Pittsburg, PA

Pirates Rookie Struggles in MLB Debut

Published

1 year ago

April 2, 2025

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Thomas Harrington made his MLB debut against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. and struggled throughout.

Harrington got into trouble early in the first inning, allowing a single to Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz and walking second baseman Brandon Lowe.

He got third baseman Junior Caminero to fly out, but then fellow rookie in Rays right fielder Jake Mangum would hit a double, scoring both Diaz and Lowe for a 2-0 lead.

Harrington forced second baseman Curtis Mead to fly out, but then allowed a single to left fielder Kameron Misner. Mangum would come around and Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz missed the ball when he picked it up, allowing Misner to score and make it a 3-0 lead.

He ended the first inning with his first strikeout against shortstop Taylor Walls and had a decent second inning, only allowing a single to Diaz, while getting three ground outs.

Harrington allowed a single to Mangum to start the third inning. Mangum then stole second base and after he walked Mead, he threw a wild pitch that moved both runners up a base. Misner would hit a sacrifice fly off of him and make it 4-0.

Diaz singled off of him in the fourth inning and then Harrington allowed a two-run home run over the right field wall from Lowe, making it a 6-0 deficit.

He finished his day by allowing seven hits, four walks and six earned runs with just two strikeouts over 90 pitches.

Harrington earned his first start, as the Pirates called him up the same day, designating catcher Jason Delay for assignment to put him on the 40-day roster and moving right-handed pitcher David Bednar down to Triple-A Indianapolis.

He started 12 of 13 games in 2024 for Double-A Altoona in 2024, with a 2-2 record, 2.24 ERA in 68 1/3 innings, 74 strikeouts to 10 walks and an opposing batting average of .227.

Harrington moved up to Triple-A Indianapolis on Aug. 4 and finished with a 5-1 record in eight starts, a 3.33 ERA in 46 innings, 38 strikeouts to eight walks and an opposing batting average of .212.

Harrington made his first spring start against the Philadelphia Phillies on March 18 at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla., a 3-2 win on a walk-off home run for the Pirates.

He allowed a home run to Phillies designated hitter Nick Castellanos in the top of the first inning, but that served as the only hit he allowed in 3 2/3 innings, with just one walk and three strikeouts on the day.

Harrington also started the Grapefruit League finale on March 24 vs. the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla. He allowed four earned runs over three innings in the 5-1 defeat.

He is the No. 3 prospect in the Pirates system and No. 79 prospect overall according to MLB Pipeline.

Harrington starred for Southern Lee High School in Sanford, N.C., with a 4-0 record, 0.32 ERA and 54 strikeouts over 43.2 innings worked in his junior season in 2019.

He would commit to Campbell as a walk-on, not playing his senior high school season as COVID-19 pandemic cancelled it.

Harrington starred in 2021 as a freshman, starting 14 of 16 he pitched in, a 6-3 record, a 3.45 ERA in 75.2 innings pitched and 75 strikeouts to 28 walks. He earned Big South Freshman of the Year, Second Team All-Big South and Freshman All-American honors from CBN, Baseball America and D1Baseball.

He improved in his sophomore season, going 12-2 in 15 starts, a 2.53 ERA in 92.2 innings pitched, 111 strikeout to 18 walks and held opposing hitters to a .204 batting average.

Harrington earned First Team All-American honors from D1Baseball and ABCA, Second Team All-American honors from NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball News and Third Team All-American honors from Baseball America, He was also the Big South Pitcher of the Year and made the First Team All-Big South.

The Pirates would select Harrington with the No. 36 overall pick in Round 1, as a competitive balance pick, earning a $2,050,000 million signing bonus.

Harrington started out 2023 with the Bradenton Marauders of the Florida State League at Single-A, where he had a 4-1 record in eight starts, 2.77 ERA in 39.0 innings, 40 strikeouts to 12 walks and held opposing hitters to a .230 batting average.

He earned a promotion to the Greensboro Grasshoppers of High Single-A in June 2023, where he spent the rest of the season. He had a 3-5 record in 18 starts, a 3.87 ERA in 88.1 innings pitched, 106 strikeouts to 29 walks and holding opposing hitters to a .255 batting average.

Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates

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Pittsburg, PA

A Bethel Park homeowner paid a contractor nearly $3,000 to repair his porch. He says no one showed up.

Published

8 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Press Room

A Bethel Park homeowner paid a contractor nearly ,000 to repair his porch. He says no one showed up.

