hitters against the likes of (Los Angeles’ Clayton) Kershaw, (Philadelphia’s Cliff) Lee and (San Francisco’s Madison) Bumgarner.”

The Pirates, who opened up 4-2 and 9-7 last season, are hoping for a strong start this time around, as well, though the schedule is not kind. In the season’s first three weeks, the Pirates play the last two World Series champions – San Francisco and St. Louis – and they open the season with three games at home vs. the Phillies.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

On November 15, Jon Paul Morosi reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates were interested in acquiring Detroit Tigers’ free agent, Ramon Santiago(notes). A mainstay in the Tigers’ lineup, Santiago has been a consistent reserve player, stepping up his game when necessary. The Pirates had liked what they saw from him and were ready to pounce, making him their starter at second base. Detroit, though sincere in their praise of Santiago’s performance, is staunchly against using him as a starter, causing many to speculate that he may accept the Pirates’ offer. Fortunately, for Tigers’ fans, the Pirates signed Clint Barmes(notes) and the Tigers’ front office recognized just how valuable Santiago could be.

The club announced, November 30, that they had reached an agreement with Santiago, re-signing him to a 2-year, $4.2 million dollar contract. Santiago was adamant that he would have preferred to stay with the Tigers’ organization, though he did consider options to start for another team. The Tigers were determined to keep him in the lineup, though preferably in a reserve role. Ultimately, it would come down to where Santiago felt most comfortable. Both sides felt it would be in Detroit.

In his 10 major league seasons, 8 of which spent in Detroit, Santiago has gained a reputation for being a solid, consistent reserve performer. Though he had started in spots, most notably at second base, it was his 2011 postseason performance that turned more than a few heads. Santiago batted .289 in 10 postseason games as the Tigers’ starting second baseman. The 32-year-old had earned the role over a platoon of others, including Ryan Raburn(notes) and the injured Carlos Guillen(notes), which proved to be a decent option for a squad lacking a true starter at the position. As his consistency continued, so did the realization that he was a deserving option for the club.

For Detroit, this is another piece of stability for the franchise, as it moves closer to a World Series championship. As Dombrowski heads into the winter meetings, the place in which he has been abundantly successful in acquiring talent, the signing of Santiago provides a small insurance policy for whatever offseason plans may be in place.

The author, D. Benjamin Satkowiak, is a successful entrepreneur and published, freelance author, who has tailored works on various sports, health and fitness topics. He currently serves as a Yahoo! Contributor Network “Featured Contributor” and writes on the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Great Lakes Loons and Notre Dame football.

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October 26, 2011 – Eastern League (EL) Altoona Curve
CURVE, Pa. – Pittsburgh Pirates’ outfielder Andrew McCutchen and pitcher Brad Lincoln will return to Altoona for the first time since their playing days when they arrive on Thursday, December 15th for the Pirates’ Caravan stop at the Curve Store in the Logan Valley Mall. McCutchen and Lincoln will be joined on the stop by 1971 World Series hero and current broadcaster Steve Blass and third base coach Nick Leyva. The Caravan event will run from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

McCutchen is coming off his most productive Major League season with career highs in home runs (23) and RBI (89) during the 2011 campaign. The centerfielder was also named to the National League All-Star team for the mid-season classic in Phoenix. The Pirates’ first round pick in 2005, McCutchen played for the Altoona Curve in 2006 and 2007 during his ascent to Pittsburgh. The native of Florida hit .258 in 118 games for the Curve in 2007 while smacking 10 home runs and 48 RBI.

Lincoln made his Major League debut in 2010 and appeared in 12 games (eight starts) for the Buccos in 2011. Pittsburgh’s first round pick in 2006 makes his way back to Curve, Pa. for the first time since making 13 starts for the Curve in 2009 before a mid-season promotion to Triple-A Indianapolis. In his 13 games with the Curve, Lincoln boasted a 2.28 ERA while striking out 65 batters in 75.0 innings.

“We think Pirates’ and Curve fans from around Central Pennsylvania will be eager to see Andrew and Brad back in Altoona as part of this year’s Caravan,” said Curve General Manager Rob Egan. “Andrew has blossomed into a Major League All-Star and Brad really hit his stride in a Curve uniform in 2009 on his way up to Pittsburgh. It’s always exciting to see former Curve players reach the major leagues and, in the case of these two, become key contributors in Pittsburgh.”

Blass most recently completed his 26th season as a color commentator and his 52nd year of involvement with the Pirates organization in 2011. He’s been associated with the Pirates since signing his first professional contract on June 27, 1960 and went on to play 10 Major League seasons in a Bucco uniform. He turned in one of his best seasons in 1972, winning a career-high 19 games en route to being named a National League All-Star.

The Connecticut native was dominant in the 1971 World Series vs. Baltimore, earning two complete-game victories (including Game 7) and allowing just two runs and seven hits in 18 innings of work.

