Pittsburgh Pirates home stand report card 7/26 – 8/5

The Pittsburgh Pirates are ready to embark on a three-city, nine-game road trip following a 4-5 homestand

It was an interesting homestand for the Pittsburgh Pirates. On the surface, going 4-5 in games against the lowly Mets and two division rivals in the Cubs and Cardinals seems underwhelming, and it was disappointing to an extent. But this week also featured the most exciting day Pittsburgh baseball has experienced in almost three years, that being the 2018 MLB Trade Deadline.

The Bucs made two splashes, acquiring reliever Keone Kela from the Texas Rangers early Tuesday morning before adding starting pitcher Chris Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays later in the day. Both of these pieces unquestionably make the team better, and now people are starting to believe that the 2018 season may not be a lost cause.

So while the team didn’t do itself any favors over the past nine games on the surface, the front office unquestionably put them in a position to compete both now and in the future.

Here is a breakdown of how the Pirates performed this past homestand, using a “report card” format. Let’s get into it.