Pirates pitching staff has no excuse for stunning fall from grace as playoffs look further away

There's plenty of blame to go around for the Pittsburgh Pirates' increasingly precarious position in the National League playoff race. Ben Cherington deserves some. Don Kelly deserves some. Pitching coach Bill Murphy deserves some, too.

But eventually, the pitchers themselves have to own what has happened.

A year ago, Pittsburgh finished seventh in Major League Baseball with a 3.76 team ERA. In 2026, that number has ballooned to 4.34, ranking 21st. Pitching — and starting pitching in particular — was supposed to be the strength that gave the Pirates some margin for error while an imperfect offense tried to manufacture enough runs. Instead, it has become one of their most glaring weaknesses.

Sunday's 11-1 loss to the New York Mets provided the latest ugly example, with Jared Jones surrendering eight runs in just over three innings. Jones now owns a 5.03 ERA through 13 starts this season.

Jones deserves some patience. So do Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft. All three are talented young starters who are still learning how to navigate a major-league season. Chandler has a 4.26 ERA across 116.1 innings, while Ashcraft's ERA has climbed to 4.08 after what was an excellent start to the season. Their inconsistency has hurt, but some growing pains were always part of the bargain.

The Pirates had established pitchers who were supposed to prevent those growing pains from sinking them. Suffice it to say they haven't.

Paul Skenes entered 2026 as the reigning unanimous NL Cy Young Award winner after posting a 1.97 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 216 strikeouts in 187.2 innings last season. Nobody could reasonably expect him to duplicate one of the best pitching seasons in franchise history, but nobody expected this, either.

Skenes is 9-10 with a 3.96 ERA through 24 starts. His July ERA soared above 6.00, his fastball velocity has declined, and the pitcher who was supposed to erase so many of Pittsburgh's other flaws has instead become another source of uncertainty.

Then there's Mitch Keller. He wasn't an ace in 2025, but he was a dependable veteran who made 32 starts and finished with a 4.19 ERA across 176.1 innings. This year, before a teres major injury ended his season, he went 6-8 with a 5.29 ERA in 22 starts.

In the bullpen, Dennis Santana's collapse was even more dramatic. After posting a 2.18 ERA with 16 saves in 2025, Santana was hammered for a 6.05 ERA in 41.2 innings this season before Pittsburgh finally designated him for assignment in July.

Pirates pitching staff has quickly turned from a strength into a glaring weakness

It's fair to criticize Cherington for not building enough pitching depth, especially in the bullpen. It's fair to criticize Kelly's bullpen management. It is fair to wonder whether Murphy and the organization's pitching infrastructure have gotten enough out of the arms entrusted to them.

But what exactly was Cherington supposed to do about Skenes, Keller and Santana entering this season? Trade all three?

Skenes was the reigning Cy Young winner. Keller was a proven innings-eater under a long-term contract. Santana had been one of the Pirates' most reliable relievers for two consecutive seasons. Pittsburgh had every reason to expect those pitchers to be part of the solution, not a significant part of the problem.

The same organization that deserves accountability when its roster isn't good enough also deserves to be judged fairly when established players dramatically underperform reasonable expectations.

The Pirates entered this season believing pitching could carry them toward October. Instead, as October gets further away, the pitchers who were supposed to carry them have helped drag them in the opposite direction.

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