Usually when benches clear during a Major League Baseball game, it's in response to an obvious provocation: a hit batsman or a display of unsportsmanlike conduct. That wasn't the case during the seventh inning of the Pirates' victory against the Blue Jays (box score) on Monday night.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are back in town and will be opening a week-long homestand tonight with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Colorado Rockies coming to PNC Park. For some time now, it's been clear that the Pirates won't be making the playoffs this season, but there are still nights when 30,000 fans show up at PNC Park.

Preview the Aug. 19 matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates with odds over/under, game spread, betting lines and more.

By Grant Brisbee, Chad Jennings and Levi Weaver Every week,​ we​ ask a selected group of our baseball​ writers​ — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results.

The Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates got into a strange scuffle on Monday night, with outfielder Tommy Pham at its center.

The South African club Orlando Pirates has announced in recent hours the passing of their former Zimbabwean international striker, Tendai Ndoro, who died after a long battle with illness.A close

The Pirates released left-handed pitcher Ryan Borucki according to his transactions log, after they designated him for assignment on Aug. 15. Borucki could re-sign with the Pirates on a minor league deal, but could also find another opportunity with a different MLB team.

Bloom starred in 2003's "The Curse of the Black Pearl" and 2006's "Dead Man's Chest" with Kiera Knightley and Johnny Depp, both of whom he'd welcome back.