After a slow start, the Pittsburgh Pirates are playing some historically good baseball right now.
After beating up on the New York Mets over the weekend, the Pirates stayed hot on Monday with a 7-0 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals. In the process, they became the first Major League team since 1911 to win four straight games by at least seven runs while allowing two or fewer runs.
It also matches Pittsburgh’s longest win streak of the season, which occurred earlier in June. The Pirates are now 36-50, including 24-24 under new manager Don Kelly, and have won five straight games at PNC Park.
Pittsburgh’s historic winning streak has been fueled by dominance on the mound and at the plate.
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The Pirates swept the New York Mets in historic fashion over the weekend, outscoring them 30-4. Pittsburgh became the first team in Major League history to score at least 30 runs, allow four or fewer runs and rack up at least 25 strikeouts in a three-game series.
Monday’s win capped an impressive June for the Pirates, who went 14-13 with a plus-21 run differential during the month. Pittsburgh played especially well at home, going 11-5 with a plus-39 run differential.
The Pirates still have a ways to go in the standings, but at least they’re trending in the right direction with the All-Star Game coming up. There’s still a lot of baseball left to be played, and anything can happen in the second half.
Pittsburgh will try to extend its historic run and kick off July with another win on Tuesday against the Cardinals behind Paul Skenes. Skenes is coming off a loss in his most recent outing but still leads the National League in ERA (2.12) and WHIP (0.91).
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He will face Andre Pallante, who’s 5-4 with a 4.43 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.
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