Pittsburgh Pirates News

Following their 8-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves in the second game of their doubleheader Monday, the Pittsburgh Pirates optioned righthander John Van Benschoten to Class AAA Indianapolis of the International League.

Right-hander John Van Benschoten was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis following his latest failed trial with the Pittsburgh Pirates, losing twice in four appearances while giving up eight earned runs in 7 2-3 innings. Van Benschoten (0-2) was the losing pitcher as the Pirates’ six-game winning streak ended Monday with an 8-1 loss to Atlanta in the second game of a doubleheader.

Tim Hudson limited Pittsburgh to two hits and an unearned run over seven innings and the Atlanta Braves halted their seven-game road losing streak and the Pirates’ six-game winning streak with an 8-1 victory Monday in the second game of a doubleheader. In the opener, Freddy Sanchez hit a three-run double and Zach Duke pitched six shutout innings as the Pirates won 5-0.

Freddy Sanchez’s three-run double in the fifth inning broke a scoreless tie, leading Zach Duke and the streaking Pittsburgh Pirates past the Atlanta Braves 5-0 Monday in the first game of a doubleheader. Duke (2-2) shook off five walks and three errors behind him to limit Atlanta to five hits over six shutout innings, and the Pirates won their season-high sixth in a row.

Every week Sean Deveney looks at the action and ranks all the teams as he sees them.

The Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates will play a doubleheader Monday after their game Sunday was postponed by rain.

Tom Gorzelanny shook off Mark Teixeira’s two-run homer in the first inning to shut out Atlanta during the rest of his 7 1-3 innings, Jason Bay homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates extended the Braves’ road woes with a 5-2 victory Saturday night. Bay doubled and scored on Ronny Paulino’s sacrifice fly in the second inning, then followed Jason Michaels’ leadoff single with a two-run homer to…

Freddy Sanchez lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates to another dramatic win with a ninth-inning RBI single. Rickie Weeks stopped Milwaukee’s six-game losing with a big hit of his own in the Brewers’ last at-bat. And Jimmy Rollins stole the spotlight from both of them with a triumphant return from the disabled list.

Freddy Sanchez singled home Brian Bixler with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. Sanchez went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and is 9-for-17 in four games since being moved to the top of the Pirates’ lineup. With one out in the ninth, Jose Bautista singled off Atlanta reliever Jeff Bennett (0-2).

With Barry Bonds currently out of work and teams looking to improve their lot in MLB, the Shunned One’s name…