Pirates Make MLB History With Unprecedented Shutout Streak

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been making a lot of history lately.

Last week, the Pirates finished one of the greatest homestands in Major League history, sweeping the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals in consecutive series at PNC Park. Their 43 runs were the most ever by a team that allowed fewer than five runs in a six-game span.

Pittsburgh’s sweep of the Cardinals included three straight shutouts, extending its scoreless innings streak to 31 at the time.

The script quickly flipped for the Pirates following Thursday’s off day, however, as they were swept by the Seattle Mariners over the weekend. They didn’t score a single run during their trip to T-Mobile Park, getting shut out in all three games.

It was an unprecedented reversal. According to OptaSTATS, Pittsburgh was the first team in MLB history to sweep an opponent and get swept in consecutive three-game series where every game was a shutout.

The Pirates were shut out in all three games of their series against the Mariners after shutting out the Cardinals in all three games of their previous series. They are the first team in MLB history to have back-to-back series of 3+ games with a sweep of shutouts for and against,… pic.twitter.com/6EyWyLsijB

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 6, 2025

The swift and stunning turn of events perfectly sums up the Pirates this season.

On the one hand, they have incredible pitching. Led by National League Cy Young candidate Paul Skenes, their 3.61 ERA ranks seventh in MLB.

On the other hand, runs have been hard to come by for Pittsburgh this year. The Pirates have already been shut out 13 times this season (most in MLB), and they rank 29th in scoring at 3.41 runs per game.

General manager Ben Cherington already said he’s planning to add offense at the July 31 Trade Deadline, but that should be an even bigger priority now. Pittsburgh can’t afford to keep losing games 1-0 like it did on Saturday and Sunday.

The Pirates will try to end their 28-inning scoring drought against the Kansas City Royals on Monday. They have a tough matchup against rookie left-hander Noah Cameron, who has a 2.56 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP and 2.0 WAR over his first 10 career starts.

Pittsburgh’s struggled on the road and against southpaws this year, so its bats may stay quiet if Cameron keeps pitching like an American League Rookie of the Year contender.

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