DETROIT — The Pirates will now have to wait until the final game of the season to potentially secure their first winning season since 2018 after Tigers designated hitter Eduardo Valencia hit a walkoff, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. It produced a 4-3 victory for the Tigers

DETROIT — Pirates general manager Ben Cherington held his final media scrum of the 2026 season Saturday at Comerica Park. The 23-minute session touched on a variety of topics, from what went right and wrong over the past 160 games, to the job status of Cherington and manager Don Kelly,

DETROIT — Myriad ingredients have contributed to the Pirates' strong September. Their bullpen has been among baseball's best. The offense has benefitted from having Konnor Griffin, Oneil Cruz and Ryan O'Hearn together again. Jared Jones, Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler have mostly handled their business on start days. The Pirates

DETROIT — Doc Emrick is most famous for his work as a Hall of Fame hockey broadcaster, but he’s always been a baseball fan at heart, especially when it comes to his beloved Pirates. In fact, Emrick can pinpoint the exact day his Pirates fandom was solidified, which would surprise

DETROIT — As his teammates packed boxes and prepped for the home finale Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals, Braxton Ashcraft leaned back in his chair and scanned Justin Verlander’s Baseball Reference page. The numbers Ashcraft read aloud: 21 seasons, 556 starts, 3,571 1/3 innings, 3,554 strikeouts and 266 wins.

Paul Skenes ended on a high note. So did the Pirates, who might’ve lost this kind of game earlier in the season. Regardless, the Pirates guaranteed they’d finish at least .500 and clinched third place in the NL Central with a 2-1 victory over the Cardinals in front of 15,822

The Pirates have made this September interesting by playing a better brand of baseball, passing the baton on offense, enjoying strong pitching performances and generating some level of optimism for 2027. Wednesday was an exception. Relying on another bullpen game, the Pirates couldn’t get anything going against a left-handed starter

Ryan O’Hearn doesn’t live in a hypothetical world. But he's definitely one of the Pirates' leaders and has been part of the ongoing discussions centered around remaining goals in 2026. Things like building momentum toward next season, proving there’s a strong foundation when everyone is healthy and, yes, finishing over

Ben Cherington believes the Pirates made important progress in 2026. But he also knows more will be required for a postseason return. Speaking Sunday on the Pirates Insider Show on 93.7 The Fan, Cherington discussed feeling encouraged by some of what he's seen this season ... but also Pittsburgh missing

When Brandon Lowe got his first look at the Pirates’ celebratory welder’s hood during Spring Training, one of his initial thoughts was that it looked well used, like it “had been through the test of it.” Along with his teammates, Lowe has ensured the hood — which belonged to a

With his team beginning a series with the Kansas City Royals on Friday, manager Don Kelly was aware of the Pirates’ precarious playoff position. Yet there was no need to emphasize the goals for that day. Those have been established. “Going out there every night, it’s still the same mindset

As Khristian Curtis stood on the Wrigley Field mound last Friday, there was little he could do to stop the game from spinning. The rookie right-hander was sped up in his delivery and thought process, the Cubs tagging Curtis for six earned runs over three innings as a result. Fast-forward

When Rafael Flores Jr. made his MLB debut exactly a year ago Thursday, things were certainly different. It was a cup of coffee, first off. Just 17 plate appearances. But Flores was also a bit of a mystery, acquired in the David Bednar trade but also a Yankees farmhand who

The setting could not have been any better. As Paul Skenes and Konnor Griffin chatted with members of the Clemente family on Tuesday morning, they stood next to the statue of the Great One, steps from the Roberto Clemente Bridge. It’s getting harder and harder to top Clemente Day, an

As Denny Heindl and Stephen Wong walked around Legacy Hall on Monday night, they couldn’t help but get lost in the “visual feast” that exists for Pirates fans — incredible baseball artifacts everywhere. But more so than Willie Stargell’s bat, Roberto Clemente’s jacket or Chuck Tanner’s hand-written notes, Heindl and

CHICAGO — There are plenty of words to describe Brandon Lowe. Professional, productive and calm are a few of the first ones that come to mind. But Bubba Chandler went a different direction after Sunday’s 4-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, essentially saying the Pirates second baseman is

CHICAGO — As Ryan O’Hearn pushed himself slowly on a pair of crutches to the visitors’ clubhouse at Great American Ball Park back on Aug. 1, hours after suffering a gruesome quad injury, his face lit up when discussing the prospect of what was then an eight-week return. If O’Hearn

CHICAGO — Billy Cook has seen cone earrings, peddled an orange ice cream cone and even spotted a balloon animal depicting the Pirates’ unique rallying cry this season at a recent fan event. On Thursday at Rate Field, Cook and his teammates enjoyed more evidence of the cone's reach when

CHICAGO — Oneil Cruz unfurled his long, powerful limbs and stared. He knew it was gone. Everyone knew it was gone. A Statcast recalculation would cost Cruz 34 feet in home run distance, but let’s be honest: There’s usually plenty to spare. The Cruz missile traveling toward center field in

CHICAGO — Another successful bullpen game. Two clutch double plays. Rookies supplying the offense. Tempers flaring and benches emptying. The Pirates' 4-2 victory over the White Sox on Wednesday at Rate Field had a little bit of everything. But more important than any of that other stuff, it delivered another

CHICAGO — While there’s been much discussed regarding Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, Jared Jones and Bubba Chandler, TBA doesn’t get nearly enough attention. To be announced, of course. It’s what the Pirates will sometimes use as a placeholder until the prior game is completed, allowing them to determine who’s available

CHICAGO — As the Pirates grinded through three one-run outputs over the weekend, they remained confident that a breakout was near. If they stuck to their approach, if they didn’t try to do too much, if they took what was given, their offense would rediscover its previous form. The timing

They’re separated by thousands of miles. They also feature climates on extreme ends of the weather spectrum. So, why in the world is Jared Jones, a Southern California kid who grew up going to Dodgers games, an ardent Buffalo Bills fan? Easy: fantasy football. Six years ago, Jones tried it

At the beginning of this homestand, Don Kelly implored his team to focus on going 1-0 every day. The Pirates ended it with a literal interpretation of their manager's words. They notched another 1-0 win over the Angels on Sunday, the second in three games to secure a series win

The hope was for the Pirates to head to Chicago next week at .500, which would’ve required a sweep of the Los Angeles Angels at PNC Park this weekend. Those plans were complicated on Saturday thanks to a 6-1 loss, one that featured more struggles against a left-handed starter and