The Pittsburgh Pirates are running out of calendar and margin for error.
At 75-75 with 12 games left, Pittsburgh sits seven games behind the San Diego Padres for the third National League Wild Card spot. The Pirates are also five games away from elimination, which leaves them in a spot where anything less than a near-perfect finish probably won’t be enough.
That’s the reality facing a club that has played better in September but still hasn’t climbed nearly close enough to the pack. The Pirates have won eight of their last 12, taking series from the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels at PNC Park before sweeping the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Even with that stretch, they remain well behind the four teams currently in the best position in the NL Wild Card race: the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies at the top, the Padres in third, and the Arizona Diamondbacks 2.5 games back.
A costly weekend in Chicago didn’t help. Pittsburgh dropped two of three to the Cubs at Wrigley Field, including a 3-2 loss on Sept. 12 when Gregory Soto lost the strike zone and allowed two runs on a walk and a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning.
The Padres have only made the climb steeper. San Diego has won eight straight and is 10-3 in September, with sweeps of the Washington Nationals and Giants plus a two-out-of-three series win over the New York Yankees. Arizona has also stayed steady at 7-5 this month, while Chicago and Philadelphia are both 5-7, though their stronger work earlier in the year gives them a cushion.
The St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins are still technically alive, but both are in even worse shape than Pittsburgh.
So the path for the Pirates is clear, even if it’s brutal: win nearly everything left, and hope for major slippage from San Diego and Arizona.
That challenge starts with a nine-game homestand this week. Pittsburgh will face the Milwaukee Brewers from Sept. 15-17, the Kansas City Royals from Sept. 18-20, and the Cardinals from Sept. 22-24 before closing the season on the road against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park from Sept. 25-27.
The Brewers bring the toughest test by far. Milwaukee owns the best record in baseball at 93-57 and is trying to hold off the Los Angeles Dodgers, who sit right behind them at 91-59. The other matchups look more manageable on paper, with the Royals and Tigers out of playoff contention and the Cardinals likely to be in the same position by next week.
Even then, Pittsburgh would still need at least 10 wins and help from several teams above it to have a shot.
For the Pirates, the math is simple and unforgiving. The wins have to keep coming, and fast.
In Other News...
Clint Hurdle Just Reentered A Pirates Debate Don Kelly Can't Ignore
Don Kelly is still settling into his first full season running the Pirates, and the scrutiny around his in-game decisions has not let up. So when a fan floated the idea of former manager Clint Hurdle returning to Pittsburgh as Kellys bench coach, it was the sort of offhand suggestion that can take on a little more weight than usual around a team looking for steadier footing.
Hurdle did not shut the door on the idea, saying he is open to conversations, which is enough to keep the discussion alive for now. He has already had one run managing the Pirates, and he most recently worked as a bench coach for the Colorado Rockies, so the familiar name brings both history and a possible layer of experience to a staff that has already been under the microscope. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Yates Just Made A Tough Admission Pirates Fans Will Feel
Kirby Yates has given the Pirates a useful late-season lift since the trade deadline, helping steady a bullpen that needed more reliability, but his latest update adds a different kind of significance to his stretch in Pittsburgh. The 39-year-old reliever is now on the injured list with a shoulder injury, though he still plans to come back before the end of the season, keeping his role with the club alive for the time being.
Yates also admitted something that tends to hang over veteran relievers this time of year: retirement is getting closer. Family is a major part of that equation, and for a pitcher at this stage of his career, the question is no longer just whether he can get back on the mound, but how much longer he wants to keep doing it. For the Pirates, it leaves his immediate return important and his longer-term future very much in the air. [Read more 🡒]
Three Pirates Hitters Are Putting This Final Stretch On Edge
September has brought a better rhythm to the Pirates, who have gone 8-4 and at least given the final weeks a little more life than the standings suggest. Even so, the offense still has some uneven spots, especially among a few key hitters who were supposed to help carry the late push. First baseman Horwitz, rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin and Ryan O'Hearn have all dealt with the lingering effects of injuries, and the production since their returns has not matched what the club had earlier in the year.
Horwitz and O'Hearn have both seen their batting numbers slip compared with their earlier-season work, while Griffin is trying to find his timing again after missing about two months. With 12 games left, Pittsburgh is still seven games back in the National League Wild Card race, which means every at-bat now carries a little more weight. The Pirates have shown enough in September to keep the stretch interesting, but getting those three bats back on track would go a long way toward making the finish worth watching. [Read more 🡒]