Leyva became a part of Clint Hurdle’s staff on November 24, 2010 and the 2011 campaign was his 35th season in professional baseball (17th at the Major League level). Prior to joining the Pirates, Leyva was the bench coach under Cito Gaston in Toronto for the 2010 campaign after serving as the third-base coach for the previous two seasons. Leyva also managed the Philadelphia Phillies from 1989-1991.

Fans wishing to attend the 90-minute autograph session with McCutchen, Lincoln, Blass, and Leyva are asked to bring a canned good or non-perishable food item to benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Society Soup Kitchen of Altoona.

The Curve Store at the Logan Valley Mall in Altoona will open on Friday, November 18th and operate through Tuesday, December 27th. It will retain the same location as last year, on the lower level near Santa’s Village (across from Orange Julius), and be open the same operating hours as the mall itself.

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OK, smart guy: Let’s see you solve the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Michal Pleskowicz of Poland captured the World Rubik’s Cube Championship final in Bangkok, Thailand, averaging just 8.65 seconds to finish the puzzle.

Holding The Bag Dept.

Tiger Woods, after splitting with caddie Steve Williams, is now going with Joe LaCava.

Here’s hoping Tiger got a pre-nup this time.

Headline of the day

At SportsPickle.com: “Vikings RB Adrian Peterson moves himself to Los Angeles.”

Drawing Board 101

This month’s best out-of-the-box innovation is:

a) A hikers’ outhouse on top of Mount Everest.

b) The Japanese toilet bike.

c) Rock-’Em Sock-’Em Robots, featuring Jim Schwartz and Jim Harbaugh.

Pass the Bug-weiser

“A recent study showed drinking beer can help ward off mosquitoes,” wrote Brad Rock of Salt Lake City’s Desert News. “Come to think of it, has anyone ever seen a can of OFF! at a Raiders game?”

$1 mill for the ages

An unnamed actress is suing Amazon.com for more than $1 million for revealing her age on its Internet Movie Database website.

“Why didn’t we think of that?” about 500 Dominican ballplayers moaned.

Splitting A Pair Dept.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his estranged wife Jamie have finally agreed to a settlement in their highly contentious divorce case, the Los Angeles Times reported.

He keeps the team; she gets $130 million and a chauffeur to be named later.

Quote marks

• Alabama football coach Nick Saban, to the nearby Talladega Daily Home, after his team rushed for 389 yards in a 52-7 win over Ole Miss: “We’re more like Joe Frazier than we are like Ali. We have to pound it.”

• Ex-heavyweight champ George Foreman, to the L.A. Times, on Bernard Hopkins still fighting at age 46: “You might as well. There’s not gonna be any Social Security left.”

• Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler, to AP, on his team’s World Series prospects: “We’ve got that experience. It wasn’t a very good one, but we have the experience.”

• John Henderson of The Denver Post on Pac-12 newbie Colorado going from Saturday’s 52-24 pasting by Washington to this week’s date with high-octane Oregon: “Can you say, ‘Thank you, sir! May I have another?’ “

Clean hit on the play

Titans rookie defensive back Tommie Campbell was once a janitor at the Pittsburgh International Airport.

No wonder he does so well during garbage time.

Forty years ago this month, one of the greatest Pittsburgh teams of all time, the 1971 Pirates, won its fourth World Series in franchise history.

Although Three Rivers Stadium had officially opened on July 16, 1970, the 1971 campaign was the first full season played at the team’s new home field.

Pittsburgh finished the season atop the National League East division with a 97-65 record. In the National League Championship Series, the Pirates defeated the San Francisco Giants three games to one.

With the NLCS win, Pittsburgh earned its first World Series appearance since the 1960 championship that included Bill Mazeroski’s legendary Game 7 home run.

The Pirates had an uphill battle as they faced the defending champion Baltimore Orioles, who were appearing in their third consecutive World Series and had just finished their third season in a row with more than 100 wins.

In Game 1 in Baltimore, the Pirates took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but the Orioles responded with three home runs, including a three-run blast in the third by Merv Rettenmund, to win 5-3. Game Two was a defensive nightmare for the Pirates, who used six pitchers on the way to an 11-3 loss.

The turnaround for the Pirates began in Game 3. Back at home in Pittsburgh, the Pirates easily took the next three games with scores of 5-1, 4-3 and 4-0.

Returning to Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium for Game 6, the O’s defeated the Bucs 3-2 in 10 innings.

With the series tied 3-3, the Pirates faced a decisive Game 7 in Baltimore. A Roberto Clemente solo home run in the fourth and a Jose Pagan RBI double in the eighth accorded for both Pirates runs. Luckily, the Orioles also had a difficult time scoring against the Pirates, who were led by pitcher Steve Blass’ complete game four-hit performance.

The Pirates clinched the seventh game of the World Series, 2-1, to celebrate their first world championship of the decade.

