The Latest Breaking News from Derek Shelton

Clubs have become more conservative on workloads, but that hasn’t necessarily yielded the desired results.

PITTSBURGH — Another pregame runup filled with a focus on the future and positivity. Another game that left much to be desired, the Pirates very much stuck in the middle of a horrendous stretch.

Another loss Sunday, this one 8-4 in 10 innings to the San Francisco Giants, completing a miserable weekend at PNC Park. That makes 44 losses in the past 65 games. The worst extended run in franchise history since the early-1950s continues with no end in sight. We're talking about a…

LOS ANGELES– The Pirates didn’t face Clayton Kershaw, but they sure did their best to make the Dodgers’ Monday night starter resemble him.

Baseball has often been described as a kids game.

PITTSBURGH — Jack Suwinski thought about the question for a second and laughed: When was the last time he hit leadoff? Tampa last year, Suwinski eventually recalled (correctly). As far as his last single ... well, different story.

Hitting coach Andy Haines has become a popular target for fan frustration amid plenty of Pirates struggles: losses in 12 of 13 after Sunday's shutout — their 10th, tied for an MLB high — plus ranking 28th in runs (72) and 29th in OPS (.626) this month.

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…

MILWAUKEE — The Pirates added more prospects than wins to their collective ledger on this road trip, which included series sweeps in Chicago and Milwaukee.

BET ON IT: Pirates in contention in woeful NL Central which would mean big profits for early backers.

PITTSBURGH — Rich Hill was livid with a rarely-called first-inning balk. Turns out, his wouldn’t be the only one of the game.