The Pirates are still hanging around the National League Wild Card picture, and this weekend gives them a real chance to do something about it.
After an ugly August, Pittsburgh enters Friday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels at 69-72, five games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL Wild Card spot. The Padres are a half-game back of Arizona, the Marlins sit three games out, the Cardinals are four back and the Pirates trail by five.
That’s a steep hill with only 21 games left. But the schedule this weekend at least gives Pittsburgh a path to trim the gap.
The Pirates are getting the 53-87 Angels at PNC Park, and this is the kind of series they have to cash in on. Los Angeles sits last in the AL West and has one of the worst records in baseball. Pittsburgh can’t afford to let a matchup like this slip away.
The good news for the Pirates is that the teams in front of them are dealing with much tougher assignments. Miami hosts the Cubs, who are 79-62.
Arizona goes to Houston to face an Astros team still fighting for its own postseason spot. San Diego draws the Yankees, who are 80-60 and one of the stronger clubs in the American League.
If Pittsburgh handles its business and gets help from Chicago, Houston and New York, the Wild Card standings could look a lot better by Monday.
There is still a problem sitting right in front of them, though. The Cardinals are already a game ahead of the Pirates, and they get a three-game road set against the Rockies, who enter Friday at 54-86. Colorado owns the worst record in the National League and has been out of the race for a long time.
So while Pittsburgh has a shot to gain ground on Arizona, San Diego and Miami, it may be harder to simply jump its division rival.
Even so, the Pirates’ job doesn’t change. They spent August watching their postseason hopes fade, but September has handed them one last opening. With Konnor Griffin back, a favorable opponent coming to PNC Park and several competitors facing rough weekends, Pittsburgh suddenly has something worth tracking.
Now they just need to make their own games the easy part.
In Other News...
Konnor Griffin Just Gave Pirates Fans A Different Feeling About Him
Konnor Griffins return gave the Pirates a little jolt at exactly the right time. Activated off the 60-day injured list, he was back in the lineup and immediately involved in the kind of tight, low-scoring game Pittsburgh has had to grind through all season, helping finish off a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The moment that stood out was his head-first slide to score the winning run, a play that fit the tone of a night decided by urgency and execution.
For a team always looking for signs that a young player can change the feel of a game, Griffin offered one in a hurry. Manager Don Kelly and pitcher Jared Jones both highlighted his speed and the impact he made during the game, which matters more than any box score line in a contest like this. The Pirates do not need much imagination to know what they want from a player in Griffins spot, but they saw a glimpse of it right away, and now the next step becomes finding out whether that energy keeps showing up. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Have A Rising Arm Whose Path Back Was Anything But Normal
Khristian Curtis has already made his first impression in the Pirates organization, and it has come in the kind of early big-league work that can turn an overlooked arm into a name worth tracking. The 12th-round pick from 2023 has posted a 1.64 ERA over 11 innings in his initial Major League appearances, a strong early return for a pitcher Pittsburgh sees as a possible future starter.
Curtis path to this point was anything but straightforward. He went through two surgeries on his right elbow because of nerve issues, including a botched procedure that led to a second operation to repair nerve damage, and his college route was just as unsettled after losing his scholarship at Texas A&M and transferring to Arizona State. For a Pirates club always looking for pitching depth with a little upside, Curtis has already shown why his story is about more than draft position. [Read more 🡒]
Braxton Ashcraft Just Changed Pittsburghs Rotation In A Big Way
Braxton Ashcrafts season has quietly turned into one of the more important developments in Pittsburghs rotation. The right-hander picked up his 14th win on Aug. 30, a mark no Pirates pitcher had hit since 2018, and that kind of workload matters for a club trying to stabilize itself around a young pitching core. After a strong opening stretch, Ashcraft faded in the middle of the year, but his August rebound gave the Pirates another arm they can trust in the rotation.
The late surge has put Ashcraft in the same conversation as Paul Skenes as part of the teams present and future on the mound. Pittsburgh has spent much of the season looking for dependable starting pitching, and Ashcrafts ability to recover from that midseason dip only makes the role he now occupies more significant. The question from here is whether this version of Ashcraft is the one the Pirates can count on the rest of the way. [Read more 🡒]