The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t started the season on the right foot.
The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t gotten off to the greatest start this season, which could be a sign of what’s to come during the rest of the year.
The Athletic conducted its weekly power rankings, where the Pirates clocked in at No. 25 in the comprehensive list from Tim Britton, Johnny Flores Jr. and Andy McCullough.
Most encouraging sign: The starting pitching was strong
Here are the lines for Pittsburgh’s starters through the first four games:
Paul Skenes: 5 1/3 IP | 2 ER | 2 BB | 7 K
Mitch Keller: 6 IP | 1 ER | 1 BB | 4 K
Bailey Falter: 6 IP | 2 ER | 4 K
Andrew Heaney: 5 IP | 1 ER | 1 BB | 1 K
Here’s the Pirates’ record through four games: 1-3, with three losses all on walk-offs. Consider that Jared Jones is on the IL and Bubba Chandler is in Indianapolis, meaning there is room for this rotation to be even stronger. Starting pitching is half the battle, and provided the lineup can string together just enough hits, this team could end up winning a lot more games than originally anticipated. — Flores
The Pirates were tied with the Washington Nationals at No. 25, while the Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox ranked below them.
The Pirates will have a chance to get a higher ranking with today’s series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays and the team’s home-opening series against the New York Yankees from Friday to Sunday.