May 12 1910 — Chief Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a 4-0 no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians. 1937 — St. Louis’ Joe Medwick hit two home runs and two doubles to lead the Cardinals to a 15-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. 1955 — Sam “Toothpick” Jones of the Cubs got a no-hitter the hard way. In the ninth inning against Pittsburgh, he walked the bases full and then struck out the next three batters for a 4-0 victory. 1956 — Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitched a 3-0 no-hitter against the New York Giants. 1966 — Lou Brock’s RBI single in the 12th inning gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 4-3 victory over Atlanta in the opening of Busch Memorial Stadium. Felipe Alou hit two home runs for the Braves. 1970 — Ernie Banks hit his 500th home run off Pat Jarvis in Chicago’s 4-3 victory over Atlanta at Wrigley Field. 2000 — Boston’s Pedro Martinez, who had 17 strikeouts in his last start May 6 against Tampa Bay, struck out 15 in a 9-0 win over Baltimore, to tie an AL... [More]

July 41905 — The Philadelphia Athletics scored two runs in the 20th inning, giving Rube Waddell a 4-2 victory over Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox. Both pitchers went the distance. Young did not allow a walk.1908 — George Wiltse of the New York Giants pitched a 10-inning, 1-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies.1912 — George Mullin of the Detroit Tigers celebrated his 32nd birthday by pitching a no-hitter over the St. Louis Browns.1925 — Two of the great left-handers of their time, Herb Pennock of the Yankees and Lefty Grove of the Athletics, hooked up in a pitchers duel that New York won 1-0 in 15 innings. Pennock gave up four hits and walked none.1939 — Jim Tabor of the Boston Red Sox hit three home runs, including two grand slams, in an 18-12 triumph over the Philadelphia Athletics in the second game of a doubleheader.1945 — Augie Bergamo drove in eight runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to 19-2 rout of the New York Giants in the second game of a doubleheader.1976 — The Phillies’... [More]

May 121910 — Chief Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a 4-0 no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians.1937 — St. Louis’ Joe Medwick hit two home runs and two doubles to lead the Cardinals to a 15-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.1955 — Sam “Toothpick” Jones of the Cubs got a no-hitter the hard way. In the ninth inning against Pittsburgh, he walked the bases full and then struck out the next three batters for a 4-0 victory.1956 — Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitched a 3-0 no-hitter against the New York Giants.1966 — Lou Brock’s RBI single in the 12th inning gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 4-3 victory over Atlanta in the opening of Busch Memorial Stadium. Felipe Alou hit two home runs for the Braves.1970 — Ernie Banks hit his 500th home run off Pat Jarvis in Chicago’s 4-3 victory over Atlanta at Wrigley Field.2000 — Boston’s Pedro Martinez, who had 17 strikeouts in his last start May 6 against Tampa Bay, struck out 15 in a 9-0 win over Baltimore, to tie an AL record... [More]

May 91901 — Earl Moore of the Cleveland Indians pitched nine hitless innings against the Chicago White Sox before giving up two hits in the 10th to lose 4-2.1937 — Ernie Lombardi of the Cincinnati Reds went 6-for-6 in a 21-10 rout of the Phillies in Philadelphia.1961 — Jim Gentile of the Baltimore Orioles hit consecutive grand slams in the first and second innings of a 13-5 rout of Minnesota.1973 — Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds hit three home runs off Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton for the second time in his career, in a 9-7 victory. Bench drove in seven runs.1984 — The Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers battled for eight hours and six minutes in the longest game ever. After playing 17 innings the previous day, the teams met again before a regularly scheduled game, making the total 34 innings for two days. Harold Baines homered off Chuck Porter with one out in the bottom of the 25th for a 7-6 victory. Tom Seaver won both games for the White Sox.1987 — Baltimore’s Eddie Murray became... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Cherington earned three World Series rings with the Boston Red Sox, the last as general manager of the 2013 club that raced from worst to first.The challenge that lies ahead for Cherington with the Pittsburgh Pirates will be different.The market is smaller. So are the resources Cherington can draw from. The chance to supplement the major league roster with expensive free agents — as Cherington did in Boston — likely will not exist. Yet the 45-year-old does not appear to be intimidated by the financial realities his new job presents. Two decades in the business have taught him that while budgets may vary, the tenets of successful teams do not.“Obviously the bigger the payroll, it gives you more margin for error on certain types of decisions,” Cherington said Monday, when the Pirates announced he had been hired to succeed Neal Huntington. “But if you peel back in Boston and what really drove winning, I think, in most of the best years was really good work in scouting... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Clint Hurdle's booming voice and unrelenting optimism helped shake the Pittsburgh Pirates out of two decades of misery. His charisma gave the moribund franchise an identity, one that reconnected the franchise with a fan base worn down by years of losing.Yet over the years, as the core that led the team to three straight playoff berths from 2013-15 vanished with trades, retirement and the pursuit of financial riches elsewhere, that optimism started to fly in the face of reality. Pittsburgh fell off the pace after winning 98 games in 2015, and as players shuffled in and out, the giddiness of those three intoxicating years of contention faded.When Hurdle arrived for work on Sunday for Pittsburgh's regular season finale against Cincinnati, the Pirates were assured of their worst record since 2011, his first season on the job. By the time Trevor Williams threw the first pitch to José Peraza, Hurdle already was headed home, his nine seasons in Pittsburgh over following a stunning... [More]

