Pirates Eliminated From Postseason Contention
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made it their goal this past offseason to establish a winning culture, and it will take time before they fully achieve that.
The Pirates will not make the postseason in 2026, after being eliminated on Sept. 18 with eight games remaining, after the San Diego Padres defeated the Miami Marlins 8-2 at Petco Park.
San Diego's victory ensured that the Pirates won't get the third and final National League Wild Card spot and won't play any more games after their final series against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, Sept. 25-27.
It marks the 11th straight season the Pirates won't make the playoffs, last doing so in 2015, marking the second-longest streak in MLB, with only the Los Angeles Angels having a longer streak, last making it in 2014.
Why the Pirates Are Officially Eliminated
The Pirates are 77-77, and the Padres are 85-69, so they could still finish with the same record, as the Pirates could win their last eight games and the Padres could lose their remaining contests.
San Diego and Pittsburgh also split the season series, 3-3, but their intradivision records differ, and San Diego holds the tiebreaker.
The Padres are 28-18 against their NL West foes, while the Pirates are 24-25 against the NL Central.
Pittsburgh has just three games left against the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals in the final series at PNC Park, Sept. 22-24, so they can't overtake San Diego.
The Pirates also have this same issue with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are 80-74, but are also 28-18 against the NL West, so they'd lose the tiebreaker to them too.
More Than a Decade of Futility for the Pirates
The Pirates have been one of the worst teams in baseball since 2016, with the fifth-worst record, with only the likes of the Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies putting up fewer wins.
Pittsburgh has had one winning season in that time, 82-79 in 2018, with a few collapses and some truly awful campaigns as well.
Pirates Record Per Season (2016-26)
Year | Record | Win Percentage |
|---|---|---|
2016 | 78-83 | .484 |
2017 | 75-87 | .463 |
2018 | 82-79 | .509 |
2019 | 69-93 | .426 |
2020 (COVID) | 19-41 | .317 |
2021 | 61-101 | .377 |
2022 | 62-100 | .383 |
2023 | 76-86 | .469 |
2024 | 76-86 | .469 |
2025 | 71-91 | .438 |
2026 (Still in Progress) | 77-77 | .500 |
The Pirates went 4-24 out of the 2019 All-Star break and then fired both manager Clint Hurdle and general manager Neal Huntington in the offseason.
Ben Cherington took over as general manager and Derek Shelton as manager, as the Pirates finished with the worst record in baseball in 2020 and posted back-to-back 100-loss campaigns in 2021 and 2022.
The Pirates had great starts in 2023 and 2024, even having a 55-53 in the latter season, but in-season collapses ruined their chances.
Shelton lost his job in May 2025, after a 12-26 start. Don Kelly took over and is still in the role to this day, earning a contract extension after the season.
The Pirates were in the final Wild Card Spot as late as July 27, after a 3-2 walkoff win over the Diamondbacks, but they lost seven straight series and fell as far as six games below .500 before their better play in the past month.
It's a tough end to 2026, but one that the Pirates must use to improve heading into 2027.
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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.