The Pittsburgh Pirates continue a slate of NL Central opponents, traveling to Milwaukee this week for a matchup with the MLB-best Brewers at American Family Field. After taking the first two games from the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh dropped Saturday and Sunday’s home contests.
This trip to Cream City is the second of three straight series against division opponents, with the final one coming at Wrigley Field against the Cubs over the weekend.
Despite the loss of shortstop Willy Adames to the San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee hasn’t skipped a beat in 2025. They hold a five-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in all of baseball, and a six-game lead of the aforementioned Cubs in the Central.
The Brewers are playing their best baseball right now, as well. Nine straight wins, including a weekend sweep of the Mets, have confidence sky-high. The Bucs will have their work cut out for them.
Pirates: After starting the Cincinnati series just 1-for-9, first baseman Spencer Horwitz turned in multi-hit games on both Saturday and Sunday. His average has risen to a respectable .266 for the season, among the highest on the team.
Brewers: All-star catcher William Contreras was swinging a hot bat on Saturday and Sunday against the Mets, to the tune of four hits, three home runs, and five RBIs. Milwaukee needed every run they could get on Sunday, as they walked off New York 7-6.
Pirates: Pittsburgh’s bullpen has struggled at points after dealing away closer David Bednar to the New York Yankees last week. They allowed 10 earned runs over four innings of work in Sunday’s 14-8 loss. Despite the pitching staff only conceding four total runs in the other three games of the series, the Reds notched eight hits per game against the staff.
Brewers: Tuesday starter Freddy Peralta has been excellent this season, but has struggled in his last five outings against the Pirates. The two-time All-Star has allowed 14 earned runs in just 24.2 innings pitched in that span, including taking a loss on August 25 at PNC Park last season.
Pirates: Enmanuel Valdez (60-day, shoulder), RHP Justin Lawrence (60-day, elbow), LHP Tim Mayza (60-day, lat), RHP Chase Shugart (15-day, knee, will be activated Monday)
Brewers: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (15-day, tibia), RHP Logan Henderson (15-day, elbow), OF Jackson Chourio (10-day, hamstring), LHP Robert Gasser (60-day, elbow)
Notes
The Brewers leads the season series 5-2. Last series, Pittsburgh took the opener in Milwaukee on June 23 behind a 5-for-5 day from Nick Gonzales, but dropped the final two games.
Milwaukee owns the best home record in baseball at 39-20. Those 39 wins are tied for the most, alongside the Red Sox and Tigers.
On the other hand, the Pirates have the second-worst road mark in baseball, at 17-39.
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8-10-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
Heading out on the road after today’s finale against the Reds, the Pirates will look to secure a winning home-stand against recent Cincinnati acquisition, Zack Littell, who has been having a strong under-the-radar 2025 campaign.
Traded over from the Tampa Bay Rays at this season’s deadline, Littell has a combined 3.46 ERA and 1.10 WHIP between the two teams this year with 97 strikeouts to 23 walks over 140.1 innings pitched.
He made quite the debut with his new club, holding the Chicago Cubs to one run over 7 innings of work with 2 walks and a season-high 8 strikeouts – helped in large part by his reliance on his splitter.
Littell generated 8 of 16 whiffs on the day with his low-80s splitter – a pitch that has been part of his arsenal for the past few years along with a high-80s slider, low-90s 4-seamer/sinker and high-70s sweeper.
[insert pitch stats]
His splitter has been the main offering versus lefties, shifting to the slider against righties. The splitter has been one of his best weapons as his 38.4% O-Swing rate (outside of the zone) on the offering is the highest in his pitch mix with the lowest xBA in the group as well.
Littell will work up and away on the slider/sweeper against righties, upstairs with the fastballs and down under the zone with the splitter, which – when it’s on – just completely bottoms-out when it gets to the plate, making hitters look a bit foolish.
