Pirates

There still might be something for Trevor Hoffman to savor this year. In a season that hasn't gone the way he hoped, baseball's all-time saves leader earned No. 599 Sunday as the Milwaukee Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with an 8-4 victory Sunday. "Round numbers are really what baseball looks at," Hoffman said.

The Pittsburgh Pirates fired pitching coach Joe Kerrigan and bench coach Gary Varsho on Sunday, saying they are no longer right for the staff. The firings came as the last-place Pirates close in on a record-extending 18th consecutive losing season. Kerrigan is a former Red Sox, Phillies and Expos pitching coach.

Johnny Cueto dominated the Pirates again over six innings, Paul Janish homered and drove in four runs and the Cincinnati Reds assured themselves of staying atop the NL Central with a 9-4 victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Rookie Juan Francisco had three hits and drove in a run in his second start of the season, and NL batting leader Joey Votto doubled twice to raise his average to .324 after a...

Aaron Cunningham's triple started San Diego on a four-run second inning and the first-place Padres again took advantage of an early lead and their strong bullpen to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 on Friday night. Kevin Correia (7-6) gave up three runs, two earned, over six innings to win his second in a row after going winless in seven starts.

If these are Roy Oswalt's last weeks with the Houston Astros, he's certainly going out in style. Oswalt, who requested a trade earlier this season, allowed only a first-inning single to Neil Walker, Lance Berkman provided the power with two home runs and the Astros completed a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 2-0 win Thursday.

Even after 15 big league seasons, game-winning hits are a thrill for Vladimir Guerrero. The 35-year-old slugger singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning and the Texas Rangers won their 11th straight game, rallying from an early four-run deficit to beat the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 on Thursday night.

The Pittsburgh Pirates extended the contracts of manager John Russell and general manager Neal Huntington for the 2011 season without making a public announcement during the offseason. The Pirates were coming off a 99-loss season in 2009 and, amid slumping ticket sales, apparently felt announcing the winter deals might further lessen enthusiasm for this season.

Carlos Silva's stomach gave out early, and he lost his game legs trying to run the bases. His right arm? Nothing wrong with that. Silva extended the best start by a Cubs pitcher in 43 years by allowing one run over seven innings, Ryan Theriot scored four times and Chicago beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 on Monday.