Pirates Are Bringing a New Confidence in 2026
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates aren't a franchise known for winning or having high hopes, but the 2026 season could change that.
The Pirates are 10-6 after their first 16 games, sitting in first place of the National League Central Division and tied for second place in MLB with 10 wins so far. It has also been nine wins in the past 12 games and three series wins in the past four too.
Pittsburgh further showed their dominance in a 16-5 blowout of the Washington Nationals at PNC Park in the series opener on April 13, which included a 10-run sixth inning and great hitting throughout.
First baseman Spencer Horwitz, who hit his first home run of the season in the win, noted that the biggest difference from his first season with the Pirates in 2025 and now in 2026 is that there is true belief from the players in each other and their ability to go out and get the job done.
"Confidence. Confidence and we have a great group of guys," Horwitz said. "The guys in here, they care about winning. They love baseball and it's just fun to show up to the field every day. We were laughing today in the cages about just how good this group is."
Bouncing Back After a Tough Loss
A win like this is even more impressive after the Pirates blew a great chance to sweep their divisional rival in the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field a day prior.
The Pirates led 5-0 and 6-2, before falling 7-6 on a walk-off, thanks to some poor pitching from the bullpen and missed opportunities at the plate.
One player that wasn't responsible for the loss at all was second baseman Brandon Lowe, who hit a grand slam and a solo home run in the defeat.
Lowe kept up his performance against the Nationals with a single that scored two runs and a three-run home run in the big win, making him the first Pirates player to have back-to-back five-RBI showings, since it became an official stat in 1920.
The 31-year old had success with the Tampa Bay Rays for eight seasons before joining the Pirates via trade this past winter and has noticed his teammates move on from difficult moments quickly and get right back at it the next day, which they did vs. the Nationals.
"Yeah, absolutely," Lowe said. "When you look at it, losing a game, you get walked off in Chicago. But I think that’s one of the best things that we have in this clubhouse. We have a lot of guys who can take that step back and understand that we lost yesterday but it was still a positive. We won the series. Don’t let it drag you. I bet you nobody even thought about that game today. Show up, take care of business today. You see what happens when you go out there and have good at-bats."
Paul Skenes Showing Faith In His Team
Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes has already won the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards and is now ready to finally have some team success going forward.
Skenes had a great night himself against the Nationals, throwing six innings and giving up just a solo home run, while posting six strikeouts.
He has also has great confidence in this Pirates team to bounce back as they did vs. the Nationals and that they are moving in the right direction as they season keeps going, which should bring them great benefits towards the end.
"We're a tough group," Skenes said. "Gritty. Play the game the right way. Go about everything the right way. Over the course of, you see it one game to the next. That stuff adds on, kind of stacking on top of each other and over the course of 162 games it's going to be, you keep stacking like that who knows where we're going to go?
"That's kind of, we've seen it now, or I've seen it now for a couple years with the Brewers, the Cubs, the Reds last year made the playoffs. that's what NL Central teams do really well and so now we're doing that. It's really fun to watch."
Perhaps the 16 runs the Pirates scored give Skenes some confidence as well, but this isn't the first time his hitters have come through for him this season.
The Pirates have scored 38 runs over Skenes four starts this season, almost 10 runs per start. They only scored seven runs or more in four of his 32 starts in 2025, which is why he ended up with a 10-10 record even with the Cy Young win.
Skenes saw the showing the offense had against the Nationals and that the entire team is coming through in different ways, whether it's home runs, walks, singles, just to do anything they can to score and win games.
"When we've been right, when we've had success, it's the same as every other good offense," Skenes said. Just passing it on to the next guy. We hit a couple home runs today but that's not like the only way that we scored.
"Then you look at the game yesterday, when B Lowe hits that grand slam, I want to say it was a couple walks to load the bases, just kind of passing it off to the next guy and trusting the next guy is going to get the job done. And we've done a really good job with that. That will continue.
"We have a very balanced lineup and everybody puts a good at bat together so it's been fun to watch. I still don't feel like we're playing our best baseball yet. And not that it's been bad, but I think there's kind of more in the tank and so it's going to be really fun."
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.