The Most Valuable Player Award for the series went to Clemente, the first Latin American player to win the honor. He batted .414 and, just as he had done in the 1960 World Series, had a hit in each of the seven games.

Visitors to the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at Heinz History Center can learn more about the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates championship team and other exciting moments in Pirates history. Information: www.heinzhistorycenter.org.

First published on October 13, 2011 at 12:00 am

Oct. 13
	   1903 -- The Boston Pilgrims won the first World Series, five games to three, with a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
	   1914 -- The Boston Braves completed the first sweep in World Series history with a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.
	   1921 -- Art Nehf tossed a 1-0, four-hitter against the New York Yankees for the World Series title in eight games. The Giants scored their run in the first inning on an error by shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh.
	   1960 -- Bill Mazeroski opened the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Ralph Terry of the Yankees to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 victory and the World Series in seven games.
	   1971 -- The first World Series night game was played in Pittsburgh with the Pirates beating Baltimore 4-3. Roberto Clemente had three hits for Pittsburgh.
	   1978 -- New York third baseman Graig Nettles put on a fielding clinic and prevented seven runs as the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in the third game of the World Series. Nettles made four spectacular stops and gave the Yankees the first victory of the series.
	   1984 -- Alan Trammell's two home runs backed Jack Morris' second complete game to give the Detroit Tigers a 4-2 victory and a 3-1 lead over the San Diego Padres in the World Series.
	   1993 -- Tommy Greene of Philadelphia outpitched Greg Maddux and the Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 6-3 to win the National League pennant in six games.
	   1996 -- Powered by a three-homer third inning and eight strong innings from Andy Pettitte(notes), New York won its 34th American League pennant with a 6-4 victory over Baltimore. The Yankees took the ALCS 4-1 and went to the World Series for the first time since 1981.
	   1998 -- The New York Yankees advanced to the World Series for a record 35th time after beating the Cleveland Indians 9-5 to win the AL championship series in six games.
	   2002 -- Adam Kennedy(notes) hit his third homer of the game in the seventh inning and the Angels erupted for a 13-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins to win the AL championship series in five games and advance to the World Series for the first time in their 42-year history.
	   2007 -- Manny Ramirez(notes) hit his 23rd postseason homer in Boston's 13-6 11-inning loss to Cleveland. The two-run drive broke the playoff record he had shared with former New York Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams.
	   Today's birthdays: Taylor Buchholz(notes) 30; Trevor Hoffman(notes) 44.

CBSSports.com wire reports
Aug. 10, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO — The Pirates showed up in San Francisco mired in a 10-game losing streak with little going right. In two weeks, they’d fallen from first place to 10 games out.

Winning two from the reigning World Series champion San Francisco Giants did a lot as Pittsburgh heads off to face NL Central-leading Milwaukee in an important matchup of division rivals.

Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer, Jeff Karstens bounced back from his worst start of the season and the Pirates won their first series in three weeks with a 9-2 victory over the struggling Giants on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh is off Thursday before opening a weekend series with the Brewers, who have won all five previous meetings.

“We’ll find out after the Friday night game, but we’re going in with some confidence,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “We were able to put a foot down and win a series on the road.”

Garrett Jones added an RBI single to continue his torrid August and help back Karstens (9-6), whose career-high nine strikeouts matched a season high for the team. Karstens, who ended a four-start winless stretch, gave up a season-high nine runs and nine hits in a 15-5 loss at San Diego last Friday.

“It’s good for us, especially heading into Milwaukee,” Karstens said.

Pablo Sandoval homered for the Giants, who began the day with a half-game lead over Arizona in the NL West. The Diamondbacks host Houston in a night game. San Francisco has led the division since June 25.

Jonathan Sanchez (4-7) walked McCutchen on four pitches and threw five straight balls to start the game. Sandoval came in from third and catcher Eli Whiteside hustled to the mound to chat with the left-hander, who was roughed up again in his second start since coming off the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. Sanchez was done after 4 1-3 innings and hasn’t won since June 2 at St. Louis.

McCutchen went 1 for 1 with three walks and a hit by pitch. He stole two bases and scored four runs — most by a Pirate in a game this year. His 16th clout of the year put Pittsburgh ahead 3-1 in the third. The Pirates have homered in four of their last five games and eight of 12.

McCutchen was hit by a pitch leading off the seventh. Brandon Wood drove in a run that inning and Matt Diaz hit two run-scoring singles. Pittsburgh’s Nos. 1-5 hitters went a combined 7 for 17 with six RBI, eight runs scored, seven walks and a hit batter. Jones is batting .389 (14 for 36) with five doubles, three homers and seven RBI this month.

With a power show on offense of late, Bucs pitchers also have allowed 18 homers over the last nine games. Sandoval connected in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 1.

The Giants have hit 19 straight solo home runs, matching the 1914 Phillies’ major league mark. Their last homer to score more than one run was a two-run drive by Nate Schierholtz on July 6 against San Diego.

