Three Takeaways: Pirates Make Big Statement in Series Win Over Cardinals
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates faced a tough divisional opponent on the road in the St. Louis Cardinals, but managed to get back to their best baseball when it mattered most.
The Pirates defeated the Cardinals in their series at Busch Stadium, winning 7-0 on May 20 and then 6-2 in the series finale on May 21, combating a 9-6, extra innings loss in the series opener on May 19.
Pittsburgh had just come off of a series sweep to the Philadelphia Phillies at home and that series opener loss to the Cardinals tied their season-long of four consecutive defeats and got them back down to .500.
This series was a big one for the Pirates, as they'll need to stay consistent in an important campaign in 2026.
Pirates Can Compete in the Tough NL Central
Pittsburgh is currently 26-24 through 50 games, a good mark, but one that only has them fourth in the National League Central Division.
The Milwaukee Brewers are on top at 29-18, the Chicago Cubs are second at 29-20, the Cardinals are in third at 28-21 and then the Reds are last at 26-24, with the Pirates holding the tiebreaker.
Pittsburgh has had success against their divisional foes and are now 11-8 on the season, a good mark against some of the better teams in baseball.
This is also the Pirates' fourth road series victory in their first four road series against their division, as they also took two out of three games against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, March 30-April 1, the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, April 10-12, and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field, April 24-26.
Pittsburgh's only real blemish is suffering a four-game series sweep to St. Louis at PNC Park, April 27-30, which they followed up with a sweep of the Reds, May 1-3.
The Pirates still have 33 games against the division, but it's a good sign they're playing so well against their biggest rivals.
Starting Pitching Finds Best Form Again
The Pirates starting pitchers didn't have the best showing vs. the Phillies, but made up for it against the Cardinals.
Pittsburgh's starting pitchers combined for five earned runs over 17.2 innings pitched, which is good for a 2.55 ERA.
Braxton Ashcraft was especially dominant in the series finale, throwing seven innings of one-run baseball and tying his season-high of nine strikeouts, as he's been incredible in the month of May, for a 1.91 ERA over four starts.
Carmen Mlodzinski threw five scoreless innings in the second game of the series, allowing the Pirates to get an early lead and hold on for the shutout.
Mitch Keller almost got a quality start, but got taken out before the end of the sixth inning and left-handed pitcher Evan Sisk gave up a two-run home run, which put four earned runs total on his final line.
The Pirates need their starting rotation at its very best in 2026 and this series was a great example of how it benefits them when they all perform to their potential.
Pirates Getting Contributions Up-And-Down The Lineup
The Pirates didn't have to rely on one or two players to produce at the plate against the Cardinals, as it was truly a team effort to get the victory.
Pittsburgh hit .316 vs. the Cardinals this series (37-for-117) and hit .293 with runners in scoring position (12-for-41).
The Pirates had some great performances from the bottom of their lineup, including in the second game, where Konnor Griffin, Endy Rodríguez, Jhostynxon Garcia and Jake Mangum combined for 10 of the 15 hits and five of the seven runs scored in that game.
Pittsburgh also got two important home runs from Spencer Horwitz in the second inning of the second game and Brandon Lowe in the first inning of the series finale, giving them a 1-0 lead early.
The Pirates saw two hitters that had been in slumps come through in the series finale, with Marcell Ozuna hitting a two-run single to make it 4-0 and then Henry Davis ending an 0-for-16 slump with a solo home run to extend the lead to 5-0.
Pittsburgh showed that they don't need the likes of Bryan Reynolds, Lowe and Oneil Cruz to always have good games, but can rely on some other hitters to maintain the necessary production to get wins moving forward.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.