The Pittsburgh Pirates played an inordinate number of one-run games last season, and they went just 25-35 in those 60 games.

An optimist could point to the Pirates’ one-run record nd say if it was reversed then the Pirates would have finished the season at .500 with an 81-81 record. The cold reality, though, is the Pirates went 71-91 and finished last in the National League Central.

“We’re probably a team that’s designed to play a lot of close games, maybe not that many one-run games,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said late in the season. “To win those games, you’ve got to do mostly three things: Execute in situational at-bats, do the job in the at-bat when the opportunity is there; Execute defensively and pitch really well out of the bullpen.”

Looking at the situational at-bat component explains why the Pirates fared so poorly in one-run games.

The Pirates hit .189 and had a .588 OPS with two outs and runners in scoring position. The MLB average was .233/.708. Rookie outfielder Alexander Canario went 2 for 29 (.069) in those situations and catcher Henry Davis was 1 for 35 (.029).

In one-run or tie games, the Pirates had a .235 batting average and .664 OPS, compared to the league averages of .243/.713. Davis again was a culprit as he hit .166 (24 for 145) and outfielder Jack Suwinski wasn’t much better at.172 (12 for 72). First baseman Spencer Horwitz hit a solid .282 in those situations.

The Pirates batted .214/.606 in late-and-close situations, which refers to a situation in the seventh inning or later where the game is tied, the batting team is leading by one run, or the tying run is on base, at bat, or on deck. The MLB average was .229/.676.

Second baseman Nick Gonzales (.309) and catcher Joey Bart (.298), especially in the context of season batting averages of .260 and .249, showed they can hit in the clutch. However, most Pirates wilted when the pressure was on, including designated hitter Andrew McCutchen (.172), center fielder Oneil Cruz (.169), right fielder Bryan Reynolds (.114), infielder Jared Triolo (.106) and Davis (.077)

Was there a worst clutch hitter in the major leagues in 2025 than Henry Davis? He had plenty of company on the Pirates and it is something they need to fix in time for next season.