San Francisco finished up a disappointing 3-7 homestand with its 10th loss in 13 games. The Giants have dropped three straight series at AT&T Park for the first time since losing six consecutive home series from May 12-June 18, 2008.

“We’ve got a lot of baseball left,” outfielder Cody Ross said. “We’ve got to go out and play like champions. We’re not doing it. We’re kind of all in a rut and it seems like we can’t dig ourselves out. We’ve got to do something.”

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said the front office would discuss whether to stick with Sanchez. Lefty Barry Zito had been unimpressive in the fifth starter role and went back on the disabled list Aug. 1, but he could come off when San Francisco needs that pitcher again Aug. 16 in Atlanta.

“It has me a little concerned,” Bochy said of the No. 5 spot. “We need that guy to help us win a ballgame, too. We haven’t had a good start there in I don’t know how many now.”

Pirates first baseman Derrek Lee was a late scratch from the lineup with a recurring left hand injury. Hurdle said Lee’s hand was very sore after he played the two previous nights following a four-game absence with the bruised hand. Lee was hit with a pitch from Chicago’s Carlos Marmol last Wednesday.

Lee is batting .278 with two home runs and three RBI in four games since joining the Pirates in a trade from Baltimore.

Notes

• Giants RF Carlos Beltran missed his third straight game nursing a strained right hand and wrist. Schierholtz was held out with a right hip flexor.
• Zito will make another rehab outing Saturday for Triple-A Fresno then fly out to join the Giants on the road.
• San Francisco INF Miguel Tejada [lower abdominal strain] isn’t quite ready to begin a rehab outing in the minors, Bochy said. Tejada will travel on the road trip.
• Pirates RHP Kevin Hart had arthroscopic cleanup surgery Tuesday performed by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla. The team hopes to have Hart ready by spring training.
• Pirates LHP Paul Maholm (6-12, 3.54 ERA) starts Friday trying to end a string of three straight losing decisions. He is 1-5 on the road and is coming off a 13-2 loss Saturday at San Diego.
• All-Star RHP Matt Cain goes for the Giants on Friday at Florida, trying to improve to 4-1 for his career vs. the Marlins. He lost to Florida on May 24.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) – Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer, Jeff Karstens bounced back from his worst start of the season and the Pittsburgh Pirates won their first series in three weeks with a 9-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.

The Pirates took two of three from the reigning World Series champions on the heels of a 10-game losing streak. Pittsburgh is off Thursday before opening a weekend series at NL Central-leading Milwaukee. The Brewers have won all five previous meetings.

Garrett Jones added an RBI single to continue his torrid August and help back Karstens (9-6), whose career-high nine strikeouts matched a season-high for the team. Karstens, who ended a four-start winless stretch, gave up a season-high nine runs and nine hits in a 15-5 loss at San Diego last Friday.

McCutchen went 1 for 1 with three walks. He stole two bases and scored four runs.

Pablo Sandoval homered for the Giants, who began the day with a half-game lead over Arizona in the NL West. The Diamondbacks host Houston in a night game. San Francisco has led the division since June 25.

Jonathan Sanchez (4-7) walked McCutchen on four pitches and threw five straight balls to start the game. Sandoval came in from third and catcher Eli Whiteside hustled to the mound to chat with the left-hander, who was roughed up again in his second start since coming off the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. Sanchez was done after 4 1-3 innings and hasn’t won since June 2 at St. Louis.

McCutchen stole second and came around to score on Ryan Ludwick’s RBI single.

McCutchen’s 16th clout of the year put Pittsburgh ahead 3-1 in the third. The Pirates have homered in four of their last five games and eight of 12.

McCutchen scored four runs—most by a Pirate in a game this year—also drawing three walks and getting hit by a pitch leading off the seventh. Brandon Wood added a two-run single in the seventh and Matt Diaz hit two run-scoring singles. Pittsburgh’s Nos. 1-5 hitters went a combined 7 for 17 with six RBIs, eight runs scored, seven walks and a hit batter. Jones is batting .389 (14 for 36) with five doubles, three homers and seven RBIs this month.

With a power show on offense of late, Bucs pitchers also have allowed 18 homers over the last nine games. Sandoval connected in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 1.

The Giants have hit 19 straight solo home runs, matching the 1914 Phillies’ major league mark. Their last homer to score more than one run was a two-run drive by Nate Schierholtz on July 6 against San Diego.

Still, San Francisco finished up a disappointing 3-7 homestand with its 10th loss in 13 games. The Giants have dropped three straight series at AT&T Park for the first time since losing six consecutive home series from May 12-June 18, 2008.

Pirates first baseman Derrek Lee was a late scratch from the lineup with a recurring left hand injury. Manager Clint Hurdle said Lee’s hand was very sore after he played the two previous nights following a four-game absence with the bruised hand. Lee was hit with a pitch from Chicago’s Carlos Marmol last Wednesday.