A Bethel Park homeowner says he’s out thousands of dollars after hiring a contractor to replace his front porch.

Jeffrey Markoff says he hired Quaker State Construction and Supply for an $8,500 porch replacement project and paid a $2,833 deposit to secure a spot on the company’s schedule. According to paperwork reviewed by KDKA Investigates, the contract listed an approximate start date in the spring with an estimated completion time of two weeks.

Months later, Markoff says no construction crew ever arrived. He then tried to contact the owner, Gabe Clouse.

“I call the company number, and there’s no answer. The number had been disconnected, called the designer, and he gave me the cell number for the owner,” said Markoff.

When asked if he ever heard back, Markoff responded: “Never heard back and called that number twice.”

Markoff says losing the money has been frustrating.

“It’s money out of your pocket you feel somebody stole from you,” said Markoff.

KDKA Investigates took Markoff’s concerns to attorney Mike Fiffik of the Fiffik Law Group, a LegalShield provider firm, to find out what consumers can do in situations like this.

“In this situation, he has a couple of different options available to him,” said Fiffik. “If he paid the deposit with his credit card, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act will permit him to submit a dispute.”

That process is known as a chargeback and is generally most effective when initiated within 60 days of receiving the statement. However, Markoff paid by check, meaning that the option was unavailable to him.

Instead, Fiffik recommends several other steps consumers can take:

Contact local police and report the incident as a theft
File a complaint with the local magistrate if the amount lost is under $12,000
File a complaint with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General

When asked where homeowners should file if the contractor lives elsewhere, Fiffik said, “I would file with the magistrate where the homeowner lives.”

KDKA Investigates also attempted to contact Clouse multiple times, but our messages were not returned.

KDKA Investigates learned Clouse recently took over Quaker State and Supply as the new owner. The previous owner told KDKA he sold the business to Clouse in 2024, when the company still held an A-plus rating with the Better Business Bureau. The business is now listed as closed.

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Pittsburg, PA

Where to watch Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates: TV channel, start time, streaming for

Published

20 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Press Room

Where to watch Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates: TV channel, start time, streaming for

Baseball is back and finding what channel your favorite team is playing on has become a little bit more confusing since MLB announced plans to produce and distribute broadcasts for nearly a third of the league.

We’re here to help. Here’s everything you need to know Thursday as the Colorado Rockies visit the Pittsburgh Pirates.

See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.

What time is Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates?

First pitch between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies is scheduled for (ET) on Thursday, .

How to watch Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday

All times Eastern and accurate as of Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 6:32 a.m.

Watch MLB all season long with Fubo

MLB regional blackout restrictions apply

MLB scores, results

MLB scores for games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:

See scores, results for all of today’s games.

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Pittsburg, PA

Gas prices stressing budgets of Pittsburgh-area first responders

Published

1 day ago

May 13, 2026

Press Room

Gas prices stressing budgets of Pittsburgh-area first responders

Gas prices continue to sit near the $5 mark for the better part of the Pittsburgh region. Not only is it impacting people’s wallets, but it’s also hitting the bottom lines of first responders’ operations.

While gas prices are not impacting day-to-day operations, budgets are always tight, and if prices stay high, it could have some long-term impacts. First responders say they’ll still come when you call 911, so there’s no need to panic, but there is some concern behind the scenes.

“We can’t charge more for our services. The only way to weather the storm is to become more efficient,” Regional Emergency Support Quick Response Service director Mike Gallagher said.

RESQRS said gas is normally about $2,500 to $3,000 a month. From March to April, it was $5,500. The ambulance they wanted to get this year is now on hold as costs go up.

“It definitely has affected other parts of the business and how we operate,” Gallagher said over Zoom.

It’s the same for volunteer firefighters. Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services had its bill go from $300 to $400, up to $1,000 last month. This price spike was, of course, never anticipated when making the budget last year.

“It absolutely wasn’t. We just have to take money from other things and reprioritize,” SAVES fire chief Mike Daniher said.

Medic Rescue in Bridgewater, Beaver County, covers that county and takes patients to Wexford and Pittsburgh hospitals. They easily rack up hundreds of miles a day driving. Insurance doesn’t cover gas spikes, and fuel reimbursements are set from the prior year.

“I don’t see how it would be sustainable in the long term without some changes in financing,” Medic Rescue director of operations Bill Pasquale said.

An immediate impact for many services is putting new equipment on the back burner. While grants can be used for that, there’s no guarantee it’s accepted.

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