The Pittsburgh Pirates ended their series against the Kansas City Royals with the kind of late push that keeps showing what this roster can do when its best pieces are on the field.
Pittsburgh swept the Royals at PNC Park, winning 8-5 on Sept. 18, 6-5 on Sept. 19 and 4-3 on Sept. 20.
The Pirates had to dig out of holes to do it, rallying from 4-0 and 5-2 down in the opener and then climbing back from a 3-2 deficit in the finale. The victories lifted Pittsburgh to 79-77, though the club was eliminated from postseason contention this weekend.
A lot of the damage came from Brandon Lowe, and the Pirates’ trade for the second baseman looks better every time he steps into the box. Lowe homered twice in the series, both times with two-run shots that changed the game. His first blast came while Pittsburgh was trailing 4-0 in the third inning of the opener, and the second gave the Pirates a 6-5 edge in the eighth inning the next night.
Those swings were his 32nd and 33rd home runs of the season, and they pushed him to 18 and 19 homers at PNC Park in 2026, a new franchise record. Lowe’s value goes beyond the power, too.
His defense has taken a clear step forward, making him a major part of what the Pirates have done this season. He’s headed for free agency after the year, and Pittsburgh is going to have to battle to keep him.
Oneil Cruz also made his presence felt in the finale, and he reminded everyone how much time the Pirates lost when he was sidelined. Cruz missed two months with a left hand fracture, sitting out 61 games from June 10 to Aug. 17, roughly 38% of the 2026 season. Even with that lost time, he reached the 20-20 club after launching a solo homer against Michael Wacha in the fourth inning.
Cruz jumped on a 75.2 mph curveball over the middle and hammered it 104.5 mph and 420 feet to center, sending it into the Royals bullpen to tie the game 1-1. He got to 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in just 93 games, which is 39 fewer than the 132 games it took him to reach that mark in 2025.
He was also the first player in MLB to hit the 10-10 mark this season, getting there on May 10, and he was on pace for 34 homers and 52 steals. The last Pirates player in the 30-50 club was Barry Bonds in 1990, the year he won NL MVP.
Since coming back from injury, Cruz has been exactly the kind of threat Pittsburgh needs - a power bat with game-changing speed. His absence hurt, and the Pirates may still have been in the postseason race if he had been available all year.
The finale also gave the Pirates another important answer behind the plate. Rafael Flores Jr. delivered the go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead in the eventual win. Pittsburgh acquired Flores in the David Bednar trade with the New York Yankees at the 2025 deadline, and he’s starting to show why he was so appealing as a prospect.
In 43 games this season, Flores has hit .286/.354/.556 with an .910 OPS, along with 38 hits, six doubles, 10 home runs and 22 RBI. He’s also already authored some memorable moments, including becoming the first Pirates player to hit two home runs off the bench in a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park on Aug.
- He hit five homers in seven games in August and stayed hot in September, batting .367/.404/.531 with a .935 OPS.
That matters because catcher has been an unsettled spot for Pittsburgh. Henry Davis has defended well but struggled at the plate, while Endy Rodríguez is injured again after season-ending surgery on his left hip labrum and is out until March-May 2027. Flores has taken his chances and put himself in strong position to win the starting catcher job in 2027.
In Other News...
Ben Cherington Just Framed The Pirates' Biggest 2027 Question
Ben Cherington used an appearance on the Pirates Insider Show to put the 2026 season in perspective, acknowledging that Pittsburgh made progress but still came up short of a postseason berth. He pointed to the emergence of several young players, along with a better run differential and a stronger bullpen after midseason changes, as signs the club moved in the right direction even if the results did not yet match the growth.
The larger issue now is how the Pirates turn that incremental progress into something more meaningful in 2027. Cherington stressed accountability and the need for the organization to keep improving, which leaves Pittsburgh with a familiar but important winter and offseason question: how to build on the positives without settling for them. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Face An Uncomfortable Luke Weaver Question After Rough Debut
Luke Weavers first run with the Pirates did not go the way anyone around the club would have hoped after he came over from the Mets. His ERA jumped sharply in Pittsburgh, and even in a small sample of 14 appearances, the results were rough enough to leave a mark on a bullpen that was looking for steadier late-inning help.
Still, the Pirates do not seem ready to write him off. The underlying numbers hint that some of the damage may have been driven by bad luck as much as execution, and Weaver is expected to remain a key part of the bullpen plans next season. His mid-August battle with a severe case of poison ivy only adds another layer to a debut that never really found its footing. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Young Core Now Carries The Weight Of 2027
The Pirates 2026 postseason chase ended before October really had a chance to take hold, with San Diegos win over Miami closing the door on Pittsburghs Wild Card hopes. Even so, this season still offered a glimpse of what the next wave could look like. Top prospect Konnor Griffin reached the majors and quickly became part of the organizational conversation, while the club locked him up long term with a nine-year extension as part of its bet on the future.
Spencer Horwitz also gave the front office a reminder of why young pieces matter, starting fast before a hamstring injury disrupted his rhythm and changed the shape of his season. With the standings no longer in play, the focus shifts to finishing strong and carrying something meaningful into 2027, when this young core is expected to shoulder much more of the load. The Pirates do not have the October path they wanted, but they still have a chance to make the final stretch count for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]