Lee is batting .278 with two home runs and three RBIs in four games since joining the Pirates in a trade from Baltimore.

NOTES: Giants RF Carlos Beltran missed his third straight game nursing a strained right hand and wrist. Schierholtz was held out with a right hip flexor. … Giants LHP Barry Zito will make another rehab outing Saturday for Triple-A Fresno then fly out to join the Giants on the road. … San Francisco INF Miguel Tejada (lower abdominal strain) isn’t quite ready to begin a rehab outing in the minors, manager Bruce Bochy said. Tejada will travel on the road trip. … Pirates RHP Kevin Hart had arthroscopic cleanup surgery Tuesday performed by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla. The team hopes to have Hart ready by spring training. … Pirates LHP Paul Maholm (6-12, 3.54 ERA) starts Friday trying to end a string of three straight losing decisions. He is 1-5 on the road and is coming off a 13-2 loss Saturday at San Diego. … All-Star RHP Matt Cain goes for the Giants on Friday at Florida, trying to improve to 4-1 for his career vs. the Marlins. He lost to Florida on May 24.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

37.778143
-122.390872

CBSSports.com wire reports
Aug. 7, 2011

PITTSBURGH — Infielder Brandon Wood was asked if the Pittsburgh Pirates could glean anything positive from their just-completed homestand, one that goes into the books as the worst in 125 years of franchise history.

“Well,” Wood said, pondering the team’s 10-game losing streak, “this is going to end at some point.”

It surely will, but it doesn’t feel that way right now for the fading Pirates.

Mat Latos and the San Diego Padres beat Pittsburgh 7-3 Sunday. In less than two weeks, the Pirates have sunk from first place in the NL Central to 10 games behind.

Latos’ mastery continued the misery for the Pirates, who completed an 0-7 stay at PNC Park against the last-place Padres and Chicago Cubs, two teams that were a combined 39 games under .500 when the week began.

Pittsburgh was winless on a homestand of at least seven games for the first time in franchise history, STATS LLC said. No team in the majors has had a homestand that long without a win since Kansas City in May 2006.

“It’s obviously not easy right now,” second baseman Neil Walker said. “As baseball players, we’ve all gone through some sort of stretch like this, whether it was from a personal or a team standpoint. Nobody likes the feeling that we have right now.

“It’s easy to let yourself go to a negative place when you’re like this, but … we’re still playing the same game we did when we were winning games. It’s just been a little tougher for us.”

Try a lot tougher. The Pirates, leading the division on July 26, were outscored 59-25 by the Cubs and Padres. The bad week came after they got swept in Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh will try again to break its skid Monday night at San Francisco against the World Series champion Giants.

A day after the Pirates held a players-only meeting following a 13-2 loss, they trailed 7-0 going into the bottom of the eighth.

The Padres got a run on a wild pitch by Daniel McCutchen and another that was set up by catcher Ryan Doumit’s throwing error on a pitchout, two plays that exemplified Pittsburgh’s recent futility.

Latos (6-11) allowed only two singles until Doumit and Pedro Alvarez singled to open the eighth. Brandon Wood followed with a home run off Chad Qualls.

Will Venable had three hits and drove in two runs and Logan Forsythe had three RBI as the Padres completed their third sweep of the season. San Diego has won four in a row.

Playing without top hitter Chase Headley, who sustained a broken left little finger on Saturday, the Padres continued their offensive renaissance at the hands of the beleaguered Pirates.

“We got off to a good start there, and some of their guys didn’t have their best stuff,” Venable said. “We consistently, throughout the lineup, put good swings on those mistakes and we were able to push some runs across.”

San Diego came into the series last in the National League in average, runs, home runs and extra-base hits. The Padres left it having scored 35 runs in three games, tied for the second-most in any three-game stretch in franchise history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

San Diego has never scored more runs in a three-game series.

“Offensively, the three games speak for themselves,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “The collection of at bats from top to bottom were outstanding.”

This is the Pirates’ longest losing streak since a 12-game slide June 6-18, 2010, a season in which they lost 105 games.

The crowd of 35,601 meant a total of 112,618 saw the series, the fourth-largest in PNC Park history. While fans on Friday and Saturday often resorting to booing, Sunday’s scene never got ugly. Pirates fans were even given a reason to cheer when Wood’s homer, his seventh, cut San Diego’s lead to 7-3.

Pittsburgh’s Xavier Paul then singled with one out, but Qualls got the Pirates’ two best hitters, Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker, to ground out harmlessly to end the inning.

“We like playing here,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “We just didn’t do well this week.

“I never thought we’d throw up a doughnut at home.”

Forsythe, in the lineup to replace Headley at third base, had an RBI groundout in the second against Kevin Correia (12-10) and a two-run single in the sixth. Venable added a two-run double in the eighth.

