Pirates News: Bryan Reynolds history, Konnor Griffin nomination, insane home record

The Pittsburgh Pirates wrapped up their 2025 home slate with a bang, completing an 11-0 rout of the Athletics Sunday at PNC Park.

The Pirates' offense cranked out 15 hits, seven of which were for extra bases, in the series finale to bolster a second consecutive shutout (and MLB-leading 18th total shutout) by the pitching staff. But Sunday's win wasn't just a rare offensive eruption for Pittsburgh; it marked the club's 44th and final home win of the season, giving them their best single-season home record (44-37) since 2018.

Now, if only they could do some winning on the road, perhaps the Pirates wouldn't be finishing the year with a losing record for the seventh consecutive season. Pittsburgh has 67 total wins on the year and will wrap up the 2025 campaign with back-to-back road series against the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves. But even if they win all six of their remaining games, the Pirates will still finish with a worse record than they had in each of the last two seasons (76-86).

Two years of stagnation and one of regression are hardly a ringing endorsement for general manager Ben Cherington to keep his job after this season. The Pirates still aren't winning consistently, and they certainly aren't doing it away from PNC Park.

Pirates News: Bryan Reynolds makes franchise history with 138th home run

Outfielder Bryan Reynolds contributed to Pittsburgh's shutout victory over the Athletics on Saturday, crushing a solo homer that traveled 416 feet into the center field seats in the bottom of the second inning to put the Pirates up, 2-0.

The blast was Reynolds' 16th of the season and his 138th as a member of the Pirates, tying him for 10th all-time with Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Maseroski on the franchise leaderboard. If he hits one more home run before the end of the season, Reynolds will tie former All-Star Jason Bay for ninth in Pirates history with 139.

Reynolds has hit double-digit home runs in every MLB season – other than the COVID-shortened 2020 season, which saw him hit seven homers through 55 games – but his 16 home runs this season match the lowest total since his rookie season in 2019. He hit a career-high 27 home runs in 2022 and hit 24 home runs each in 2021, 2023 and 2024.

Pirates News: Konnor Griffin nominated for MiLB Hitting Prospect of the Year

Top Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin's first pro campaign came to an end over the weekend, as Double-A Altoona was eliminated by Erie in a deciding Game 3 of the Southwest Division Series on Saturday.

Nonetheless, it was a remarkable first season for Griffin, who was selected by the Pirates out of high school at No. 9 overall in the 2024 MLB Draft and saw a meteoric rise to the top of MLB Pipeline's Top-100 prospects list as he dominated at three levels of the Pirates' minor league system.

Griffin finished the 2025 season with a combined .333/.415/.527 slash line, 21 home runs and 65 stolen bases in 122 games (50 at Single-A, 51 at High-A and 21 at Double-A). The 19-year-old was named a finalist for the MiLB Hitting Prospect of the Year award for his efforts, alongside Detroit Tigers top prospect Kevin McGonigle and St. Louis Cardinals top prospect JJ Wetherholt.

The winner of the award will be announced during the third annual MiLB Awards Show Sept. 29 on MLB Network.