He also displays above average walk rates as his 4.1% mark ranks behind only Tarik Skubal (3.8%) and Sonny Gray (4.0%) among qualified starters but when he works in the zone and gets swings, the opponents can do some serious damage.
CHC – Matt Shaw Solo HR (7)
📏 Distance: 396 ft 💨 EV: 102.6 mph 📐 LA: 29° ⚾️ 83.6 mph splitter (CIN – RHP Zack Littell) 🏟️ Would be out in 30/30 MLB parks
Key today is to stay upright and try not to chase stuff at/under the bottom of the zone. If Littell isn’t getting chases, he won’t be nearly as effective and will force him to the top of the zone where he can be eminently more hittable.
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Following another comeback win last night, the Pirates are looking to build on the momentum as they look to secure a series win today against starter Nick Martinez, who enters with a 9-9 record on the year, 4.66 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 129.1 innings of work.
While Martinez has been successful at eating innings for the injury-riddled Reds rotation, he’s been one of the least successful qualified starters in MLB as his ERA ranks 9th highest with the 11th lowest strikeout rate (17.5%).
He has been bit by a bit of bad luck as his strand rate of 67.5% is 6th lowest in that group while his FIP of 4.19 would put him as a more middle-of-the-road starter – though, he’s bounced between rotation and bullpen before more recently solidifying his position as one of the Reds starters.
He’s also been much more effective lately, pitching 5+ innings with 2 or less runs allowed over his last 4 starts, with his team winning 8 of his last 9 appearances between starting and relief – including a game where he took a no-hitter into the 9th.
We covered Martinez ahead of his last outing against the Bucs on May 20 where Martinez posted one of his best outings this year, pitching into the 7th inning after posting 6 frames of 4-hit, 1-run ball with 2 walks, a hit batter and 3 strikeouts in the game.
Martinez doesn’t have any overpowering pitches, relying on a diverse arsenal while changing locations and speed to keep opponents off-balance and generate weak contact. His six pitches have a usage ratio of at least 10% with above-average vertical movement on both his changeup and curve.
Martinez will utilize the sinker primarily against righties while mixing in the other offerings at a lower rate but uses the 4-seam/changeup/cutter nearly equally against left-handed hitters so those are the offerings to focus on today and we covered his changeup and its effectiveness last time so let’s focus on the fastballs since they are the primary pitches to each side of the plate..
DET – Riley Greene Solo HR (14)
📏 Distance: 426 ft 💨 EV: 111.1 mph 📐 LA: 29° ⚾️ 91.4 mph four-seam fastball (CIN – RHP Nick Martinez) 🏟️ Would be out in 30/30 MLB parks
Lefties see fastballs from Martinez 57.6% of the time and are batting .250 with a .456 slugging percentage against – but even that’s deceptive as the xBA and xSLG (.306 and .519) are both significantly higher while both his .339 wOBA and .388 xwOBA are the highest for his pitch groups with 6 of his 8 home runs surrendered versus lefties coming against the heaters.
Switching sides of the plate, righties can hone in on the hanging sinker that typically runs to the outside of the plate compared to the cutter that Martinez works down and inside against opponents. But his sinker has been hit at a .292 clip with just a 12.1% whiff rate – the lowest among his main options used against right-handed hitters, making it very hittable when he doesn’t get the spin.
Look for high heat and be ready for pitches in the zone. Chance for a series win after two sub-par series losses so the Bucs need to be ready to attack and get the job done.
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Pittsburgh piled on Brady Singer in game 1 and will look to continue their offensive outburst with today’s starter – a much different type of pitcher than Singer – rookie righty, Chase Burns, who may be off his game after an abbreviated outing last weekend that was shortened by rain on the racetrack.
Burns has had an unceremonious entrance to the show, posting a 6.04 ERA and 1.48 WHIP through 7 starts with 47 strikeouts to 12 walks over 28.1 major league innings but is still only recently removed from being a highly touted pitching prospect, ranking as high as #11 on MLB Pipeline before his debut in June and peaking at #2 prior to his graduation from prospect status last month.