Signed in the offseason as a free agent from San Diego, Correia had allowed one run on three hits through 5 2/3 innings before running into two-out trouble in the sixth. He was charged with four runs on five hits and four walks, falling to 2-8 at home this season.

“I threw the ball pretty well up until there were two outs and nobody on in the sixth,” Correia said. “It’s just hard, in the situation we’re in and the results of the games, to feel good about anything.”

Notes

• Headley was to be evaluated over the next few days before a decision was to be made about a possible trip to the disabled list.
• The Padres improved to 25-17 in day games [they're 26-47 at night] and have won six consecutive series finales.
• Monday in San Francisco, the Pirates face RHP Ryan Vogelsong, who pitched for them from 2001-06 and was out of the majors until this season, when he is emerging as a possible Cy Young candidate.
• Padres RHP Tim Stauffer is making his first career start in New York on Monday.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Infielder Brandon Wood was asked if the Pittsburgh Pirates could glean anything positive from their just-completed homestand, one that goes into the books as the worst in 125 years of franchise history.

“Well,” Wood said, pondering the team’s 10-game losing streak, “this is going to end at some point.”

It surely will, but it doesn’t feel that way right now for the fading Pirates.

Mat Latos and the San Diego Padres beat Pittsburgh 7-3 Sunday. In less than two weeks, the Pirates have sunk from first place in the NL Central to 10 games behind.

Latos’ mastery continued the misery for the Pirates, who completed an 0-7 stay at PNC Park against the last-place Padres and Chicago Cubs, two teams that were a combined 39 games under .500 when the week began.

Pittsburgh was winless on a homestand of at least seven games for the first time in franchise history, STATS LLC said. No team in the majors has had a homestand that long without a win since Kansas City in May 2006.

“It’s obviously not easy right now,” second baseman Neil Walker said. “As baseball players, we’ve all gone through some sort of stretch like this, whether it was from a personal or a team standpoint. Nobody likes the feeling that we have right now.

“It’s easy to let yourself go to a negative place when you’re like this, but … we’re still playing the same game we did when we were winning games. It’s just been a little tougher for us.”

Try a lot tougher. The Pirates, leading the division on July 26, were outscored 59-25 by the Cubs and Padres. The bad week came after they got swept in Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh will try again to break its skid Monday night at San Francisco against the World Series champion Giants.

A day after the Pirates held a players-only meeting following a 13-2 loss, they trailed 7-0 going into the bottom of the eighth.

The Padres got a run on a wild pitch by Daniel McCutchen and another that was set up by catcher Ryan Doumit’s throwing error on a pitchout, two plays that exemplified Pittsburgh’s recent futility.

Latos (6-11) allowed only two singles until Doumit and Pedro Alvarez singled to open the eighth. Brandon Wood followed with a home run off Chad Qualls.

Will Venable had three hits and drove in two runs and Logan Forsythe had three RBIs as the Padres completed their third sweep of the season. San Diego has won four in a row.

Playing without top hitter Chase Headley, who sustained a broken left little finger on Saturday, the Padres continued their offensive renaissance at the hands of the beleaguered Pirates.

“We got off to a good start there, and some of their guys didn’t have their best stuff,” Venable said. “We consistently, throughout the lineup, put good swings on those mistakes and we were able to push some runs across.”

San Diego came into the series last in the National League in average, runs, home runs and extra-base hits. The Padres left it having scored 35 runs in three games, tied for the second-most in any three-game stretch in franchise history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

San Diego has never scored more runs in a three-game series.

“Offensively, the three games speak for themselves,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “The collection of at bats from top to bottom were outstanding.”

This is the Pirates’ longest losing streak since a 12-game slide June 6-18, 2010, a season in which they lost 105 games.

The crowd of 35,601 meant a total of 112,618 saw the series, the fourth-largest in PNC Park history. While fans on Friday and Saturday often resorting to booing, Sunday’s scene never got ugly. Pirates fans were even given a reason to cheer when Wood’s homer, his seventh, cut San Diego’s lead to 7-3.

Pittsburgh’s Xavier Paul then singled with one out, but Qualls got the Pirates’ two best hitters, Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker, to ground out harmlessly to end the inning.

“We like playing here,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “We just didn’t do well this week.

“I never thought we’d throw up a doughnut at home.”

Forsythe, in the lineup to replace Headley at third base, had an RBI groundout in the second against Kevin Correia (12-10) and a two-run single in the sixth. Venable added a two-run double in the eighth.

Signed in the offseason as a free agent from San Diego, Correia had allowed one run on three hits through 5 2-3 innings before running into two-out trouble in the sixth. He was charged with four runs on five hits and four walks, falling to 2-8 at home this season.

“I threw the ball pretty well up until there were two outs and nobody on in the sixth,” Correia said. “It’s just hard, in the situation we’re in and the results of the games, to feel good about anything.”

