Pirates Power Rankings: Alive, But Barely

The Pirates finally managed to get back in the win column this week, but not before they notched a season-high ten game losing streak. After going 2-4 against the Padres and Mariners, Pittsburgh sits 7.5 games out of the final wild card spot in the National League. Their playoff hopes are still alive in theory, but they’d need to turn things around in a big way in order to prevent their postseason drought from extending to a ninth consecutive year.

Last week, many of the national outlets only dropped the Buccos a couple spots in their power rankings despite an ongoing 0-7 span… as the losing continued this week, however, they weren’t so quick to cut the club any slack. Here’s a look at what they had to say.

• MLB.com dropped the Pirates five spots to No. 23, asking if the club could shut Paul Skenes down for the season as soon as this Wednesday.
• CBS Sports demoted the Pirates to No. 23 but praised catcher and former second overall pick Joey Bart for his revitalized career.
• USA Today moved the Pirates down to No. 22.
• Bleacher Report ranked Pittsburgh at No. 22, saying they’re toeing the line between having playoff hopes on life support and being firmly out of the race.