Pittsburgh Pirates

05/17/2008

Alfonso Soriano got booed and jeered during a slow start. Now he's showing again that he can carry a team. Soriano homered in his 1st 2 at-bats, Geovany Soto and Mark DeRosa went deep and the surging Cubs beat the Pirates 7-4 Friday for their 7th triumph in 8 games.

05/07/2008

Barry Zito, demoted to the Giants bullpen last week, returns to the starting rotation without having made any relief appearances. Giants manager Bruce Bochy mentioned Zito will start Wednesday's game in Pittsburgh against the Pirates' Phil Dumatrait (0-1).

05/06/2008

The Pirates are not necessarily through with reliever Evan Meek. Even though there are a lot of unusual circumstances related to Rule 5 draft picks, there is a palpable feeling among management that he would remain in the system, provided several elements play out.

05/04/2008

Cristian Guzman battled injuries the past 2 seasons. He's in the end healthy this year and has the numbers to prove it. Guzman matched a career high with 6 RBIs, that included a tiebreaking 3 run double in the 6th inning, and the Washington Nationals held off the Pirates 9-8 on Saturday.

05/01/2008

Amid the rubble of a 13-1 loss to the last place Pirates that started with Oliver Perez's 2nd inning meltdown, Billy Wagner mentioned what most of his teammates appeared to be thinking about the left hander.