'Really good foundation': Pirates enter offseason with optimism, first winning season since 2018

DETROIT — It’s not baseball in October. But the Pirates did achieve one of their secondary goals by securing their first winning season in eight years with a 4-2 victory over the Tigers on Sunday at Comerica Park.

Jared Jones delivered four strong innings, Konnor Griffin homered, and Mason Montgomery bounced back from Saturday's blown save with another shutdown performance, allowing the Pirates to end their season on a winning note.

The victory helped the Pirates (82-80) produce their first winning season since they went 82-79 in 2018. They were 15-9 in September, which represents their best month of the season.

It's an interesting duality as the Pirates finished strong: There's disappointment because the ultimate goal wasn't met ... but also plenty of optimism for the future.

"We've got good bones as a team," Jones said.

"We knew we could set the tone for Spring Training by being over .500," Griffin added.

"There's a really good foundation," Pirates manager Don Kelly said.

If you look beyond September, the Pirates closed the year by winning 24 of their final 40 games. That's since Aug. 13 at Miami — Braxton Ashcraft’s complete game, the day after Kelly ripped the team and began emphasizing more of a 1-0 mindset every day.

It was an important evolution of Kelly as a manager, as well as the Pirates realizing how they have to play to win more consistently.

Of course, it also didn't hurt that they got to full strength in September, with the returns of Griffin, Cruz and Ryan O'Hearn. That's another reason this group feels optimistic about 2027.

They'll all be back. And Pirates players made no secret about wanting Brandon Lowe back, too.

"Obviously we want Brandon Lowe in this clubhouse back with us next year," Jones said. "If we can get that done in the offseason, that’s one hell of an offseason already.

"Like I said earlier this year, we fought through injuries. It happened to be some of our best players. That’s when times got rough. We keep all of us on the field, I truly do think we win 90-95 games next year."

Pittsburgh tied Milwaukee for the best interleague record in MLB (32-16, .667). Those 32 wins are the most for any team since MLB expanded its interleague play prior to the 2023 season.

The outing for Jones closed a spectacular September, where the 25-year-old had a 0.93 ERA in five starts totaling 29 innings. Jones walked four and struck out 40 during that stretch, a positive end to a season that started with his recovery from internal brace surgery.

Jones’ September ERA tied for the third-lowest September ERA by a Pirates pitcher since 1898 (minimum: five starts). It’s the best since Paul Skenes had a 0.75 ERA in September 2024.

Using a minimum of 20 innings, Jones’ .163 opponents’ slugging percentage was the lowest by a Pirate in September since Goose Gossage’s .109 in 1977.

"Not only did I pitch well to end the season, I didn’t have a single bump in the road," Jones said. "It’s something I’m super grateful for. The guys taking care of me did one hell of a job."

Against the Tigers, Jones racked up 10 whiffs on just 55 pitches, including five on his slider. Jones’ velocity maintained and even ticked up a hair.

On Sunday, he allowed just one hard-hit ball (exit velocity of 95 mph or greater), threw first-pitch strikes to seven of 13, and the Tigers amassed just one hit off him: Kevin McGonigle’s single in the fourth inning.

Overall, Jones finished the year with a 3.72 ERA, striking out 123 in 101 2/3 innings.

"Kind of just becoming a true pitcher, mixing in a the curveball and changeup a lot more this year," Jones said when asked what he learned about himself. "Then staying true to my bread and butter whenever stuff gets tough. Just becoming more of an overall pitcher."

It didn’t take long for the Pirates to procure the lead in this one — just two pitches. Griffin, who hadn’t homered since June 26, lined a 1-0 four-seamer on the inside part of the plate over the fence in left-center for his sixth of the season.

The homer continued a recent strong stretch for Griffin, who began the game hitting .300 (18 for 60) with four doubles and two triples over his past 14 games since Sept. 11 in Chicago.

Griffin's season was twice disrupted by injury. But there's little doubt he's an elite player at this level, with 98th-percentile speed, a .272 average, .728 OPS and plenty more power to bring out.

"Going on the IL twice wasn't easy," Griffin said. "I wanted to come back and finish strong, finish the right way, be a part of the fight, and just I'm proud of the way I was able to get out of the hole I was in with the injuries and be able to come back and and just keep getting as comfortable as I could.

"I feel like I ended in a good spot. I'm hungry for more. I know I got a lot more that I can show and bring to this team, and I'm pumped to keep exploring and figuring out what type of player I'm going to be."

Jake Mangum helped the Pirates double their lead in the next inning, lining a full-count slider into left for an RBI single, before Billy Cook made it a 3-0 game in the fourth.

Cook’s last hit came July 19 in Cleveland. But he smacked a hanging curveball to left for a double that scored Nick Gonzales. Speaking of Gonzales, he enjoyed his 55th two-hit game of the season, which represents most by a Pirate since Andrew McCutchen’s 60 in 2013.

Griffin followed Cook with his second RBI, this one a single that he lined to left on a first-pitch fastball located down and away.

The Tigers sliced the Pirates' lead in half in the seventh inning thanks to a pair of solo home runs. McGonigle connected on a fastball Antwone Kelly left over the middle of the plate.

Then catcher Eduardo Valencia, who hit the walkoff homer Saturday, crushed a changeup down 443 feet to left-center for a mammoth blast.

Montgomery entered in the ninth and struck out Valencia looking to end the season, a solid rebound from someone who undoubtedly established himself as an elite reliever.

"We went through some challenging periods this year and learned from it," Kelly said. "I’m excited for — myself included — the team to go through that stuff, to learn. Excited to get back to Spring Training and continue to build."

Around the horn

• Bryan Reynolds became just the seventh Pirate (10th) time in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to play in all of the team’s games in a season and the first since Jason Bay in 2005.

• Kelly followed Jones and worked 2 1/3 innings, giving up the two home runs. Lake Bachar followed him and struck out four over 1 2/3 scoreless frames.

• The Pirates used 53 players in 2026, their fewest in a full season since 2018 (48 players).

• Pittsburgh won its last game of a season for the first time
since 2023.

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