July 281931 — Bob Fothergill of Chicago hit a home run and a triple in an 11-run eighth inning. The White Sox set an American League record by recording 12 hits in the inning and beat the New York Yankees 14-12.1940 — King Kong Keller hit three homers to give the New York Yankees a 10-9 win over Chicago in the first game of a doubleheader split.1951 — Clyde Vollmer of Boston hit a grand slam in the 16th inning, the latest ever hit in a major league game. The Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-4, in 16.1971 — Sixteen-time Gold Glove winner Brooks Robinson committed three errors in the sixth inning against the Oakland A's. Frank Robinson's three-run homer in the ninth won the game for the Orioles.1976 — John Odom (five innings) and Francisco Barrios (four innings) combined on a no-hitter as the Chicago White Sox beat Oakland 2-1.1983 — AL president Lee McPhail ruled that George Brett's "pine tar" home run against New York on July 24 should count. The umpires had disallowed the homer because... [More]

June 301908 — At 41 years, 3 months, Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox pitched the third no-hitter of his career, an 8-0 win over the New York Highlanders.1948 — Cleveland's Bob Lemon pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers for the first American League no-hitter at night.1962 — Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers struck out 13 New York Mets en route to the first of four career no-hitters, a 5-0 victory at Dodger Stadium.1970 — Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati was dedicated, but Henry Aaron spoiled the show for the crowd of 51,050 with a first-inning homer off Jim McGlothlin as Atlanta beat the Reds 8-2.1978 — Willie McCovey became the 12th player in major league history to hit 500 home runs. His milestone shot off Atlanta's Jamie Easterly wasn't enough, as the Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 10-5 in the second game of a doubleheader at Fulton County Stadium.1995 — Eddie Murray of the Cleveland Indians became the second switch-hitter and the 20th player in baseball history... [More]

June 231917 — In baseball's greatest relief effort, Ernie Shore of the Boston Red Sox relieved pitcher Babe Ruth with nobody out and a man on first. The base runner was cut down stealing and Shore retired all 26 batters he faced to gain a 4-0 victory over Washington. Ruth walked Eddie Foster to open the game and was ejected after arguing with umpire Brick Owens.1930 — Hack Wilson drove in six runs on five hits, including the cycle, to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 21-8 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field.1950 — Hoot Evers' game-winning home run in the ninth inning gave the Detroit Tigers a 10-9 victory over the New York Yankees as the teams combined for 11 home runs, a major league record. The Yankees hit six and the Tigers five.1961 — The Philadelphia Phillies overcame two, nine-run, deficits to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-11. The Phillies trailed 9-0 and 11-2 before they scored four runs in eighth and six runs in ninth.1963 — Jimmie Piersall, playing for the Mets in New... [More]

May 121910 — Chief Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a 4-0 no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians.1937 — St. Louis' Joe Medwick hit two home runs and two doubles to lead the Cardinals to a 15-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.1955 — Sam "Toothpick" Jones of the Cubs got a no-hitter the hard way. In the ninth inning against Pittsburgh, he walked the bases full and then struck out the next three batters for a 4-0 victory.1956 — Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitched a 3-0 no-hitter against the New York Giants.1966 — Lou Brock's RBI single in the 12th inning gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 4-3 victory over Atlanta in the opening of Busch Memorial Stadium. Felipe Alou hit two home runs for the Braves.1970 — Ernie Banks hit his 500th home run off Pat Jarvis in Chicago's 4-3 victory over Atlanta at Wrigley Field.2000 — Boston's Pedro Martinez, who had 17 strikeouts in his last start May 6 against Tampa Bay, struck out 15 in a 9-0 win over Baltimore, to tie an AL record... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jameson Taillon downplayed the idea that the location of his locker inside the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse symbolizes anything."I guess I can trip people on the way to the kitchen," the linchpin of Pittsburgh's young starting rotation said with a laugh.Clubhouse manager Scott Bonnett scooted Taillon over a few spots during the offseason to some prime real estate in one of the corners, a position that offers a quick exit should Taillon need it.It also confers, at least in a small way, a sense of status. The last two tenants of Taillon's new digs happened to be Gerrit Cole and A.J. Burnett, important figures in Pittsburgh's run to three straight playoff berths from 2013-15."Those two guys had some pretty good things working for them here," Taillon said.At the moment, Taillon does, too. He overpowered the Minnesota Twins for more than five innings in Pittsburgh's 5-4 victory at cold, cloudy and not particularly crowded PNC Park on Monday, a victory that gave the Pirates... [More]

