Pirates Have Unusual Advantage In 2026 Season

Somehow, the Pittsburgh Pirates lucked out with the fewest miles traveled for their upcoming season.

While 26,839 miles is still a lot, that's the least of any team in the majors. Coincidentally, the teams in second and third are also from the NL Central.

To put it into perspective, the Seattle Mariners will be traveling 50,308 miles this season. That's 23,469 more miles than Pittsburgh, which is quite significant, to say the least.

No one knows if this is truly an advantage or not, but the less travel the better. Seeing the Pirates top this list once again gets fans' hopes up for the 2026 season, one where they finally could end their playoff drought.

Pirates Set To Travel Only 26,839 Miles

Teams that will travel the most and least next season (via Baseball Savant):

MOST:
Mariners - 50,308 miles
A’s - 48,225 miles
Giants - 46,764 miles

LEAST:
Pirates - 26,839 miles
Cardinals - 27,189 miles
Cubs - 28,480 miles pic.twitter.com/ErplguDEjh
— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) January 12, 2026

While their travel schedule works in their favor, Pirates fans haven't forgotten about their opening day series at Citi Field. They'll play a trio of games in New York before immediately traveling to Cincinnati.

The Pirates' first home game isn't until April 3 when they welcome the Baltimore Orioles. After six on the road, they'll play six at home before making the short trip to Chicago.

Looking at the Pirates' schedule, they only have to travel to Chicago, Texas, and Milwaukee in April. In total, 17 of their 27 games in the first full month of the season are at home.

Month By Month Breakdown

Sep 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

May looks a bit different as it includes a dreadful West Coast trip to play the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants. The very next week, they'll be in St. Louis and then make a trip up north to Toronto.

June starts in Houston and Atlanta as the team's off-days begin to fluctuate. In the middle of the month, they'll head to Las Vegas and Colorado for another brutal road stretch.

The end of June sees Pittsburgh travel to Philadelphia which bleeds into July. The Pirates will be celebrating the 4th of July in Washington DC as they enjoy a six-game homestand heading into the All-Star break.

Coming out of the break, it's another six-game road stand. This is an interesting one as they'll be in Cleveland and New York for a highly anticipated showdown with the Yankees.

July ends in Cincinnati as they have a pair of four-game series with the Reds and then the Brewers. After those eight road games, they're tasked with arguably their most difficult stretch of the season.

August 11-13 at Miami isn't too bad, but the worst is yet to come. Another West Coast trip sees them in Los Angeles and San Diego before they have a day off to travel to St. Louis.

After that stretch, it's smooth sailing. The team is in Chicago for a six-game series against the White Sox and Cubs from Sept. 8-13 before going to Detroit at the end of the month for their final three games of the season.

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