The Pirates are completing their marathon towards pure mid, as they salvage a game from their series against the Brewers Thursday afternoon. The team is determined to finish at .500 by hook or by crook, and ensured that hope is still alive today after winning 7-4. The team finally managed to hit off of Kyle Harrison, who delivered batting practice to the team after destroying them in his first 2 starts against the Bucs. The Pirates are now 76-77, and are still technically alive in the playoff race even if it’s by the thinnest of margins. Watch Cody and Doug break the game down in further detail here:

Somehow, We Won the Season Series

Today’s clinched the Pirates’ season series over the Brewers for 2026. I wish I could be more celebratory about this, because this is such a rare occurrence. For years, Miller Park (no, I am not using their new stadium name) has been a house of horror for the Pirates. Instead, this team swept the Brewers twice this season and probably played some of their best baseball against the NL Central winners. Today felt like one of those series in July where the Bucs went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in baseball and gave the city a belief they could make the playoffs. If they approached every team this season like they have Milwaukee, we wouldn’t be under .500 right now. Despite all of this, we had to watch the Brewers celebrate postseason baseball on the field while we go home with no playoffs in a full decade. Even when we win, the Pirates make it bleak.

This Team Will Not Overcome the Brandon Lowe Sized Hole

Brandon Lowe has been one of the few consistently excellent Pirates in the 2026 season. While we have experienced lots of lows and highs from players, Lowe has been steady even as a streaky player himself. Even in his cold steaks, he provided meaningful offense and power where the Pirates have lacked for years. Today he reached base twice, got an extra base hit, knocked in a run, and raised his season OPS to .818 on the year. The ship has sailed to bring him back, as he will arguably be the most sought after free agent on the market in the offseason. Nick Gonzales has been a productive player, and Murf Gray has shown some promising power. However, we are fooling ourselves if we think we will get close to 30+ home runs with elite defense in 2027 without bringing him back. It hurts to think about how badly we wasted one of the best 2nd base years in the history of this franchise. Lowe deserves Buctober more than anyone else on this roster.

These Last 2 Series Defined the Season

The Pirates had some good momentum going into their series with the Chicago Cubs. The playoffs were a long shot, but they had been winning every series and just came off a sweep of the White Sox. The vibes were reportedly high in the clubhouse, and there was a belief the team could still come back into the fold. Then the Bucs went out and won 2 of 6 against the Cubs and Brewers, and the dream officially died. It perfectly sums up the 2026 Pirates, a team that would take 1 or 2 steps forward and then immediately take 5 steps back towards a mediocre .500 baseball team. They were not a mentally weak team and had fought hard the entire year. The leaders in the clubhouse, by all accounts, have done a great job keeping the team going into the dog days of the season. However, the team remains allergic to long periods of winning baseball. The chickens finally came home to roost after his past week’s worth of games. In the end, it was a waste of everyone’s time.