PITTSBURGH - The Pirates didn’t light up the scoreboard against the Angels, but they absolutely lit up the series with pitching.
Pittsburgh took two of three at PNC Park, opening with a 1-0 win on Sept. 4 and closing with another 1-0 victory on Sept. 6. The lone blemish was a 6-1 loss on Sept. 5, a result that kept Los Angeles - owners of the worst record in baseball - from getting swept.
Even with just three runs across the series, the Pirates walked away with a lot to like. They improved to 71-73 overall, won four straight series for the first time in 2026 and have taken six of their last seven.
The real story was the arms. Jared Jones and Paul Skenes, the rookie duo that had Pirates fans buzzing in 2024 and earned the “Allegheny Electric Factory” nickname, delivered the kind of outings that made that label stick.
Jones set the tone in the opener. He worked six innings, allowed three hits and one walk, and matched his career high with nine strikeouts over a season-high 91 pitches.
Seven of those punchouts came on his slider. After a rough August in which he posted a 7.40 ERA, a .318 batting average allowed and a 1.94 WHIP, this was exactly the kind of reset he needed to start the final month on the right foot.
Skenes followed in the finale and handled his business in a different way. He lasted 5.1 innings, struck out two, and gave up just four hits and one walk.
The Angels never got much going, and Skenes answered after allowing five runs in the second inning of his previous start against the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 1.
This time, he kept the ball moving, induced weak contact and gave the Pirates a clean finish.
Behind both starters, the defense held up and the Angels’ lineup never found a way to cash in.
The bullpen, which used to be a weakness, kept showing why it has become such a strength since the trade deadline. In the two shutout wins, Pittsburgh got 6.2 scoreless innings from five relievers, and every one of them did his job.
Mason Montgomery was again at the center of it all. He picked up two saves and didn’t allow a baserunner in either outing. He was close to winning National League Reliever of the Month for August, and over the Pirates’ last nine games he’s appeared in six, saved five, and hasn’t allowed a run.
Wilber Dotel also stood out in the opener, throwing two scoreless innings and hitting 100 mph with his fastball. The Pirates leaned on Gregory Soto, Carmen Mlodzinski and Camilo Doval to close out the finale, with Soto handling the last two outs of the sixth before Mlodzinski and Doval worked the seventh and eighth.
The only real slip from the relief group came from Isaac Mattson, who gave up three runs in his second inning of work during the loss. Yohan Ramírez then covered the final two innings and kept the Angels from stretching the lead, continuing what has been a solid season for him.
Offensively, Pittsburgh didn’t do much, but the few big moments mattered.
Konnor Griffin made the loudest one in the opener, racing all the way home from first on a hit by Jake Mangum. It was a jolt for the rookie, who had missed the previous two months with a left ring sagittal band tear, and it was a reminder of how quickly he can change a game for this lineup.
Henry Davis delivered the other major swing, going deep for a solo shot in the third inning of the finale. It was his first home run in almost two months.
Oneil Cruz also made his presence felt in the field, turning in two diving catches in center and helping start a relay from second baseman Brandon Lowe to Davis that cut down the tying run at the plate in the fifth inning to keep the shutout intact.
The Pirates still need more offense. That part hasn’t changed. But against the Angels, they made the plays that were there, and their pitching carried the rest.
In Other News...
Paul Skenes Just Made This Pirates Win Feel Even Bigger
Paul Skenes kept the Pirates latest win from feeling like just another tidy one-run result. In his first career start against the Angels at PNC Park, the rookie right-hander worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed four hits and struck out two, giving Pittsburgh exactly the kind of steady night it needed in a game decided 1-0. He mixed in a sinker that got him outs and twice reached better than 98 mph, adding the sort of power look that keeps a lineup honest even when the strikeout total stays modest.
For Skenes, there was a little extra layer to the matchup, too. He grew up as an Angels fan, which made facing Los Angeles in Pittsburgh a notable backdrop for one of his sharper outings of the season. The Pirates needed every clean frame he could supply, and he delivered them with enough command and velocity to make the win feel more meaningful than the final score alone might suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Just Created A New Opportunity Fans Will Want To Watch
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Simon brings the sort of flexibility managers tend to value in September-style roster churn, with the ability to handle multiple outfield spots and serve as a switch-hitting option at designated hitter. Yorke had only recently gotten a look with Pittsburgh, but the decision to option him opened the door for Simon to get more playing time with the current group, giving fans another name to watch as the Pirates mix and match their way through the final game of the set. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Fans May Not Get The Ben Cherington Decision They Want
The Pirates late-season slide has again put Ben Cherington under the microscope, even though the front office is not operating as if a change is imminent. Cherington is under contract through 2027, and that alone gives Pittsburgh a built-in layer of protection at a time when the club entered 2026 talking about playoffs and instead found itself dealing with another familiar downturn.
For fans hoping the end of the season would bring a clean verdict on the general manager, the timing may not cooperate. There is already speculation that Cherington could remain in place beyond 2026, and a looming MLB labor dispute could complicate any decision-making even further, leaving the Pirates in a holding pattern while the disappointment on the field keeps growing. [Read more 🡒]