Nine observations: The Pirates' power surge in 2026 is real and impactful

HOUSTON — When the Pirates found themselves trailing by two runs just two pitches into Tuesday’s game, there was no panic. But there was eventually liftoff.

For anyone who's been following this club and its revamped offense, the 180-degree turn the Pirates have pulled off has really been something, transforming the worst offense in baseball to one of its best.

Pittsburgh leaned on that attack — specifically an impressive run of homers — to open its series in Houston with a 10-6 victory over the Astros at Daikin Park, hitting three home runs to continue an impressive trend.

The Pirates have now homered in nine straight games, their longest such streak since also homering in nine consecutive contests Sept. 16-26, 2023. During that time, they’ve hit 19 homers, second-most in MLB.

“It’s how it should be,” said Endy Rodriguez, one of three Pirates who went deep against Houston. “We have to hit more.”

Those homers, and the revamped offense, frame several of my nine observations from this one.

1. The two-run lead didn’t last long because Rodriguez went deep in the bottom of the second inning.

Rodriguez, who caught Astros starter Mike Burrows plenty in the Minor Leagues, got a heater up and cranked it 383 feet to right-center for his first homer in nearly three years.

Missing a bunch of time due to various elbow injuries, the last time Rodriguez homered was Sept. 22, 2023.

Since the Pirates recalled him on May 12, Rodriguez had a .486 on-base percentage in 10 games prior to Tuesday, walking 11 times during that stretch. On Tuesday, Rodriguez added a double and a walk, totaling three RBIs.

If Rodriguez can combine his ability to get on base with that sort of power, the Pirates will face a tough decision whenever Joey Bart returns from a left foot infection in a few weeks.

“Endy’s a really good baseball player,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “With him being hurt the last couple years, it’s been tough for him.

"He’s extremely athletic, really good behind the plate. Has really good at-bats. I think we saw the speed today on the bases, too. He’s able to bring a different element there as well.”

2. While that was an important counterpunch, it wasn’t as big as Oneil Cruz’s three-run blast in a four-run sixth that put the Pirates (33-28, winners of four straight) in front for good.

Cruz's 14th of the season flipped the game from 4-2 to 5-4 when he got a 2-2 slider down and in. Cruz crushed it 419 feet at 111.2 mph to homer for the third time in four games, the fourth in his past nine.

3. The last homer belonged to Lowe, who added what became needed insurance with a three-run shot in the eighth. It was his 15th of the season, which is already the most for a Pirates second baseman since Neil Walker’s 16 in 2015.

Lowe leads all MLB second baseman this season in home runs, RBIs (40), OPS (.878) and a few other offensive categories.

Ironically it came in a game where the Pirates faced the pitcher he was traded for in Burrows. This was also the 800th career game for Lowe.

“Another big game with our guys in here,” he said. “Pretty fun offense to be a part of.”

4. The Pirates right now have 71 home runs. They hit 117 last year. Which means they’re on pace to eclipse that total shortly after the All-Star break, in their 101st game of the season. That’s crazy.

5. It wasn’t just the home runs, either.

Pittsburgh stole four bases and has 11 steals over its past four. The 61 bags the Pirates have swiped on the season rank third in MLB. This has quietly become a huge facet of their game, pushing the pace but also doing it smartly.

(The Pirates have the best success rate in MLB as well at 88.4%.)

“I thought we were able to put pressure on the defense through the way we ran the bases,” Kelly said. “Then to put it all together with the home runs, I thought offensively we had a really great game.”

6. Jake Mangum has found something.

He enjoyed his second career four-hit game, stole two bases and scored a run. Over his past 10 games, Mangum is hitting .394 with six RBIs and five steals. With eight hits in his past three, Mangum has raised his average from .247 on Friday to .296.

“It’s about time I start playing better,” Mangum said. “It’s a long year. I was really happy with the rookie year I put together last year. I’m a better baseball player than I was a year ago. Just continuing to compete and have quality at-bats.”

7. Mangum said a big issue with his slow start was acclimating to his role: often a late-inning defensive replacement, maybe with one at-bat. He put too much pressure on himself and beat himself up if he didn’t get the job done.

“It’s a learning curve,” Mangum said. “Big credit to the coaching staff. They’ve all helped me a lot. They’ve done a great job helping me prepare better, understand things better. I just have to keep going. It’s a long year.”

8. I liked how Bubba Chandler responded to the 2-0 deficit. He got the next three outs to get out of the first and stranded a leadoff walk in the second.

He did just enough to give the Pirates five innings of competitive baseball (four runs, three earned) and quieted things down in the middle innings before Wilber Dotel took over.

Chandler’s biggest issue remains consistent command, but the misses were better against the Astros. Even the pitch Yordan Alvarez hit for a two-run homer in the first wasn’t terrible.

“It could have been completely different,” Kelly said. “If Bubba gets out of his rhythm and starts to press in that moment, could have been completely different. He didn’t. He stayed with it. Continued to attack the strike zone and got through five innings.”

9. The big Pirates pitching story Tuesday was Dotel, who delivered three shutout innings — again. That’s three straight scoreless relief appearances for at least three innings for Dotel. The last time a Pirates pitcher did that was Dámaso Marte in 2001.

Dotel threw 41 pitches, 25 strikes and generated six whiffs, at times flashing a downright nasty slider. The one he got Cam Smith on to end the eighth was especially filthy.

Dotel dropped his ERA to 1.08 ERA in 16 2/3 innings and continues to show that he’s an extremely valuable weapon for the Pirates.

“He’s pitching right now,” Rodriguez said. “He has a good presence on the mound. He’s doing his thing.”

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.