The Pirates have spent the first 10 games of this brutal 22-game run showing two versions of themselves at once.
One version can hit with anybody. Since June 29, Pittsburgh has scored 63 runs, fourth most in MLB with games still going Thursday.
The club has also launched 120 home runs on the season, three more than its 2025 total with 68 games left. Bryan Reynolds, who went deep for his 14th against the Braves and owns an .872 OPS, didn’t sound like a player guessing at the ceiling.
“We have a really good offense,” Reynolds said. “We have easily a top-five offense.
It’s pretty exciting. Brought in some good players.
They’re doing what they do. Lot of guys have stepped up, too.
It’s definitely more fun.”
The other version keeps finding ways to leave the door open. Thursday’s 10-5 loss to Atlanta at PNC Park was the latest example, a game that featured another comeback attempt, another burst of power, and another late collapse.
The Pirates trailed 3-0 and 6-2, clawed back twice to within a run, and still walked away with a series loss. They’re 5-5 through this stretch, which feels a lot like their 47-47 record overall: enough good to stay interesting, not enough clean baseball to separate.
Jake Mangum was at the center of the latest rally, going 4 for 5 with a home run, a double and three RBIs. Since May 30, he’s hitting .360, second in MLB, with an .868 OPS.
Nick Gonzales has matched that .868 OPS over the same span while hitting .331. Tyler Callihan has given the bench a left-handed bat with some flexibility.
Endy Rodriguez helped from a spot that had long been short on offense before he landed on the injured list with a left glute strain. Even Jared Triolo’s .740 OPS over his last 19 games is workable for a No. 8 hitter.
That depth has helped the Pirates absorb injuries to Konnor Griffin, Rodriguez, Oneil Cruz and Spencer Horwitz. It’s also why they’ve lost more than two straight only once since mid-April.
“We’ve had some bad breaks, but guys have stepped up and done some good things,” Reynolds said. “Just kinda next man up.”
But the pitching side keeps pulling the group back toward the middle.
Dennis Santana was supposed to be a key late-game arm after signing for $3.5 million and banking 4.0 wins above replacement over the previous two seasons. Instead, his season has been defined by too many damaging pitches in big spots.
Thursday, it was a grand slam to Mike Yastrzemski that finished off the Pirates. Santana now has a 5.95 ERA and has allowed seven home runs after giving up nine over the previous two seasons combined.
He had been scoreless in 10 of his last 13 outings before Thursday, but the blowups have been too costly to ignore.
In each of those rough appearances, one misplaced pitch has turned into a major homer. This time, manager Don Kelly tried to preserve Mason Montgomery for the Brewers and gave Santana the ball in a high-leverage spot.
“We can't continue to go to the same guys the whole time,” Kelly said. “We need other guys to step up.”
That hasn’t happened enough. Pittsburgh’s bullpen owns a 4.53 ERA, 23rd in MLB, and has already blown 17 saves, tied for the fifth most in either league.
The Pirates still need someone to lock down the ninth inning and push everyone else into more fitting roles. Ideally that arm would be right-handed, but at this point, any real help would matter.
There may be a path to it. General manager Ben Cherington has said trades have been difficult because of where the season stands, but the Pirates also have a compensatory pick at No. 34 in this weekend’s Draft, and that pick will expire. It could be a way to bring in more immediate help.
The rotation has been just as uneven. Paul Skenes looked rough in Philadelphia, then came back with six innings of two-run ball Tuesday by bringing back the splinker and pounding the zone with fastballs.
The decision to pull him drew debate. Jared Jones was perfect through six innings Wednesday.
Braxton Ashcraft earned his All-Star nod. Pittsburgh needs Bubba Chandler’s last start to be the exception, not the new normal, and the Mitch Keller situation is harder to dismiss.
Keller needed 72 pitches to get through nine outs Thursday, allowed three runs and has a 7.03 ERA over his last 12 starts. He said afterward he plans to work on mechanical fixes, pitch mix and sequencing during the All-Star break. If that doesn’t do it, the Pirates may have to consider something more drastic, including an opener or even a swap in roles with Carmen Mlodzinski.
Mlodzinski’s usage is another question mark. The club appears to be trying a model similar to what the Tigers are doing with Keider Montero, but there have been times when Pittsburgh has needed Mlodzinski and he’s already been spent in lower-leverage work.
That’s the story of this team right now: promise and problems, often in the same night.
The Pirates have shown they can erase a five-run deficit and win at Citizens Bank Park, rebound after a rough opener in Washington and make noise even in losses like Thursday, two days after Ryan O’Hearn blasted three homers and drove in 10. They are capable. They just haven’t strung it together long enough to turn capability into something more.
With Horwitz and Cruz expected back after the All-Star break and Milwaukee coming to town before that, the next step is obvious. Pittsburgh has to move beyond being a .500 team that fights hard.
“Everybody doing their job, doing what they do,” Reynolds said. “Don’t try to do anything special.
We just have to be who we are. We’re a good team.
We have to be who we are and let everything fall from there.”
In Other News...
Pirates Make Another Pitching Move With Bigger Questions Still Looming
The Pirates kept tinkering with their pitching depth by bringing Antwone Kelly and Thomas Harrington back into the major league mix, another reminder that the staff is still very much a work in progress. Kelly has already gotten a look in the big leagues this season, while Harrington is back in position to help at the top level as the organization keeps searching for more stability on the mound.
Even with those moves, the bigger picture around Pittsburghs pitching plan is still unsettled. The front office is weighing whether to make a more meaningful addition before the trade deadline, and the draft could also become part of the answer if the Pirates decide to use valuable picks as trade currency to help the rotation and bullpen now. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Just Got A Painful Reminder Of How Close They Came On Konnor Griffin
The Cardinals new commitment to rookie infielder JJ Wetherholt is a reminder of how thin the margin was in the 2024 draft, when he went seventh overall and Pittsburgh landed Konnor Griffin two picks later. St. Louis moved quickly to lock up Wetherholt on an eight-year deal that can grow with bonuses, a sign of how highly the organization still values the player it chose ahead of the Pirates.
For Pittsburgh, the timing only sharpens the draft-day what ifs. Griffin ended up in black and gold and later secured his own long-term extension, but the Cardinals had also spent time weighing him before settling on Wetherholt, leaving the Pirates with a prospect they were able to keep and develop after one of the closest calls of the draft. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates May Have A Surprising Option At Fifth Overall
With the 2026 MLB Draft still months away, the Pirates are already being tied to a few different directions at No. 5 overall. Most mock drafts have Pittsburgh leaning toward UCSB right-hander Jackson Flora, but the early conversation is broader than one arm, with Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey and Mississippi prep outfielder Eric Booth Jr. also drawing attention as the draft picture starts to take shape.
For a club trying to balance immediate upside with long-term development, the fifth pick could come down to what kind of player the front office wants to bet on. Flora fits the profile of a polished college pitcher, while Booth offers the sort of younger, higher-risk ceiling that can appeal in the top half of the first round. The Pirates still have time before July 11-12, but the range of names already in play suggests this pick may not be as straightforward as it first looked. [Read more 🡒]