Pirates 2 – Cardinals 0: Burnett has impressive season debut, Alvarez drives in both runs in victory

PITTSBURGH 2 – ST. LOUIS 0 Win: A.J. Burnett (1-0) Loss: Jake Westbrook (2-1) Save: Joel Hanrahan (2) PITTSBURGH — It was an positive night for the Pirates on several fronts in their 2-0 shutout win over the St. Louis Cardinals, improving to 6-8 on the season: — A.J. Burnett making his season debut, was impressive on the mound throwing seven shutout innings and at the plate where he drew a walk and didn’t fracture his eye when trying to square up as the fans were yelling “no”. Burnett (7 IP – 3 H – 0 R – 7 SO – 2 BB) in throwing seven shutout innings, allowed 3 hits and 0 runs, while striking out 7 and walking

Pirates at the All-Star Break: 2nd Half Division Race; Injury Updates; Stats Watch & More

The Latest Pirates Buzz 1 GB at the All-Star Break Following today’s 9-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates enter the All-Star Break at 47-43, one game out of first place in the National League Central. NL Central Standings 1. Milwaukee Brewers (49-43) 2. St. Louis Cardinals (49-43) 3. Pittsburgh Pirates (47-43, 1GB) 4. Cincinnati Reds (45-47, 4 GB) 5. Chicago Cubs (37-55, 12 GB) 6. Houston Astros (30-62, 19 GB) 2nd Half Divisional Play In the NL Central, the Pirates feasted on the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs (13-5 combined record) in the first half but also performed well against the rest of the division, aside from their struggles against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates have gone

Sanchez, Duke lead Pirates to 7-4 win

Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson combined for 8 hits and pitcher Zach Duke went 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates (2-1) beat the St. Louis Cardinals (1-2) 7-4 Wednesday night at Bush Stadium. Duke, (5-14) last season, showed strong command throughout the evening to record his first career win at Bush Stadium and his first victory over the Cardinals since a complete game on Aug. 11, 2006, at home. Duke struck out four, walked two and scattered five hits on the night. Freddy Sanchez led the Pirates hit parade going 4-for-5 for his third straight multi-hit game on the season. Sanchez is batting .571 on the season and is at 100% health for the first time

MLB Free Agency Frenzy

The Latest Rumors from Day 1 3:00 p.m. MLB Free agency is not like NHL free agency where all of the big names are gone in the first two days. There is even talk that Mark Teixeira may not sign until December. 12:57 p.m.Juan Rivera on the Pirates radar? Indications are the Pirates have interest in former Angels outfielder Juan Rivera. In 89 games last year Rivera hit 12 home runs – 45 RBI’s. Rivera has been injured the past couple seasons but he still has some good baseball left in him. 12:50 p.m. The Nationals are really creating a lot of buzz today. They are believed to be prepared to make a pitch for Adam Dunn, Mark Teixeira and