NOTES: Headley was to be evaluated over the next few days before a decision was to be made about a possible trip to the disabled list. … The Padres improved to 25-17 in day games (they’re 26-47 at night) and have won six consecutive series finales. … Monday in San Francisco, the Pirates face RHP Ryan Vogelsong, who pitched for them from 2001-06 and was out of the majors until this season, when he is emerging as a possible Cy Young candidate. … Padres RHP Tim Stauffer is making his first career start in New York on Monday.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Infielder Brandon Wood was asked if the Pittsburgh Pirates could glean anything positive from their just-completed homestand, one that goes into the books as the worst in 125 years of franchise history.

“Well,” Wood said, pondering the team’s 10-game losing streak, “this is going to end at some point.”

It surely will, but it doesn’t feel that way right now for the fading Pirates.

Mat Latos and the San Diego Padres beat Pittsburgh 7-3 Sunday. In less than two weeks, the Pirates have sunk from first place in the NL Central to 10 games behind.

Latos’ mastery continued the misery for the Pirates, who completed an 0-7 stay at PNC Park against the last-place Padres and Chicago Cubs, two teams that were a combined 39 games under .500 when the week began.

Pittsburgh was winless on a homestand of at least seven games for the first time in franchise history, STATS LLC said. No team in the majors has had a homestand that long without a win since Kansas City in May 2006.

“It’s obviously not easy right now,” second baseman Neil Walker said. “As baseball players, we’ve all gone through some sort of stretch like this, whether it was from a personal or a team standpoint. Nobody likes the feeling that we have right now.

“It’s easy to let yourself go to a negative place when you’re like this, but … we’re still playing the same game we did when we were winning games. It’s just been a little tougher for us.”

Try a lot tougher. The Pirates, leading the division on July 26, were outscored 59-25 by the Cubs and Padres. The bad week came after they got swept in Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh will try again to break its skid Monday night at San Francisco against the World Series champion Giants.

A day after the Pirates held a players-only meeting following a 13-2 loss, they trailed 7-0 going into the bottom of the eighth.

The Padres got a run on a wild pitch by Daniel McCutchen and another that was set up by catcher Ryan Doumit’s throwing error on a pitchout, two plays that exemplified Pittsburgh’s recent futility.

Latos (6-11) allowed only two singles until Doumit and Pedro Alvarez singled to open the eighth. Brandon Wood followed with a home run off Chad Qualls.

Will Venable had three hits and drove in two runs and Logan Forsythe had three RBIs as the Padres completed their third sweep of the season. San Diego has won four in a row.

Playing without top hitter Chase Headley, who sustained a broken left little finger on Saturday, the Padres continued their offensive renaissance at the hands of the beleaguered Pirates.

“We got off to a good start there, and some of their guys didn’t have their best stuff,” Venable said. “We consistently, throughout the lineup, put good swings on those mistakes and we were able to push some runs across.”

San Diego came into the series last in the National League in average, runs, home runs and extra-base hits. The Padres left it having scored 35 runs in three games, tied for the second-most in any three-game stretch in franchise history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

San Diego has never scored more runs in a three-game series.

“Offensively, the three games speak for themselves,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “The collection of at bats from top to bottom were outstanding.”

This is the Pirates’ longest losing streak since a 12-game slide June 6-18, 2010, a season in which they lost 105 games.

The crowd of 35,601 meant a total of 112,618 saw the series, the fourth-largest in PNC Park history. While fans on Friday and Saturday often resorting to booing, Sunday’s scene never got ugly. Pirates fans were even given a reason to cheer when Wood’s homer, his seventh, cut San Diego’s lead to 7-3.

Pittsburgh’s Xavier Paul then singled with one out, but Qualls got the Pirates’ two best hitters, Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker, to ground out harmlessly to end the inning.

“We like playing here,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “We just didn’t do well this week.

“I never thought we’d throw up a doughnut at home.”

Forsythe, in the lineup to replace Headley at third base, had an RBI groundout in the second against Kevin Correia (12-10) and a two-run single in the sixth. Venable added a two-run double in the eighth.

Signed in the offseason as a free agent from San Diego, Correia had allowed one run on three hits through 5 2-3 innings before running into two-out trouble in the sixth. He was charged with four runs on five hits and four walks, falling to 2-8 at home this season.

“I threw the ball pretty well up until there were two outs and nobody on in the sixth,” Correia said. “It’s just hard, in the situation we’re in and the results of the games, to feel good about anything.”

NOTES: Headley was to be evaluated over the next few days before a decision was to be made about a possible trip to the disabled list. … The Padres improved to 25-17 in day games (they’re 26-47 at night) and have won six consecutive series finales. … Monday in San Francisco, the Pirates face RHP Ryan Vogelsong, who pitched for them from 2001-06 and was out of the majors until this season, when he is emerging as a possible Cy Young candidate. … Padres RHP Tim Stauffer is making his first career start in New York on Monday.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

PITTSBURGH (AP)—Infielder Brandon Wood(notes) was asked if the Pittsburgh Pirates
could glean anything positive from their just-completed homestand, one that goes
into the books as the worst in 125 years of franchise history.

