Pirates Series Takeaways: First Test Passed, Bucco Malaise Pending?
The Pirates split their four-game road series with the Phillies, bookending the trip with wins. After coming back from a 5-0 deficit on Monday, an upbeat Buccos’ clubhouse talked about the resilience of their team; a shutout loss and the worst start of Paul Skenes’ career produced more subdued reactions, but the Pirates managed to battle back for the split with a strong bullpen performance on Thursday.
Here are three takeaways from the commonwealth duel.
Still Showing Fight
One of the worst features of recent Pirates teams has been their performance as the summer slog sets in. A promising start to the season devolves into .500 ball around the All-Star break, which deteriorates further into a hideous stretch during the dog days that leaves their postseason hopes all but dead.
While each individual Pirates team is different, it’s enough of a trend to raise legitimate doubts whenever Pittsburgh begins the season on a heater. They went 2-2 on the road against the Phillies and showed plenty of fight after trailing 5-0 on both Monday and Wednesday. The Pirates fought back to win the first game and put on a valiant (but losing) effort in the second against one of the National League’s best teams. After getting just four innings out of Jared Jones in triple digit temperatures on Thursday, the Pirates’ oft-maligned bullpen covered five scoreless innings, giving Pittsburgh time to take and maintain the lead.
The Pirates are three games out of the last wild card spot but, as long as they remain engaged like they are right now, there’s a reason to hope for a turnaround… even for the most jaded of viewers.
Test Passed; Respite in D.C.?
Pittsburgh’s four-game series with Philadelphia capped the first section of a 22-games stretch against teams at or above .500. After stacking wins earlier in the season, the stretch run is here, and the Pirates’ ability to split a road series with a tough Phillies’ squad bodes well for their performance moving forward.
Their next opponent is closer to their current record: the Nationals have hovered around .500 for most of this season, and they split a four-game set in Pittsburgh earlier this year. The Pirates need any chance they can get to stack wins, and the upcoming series with Washington represents one of their best chances to do so for the month of July.
2025 in Reverse
The Pirates possessed one of the best pitching staffs in baseball last season, their 3.76 team ERA good for seventh in the big leagues. Their offense lagged well behind, their 3.6 runs per game the worst of all 30 teams. The numbers flipped this season. At the start of play on July 2, Pittsburgh’s 446 runs scored ranked fourth in MLB, but their 4.28 team era ranks a pedestrian No. 19.
This year’s pitching staff has a far higher ceiling than last season’s bats did — there isn’t much of a contest comparing Paul Skenes to Tommy Pham and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who ranked fourth and fifth on the team in plate appearances, respectively. The Pirates’ inability to sustain a full all-around performance, especially for a team expected to have pitching as a strength, is a big reason why they’re 11 games out of first place and fourth in the NL Central.
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