The Reds rookie is among the best in MLB since his debut at both generating whiffs and getting opponents to chase (no pun intended) – as well as overall generating strikeouts with the 3rd highest K rate (36.4%) since his debut for starting pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched in that time behind just Tarik Skubal (38.3%) and fellow NL Central rookie, Jacob Misiorowski (39.6%).
Don’t let his ERA fool you — Chase Burns is one of the best young pitchers in the game.
Burns features one of the hardest fastballs in MLB, averaging at 98.4 MPH and reaching triple digits at times, working in a low-90s slider that gets some ugly looking swings as it dives down to the back foot on lefties.
While Burns has taken lumps in the early going, Burns has started to turn things around more recently, notably generating 21 whiffs in his game against the Dodgers last week where he struck out 10 over 5.2 innings against the defending champions.
He will mix in an infrequent changeup in the low-90s but it’s mostly the fastball/slider combo. Lefties have been having success against his heater, batting .296 against the heater with a .382 wOBA – both the highest among any offerings from Burns.
Righties have also found success against the fastball with a .300 batting average and .315 wOBA when seeing Chase’s heater but hitters from both sides of the plate are struggling against his slider, posting a meager .213 batting average against it and whiffing at a 44.3% clip.
He is typically going to work up in the zone with the fastball and pivot to the slider to get swings-and-misses to finish off opponents. Key for the Bucs bats today will be gearing up for the high heat and laying off the breaking ball, especially as he uses the fastball 58.5% of the time.
Timing up the pitch though? Well, that’s another matter entirely.
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Heading into a divisional matchup against playoff-contending Cincinnati Reds, the Pirates will look to bounce back after back-to-back series losses as they face Brady Singer for the opening game as he enters with a solid 4.36 ERA over 22 starts with the Reds this year.
We have covered Singer extensively in the previous write-ups (see here and here) as this is the fourth time in the last 12 months that the Pirates have faced Singer (most recently on May 21), who has a 1-2 record with a 5.40 ERA and 12 strikeouts in the previous three outings.
The long-time Royals starter has had a very up-and-down first season with the Reds, alternating strong months (combined 3.44 ERA in March/April and June but 10.20 ERA over 29.1 innings in May and July) but is coming off a very strong outing against the Braves last week where he held them scoreless for 6 innings of 4-hit ball with just 1 walk and 10 strikeouts – his highest mark on the year and most in a single game since July 23, 2022.
His biggest road bumps have come on the road as, despite playing home games at Great American Ball Park, he has been much worse on the road with a .674 OPS through 67 innings at home compared to an .812 OPS over 48.2 innings on the road.
His defense behind him has improved immensely with the recent trade for Gold Glove third baseman, Ke’Bryan Hayes, but Singer has both the 4th lowest ground-ball rate (35.7%) and 4th highest line drive rate (23.5%) in the National League (per FanGraphs).
Singer works a fastball/slider combo with some deviations on the pitches (sinker/4-seam/cutter) but doesn’t vary much when facing lefties versus righties, and right-handed hitters are having the most success against Singer’s sinker as they are batting .299 against the offering with a .537 slugging – by far the best they are faring against any offering and the one he uses the most (42%) in these instances.
Left-handed hitters have overall had more success against Singer (.789 OPS compared to .664 from rightes) but the damage hasn’t come from any of his main pitches. Lefties are batting just .234 against the sinker and .244 versus Singer’s slider but have had more success against his lesser used options batting .280 against his 4-seamer while hitting .364 against both his cutter and infrequently used sweeper. But when you boil it down, he’s essentially a 2-pitch arm so either look for the heat or look for the spin and lefties have been equally capable of deciphering and attacking the fastball versus breaking ball.
On the whole, Singer doesn’t offer a ton of deception for opposing hitters. He has plus-extension but is well below-average in a multitude of critical metrics. If the bats have a chance at getting back to the form they had on the roadtrip, it’s got to happen against Singer today because the weekend matchups only get tougher from here.