Burnett (9-7) surrendered five hits, three earned runs and four walks in 6.2 innings in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Reds. He struck out nine.

Burnett's final regular-season start turned out in disappointing fashion, although the 17-year veteran turned back the clock by recording nine whiffs, his second-highest total in a game in 2015. His spotty control Saturday led to four free passes and 107 pitches, his highest total in that category since a July 11 outing against the Cardinals. Burnett also uncharacteristically surrendered a homer for the third straight start, his longest streak by far in a campaign during which he has only given up 11 gopher balls overall. Although he was unable to help the Pirates clinch home-field advantage for their upcoming wild-card showdown versus the Cubs, Burnett would still figure to be a vital component of the Pirates' postseason pitching staff if they reach the Division Series.

Burnett (9-6) lost a pitching duel Sunday, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five batters in a 4-0 loss to the Cubs.

Burnett was undone by the brilliance of Jake Arrieta. Not only did the Cubs' ace give up just one hit through seven innings, he also hit a solo home run in the second inning off Burnett, accounting for the last run on the 38-year-old's ledger. His ERA has hovered around 3.15 during his previous four starts and it remains to be seen if he will make his last scheduled start Saturday against the Reds with the playoffs looming on the horizon.

Burnett improved to 9-5 as he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and four walks over 5.2 innings Monday against Colorado. He struck out five.

Normally, four walks and a home run signal an off day for Burnett, but he handled Coors Field about as well as can be expected. Burnett limited the Rockies to one home run by inducing eight ground balls. His ERA is steady at 3.15, which would be the best mark of his 17-year career.

Burnett pitched well on Wednesday, as he allowed two runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings while striking out seven in a no-decision against the Cubs.

After a brilliant start to the season, the second half has been far less friendly. Burnett has now allowed 26 runs over his last six starts and that has raised his ERA nearly a run and a half. In any case, he still maintains a solid 3.15 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 145.2 innings this season. The most impressive part of his campaign is that he has only walked 39 batters, which will be a career-low rate. Burnett's next start is a scary one, as he has to travel to Coors Field to take on the Rockies next Tuesday.

Burnett recorded a no-decision in his return from the DL on Thursday, as he allowed three runs on three hits and two walks over five innings in a loss to the Brewers. He threw 64 pitches and struck out three.

The Pirates were extremely careful with Burnett here as that pitch count was his lowest of the season. It's clear they want to ease him back in and get him into early-season form he had at the beginning of the season and ramp him up for the stretch run and playoffs. Aside from his three starts prior to his DL stint when he was clearly hampered, Burnett had an incredible 2.11 ERA in his first 18 starts of the season. He's definitely worth taking a risk on if he was dropped in your league, but it's unclear when his next start will be exactly due to the mix-ups in the Prates rotation right now.

Burnett (elbow) has been activated from the disabled list to start Wednesday's game against the Brewers.

Burnett hasn't pitched since July 30 because of the issue, but will finally make his return to the mound Wednesday. The veteran hurler sports a 2.11 ERA at home over 10 starts this season, and will look to continue that success against a Brewers team that is now playing a spoiler role.

Burnett (elbow) will make his first start since July 30 against Milwaukee at PNC Park on Thursday.

He limited the Brewers to one run in seven innings June 8 and while the Pirates have struggled in Milwaukee (2-7) they've been much better at home (4-2). Burnett has only thrown simulated games during his recovery, so it would be surprising to see him throw more than six innings or 90 pitches.

Burnett (elbow) will be activated from the DL to start Thursday's game against the Brewers.

After throwing a successful bullpen session Sunday, Burnett will return to the rotation as the Pirates kick off a four-game set against Milwaukee. Charlie Morton was initially slated to pitch Thursday, but he's been pushed back to Friday.

Burnett (elbow) could rejoin the rotation as early as Wednesday, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune reports.

Burnett threw a bullpen session Sunday, and it appears to have gone well if this recent development is even a possibility. The team plans to announce their official plan "in the next day or so" according to General Manager Neil Huntington.