Kevin Gorman stories, Page 6

With one swing, Oneil Cruz turned the tide on a tied game. Cruz crushed a 2-2 changeup from Jake Bloss, sending it over the boardwalk in center field for a three-run homer that sailed out of LECOM Park. Joey Bart followed with a solo shot to center to make it...

BRADENTON, Fla. — After spending the better part of two days in a hospital, Isaac Mattson finally found time last Friday to go outside and throw a weighted plyometric ball against the fence in his backyard. “I was just trying to do a little bit of something,” Mattson said, “but...

BRADENTON, Fla. — When Detroit’s Bligh Madris barreled the ball, Ji Hwan Bae didn’t realize that the deep fly would require him to chase it so far into center field that he ended up against the wall. Bae used his elite sprint speed to track and catch it, surprising even...

BRADENTON, Fla. — On the day he was reassigned to minor league camp by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Termarr Johnson spent the morning talking about the offseason steps he took to get closer to the majors. Johnson enjoyed an extended season that started with playing in the Arizona Fall League and...

BRADENTON, Fla. – Jared Jones seemed surprised when Derek Shelton strolled out to the mound with two outs in the third inning, prepared to pull the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander from the game. Jones was pulled not because of his performance but rather for reaching his 45-pitch count. As he handed...

SARASOTA, Fla. — The first start of spring training came later than Paul Skenes wanted and with more pitches than he preferred but with results that left the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander satisfied. Skenes introduced two new fastballs to his pitch repertoire, using both his cutter and two-seamer a handful of...

BRADENTON, Fla. – After answering the best season of his career with the worst, Jack Suwinski lost not only his spot in the starting lineup for the Pittsburgh Pirates but any guarantees on the major league roster. That was humbling for the 26-year-old outfielder, who led the Pirates with 26...

BRADENTON, Fla. — Braxton Ashcraft has learned not to dwell on the negative, so the Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher was focused on how his pitches felt more so than the results of his first spring training outing. Yet Ashcraft couldn’t hide his displeasure that he allowed two runs on four hits...

BRADENTON, Fla. — All of Matt Gorski’s hits in spring training games have been home runs, so Derek Shelton was surprised when the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder had to settle for a sacrifice fly. When a 400-foot shot fell short of clearing the center field fence, the Pittsburgh Pirates manager made...

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Bubba Chandler wanted to make quick work of the Minnesota Twins, so the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander wasn’t happy when his called third strike on the inside corner against Willi Castro was overturned by a challenge in spring training’s experimental automated ball-strike system. “I never had a...

BRADENTON, Fla. – Paul Skenes never even boarded the bus. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander was warned Monday that there was a good chance his first start of spring training could be rained out, so he threw a 45-pitch live batting practice before it was scheduled to leave. After joking that...

BRADENTON, Fla. — Jared Jones unveiled a new pitch in his first start of spring training, though the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander hesitates to label it. For now, the two-seam fastball is a “sinker or whatever you want to call it.” What does Jones want to call it? “Something nasty.” The...

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Paul Skenes’ first start of spring training was rained out. Monday’s Pittsburgh Pirates-Philadelphia Phillies game was canceled due to inclement weather, as the Gulf Coast expected rainstorms all afternoon. Skenes, the 2024 NL rookie of the year, was set to start for the Pirates against a Phillies...

BRADENTON, Fla. — Konnor Griffin is quick to say how cool it is to be an 18-year-old in big league camp at spring training, especially when reminded that he’s less than a year removed from high school. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2024 first-round pick is even quicker to remind about something...

BRADENTON, Fla. — It never dawned on Mitch Keller that he took the mound for their Grapefruit League home opener a year to the day after he signed a five-year, $77 million contract extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not having it on his mind was liberating. “Now I can just...

SARASOTA — When Carmen Mlodzinski moved to the bullpen two years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates told him they weren’t closing the door on his chances of being a starting pitcher in the major leagues. In his exit interview last fall, Mlodzinski made it clear it was an avenue he wanted...

BRADENTON, Fla. — Searching for solitude and his swing, Henry Davis found a baseball facility that was empty in the morning this offseason. He arrived early and put on headphones while hitting fastballs off a self-feeder. What was on his playlist? “Crowd noise,” Davis said. “I just wanted to replicate...

BRADENTON, Fla. — Andrew Heaney arrived just as the Pittsburgh Pirates were transitioning from Pirate City to LECOM Park, so his head was still spinning about joining a new team. Where Pirates pitchers were thrilled to add a world champion to their starting rotation, the 33-year-old left-hander is ready and...

BRADENTON, Fla. — Paul Skenes grew up a Los Angeles Angels fans, so he’s watched Andrew Heaney pitch for years. When the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to terms with the veteran left-hander, Skenes saw it as a sign that they are committed to creating a winning culture. Heaney has pitched in...

The Pittsburgh Pirates added a World Series champion left-handed pitcher to their starting rotation by signing veteran Andrew Heaney to a one-year contract, pending physical, a source confirmed to TribLive. Heaney, 33, is 51-62 with a 4.45 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 185 career starts over 11 seasons. The 6-foot-2,...

BRADENTON, Fla. — Ernie Withers found it surreal to be back at Pirate City on Thursday, almost two years to the day after he suffered sudden cardiac arrest while watching a workout in the outfield. This time, Withers was content to stand outside the fences and chat with Dr. Patrick...

BRADENTON, Fla. — Being booed off the field in his hometown was humbling for David Bednar, as Pittsburgh Pirates fans voiced their displeasure with his blown leads in late-game situations. The two-time All-Star believes that how he dealt with the criticism would define him more so than the struggles last...

BRADENTON, Fla. — Oneil Cruz comes from a family of shortstops, so his switch to center field late last season came with concerns about whether the Pittsburgh Pirates star would accept the new position. Before Cruz left the Dominican Republic for spring training, his 6-year-old son provided the true test...

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that SportsNet Pittsburgh will televise a dozen home games in Grapefruit League play this spring and show their opponents’ broadcast in seven others. The broadcast schedule includes this weekend’s openers, Saturday at the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota and Sunday’s home opener against the...