There hasn’t been a lot of celebrating for the Pittsburgh Pirates over the years but they were able to achieve one pretty big goal this season. The Pirates finished the 2026 season with a winning record, 82-80, after defeating the Detroit Tigers 4-2 in the series/season finale at Comerica Park on Sept. 27.
The Pirates haven’t had a winning season since 2018, when they went 82-79, marking seven seasons of poor baseball. There have been a couple of close seasons throughout the years but they were never able to get over the hump.
Advertisement
It was tied for the second-longest streak in baseball, with only the Los Angeles Angels having more at 11 and the Colorado Rockies at eight this season.
In 2025, The Bucs went 71-91 and finished last in the NL Central. The Pirates also had the fifth worst record in all of baseball.
Pittsburgh finished third in the division, and had a winning record and an 11-win improvement from last season. It is just the fifth winning season in the past 34 years for the Pirates, including their three postseason appearances, 2013-15.
The Pirates were even in the third Wild Card spot in late July, but seven straight losing series put them six games below .500 and they fell too far behind to make up ground. It is frustrating to see a promising season slip but even though this was not a playoff team this year it still feels like The Pirates are treading into the right direction to snap their massive playoff drought.
Advertisement
Even though fans in the steel city want to see them in the postseason, this season should still be considered a victory. The Pirates went from being an irrelevant laughably bad team to a squad that was respected and competitive this year.
The playoffs felt like an unrealistic goal for this young team before the season started. With all the inexperience and the defensive being a major question making the postseason felt fair fetched but now with a lot of that young talent coming together and if they can keep Brandon Lowe the playoffs seem like a legit possibility for 2027.
Read the full article here