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After dropping 4 of 6 since the Trade Deadline, the Pirates are slumping in the standings and looking for any semblance of production heading down the stretch. Even with playoff baseball well in the rearview window, competitive ball can still be played, and what better opponent to turn things around against than their division rival, Cincinnati Reds.
The Reds were buyers at the deadline this season, acquiring 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes from the Pirates and RHP Zack Littell from the Rays – both of whom the Bucs will see in this 4-game series.
Cincinnati enters this weekend just 3 games back in the wild card race and with a number of tough opponents on the horizon (Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers) so they will be looking to beat up on a struggling opponent but their offense has struggled with an MLB-worst team wRC+ of 41 in August.
For the Pirates, the bullpen has been really struggling as they have had to cover the 2nd most innings in MLB this month (28.2) with a 7.53 ERA over that stretch as they look to get more consistency from the starters and create better opportunities to come through in relief.
Reds: TJ Friedl – Friedl enters the weekend riding an 8 game hitting streak with multiple hits in half of those matches. He’s also posted an equal 6:6 K:BB ratio over that time as he’s been one of the better hitters on the Reds on the season with a .275/.375/.400 slash line.
Pirates: Nick Gonzales – Nicky G has been a hitting machine, tied for the 2nd most hits this month with a .944 OPS over 6 games. Since the All Star Break, Gonzales has been one of the most consistent parts of the lineup batting .306 across 77 plate appearances in that time.
Reds: Elly de la Cruz – Hopes of contending for the MVP a season after posted a 25 home run, 67 stolen base campaign may have been stymied by a sub-par second half where he is posting a .718 OPS (after a strong .854 mark in the first half) while struggling on defense as he has posted -3 Outs Above Average and -4 Defensive Runs Saved on the year.
Pirates: Oneil Cruz – From one Cruz to another, Oneil has been mired in a seriously deep slump as he has just 2 hits in his last 33 plate appearances and is hitless in his last 20 trips tp the plate. He’s been the victim of some bad luck (.067 BABIP despite a 97 MPH average exit velocity) but he’s been striking out far too much and not walking at all making for a bad combo when luck isn’t going your way.
Reds: Julian Aguiar, Ian Gibaut, Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Rhett Lowder, Wade Miley, Carson Spiers, Brandon Williamson, Tyler Callihan
Pirates: Jared Jones, Justin Lawrence, Tim Mayza, Chase Shugart, Endy Rodriguez, Enmanuel Valdez
Notes
On the season, the Reds have won 4 of 6 against the Pirates with one more series next month remaining between these two long-time rivals.
Watch for Saturday’s starter as both Thomas Harrington and Johan Oviedo were optioned too recently to be recalled without an injury and no other starting pitchers remain on the 40-man in the minor leagues. It is possible the Pirates either run a bullpen game or add an arm to the 40-man ahead of the game.
Ke’Bryan Hayes returns to PNC Park for the first time since being traded to the Cincinnati Reds at this year’s deadline. He made a big splash in his first game with the Red Legs, making a critical error and later hitting a 3-run home run but has overall been his usual self since his inter-division transition: a .579 OPS and making sparkling plays on defense
While the team wasn’t able to break-through yesterday, they will still have the chance at the series win today as they take on 2021 AL Cy Young-winner, Robbie Ray, who is having a strong comeback campaign with the Giants after missing most of the past two seasons with injury.
The 2-time All Star southpaw enters play today carrying a 9-5 record, 2.85 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with 140 strikeouts to 53 walks across 136 innings pitched. While walks have been a recurring issue for Ray as his total free passes ranks 2nd most in the National League, he makes up for it with a strong 25.4% strikeout rate and ability to prevent batted balls from becoming hits with a .244 BABIP ranking 2nd lowest in MLB behind just Nick Pivetta.
