Pittsburg, PA
Pirates, Paul Skenes Taking Advantage Of Opportunities
On the heels of going 76-86 for a second straight year, what the Pittsburgh Pirates did to improve heading into the 2025 season was among their most pressing questions this offseason.
To date, there haven’t been many significant additions for Pittsburgh outside of trading to left-handed hitting first baseman Spencer Horwitz, but if you were to ask Pirates ace Paul Skenes, they may already have enough to take the next step. Skenes, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, believes the Pirates owe a turnaround and reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2015 not just to the fans, but people throughout the organization.
“I think we have a responsibility to the city to do that,” Skenes said. “And within the organization, too. There are a lot of people who put a lot of work into it. We’ve got really good people within this organization, within player development, within the front office, stuff like that. I think we owe it to them. You can say whatever you want about the acquisitions and all that, but we need to play better, too.”
Improving the offense, bullpen, and one-run games will be imperative to the Pirates’ success in 2025. Last season, Pittsburgh was 21st in runs per game and its bullpen had the fourth-highest ERA in baseball. The Pirates were also 25-26 in one-run ballgames.
All three of those areas were at the forefront of a collapse that saw Pittsburgh go 8-19, including a 10-game losing streak, and fall out of the playoff race. In August, Pittsburgh was 2-8 in one-run games and it was held to 3 runs or fewer in nine of its 19 losses.
Improving in such games is among the focal points for Skenes heading into the 2025 season, and he noted the Pirates’ struggles against teams that made the playoffs as part of why they weren’t able to get over the hump last season.
“I don’t know what the number of games was – that honestly might be something I look into over the course of the next month, going into spring training – we should have won [and] we didn’t,” Skenes said. “It was more than 10 last year, I know that. You look at the Dodgers, Tigers, Guardians, Yankees, Brewers – teams that were in the playoffs and we were watching from home because we pissed those games away. We’re going to have our opportunities to win, so we have to take advantage of it. It’s not a complicated thing. It’s simple, but it’s very difficult to do.”
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Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh is promising its biggest fireworks show ever. Here’s what the setup looks like.
We are just two days away from the Fourth of July, and that means fireworks. The final preparations are underway for the City of Pittsburgh’s show, which is promised to be the largest in history. In all, five barges full of fireworks will be set off for this show.
Under the blistering sun, the true heat is packed on the barges along the Ohio River. Thousands upon thousands of fireworks will go off during the 25-minute show Saturday night, done by Starfire Corporation.
“Being down here, for our family to be able to perform for Pittsburgh is such an honor,” Starfire Corporation vice president Vince Terrizzi Jr. said.
Planning started back in February for this event. The barges will go on the Mon, Allegheny and right near The Point, creating a triangle effect around the Golden Triangle.
“We have one rooftop location that will surprise people and come in and out during the show,” Terrizzi said.
In all, nine truckloads of fireworks were brought in to be part of the show. Inspectors with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire inspected and will do a final inspection before the show. For the inspector, it’s her last show as she plans to retire in a few months.
“Going out with literally the biggest bang the city has ever seen,” Lisa Epps-Cuda said with a laugh.
Starfire has done the about a half dozen of the city’s shows over the years, and it never gets old for them.
“Listening to the crowd’s response, boats cheering, those kind of things make it worth its while,” Terrizzi said.
As for the weather, the big concern will be lightning; the fireworks can still be fired off in the rain. The show is set to go off at 9:35 on Saturday night.
“Mayor of Kingstown” has wrapped up filming its fifth and final season in Pittsburgh.
Since the Paramount+ show began filming in western Pennsylvania in 2022, the Pittsburgh Film Office says it has injected over $325 million into the local economy and created over 10,000 jobs. In total, the show has had 457 shoot days in the Pittsburgh area.
“We look forward to seeing your work on the screen and thank you for several years of dedication to the region,” the Pittsburgh Film Office wrote in a Facebook post.
Production of the show’s fifth and final eight-episode season began in March. According to Paramount+, the new season follows what happens when an FBI agent described as a “dedicated lawman” arrives in Kingstown and “threatens to disrupt the tenuous balance of power.”
Jeremy Renner, who stars as Mike McLusky, marked the end of the show in an Instagram post, saying he was “filled with gratitude.”
“I am so very thankful for all of your support over the years—it has given my stride and purpose in my recovery and love in my heart,” Renner wrote. “Thank you cast and crew for carrying me through when necessary.”
Renner broke dozens of bones and underwent multiple surgeries after he was involved in an accident involving a 7-ton snowplow on New Year’s Day in 2023. He has said that returning to the set of “Mayor of Kingstown” for Season 3 helped him cope.
The release date for Season 5 hasn’t been announced yet.
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