The Pirates broke their four-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 7-0 drubbing of the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. After 6 tries, the Pirates finally managed to win their first game of the season against their division rival. Pittsburgh also ensures they do not fall below .500 and improve to 25-24 on the season. The Bucs were powered by an elite 5th-inning outing from Carmen Mlodzinski and a 15-hit game from the offense that kept pressuring the Cardinals arms all game long. Tyler and I recapped this game on the NS9 Postgame Show powered by Primanti’s Bros which you can watch/listen to here:

Here are my three takeaways from the big win.

Give Mlod the Rotation or he Retires

Carmen Mlodzinski made headlines last year when he revealed that he was willing to hang up the cleats if the Pirates didn’t give him a chance to be a starting pitcher. The 2025 experiment was largely unsuccessful, but with an injured Jared Jones, he was given another shot to establish himself as a Major League starter. With Jones on the cusp of being ready to return to the majors, Mlodzinski has been good enough that the Pirates have to ask real questions about moving him out of the rotation. Carmen pitched a spectacular 5 innings, as they were 5 shut out and relatively stress-free. Surprisingly, he only struck out one batter, but he averaged 1 runner on base per inning, and he is rocking a respectable 3.96 ERA on the year. For a guy who was projected as a 5th starter, that is something you take even if he is never the most efficient starter we have ever seen. As long as Bubba Chandler continues to struggle, Mlod has a serious chance to remain the 5th starter and he has earned it.

Nick Gonzales May be Sustainable

As things sit on May 20th, Nick Gonzales still has a batting average of over .300. I was absolutely convinced this would have shrunk back into the 200s by now, and yet he continues to mash the baseball. He came through Wednesday night with 2 hits and a sac fly to give the Pirates a major boost in a close game. Gonzales won’t hit baseballs incredibly hard, but he has shown development this year in cutting down on strikeouts. With a team that strikes out a ton like the 2026 Pirates, someone who will reliably put the ball in play in all parts of the field is badly needed. He helped the Pirates build an early lead in this game when they couldn’t score with RISP by simply getting a sac fly. These are the small margins the Pirates haven’t been converting in this losing streak. Who would’ve guessed before the season Gonzales would be batting leadoff and no one would be complaining about it?

Jhostynxon Garcia Showing He Belongs

The Password really struggled in AAA to start the season before coming back from injury and hitting 3 homers in one game for Indianapolis. He went 2-for-5 in this win and manned center field quite well. The biggest compliment I can give him is that he is very competitive with his at-bats, similar to Konnor Griffin when he was called up to the big leagues. With the power Garcia possesses, the ability to play all three outfield positions, and a lack of production from Jake Mangum, the Password should have the talent and the ceiling to stay on the Major League roster when Ryan O’Hearn is finally healthy. It will be a big month for him, as O’Hearn is out for a while and will be given ample time to prove that these good beginnings aren’t just a fluke.