His opponent batting average on the season of .200 is the lowest mark he’s posted in a full campaign since 2017 – when his Whiff % and K% were both in the 95th percentile – compared to this season when they are in the still respectable but much less imposing 75th and 73rd percentile respectively.
As mentioned earlier, walks have been the achilles heel for Ray. From 2016 through 2020, he led all of MLB in this stat as he issued 327 free passes with the next closest being Tyler Chatwood with 288 over that span.
Ray missed most of 2023 and 2024 due to undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2023 while still with the Seattle Mariners. Ray took the down-time this past offseason to work with the 2024 AL Cy Young, Tarik Skubal, to reshape his changeup as a more effective offering – and, after a slow start to the season where he posted a 4.16 ERA over his first 4 starts, he has started to see the results in action with a 2.62 ERA over his last 116.2 innings pitched, earning his second All Star nod and the May NL Pitcher of the Month.
The veteran lefty has increased his changeup usage from 1% in 2022 to 14% this season, generating a 39.3% whiff rate on the offering – the highest mark among his arsenal of pitches.
He will primarily work off his low-90s fastball and high-80s slider – each of which have an opponent batting average under .200 as he works upstairs with the heater while running down and in against righties with the breaking ball.
Ray also adds in a low-80s curve that just bottoms out as it reaches the plate but has the highest opponent batting average against at .275 but the main thing hitters should watch for today is the fastball, which he offers nearly 50% of the time with 8 of his 16 home runs allowed coming against the pitch.
ARI – Eugenio Suárez Solo HR (27)
📏 Distance: 382 ft 💨 EV: 109.4 mph 📐 LA: 25° ⚾️ 91.3 mph four-seam fastball (SFG – LHP Robbie Ray) 🏟️ Would be out in 30/30 MLB parks
Patience will be key against the oft-wild lefty but the Bucco bats need to be ready for the center-cut fastballs up in the zone and be ready to do damage when the opportunity arises.
Work walks, target elevated heat and put the ball in play to get Robbie rocked.
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Following late-game heroics last night, the Pirates have now taken all 4 games against the Giants this season, including last week when they faced today’s starter, Logan Webb, who mowed down the Pirates in that outing, striking out 11 over 5.2 innings where he allowed 1 run off 5 hits, 4 walks and a hit batter.
Webb is able to rack up strikeouts at a solid rate but mostly is looking to put the ball on the ground with a well above-average 52.7% ground-ball rate led by his mix of pitches and reliance on locating them low in the zone with downward break. I covered his mix previously but today, we are going to examine one specific pitch that was most effective for the 28-year old veteran: his changeup.
In that outing last week, Webb leaned heavily on his changeup low in the zone comprising 42 of 109 pitches and generating 11 of his 16 whiffs off the pitch. The hit batter came against the changeup that got away from him but many of the pitches were dropping just under the strike zone and getting bad looking swings-and-misses by Pirate hitters.
Changeups in green, sinker in orange, sweeper in gold
Overall on the season, it has been an effective offering for him as he uses it as his primary pitch versus lefties while mixing the sinker/sweeper combo to keep the ball low and generate ground-balls.
His changeup is far and away his best pitch with an opponent batting average of .209 and slugging percentage of .297 – both the best among his arsenal – while his 35.9% K rate on the offering ranks third highest among pitchers with at least 150 plate appearances using the pitch.
On the other side of that, however, is the reality that when opponents do make contact on the pitch, they make sure it’s solid as his 47.8% hard hit rate against his changeup is the highest among that same qualifying pool of pitchers.
While Webb hasn’t surrendered any home runs off the pitch, the average exit velocity of 92.2 MPH (highest among his arsenal) and 0 degree launch angle suggests that the right type of hitter who can drop the barrel down with the movement of the ball could potentially be the first to ring the bell on Webb.
Nick Gonzales got on-base twice last week against Webb’s changeup – once via the HBP and once with a 106 MPH single to center, which was the hardest hit ball of the game. Given Webb’s overall success with the pitch last time around, this team needs to be prepared for him to break it out again and try to learn from their failures – as well as Nick’s successes – against the offering to find success this time around.
