Neil Walker News

Travis Snider's grand slam in the sixth inning lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Chicago Cubs, 5-4, in the opener of a three-game set at PNC Park.

The Pittsburgh Pirates appear to be meaningfully ahead of where they were in 2012, a year in which they were contenders for about a month and a half on either side of the All-Star Game before a late-season collapse took them into loss territory.

Jeff Samardzija finally picked up his second win of 2013 in his last outing. His next start will come against the team he beat for victory No.

After hitting a grand slam to give the Pirates their first lead of the night, Snider was thrust onto the dugout steps by second baseman Neil Walker as the crowd waited for a curtain call.

Slowly but surely, however, things have begun to turn around under the guidance of general manager Neal Huntington.

With Ian Kinsler going on the DL, the much-awaited arrival of Jurickson Profar has come.

Matt Dominguez's ground ball in the 11th inning wasn't hit very hard, but it was all the Houston Astros needed.

Jason Castro led off the 11th inning with a double and scored the go-ahead run on a close play at the plate as the Houston Astros topped the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 on Saturday night.

Box W:J.Wilson L:E.Gonzalez HR: HOU- M.Dominguez PIT- A.McCutchen , P.Alvarez Houston Top 1st - UMPIRES: Home,Dale Scott; First, CB Bucknor; Second, Todd Tichenor; Third, Bill Miller; - Robbie Grossman doubled to left center.

Travis Snider began a slow jog toward home plate. Andrew McCutchen headed to third in a similar manner, and Brandon Inge broke to second as the ball sailed harmlessly into the night sky.

Travis Snider had a two-run homer among his three hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-1, to take the last three of a four-game set from PNC Park.

Shin-Soo Choo hit two homers and four pitchers combined on an 11-hit shutout Wednesday night to help the Cincinnati Reds extend their winning streak to a season-best five games by beating Miami 4-0. Choo hit solo homers in the fourth and sixth inning, giving him nine this season.

The Pirates placed infielder John McDonald on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday due to a low back strain and recalled infielder Jordy Mercer from Triple-A Indianapolis to take his spot.

Rodriguez, three starts removed from a poor outing on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers, shut them down with seven strong innings during the Pirates' 3-1 win Wednesday night at PNC Park.

The Pittsburgh Pirates placed infielder John McDonald on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday due to a lower back strain.

Good morning everyone and welcome to the Wednesday edition of Brewer Daily News.

Pittsburgh centerfielder Andrew McCutchen came up with the biggest hit of the night, a solo home run to right-center off Mike Fiers to lead off the bottom of the 12th inning and give the Pirates a walk-off victory, 4-3. The Brewers were nursing a 3-2 lead when manager Ron Roenicke called for John Axford to pitch the eighth.

Orlando Franklin is turning to Twitter as he plots his revenge against Peyton Manning and Eric Denver after he was surprised with a a shaving cream pie-in-the-face on live television last week.

After missing the series opener with a stiff neck, Ryan Braun is expected back in the lineup on Tuesday when the Milwaukee Brewers vie for their second straight win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates .

Each weekday, Star reporter Mark Ambrogi, a life-long Reds fan, will provide links to Indy's four favorite teams -- the Reds, Cubs, Cardinals and White Sox -- and other hot topics in baseball.