The Pittsburgh Pirates made impressive franchise history, but their playoff hopes are still dwindling after another loss.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been doing their best to shock the baseball world and make one more last-second push for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, that path just got that much more difficult on Wednesday evening following their 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, which is now Pittsburgh’s fourth loss in the last five games.
In many ways, this loss is a perfect microcosm of Pittsburgh’s entire 2026 season.
The offense has been a weakness for the Pirates for countless years at this point, but it hasn’t been the primary issue this season, and it wasn’t the main problem in Wednesday night’s loss.
Pittsburgh actually out-hit Milwaukee 12-10 and scored four runs. The Pirates also hit three home runs, thanks to Oneil Cruz, Brandon Lowe, and Rafael Flores Jr.
This trio of long balls even set a new single-season franchise record for Pittsburgh with 174 home runs and counting. The previous record was 171 home runs during the 1999 season.
Manager Don Kelly said after the game that the key to all of this power has been both the players who are expected to hit home runs and the others who aren’t known for pop have overachieved this season.
What has plagued the Pirates all season long is their inability to consistently put together a complete game. When the offense has been on, the pitching has struggled, and vice versa.
Jared Jones came into this start without having given up an earned run in his previous two starts (13 innings pitched). The Brewers tagged him for three earned runs and seven hits, pushing him out of the game after the fifth inning.
If the Pirates knew heading into the game they’d hit three home runs with one of their best recent starters on the mound, they would have likely felt like they’d be in a good spot.
However, Pittsburgh just couldn’t put it all together.
Looking ahead, the Pirates have one more contest against the Brewers on Thursday afternoon before their final three series of the season.
Technically, Pittsburgh hasn’t been eliminated from a playoff spot just yet. However, it must figure out a way to string together a stretch of complete games soon, or its dreams of October will come to an end.