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The Deadline is over, the conversations about it have been passionate, angry, and others have simply decided they didn’t care anymore because hey, the team sure didn’t look like there did.
We here at Steel City Pirates will probably represent all of those emotions as we continue covering the team, but we promise one thing above all as we always have, Fairness.
Lets Go!
1. First Base Answer is Spencer Horwitz
I know, let’s get it out of the way. Some of you didn’t like this trade when it was made. Others have come around after finding out there’s a very high likelihood that the feature in that deal Luis Ortiz has been in some way gambling on the game.
It’s because this is exactly what thy brought him here to be.
He was a risk. A shot at a guy who could develop power, already had some pretty good bat to ball data. It was known he could play the position well, it was known he had a wrist issue that would potentially need dealt with at some point.
So, he started the year on the IL and with a wrist that healed, he spent very little time in MiLB on rehab before returning to MLB and his brand new team.
He wasn’t at full strength, he probably in truth isn’t even as we sit here today.
THIS is what it looks like when a team tries to acquire controllable help. It looks like this, it looks like what Bailey Falter did too. Plenty of calls for his outright release, or stashing him in the pen, only to see him step up, use the skills that were identified yet unrealized and turn himself into someone we’re actually pissed they gave away for nothing.
These types of players aren’t going to show up here looking like difference makers, but given time and opportunity, they just might show you they were at least worthy of a try.
I can’t tell you Spencer will ever hit 25 homeruns in a season, but I can tell you he’s a player. A player this team can grow with.
One thing I can say about players, especially when young and inexperienced, they are very rarely a complete outcome. They are projects. You’re looking for their ceiling, or at least as much of it as you can hope for to emerge. It’s the team’s job to help it come along, and despite what their record of successfully doing so might be, there is absolutely no way to know short of playing time.
This year won’t reveal the final answer on Horwitz, but it’ll show enough to prove he’s worthy of another.
Spencer Horwitz is your starting first baseman in 2026 even if he ultimately has to be platooned vs left handed pitching.
2. Developing Parts of a Baseball Team is Rarely Linear
It’s very hard to put together an MLB rotation. Trades, underperformance, slow development, injuries, they all rob you of the simplicity of acquire, train, deploy.
I wanted to do my best to illustrate just how much happens, and I’ve done so with a chart that shows the utter chaos from 2020-today.
It’s not even important that you read everything on this chart, it’s more about seeing all the changes and alterations over the course of 6 MLB seasons. This isn’t even everyone who’s started here, just guys this team developed and at one point considered part of the rotation.
I say this because while the Pirates just traded Bailey Falter, I’d like you to think about how many points on the plot line we’ll see as the team onboards players like Thomas Harrington, Hunter Barco or Bubba Chandler. How they work Jared Jones back in.
This stuff is never as simple as we make it. I can tell the tale of how we got here and make it seem a lot more like a cause and effect decision was made repeatedly to get here, but it won’t really get the message across the way this chaotic chart shows. So many things happen, some you can control, others you can’t, but the next iteration in 2026 will create more ups, downs and maybe even more departures.
3. What Would it Say if Peguero Shows Good?
I wonder, if Liover Peguero were to succeed with this opportunity he’s being given? I wish I could answer it, but most fans will simply think the team screwed up, they should have called him up earlier. Let me detail that a bit, here are 5 points that argue, this opportunity should have come earlier.
1. Promising 2023 Performance
In 2023, Peguero posted:
.237 AVG / .280 OBP / .374 SLG / .654 OPS
7 HR and 6 SB in 213 plate appearances
While not elite, these numbers were respectable for a young middle infielder, especially considering his age (22) and limited MLB experience. His power-speed combo and defensive versatility (SS/2B) made him a valuable developmental asset.
