The Pirates closed out the Tigers and the 2026 season Sunday afternoon with a 4-2 victory in Detroit. The win gives them a final record of 82-80 and earns them their first winning season since 2018. It’s also just the 5th time the Pirates have had an above average season since 1992. Jared Jones started the finale and tossed four scoreless innings to finish the season strong while Mason Montgomery bounced back from a blown save Saturday to shut the Tigers down in the 9th Sunday for his 18th save of the season. Konnor Griffin went 2-for-4 and hit a leadoff home run for his 6th blast of the year. Jim and DiNardo broke the game down in the final NS9 Postgame Show powered by Primanti Bros. You can watch or listen here:
Here’s my 3 takeaways from this game and the 2026 season…
Mason Montgomery‘s Fabulous Second Half
Mason Montgomery was called upon in the 9th inning with the Pirates leading 4-2 and he got a groundout, struck out Riley Greene and then got revenge on Eduardo Valencia with a strikeout looking to close it out for the win and his 18th save of the season. Besides the blown save on Saturday, Montgomery was near unhittable this second half as the Pirates closer. He clearly established himself as an elite closer option in the league and knows his role heading into the 2027 season.
Montgomery didn’t notch his first save until game 2 of a doubleheader on July 11, two days before the All-Star break and he still finished with 18 saves, 17 of those all in the second half. If we have a full season next year, Montgomery is poised for a 30+ save season. His second half was incredible. He threw 31.2 innings in 32 games with just five runs allowed for a minuscule 1.42 ERA. He struck out 50 in those 31.2 innings which is downright dominant. Montgomery was even better in the final two months. He gave up two runs in a win on July 26 and then he went 25 straight games without giving up a run. He struck out 37 batters in 24.2 innings during that stretch. He allowed his first runs Saturday night at Comerica Park, three runs in a blown save, and then bounced back Sunday and picked up his 18th save.
Overall, he finishes the season with a 2.88 ERA in 68.2 innings (70 games) with 18 saves, a 6-4 record and even made five starts as an opener. And struck out batters 37.8% of the time. Mason will be 26 on Opening Day next year and he doesn’t hit free agency until 2031. There are some question marks with this team for next season, but the back end of the bullpen and closer role is not one of them.
Jared Jones Stellar in Finale and September
It’s hard not to be excited moving forward with the way Jared Jones balled out in September. He went four scoreless innings against the Tigers Sunday afternoon and allowed just one hit, no walks while striking out five batters. He finishes his first season back from UCL surgery with 101.2 innings with the Pirates plus 18.2 innings in the minors during his rebab putting him at exactly 120.1 innings which is where I figured he’d land this season. He struggled at times this season, but boy did he finish strong. He gave up just three runs in September, going 3-0 with a stellar 0.93 ERA in five starts. Jones struck out 40 in 29.0 innings in September and walked just four. He also didn’t serve up a home run in those last five outings.
On the season, he finished with a 3.72 ERA in 21 starts, a stellar 10.9 K/9 and just 2.7 BB/9. His FIP was even better at a 3.22 and an ERA+ of 118. He also was worth 2.6 WAR. As the graph above from FanGraphs shows, he’s also trending in the right direction with both ERA, FIP and K%. All good signs. The important thing is he was healthy all season and ended by dominating lineups at the end and should have put to bed the stupid argument that Jared Jones should be in the bullpen. He’s a bonafide rotation arm that should anchor the rotation with Paul Skenes and Braxton Ashcraft for 2027.
What Does an 82-80 Season Mean to You?
With the 4-2 win in game 162 over the Tigers, the Pirates finish 82-80. It’s significant because it’s the first time since 2018 (they went 82-79) they finished better than .500 and just the 5th time since 1992 that they’ve done it. In typical 2026 Pirates fashion, yes they finished above .500 after hovering around it all season, but of course it was by just one game. That’s fitting with how up and down and average this team was most of the season.
So what does 82-80 mean to you? To me Sunday’s game meant nothing because whether they hit the .500 mark or better or not, it didn’t lead to the playoffs which was the goal so it’s still a failure to me. Period full stop. But I will say it’s a step in the right direction. Sure there are teams that go from worst to first in one year, but it is rare. Usually a team especially one with a lot of young talent, sees gradual improvement before taking off into a playoff team or division winner. This stepping stone season probably should have taken place a year or two ago and then take the postseason step this season, but instead we have to look to next season as the year to make that push. I think we also knew that despite being a couple games below or above .500, Ben Cherington’s job was going to be safe either way because that’s the Pirate way with Bob Nutting at the top. Right or wrong, that’s just the way it is. So again, Sunday’s game didn’t mean anything to me but now we can say the Pirates finished above .500 and the bar is set high for next season. So what does 82-80 mean to you? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading these game takeaways all season that Neil and I put together!
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