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

Overall

The most important thing to take from this homestand is that the Pittsburgh Pirates are better then they were when they left Cleveland nearly two weeks ago. As annoying as it was to lose two of three to the Cardinals, the buzz around this team is, well, existent, for the first time in what feels like forever.

As far as wins and losses go, the Pirates didn’t really take a step forward, but they didn’t hurt themselves too much, either. That said, If this club is to make a playoff push, which still seems unlikely, 4-5 stretches won’t cut it. Neither will 5-4 runs, and maybe not even 6-3.

Pittsburgh played average baseball for the first four months of the season, and this past homestand was a good example of that. The acquisitions of Kela and Archer have improved the team and raised expectations, and the two newcomers will need to live up to the hype for the Bucs to make a run.

Even if the Pirates don’t make the playoffs, they made themselves better this week, and that’s something that can’t be argued.

Overall Grade:

B