The Pittsburgh Pirates just lost a series to the New York Yankees with another bullpen meltdown, and now they are coming home facing a pivotal stretch of games. This team, currently sitting at 53-50, entered Thursday just a half-game back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for that final National League wild card spot. Everyone knows that bullpen is a ticking time bomb.
Offense on Fire, Pitching in Purgatory
The Pirates are having a pretty good year, all things considered. They are on the fringes of the wild card race, and their offense? Absolutely lights out. This squad is second in all of MLB in runs scored, a massive turnaround from finishing bottom five in nearly every offensive category last season. They are first in hits per game (9.1), tied for first in batting average (.261), second in on-base percentage (.339), second in runs scored (5.3), third in slugging (.424), and third in OPS (.763). Shockingly, they have blasted more home runs (132) than the Cubs (128) after hitting a measly 117 last year, dead last in baseball. That’s some serious power!
But then you look at the other side of the ball, and it is a different story. They have allowed the eighth-most runs in MLB. And what about Paul Skenes? He is one of the best pitchers on the planet, hands down, but he is having what, for him, is a mediocre year. You have this explosive offense keeping them in games, and then the pitching, particularly that bullpen, just melts down again. It is frustrating, especially after they were so close to sweeping the Cubs in April before that bullpen meltdown.
Crucial Series, Looming Deadline, and Lefty Woes
This weekend is massive. The Pirates are hosting a three-game series against the Cubs, who are currently holding the top wild card spot in the NL, sitting 4.5 games ahead of Pittsburgh. They haven’t seen each other in two months, but the Bucs took two of three from Chicago at Wrigley in mid-April and split a four-game set in mid-May. After this Cubs series, Arizona comes to town on Monday. It is a defining stretch.
The starting pitching matchups actually favor the Pirates, at least on paper, with two All-Stars set to throw. Jared Jones takes the mound Friday night against Matthew Boyd. Then Paul Skenes faces Shōta Imanaga on Saturday, a lefty who has notoriously dominated the Pirates. Braxton Ashcraft will close out the series against former Pirate Jameson Taillon. And that brings up a huge problem: Pittsburgh is absolutely terrible against left-handed starting pitchers. Don Kelly’s lefty-heavy lineup is 9-20 against southpaws, tied for the third-fewest wins, barely better than the Royals and Mets. They must improve that if they are going to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
The biggest issue? That bullpen. It is still a mess, has not been addressed all year, and everyone is longing for the August 3 trade deadline to finally fix some of these problems. This series is pivotal, not just for gaining ground on the Cubs and continuing their NL Central success, but because a losing streak could change their aggressiveness at the deadline. They are battling Arizona, Miami, Washington, and St. Louis for that final wild card spot, but they also have a shot to chase down Chicago for a bigger prize. With their top three starters pitching, they have to win this series.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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