John McDonald

MLB Team Report - Pittsburgh Pirates - INSIDE PITCH Through all his years coming up through the Toronto farm system and during parts of five seasons with the Blue Jays, Travis Snider had the reputation of being a burgeoning power hitter. Snider lived...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Pittsburgh Pirates - INSIDE PITCH Jared Hughes was one of the biggest surprises of the 2012 season for the Pirates. The right-handed reliever has been one of their biggest disappointments in 2013. However, Hughes...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Pittsburgh Pirates - INSIDE PITCH Andrew McCutchen rarely misses a game with an injury. When the star center fielder does, everyone in the Pirates' organization holds their breath. McCutchen was held out of Sunday's...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Pittsburgh Pirates - INSIDE PITCH Reliever Mark Melancon dubbed the Pirates' bullpen as "The Shark Tank" early this season on Twitter and the nickname is catching on. The Pirates' relievers have even have developed a...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Pittsburgh Pirates - INSIDE PITCH The Pirates passed the quarter pole of the season Thursday night with their 7-1 win over Milwaukee. Through 41 games, they are 24-17. That puts them on pace to finish the season...

INF Jordy Mercer was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis just two days after he was optioned there when 2B Ben Walker came off the disabled list. Mercer was hitting .333 with one home run in 26 games at Indianapolis. Mercer started at shortstop and went...

Even with the top two hitters in the National League in their lineup, things have not been easy for the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers play at Pittsburgh in Thursday’s series finale having lost nine of their past 11 games and they are 1-5 on their...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Pittsburgh Pirates - INSIDE PITCH Maybe Pirates' outfielder Jose Tabata isn't a bust after all. It once looked as if the Pirates made an awful decision in signing the outfielder to a six-year, $15-million contract...

SportsDirect Inc. Recap: Pirates 3, Brewers 1 Pirates 3, Brewers 1: Neil Walker delivered a two-run single and Wandy Rodriguez pitched seven strong innings as host Pittsburgh downed Milwaukee for the second consecutive night. Rodriguez (4-2) held the...

The Sports Xchange By John Perrotto, The Sports Xchange Pirates 3, Brewers 1 PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates did not beat up on Yovani Gallardo on Wednesday night, but they did beat him. Thus, the Pirates' 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers...

Walker's big hit helps Pirates knock off Brewers PITTSBURGH - It would have been easy for Neil Walker to get a little hyper in the batter's box. The bases loaded were loaded and his Pittsburgh Pirates had a rare scoring opportunity against a pitcher...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Pittsburgh Pirates - INSIDE PITCH Manager Clint Hurdle likes to call catcher Russell Martin a "game changer." The Pirates found out what they had been missing when Martin returned to the lineup Tuesday night and...