The Latest Breaking News from Pirates

MIAMI — Daniel Castano has described his cutter as a pitch with which he “lives and dies.” It’s his most-used pitch this season, one the Miami Marlins’ left-handed pitcher had thrown 42.9 percent of the time entering his Tuesday start against the Pittsburgh Pirates after beginning to add it to…

MIAMI — About three hours before first pitch Monday, Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly warned that his team couldn’t overlook the Pittsburgh Pirates club they were about to face for the next four days.

MILWAUKEE — Chi Chi Gonzalez looked down at the ground, shook his head out of frustration, and the Brewers reliever mouthed a couple words that … well, weren’t exactly family friendly. Another Pirates home run had sailed over the fence, this one a three-run shot from former Brewer Daniel Vogelbach,…

MILWAUKEE — Ben Gamel rounded second base, pointed toward the Pirates dugout and pumped his left fist and arm in celebration, the emotion flowing through the Pirates outfielder glaringly obvious on Saturday at American Family Field.

MILWAUKEE — Just when it seemed like the Pirates had life — and a hit — in a key situation, it was gone. And so was the game.

CINCINNATI — Josh VanMeter probably doesn’t want to return to Great American Ball Park any time soon. Pirates fans, meanwhile, likely aren’t clamoring for VanMeter to return at all, especially with Kevin Newman and Jake Marisnick seemingly at the tail end of their rehab assignments with Class AAA Indianapolis.

CINCINNATI — At every stop throughout his major league career, Roansy Contreras has been known for his ability to respond. Within an inning or even sometimes at-bats, the 22-year-old is unusually mature when it comes to making adjustments and learning lessons faster than his peers. It’s one of the many…

PITTSBURGH -- For 13 innings this weekend, the Pirates stood toe-to-toe with the New York Yankees, the current top class of MLB. On Tuesday, the Pirates showed up and outhomered the Bronx Bombers en route to a victory. On Wednesday, in the finale of the short two-game series between the…

The increased number of paying customers who walked through the PNC Park gates on Tuesday wearing navy blue, red and gray was plenty obvious when the Yankees took the field and former Pirate Jameson Taillon warmed up to his longtime entrance song — "When the Levee Breaks," by Led Zeppelin,…

PITTSBURGH — When the Pirates have traded away veterans over the years, whoever it may have been, they did so understanding that their returns in those trades wouldn’t show up until much later.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.