PITTSBURGH -- No team has performed worse against left-handed starters this season than the Pirates. Luckily for Pittsburgh, Wednesday marked what appears to be the final matchup versus a lefty starter in 2026.
Southpaw Matthew Liberatore delivered one final nail in the coffin for the Pirates as they lost 5-1 to the Cardinals, ending a five-game winning streak. Pittsburgh tallied just six hits and one run off Liberatore in 5 2/3 innings.
With four right-handed opponents across the final four games, Pittsburgh concluded the campaign batting .229 with 3.82 runs per game and an 18-33 record when facing lefty starters.
“We've got to [improve],” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “It has been an Achilles' heel against lefties.”
The Bucs’ on-base percentage (.300) and slugging percentage (.359) against lefties both rank last, along with batting average and runs per game. Their K% vs. southpaws is also second worst in MLB at 25.6%.
Still, Pittsburgh’s offense took a step forward this season, setting a franchise record for single-season home runs (182), and ranking top five in the Majors in hits (1,374, 2nd), runs (751, T-5) and on-base percentage (.330, 4th).
Pittsburgh improved its offense in the offseason, adding left-handed bats Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn. Both have carried the offense to new heights, with O’Hearn reaching a career-high 18 home runs and Lowe performing as the best offensive second baseman in the sport, with 34 home runs and 94 RBIs.
The team’s struggles against lefties haven’t evaded Lowe, though, as he’s batting .220 with a .632 OPS compared to a .279 average and .908 OPS against righties. On Wednesday, Lowe put his troubles to the side and took Liberatore deep in the second inning to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
That was all Pittsburgh mustered against Liberatore on Wednesday.
Just a few weeks earlier on Aug. 30, the Pirates tallied four runs against the 26-year-old Liberatore with home runs by Esmerlyn Valdez and Jared Triolo. But Valdez is out for the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury.
“Against Liberatore especially, I thought he threw the ball pretty well tonight. We've had good at-bats and some success against him in the past,” Kelly said. “But overall against lefties, we have to find a way to get better. When we've been good against them, I feel like here in this latter part of the second half, we've been better. Tonight, we just weren't able to capitalize on it.”
Oneil Cruz is batting .323 against lefties after just a .102 batting average a year ago, a needed improvement that other Pirates players hope to carry into 2027. Cruz was out of the lineup against the Cardinals on Wednesday.
Cruz and Konnor Griffin, who has a .313 average in 80 at-bats against lefties, can hopefully solve these issues moving forward. The duo missed much of the summer with 60-day stints on the injured list.
St. Louis will throw a righty in Kyle Leahy for the series finale on Thursday. Pittsburgh will then face Detroit, which will start three right-handers in Jackson Jobe, Justin Verlander and River Ryan to end the season.