The Pittsburgh Pirates are running out of runway.
What started as a 2026 season loaded with promise has drifted into a familiar late-summer problem in Pittsburgh: injuries, inconsistency and a second-half slump have left the club buried in the National League Wild Card chase. After getting swept over the weekend by the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium from Aug. 21-23, the Pirates missed a chance to climb back to .500 and instead dropped to 63-69.
That leaves them eight-and-a-half games out of the Wild Card picture, trailing the San Diego Padres, who are 71-60. Pittsburgh’s next stop is San Diego as the club closes out its final West Coast road trip of 2026.
The Pirates are also sitting behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.
They’ll see the Cardinals this weekend in the final three games of a nine-game road trip at Busch Stadium from Aug. 28-30.
At the top of the chase, the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies have separated themselves for much of the second half. The Cubs are four games ahead of the Padres, while the Phillies are two games up.
There were a couple of other teams that looked capable of making things interesting - the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals - but neither has surged. Cincinnati is 62-69, and Washington is 61-71, both in worse shape than Pittsburgh.
With just 30 games left, the math is brutal. The Pirates would likely need to win 23 to 25 of them to have a realistic shot at a playoff berth, and that would mean doing it against a heavy mix of strong competition.
Pittsburgh does have a few softer spots left on the schedule. The next homestand brings the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels to town from Sept. 1-6, and the Kansas City Royals come in for a weekend series Sept. 18-20.
But the road gets steep again in between and beyond those stretches. The Pirates are set to face the Chicago White Sox and Cubs on the road from Sept. 8-13, the Milwaukee Brewers from Sept. 15-17, and then the Cardinals at home on Sept. 22 and 24.
At this point, unless Pittsburgh pulls off something historic, the most likely outcome is another October spent on the outside looking in. If that happens, it would mark the 12th straight season without a postseason berth.
In Other News...
Pirates Get Two Encouraging Injury Signs As Endy Faces A Bigger Concern
The Pirates got a pair of encouraging injury updates as the calendar starts to turn, with Ben Cherington saying Konnor Griffin and Ryan OHearn are moving in the right direction. Griffin, dealing with a left ring finger injury, is making progress in rehab and is expected back in early September, while OHearn is working back from a left quad strain and could return around mid-September. For a club that has had to manage depth carefully, even modest good news on the injury front matters.
Endy Rodrguez remains the bigger concern in the group, and Cheringtons update left plenty of uncertainty around his left hip issue. A possible surgery is on the table, and with it comes the real possibility of a season-altering absence for a player the Pirates have been trying to keep in the mix. In a stretch when healthy bodies can change the shape of a roster quickly, Rodrguez is the name that hangs over the rest of the injury report. [Read more 🡒]
Khristian Curtis Just Put Real Pressure On The Pirates Rotation
Khristian Curtis has given the Pirates something they can never have enough of in late summer: a young arm forcing its way into the conversation. Through his first two major league appearances, the right-hander has spun eight scoreless innings while allowing only two hits, a quick start that has turned a low-key call-up into a legitimate rotation storyline as the calendar moves toward September.
Don Kelly already identified Curtis as a candidate for a roster spot when the expanded rosters arrive next month, and the path is clearer with Mitch Keller out for the season. That leaves Pittsburgh looking for innings wherever it can find them, and Curtis is suddenly in position to do more than just fill space. If he keeps this going, the Pirates may have no choice but to keep giving him a real chance to start. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Are Finally Closing In On A Konnor Griffin Return
Konnor Griffin is finally moving toward a return, and the Pirates have a clearer sense of when they might have him back in the lineup. General manager Ben Cherington said Griffin is progressing well in his rehab from a left ring sagittal band injury, with the outfielder having been sidelined since early July. After a stretch on the shelf, Griffin has recently started swinging again now that his splint has been removed.
The calendar still matters here, because Griffin cannot be activated from the 60-day injured list until September 4. Even so, the expectation is that he could be back in major league games in early September, giving Pittsburgh a late-season boost if his recovery continues on schedule. [Read more 🡒]