“Well,” Wood said, pondering the team’s 10-game losing streak, “this is
going to end at some point.”

It surely will, but it doesn’t feel that way right now for the fading
Pirates.

Mat Latos(notes) and the San Diego Padres beat Pittsburgh 7-3 Sunday. In less than
two weeks, the Pirates have sunk from first place in the NL Central to 10 games
behind.

Latos’ mastery continued the misery for the Pirates, who completed an 0-7
stay at PNC Park against the last-place Padres and Chicago Cubs, two teams that
were a combined 39 games under .500 when the week began.

Pittsburgh was winless on a homestand of at least seven games for the first
time in franchise history, STATS LLC said. No team in the majors has had a
homestand that long without a win since Kansas City in May 2006.

“It’s obviously not easy right now,” second baseman Neil Walker(notes) said. “As
baseball players, we’ve all gone through some sort of stretch like this, whether
it was from a personal or a team standpoint. Nobody likes the feeling that we
have right now.

“It’s easy to let yourself go to a negative place when you’re like this,
but … we’re still playing the same game we did when we were winning games.
It’s just been a little tougher for us.”

Try a lot tougher. The Pirates, leading the division on July 26, were
outscored 59-25 by the Cubs and Padres. The bad week came after they got swept
in Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh will try again to break its skid Monday night at San Francisco
against the World Series champion Giants.

A day after the Pirates held a players-only meeting following a 13-2 loss,
they trailed 7-0 going into the bottom of the eighth.

The Padres got a run on a wild pitch by Daniel McCutchen(notes) and another that
was set up by catcher Ryan Doumit’s(notes) throwing error on a pitchout, two plays that
exemplified Pittsburgh’s recent futility.

Latos (6-11) allowed only two singles until Doumit and Pedro Alvarez(notes) singled
to open the eighth. Brandon Wood followed with a home run off Chad Qualls(notes).

Will Venable(notes) had three hits and drove in two runs and Logan Forsythe(notes) had
three RBIs as the Padres completed their third sweep of the season. San Diego
has won four in a row.

Playing without top hitter Chase Headley(notes), who sustained a broken left little
finger on Saturday, the Padres continued their offensive renaissance at the
hands of the beleaguered Pirates.

“We got off to a good start there, and some of their guys didn’t have their
best stuff,” Venable said. “We consistently, throughout the lineup, put good
swings on those mistakes and we were able to push some runs across.”

San Diego came into the series last in the National League in average, runs,
home runs and extra-base hits. The Padres left it having scored 35 runs in three
games, tied for the second-most in any three-game stretch in franchise history,
according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

San Diego has never scored more runs in a three-game series.

“Offensively, the three games speak for themselves,” Padres manager Bud
Black said. “The collection of at bats from top to bottom were outstanding.”

This is the Pirates’ longest losing streak since a 12-game slide June 6-18,
2010, a season in which they lost 105 games.

The crowd of 35,601 meant a total of 112,618 saw the series, the
fourth-largest in PNC Park history. While fans on Friday and Saturday often
resorting to booing, Sunday’s scene never got ugly. Pirates fans were even given
a reason to cheer when Wood’s homer, his seventh, cut San Diego’s lead to 7-3.

Pittsburgh’s Xavier Paul(notes) then singled with one out, but Qualls got the
Pirates’ two best hitters, Andrew McCutchen(notes) and Neil Walker, to ground out
harmlessly to end the inning.

“We like playing here,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “We just
didn’t do well this week.

“I never thought we’d throw up a doughnut at home.”

Forsythe, in the lineup to replace Headley at third base, had an RBI
groundout in the second against Kevin Correia(notes) (12-10) and a two-run single in
the sixth. Venable added a two-run double in the eighth.

Signed in the offseason as a free agent from San Diego, Correia had allowed
one run on three hits through 5 2-3 innings before running into two-out trouble
in the sixth. He was charged with four runs on five hits and four walks, falling
to 2-8 at home this season.

“I threw the ball pretty well up until there were two outs and nobody on in
the sixth,” Correia said. “It’s just hard, in the situation we’re in and the
results of the games, to feel good about anything.”

NOTES: Headley was to be evaluated over the next few days before a decision
was to be made about a possible trip to the disabled list. … The Padres
improved to 25-17 in day games (they’re 26-47 at night) and have won six
consecutive series finales. … Monday in San Francisco, the Pirates face RHP
Ryan Vogelsong(notes), who pitched for them from 2001-06 and was out of the majors
until this season, when he is emerging as a possible Cy Young candidate. …
Padres RHP Tim Stauffer(notes) is making his first career start in New York on Monday.