Did Red-Hot Pirates Just Have Greatest Homestand In MLB History?

The Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t the best team in baseball, but they’re definitely the hottest.

The Pirates completed a historically dominant six-game homestand on Wednesday with a 5-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. It was Pittsburgh’s sixth straight win and third consecutive shutout, extending the team’s scoreless innings streak to 31 and finishing a three-game sweep of the Cardinals.

The Pirates also swept the New York Mets over the weekend, outscoring them 30-4. All three games were lopsided, with Pittsburgh winning each by at least seven runs.

In total, the Pirates outscored their opponents 43-4 during their 6-0 homestand. According to OptaSTATS, Pittsburgh’s 43 runs were the most scored by a team over a six-game span while allowing fewer than five runs in Major League history.

The @Pirates have outscored opponents 43-4 over their last six games.

That's the most runs scored over a six-game span while allowing fewer than five runs in MLB history. The previous most while allowing so few was by the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds in 1884 (42). pic.twitter.com/9nBSnkQvdU

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 2, 2025

The Pirates’ offensive explosion was notable for several reasons. For one, Pittsburgh entered last weekend with the second-fewest runs in MLB (267), ahead of only the Kansas City Royals (263).

Prior to visiting PNC Park, the Mets had allowed the fewest runs in the National League (299), making the Pirates’ 30-run outburst over the weekend even more improbable. They scored at least nine runs in three straight games after scoring that many only five times in their first 82 games of the season.

Pittsburgh’s bats cooled off a bit against the Cardinals, but the arms were so good that it didn’t matter. They didn’t allow a single run against St. Louis, finishing the homestand with only four runs allowed in 54 innings (0.67 ERA). Only one of those runs came against the bullpen, which has been lights-out lately.

The Pirates were also sharp defensively, committing just one error during the six games and not allowing any unearned runs. They were smart on the bases as well, succeeding in all three of their stolen base attempts.

Pittsburgh’s been playing better baseball since Don Kelly replaced Derek Shelton as manager two months ago, and this homestand was just the latest example of that. The Pirates are 26-24 with a plus-28 run differential under Kelly after starting 12-26 with a minus-57 run differential under Shelton.

Now 8-2 in its last 10 games, Pittsburgh will try to stay hot on its upcoming nine-game road trip following Thursday’s off day. The Pirates have struggled away from home this year (12-29 with a minus-43 run differential), but they have a chance to reverse that trend if they keep playing the way they’ve been playing.

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