2. Strong Underlying Metrics
Statcast data from 2023 showed:
Hard-hit rate: 39.6%
Max exit velocity: 110.2 mph
Barrel rate: 5.2%
These metrics suggest Peguero had the raw tools to succeed at the MLB level. His bat speed and contact quality were comparable to other young infielders who were given extended opportunities.
3. Lack of Middle Infield Stability
Between 2023 and early 2025, the Pirates cycled through multiple options at SS and 2B, including:
Nick Gonzales
Ji Hwan Bae
Alika Williams
Tucapita Marcano
None of these players solidified the position, and several struggled offensively. Peguero, already on the 40-man roster and with MLB experience, was a logical candidate to receive more consistent playing time.
4. Developmental Stagnation
Despite his MLB debut in 2022 and exceeding rookie limits, Peguero was repeatedly optioned to the minors in 2024 and early 2025
This inconsistent usage likely hindered his development and confidence. A more stable role could have allowed him to adjust and improve at the major league level.
5. Age and Timeline Alignment
By mid-2025, Peguero was 24 years old—a prime age for a player to establish himself. Given his early debut and prospect pedigree, it’s reasonable to argue that the Pirates missed a window to evaluate him fully before his arbitration years began.
Conclusion
Liover Peguero had the tools, opportunity, and organizational need to justify an extended MLB look as early as mid-2023 or start of 2024. Delaying his consistent usage until mid-2025 reflects a missed opportunity in player development and roster optimization.
4. Will the Pirates Eventually Cut the Players on Expiring Contracts
The Pirates’ decision to hold onto veterans Tommy Pham, Andrew Heaney, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa at the 2025 trade deadline may have surprised some, but Paul Skenes sees value in the move. While the team parted ways with key contributors like David Bednar, Ke’Bryan Hayes, and Bailey Falter, the retention of these veterans signals a commitment to clubhouse leadership and mentorship. Skenes acknowledged the pressure to move expiring contracts but praised the front office’s “guts” in keeping them, emphasizing their importance in shaping younger players like Liover Peguero.
Skenes’ comments reflect a deeper understanding of team dynamics. He recognizes that while performance on the field matters, the presence of seasoned professionals can accelerate the development of emerging talent. Players like IKF and Pham bring a wealth of experience and professionalism that younger players can emulate. Skenes specifically cited Peguero as someone who benefits from being around veterans who “know how to work” and “how to be a big leaguer.” This mentorship is especially critical for a team trying to build a sustainable culture and identity.
The Pirates’ offense has been the worst in MLB in terms of runs scored, and Skenes believes the team’s deadline moves were aimed at clearing salary space to address that issue in the offseason. However, keeping these veterans also provides a stabilizing force during a transitional period. Their presence ensures that the final two months of the season aren’t just about evaluation—they’re about building habits, routines, and expectations. Skenes is pushing for urgency and intentionality, and these veterans help set that tone.
Given their roles and Skenes’ endorsement, the probability that Pham, Heaney, and Kiner-Falefa remain on the roster through the end of the season is relatively high. Unless a waiver trade or injury occurs, their value as mentors and stabilizers likely outweighs any marginal return they’d bring in a late-season deal. The Pirates appear to be prioritizing internal development and culture-building, and these veterans are instrumental in that process.
In short, while the Pirates didn’t make splashy acquisitions, their decision to retain key veterans aligns with Skenes’ vision for a more intentional, growth-focused organization. Their continued presence could be a quiet but meaningful step toward building the foundation for a competitive 2026 and beyond.
Let me just add this. Right now, Paul Skenes is willing to offer the benefit of doubt, but much like fans it will run out. To say this offseason better add up to something is an understatement, because frankly it hardly matters who is or isn’t making the decisions. This offseason measurably improves this team or I guarantee we stop hearing measured responses like this from guys like Skenes and instead start hearing verbal shoulder shrugs, which is the step right before wanting out.
