Pirates Finally End Embarrasing Losing Season Streak
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have spent most of the past three decades in futility, but the 2026 season won't be one of those years.
The Pirates earned their 81st win of the season, 2-1 against the St. Louis Cardinals in the series finale and home finale at PNC Park on Sept. 24
Pittsburgh can't finish with more losses than wins this year, marking their first time doing so since 2018, with an 82-79 record.
The seven straight losing seasons (2019-25) were tied for the second-longest active streak in baseball. The Los Angeles have 11, dating back to 2014, and the Colorado Rockies now have the second-longest streak at eight.
Pirates Finally End Losing Streak
The Pirates had a terrible end to the 2010s, finishing 69-93 in 2019, 4-24 out of the All-Star break, after being just one game below .500.
Pittsburgh fired manager Clint Hurdle, general manager Neal Huntington and team president Frank Coonelly, replacing them with Derek Shelton as manager, Ben Cherington as general manager and Travis Williams as team president.
Pittsburgh then embarked on some terrible seasons, the worst record in baseball in 2020, back-to-back 100-loss campaigns in 2021 and 2022, back-to-back collapses after great starts in 2023 and 2024 and a terrible season in 2025, with Shelton losing his job after a 12-26 record.
Pirates Losing Seasons Streak
Season | Record (Win %) | NL Central Finish |
|---|---|---|
2019 | 69-93 (.426) | 5th |
2020 | 19-41 (.363) | 5th |
2021 | 61-101 (.377) | 5th |
2022 | 62-100 (.383) | 5th |
2023 | 76-86 (.469) | 4th |
2024 | 76-86 (.469) | 4th |
2025 | 71-91 (.454) | 5th |
The 2024 season was the hardest for the Pirates to take, as they were 55-53 at the trade deadline, but an 8-19 August ended their chance at not just postseason contention, but finally having a winning season.
Pittsburgh set a North American Professional sports record, 20 straight losing seasons from 1993-2012, after winning the National League East Division three straight years, 1990-92.
The Pirates made it back to the postseason last decade, the NL Wild Card for three straight seasons, winning it in 2013 and then taking the Cardinals to five games in the NLDS.
Pittsburgh will finish with, at worst, the fifth-best record in the past 34 seasons, regardless how this season ends.
Pirates Break Through in 2026, but Still Fall Short of Goal
The Pirates still need one win for a true winning season, which will give them 82 victories, instead of finishing 81-81.
Pittsburgh will be happy they didn't finish below .500, but their ultimate goal this season was making the postseason, and they won't do that in 2026.
The Pirates were eliminated after Sept. 18, as the San Diego Padres kept winning and knocked them out with eight games remaining.
Pittsburgh made great strides this season, but their slump from late July to the middle of August, going 7-16 with seven straight series losses, put them six games below .500 and doomed their playoff chances.
The Pirates have a strong group of players returning next season: outfielders Oneil Cruz, Esmerlyn Valdez and Bryan Reynolds; first baseman Spencer Horwtiz and Ryan O'Hearn; shortstop Konnor Griffin, third baseman Nick Gonzales and catcher Rafael Flores Jr.
Pittsburgh also has a stellar rotation, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, Jared Jones, Mitch Keller and Paul Skenes, and a great bullpen, Carmen Mlodzinski, Mason Montgomery, Yohan Ramírez, Luke Weaver and others.
The Pirates need to add on for next year, but they have a good shot at ending their postseason drought and making it for the first time since 2015.
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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.