The Latest Breaking News from Pirates

PITTSBURGH — Pirates fans probably didn't need another reason to laugh or smile after Tuesday's 9-4 victory against the Padres at PNC Park, but Andrew McCutchen provided one anyway, cracking a joke in light of an absurd trade rumor from Monday that involved the franchise's most popular player in decades.

PITTSBURGH — The NCAA baseball season ended Monday night with LSU topping Florida in Game 3 of the College World Series. Now comes the real intrigue, at least locally.

The Cubs, on a 10-2 tear, have it going heading into a two-game set against the Cardinals.

The Cardinals aren’t used to being in this position.

Stroman’s 1.29 ERA during this stretch makes one wonder if the 32-year-old ever has been better.

PITTSBURGH — Four hours before the Pirates would host the Cubs for the second game of their series at PNC Park, team president Travis Williams was giving a tour through the team’s revamped clubhouse store along Federal Street.

The 92.7 mph average exit velocity Suzuki brought into Tuesday night topped the Cubs and, according to Baseball Savant, ranked in the 93rd percentile across the majors.

PITTSBURGH — The two ovations actually sounded somewhat similar, Andrew McCutchen leading off the first inning and Henry Davis two frames later. Although they were drafted 16 years apart and several genres separate their choices in walkup music, the importance of McCutchen and Davis to this franchise is hard to…

The Cubs didn’t have to hammer young Osvaldo Bido — who was making his second career start — to get to him. Instead, they stayed back on pitches and repeatedly took him right up the middle. As a good offensive team does?