5-9-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
Following a busy off day where the Pirates finally gave the heave-ho to Derek Shelton, the team returns home to face the Atlanta Braves who, after scuffling out of the gate to an 0-7 start, have refound themselves, winning 15 of their last 21 games as they have climbed their way back in the standings for the NL East.
For the Pirates, they will be trying to salvage what is quickly becoming a lost season as the Bucs have dropped 7 straight games while the offense has scored just 4 runs over their last 4 games and leads MLB in being on the wrong side of shutouts.
They also have the 4th worst batting average (.219), 2nd worst slugging percentage (.325) and 2nd least amount of runs scored (118). And, while the pitching hasn’t been a lot better – 24th in ERA for SP (4.34) and 20th for RP (4.26) – the offense has to score some more runs if the team is going to have any chance of winning games.
And changing the guy writing the lineup card isn’t going to immediately make the bats better but it’s better than nothing.
5/9
Braves: Bryce Elder 2-1, 32.0 IP, 5.06 ERA, 22 Ks/ 12 walks, 1.38 WHIP
Pirates: Bailey Falter (L) 1-3. 37.1 IP, 5.06 ERA, 28 Ks/11 walks, 1.21 WHIP
5/10
Braves: AJ Smith-Shawver 2-2, 27 IP, 3.00 ERA, 27 Ks/13 walks, 1.37 WHIP
Pirates: Andrew Heaney (L) 2-3, 39.2 IP, 3.18 ERA, 34 Ks/13 walks, 1.11 WHIP
5/11
Braves: Chris Sale 1-3, 42 IP, 4.07 ERA, 56 Ks/11 walks, 1.36 WHIP
Pirates: Carmen Mlodzinski 1-3, 30.2 IP, 6.16 ERA, 24 Ks/10 walks, 1.66 WHIP
Braves: Austin Riley – Riley started a bit slow out of the gate but, dating back to April 4th, he’s been among the best hitters in baseball, slashing .328/.369/.541 and driving in 24 runs in that stretch.
Pirates: Ke’Bryan Hayes – He might not be hitting for much power but at least Ke is hitting, reaching base in 15 of his last 17 contests and batting .300 over that span. Given that he is still playing elite defense at the hot corner – and that much of the rest of the team has been extremely deficient offensively – you’ll take that level of output from Young Hayes.
Braves: Sean Murphy – Murphy has been very hot and cold during his time with the Braves, posting an .844 OPS over 108 games in 2023 before collapsing to a .636 mark over 72 games played last year. He has dealt with some injuries that have hampered him a bit but has really struggled lately with just 3 hits this month (all singles) as he has worked to find more consistency at the dish.
Pirates: Joey Bart – I didn’t plan to have both team’s third basemen in one category and both of their catchers in the other but here we are. Bart has been penciled into the middle of this Pirates lineup more often than not and, while he was performing early on in the season, he has struggled this month as he has just 2 hits over his 23 May plate appearances. He is still reaching base via walk and has maintained a strong on-base percentage but he either needs to start getting bat to ball or get moved to a new spot in the lineup.
Braves: Nacho Alvarez, Ronald Acuna Jr, Reynaldo Lopez, Spencer Strider, Joe Jimenez
Pirates: Spencer Horwitz, Nick Gonzales, Jared Jones, Endy Rodriguez, Tim Mayza, Johan Oviedo, Dauri Moreta, Justin Lawrence, Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Notes
While the Pirates are currently mired in a 7-game losing streak, there is a risk that they are swept this weekend and become the first team in modern MLB history to have three consecutive seasons with losing streaks of 10+ games.
Andrew McCutchen is just 2 home runs behind Roberto Clemente on the Pirates franchise home run list. 48 of his 322 total home runs hit have come against the Braves and he likely would want to reach that milestone at home if possible.
Steel City Pirates 