The Latest Breaking News from Derek Shelton

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.

I listened to Derek Shelton's patient explanation about why he took Mitch Keller out of Saturday's game against Arizona after six innings with the Pirates leading 3-2.

PITTSBURGH — For the better part of this season, Mitch Keller has performed like an ace. Entering Saturday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at PNC Park, he had put together back-to-back starts totaling 16 scoreless innings, with one walk and 21 strikeouts during the stretch.

Pittsburgh’s much-anticipated series against the Rays has gone decidedly sideways.

Derek Shelton was absolutely heated at the umps here.