The Pittsburgh Pirates have been at the bottom of baseball’s standings for years. The 2026 season has proven to be different.
The Pirates have been at or over .500 since the beginning of April. The starting pitching and hitting have been solid for Don Kelly’s club, but the relief pitching has struggled. They have blown 11 possible saves in the first two months of the season. These games are crucial in a tight NL Central race, where the Pirates have their best chance in years to win.
Currently, the Pirates sit in fifth place in the NL Central, but just 4.5 games separate the five teams. While relief pitching has been a glaring issue, luckily for the Pirates, there is still plenty of season left to fix it.
Pirates Were Big Offseason Spenders
The Pirates finally spent some money and made some trades over the offseason, acquiring guys like Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn, two impactful bats who added much-needed run support. They also signed Marcell Ozuna to a one-year contract to DH.
Lowe leads the Pirates in home runs hit, and O’Hearn is third in home runs and is batting nearly .290.
Early Season Success
O’Neil Cruz is also performing to expectations throughout the first few months of the season. Cruz is batting .250 with double-digit home runs and 16 stolen bases. Cruz is also batting nearly .290 against left-handed pitchers in 2026, a significant improvement over his .102 average last season.
The offense is finally there for the Buccos. They’ve scored five or more runs in 25 of their 53 games and rank fourth in total runs scored.
On the pitching side of things, Paul Skenes has been an undeniable force, posting a 6-4 record and a 3.00 ERA, though he has struggled in his last two starts. Mitch Keller has been great as well. He holds a 5-2 record and an ERA of 3.64. The rest of the starting rotation has been decent, other than Bubba Chandler, who has struggled.
The offense and the pitching staff have played well throughout the first few months of the season, filling Pittsburgh fans with a lot of hope and optimism.
Pirates’ Bullpen Woes Costing Pittsburgh a Promising Season
The issue holding the Pirates back is the bullpen. The Pirates’ relief pitching has struggled early in the season to put games away. Some of this may be coaching; manager Don Kelly has drawn some criticism for his lineups and when he decides to pull the starters.
This was seen as recently as May 19 in a game versus the St. Louis Cardinals. Keller started this game and had allowed three runs into the bottom of the sixth. The Pirates had made two outs, and there was one Cardinal on base. Keller was pulled, and Evan Sisk would give up a lead-taking two-run home run to Nolan Gorman, the first batter he faced.
Gorman was 0-for-2 against Keller early in this matchup. Keller was at 83 pitches when he was pulled.
“Just liked the matchup there with Sisk in that moment. Didn’t work out,” Kelly said in a post-game interview.
Kelly also added that Sisk had not allowed a home run to a left-handed batter before this at-bat, and Gorman had had success against Keller in the past. Kelly has confidence in Sisk and is not shy in saying so in his post-game scrum.
“Sisk has been so good…fully trust him in that moment there and going forward,” Kelly said.
Sisk has been good for the Pirates, posting a 1.80 ERA in his 16 games. But moments like this make fans look at the bullpen as a whole, and it seems Sisk got dragged into it because of the homer he gave up.
Is Pressure The Issue?
Four days before the first game of the series with the Cardinals, the Pirates opened a series against the Philadelphia Phillies. In the first game of the series, the Pirates came out hot. They scored six runs in the third, thanks to home runs from Lowe and Ozuna. As well as a two-run single from Cruz.
The Phillies chipped away, but the Pirates added runs as well. In the 7th inning, the Pirates led 8-3. Another win looked easy for the Pirates, needing just a few more outs to wrap things up. Mason Montgomery would give up a two-run home run to Kyle Schwarber with two outs.
It seems the Pirates’ bullpen struggles with pressure. In closer games, they let up crucial RBI’s and home runs. In the majority of games already decided, this is not usually an issue.
Even after the 408’ no doubter, the Pirates still led this game and would turn to arguably their best closing pitcher, Gregory Soto.
Soto would allow three runs in the ninth, tying the game at eight. This would be his second blown save of the season and a crucial one. The Pirates lost this game in extras and would go on to lose the next two against Philadelphia.
Dennis Santana has also struggled coming out of the bullpen. Santana is 2-3 this season with a 5.48 ERA. A crucial blown save came in a game in April versus the Cardinals. He would allow four hits and four runs in this inning, including two home runs.
The Pirates had not given up a hit until the seventh inning, and led 2-0 for the first EIGHT innings of this game. This was one of the first losses in a very winnable game versus an in-division rival.
“It’s okay, it’s not the first time..I [gave] up two homers, and it’s not gonna be the last,” Santana said.
Sanatana is not letting this blown save affect him and spiral into worse. Santana understands he has to take the outcome and move on.
Young Season With Plenty Of Hope and Promise
On the bright side, the Pirates are still over .500, which is promising considering their past woes. The Pirates recently called up reliever Wilber Dotel and sent down Isaac Mattson. Mattson has yet to allow a home run this season, but holds a 4.12 ERA.
Jared Jones is nearing a return after having right elbow surgery. Jones is making his fifth rehab start in the minors. He will pitch for Triple-A Indianapolis on May 23. Jones was placed on the 60-day injured list before the season, and would be eligible to return to Pittsburgh on May 24.
Other than getting a strong arm back in the dugout, the Pirates would be able to move either Jones or another starter into the bullpen, strengthening it either way. Jones started 22 games in 2024, winning six and posting a 4.14 ERA.
On the offseason side of things, the Pirates called up outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, who produced three hits and one RBI in his first two games against the Cardinals.
They also called up outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez during the following series against the Toronto Blue Jays. He would record his first career hit, which was a home run during Sunday’s 4-1 win.
Even though the Pirates’ bullpen is struggling, Pittsburgh is still succeeding and playing great baseball for the most part. Their offseason is finally producing. They rank in the top 10 in runs, OPS, batting average, and total bases. The one issue has been relief pitching and some coaching miscues, but outside of that, things are finally looking up in Pittsburgh.
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