Pirates Taking Sneaky Step Forward Amid Rollercoaster Season

It’s been a tumultuous summer for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Between firing manager Derek Shelton, trading veteran third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and their rollercoaster performance on the field, it’s been an eventful season.

Despite the turbulence, however, the Pirates have persevered and improved dramatically over the last few months, taking a sneaky step forward in their rebuild.

Since starting 15-33, Pittsburgh’s been playing winning baseball for over two months now. After winning eight of their last nine games, the Pirates are 32-29 since May 20 — a .525 winning percentage that equates to an 85-win pace over a 162-game season.

Pittsburgh also has a plus-17 run differential during that span, which translates to a .536 Pythagorean winning percentage (fourth-best in the National League). That’s an 87-75 record over a full season.

Since May 20 the Pirates are 32-29. Over a 162 game season that would be 85-77.

— Chris Dokish (@ChrisDokish) July 30, 2025

Replacing Shelton with Don Kelly in May helped, but the real story for the Pirates has been their elite run prevention. Thanks to their outstanding pitching and good defense, they’ve allowed the fewest runs in baseball (210) since May 20, which explains how they have a winning record since then despite scoring the second-fewest runs in MLB (227).

Paul Skenes has been incredible, as expected, but the rest of the rotation has been quietly excellent. Mitch Keller (3.69 ERA), Bailey Falter (3.73 ERA) and Mike Burrows (3.88 ERA) all have an ERA under four, giving Pittsburgh four quality starters.

The Pirates’ bullpen has been strong as well, ranking eighth in ERA (3.70) and ninth in WAR (3.4). David Bednar’s re-emerged as one of the best closers in baseball after a down 2024, while Dennis Santana’s been one of the league’s top setup men.

With so much young talent on the mound, Pittsburgh has a pitching staff to build around. The offense has some good pieces with Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and the resurgent Tommy Pham, but that’s where the team needs more help.

Regardless, the Pirates have made considerable progress in 2025. If they find some bats to complement their arms and keep playing well down the stretch, they could be poised to contend in 2026.

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