5. Foolish and Futile to Support this Club?
While the frustration is understandable—and in many ways justified—calling fans “stupid” for continuing to support the Pirates oversimplifies the emotional and cultural role that sports play in people’s lives. Baseball, especially in a city like Pittsburgh, is more than just wins and losses. It’s a shared language, a generational bond, and a source of identity. To dismiss that as ignorance is to ignore the deeper reasons people stay connected to their team.
Yes, the Pirates’ ownership has made decisions that appear profit-driven and short-sighted. But fans don’t support Bob Nutting—they support the players, the history, and the hope that things can change. They support the idea that maybe, just maybe, the next wave of prospects will break the cycle. That’s not stupidity; that’s loyalty, and in sports, loyalty is often irrational by design.
Boycotting the team might seem like a logical protest, but it also punishes the players who are grinding every day to make it. It punishes the stadium workers, the local businesses around PNC Park, and the community that rallies around baseball as a summer tradition. Change doesn’t always come from abandonment—it can come from pressure, from visibility, from fans demanding better while still showing up.
Moreover, the Pirates have had moments of good even in the Nutting era—the 2013–2015 playoff teams, the emergence of stars like Andrew McCutchen, and now the excitement around Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. These moments matter. They’re why people keep watching, even when they know the system is flawed.
Finally, calling for media silence or fan apathy assumes that disengagement is the only form of protest. But engagement—critical, vocal, passionate engagement—can be just as powerful. Fans have a right to be angry, but they also have a right to hope. And hope, in baseball, is not wasted, rather it’s quite literally what being a fan is.
If you feel foolish, do what makes you feel good, but calling others stupid for doing something they enjoy, well, that to me is the foolish thing. I don’t watch the WNBA, but I’ve never called for it to be ignored and not covered either.
This team is going to play, they’re going to make dumb decisions, they’re going to get lucky here and there too. This will all happen with our without you.
If you’re someone like me, you’re here for the story, regardless. It’s not always going to be a happy story, but it is always going to be baseball and much like my golf game, I find a way to enjoy it even when it sucks.
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Pittsburgh snapped their 2-game skid with a win yesterday and will look to keep that momentum rolling going as they return home to host the San Francisco Giants and today’s starter, Justin Verlander.
Although they won the game when they faced Verlander last week – notching a single run off 6 hits and 1 walk across 5 innings with 7 strikeouts – they will be eager to improve on that performance after an offensive outburst out west where they scored 30 runs over the weekend series in Colorado.
I detailed in the previous piece what Verlander has been doing this year but now, let’s focus on what he specifically was doing against the Bucs and what he’s been doing on the road this year. And let’s start with how he attacked Pittsburgh last week:
He leaned heavily on a fastball-slider mix getting 5 whiffs on each of the pitches. The fastball, in particular, resulted in 3 of his 7 strikeouts with the other 4 coming off the slider/sweeper combo.
When the Pirates made contact, however, Verlander was giving up some seriously hard contact – not all of it was for hits, granted – as 5 batted balls had exit velocity of 100 MPH+ and only two of the balls in play were considered “soft contact” which were hit under 90 MPH.
His curve was working for him with a 50% whiff rate on swings while landing 5 of 11 non-swings for strikes so that could present a challenge for the Bucs but if they look for the fastball up in the zone while the slider runs glove-side on Verlander.
The other side is how different his split are on the road compared to at home. Oracle Park – where the Giants play their home games – is considered one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in MLB. Over the past three years (excluding the Athletics and Rays parks due to this season), Oracle ranks as the 2nd most power-suppressing location behind only T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
And Verlander has benefitted from it as his ERA at home is more than half a run lower than on the road (4.24 compared to 4.93) while opponents have posted 20 points higher batting average on the road (.291) versus what they produce when Verlander takes the mound first (.271). The part that makes it strange is that the impact is seen more with right-handed hitters over lefties.
Righties have, surprisingly, always done better against Verlander than lefties across his two decades in MLB but hitters from both sides of the plate should be wary of the curve but be ready to attack high heat or hanging breaking balls to ambush JV early and often.
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