Let's Go Bucs! A Pittsburgh Pirates Rebuild

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NLCS Game #2 – October 4 – Pittsburgh 6, Philadelphia 4

Max Fried took the mound for the Phillies, and he is someone the Pirates have struggled against over the years. He made only 13 major league starts in 2032 (and 4 rehab starts at AAA) after recovering from Tommy John surgery ,going 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA in the regular season. The former Giants ace retired the first 7 batters before giving up 2 singles followed by a 3-run Ezequiel Tovar blast to LF to give Pittsburgh the lead. Jeremy Gumm added a solo shot to RF in the 4th and another run on a Dan Syquia double to the LCF gap. The Pirates made it 6-0 on Alejandro Olano’s sacrifice fly.

The Phillies got on the board when Vaughn Grissom took Shane Bieber deep to lead off the bottom of the 5th. Bieber pitched 6 strong innings and, other than the mistake to Grissom, resembled the ace he used to be. The Phillies scored a run off of Alexander Cornielle in the bottom of the 7th, and Silas Freake blasted a 1-out home run off of Jorge Silva in the 8th to make it 6-3. Antonio Anderson’s single drove in another run, but Silva struck out Rodolfo Megia (the tying run) to end the inning. Alvaro Villa pitched a scoreless 9th for the save.

WP: S. Bieber
LP: M. Fried
SV: A. Villa
The Pirates lead the series 2-0.

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NLCS Game #3 – October 6 – Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 3

Silas Freake hit a solo bomb (465 feet to CF) with 2 out in the top of the 1st inning to give Philadelphia the early lead. RBI singles by Rodolfo Megia and Adley Rutchman in the 2nd made it 3-0. Vaughn Grissom’s RBI single in the 6th drove Magdaleno out of the game. Kervin Castro relieved and retired the next 2 batters to get out of the inning.

Meanwhile, Julio Ramirez **** the Pirates down over 5 innings (helped by 3 double plays behind him). The Pirates broke through in the bottom of the 6th when Ezequiel Tovar hit a 1 out single, stole 2B, andater scored on an Alvaro Amezola RBI single. Pittsburgh threatened in the bottom of the 8th, but Isaiah Drake made an unbelievable play in CF to end the inning. The Pirates mounted a comeback in the bottom of the 9th when Carter Trice tripled with 1 out to score Drayk Bowen, making it a 4-2 game. Pinch hitter Shohei Ohtani singled home Trice to make it 4-3. Jonathan Taylor struck out Dan Syquia and pinch hitter Owen Paino to end the game.

WP: J. Ramirez
LP: D. Magdaleno
SV: J. Taylor
Pittsburgh leads the series 2-1.

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NLCS Game #4 – October 7 – Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 1

Luis Flores retired the first 2 batters in the top of the 1st inning, but back to back hits gave Philadelphia an early 1-0 lead. Flores worked into and out of trouble all game but struck out 12 (a Pirates playoff record) over 5.2 innings of work while allowing just the 1 run. Meanwhile, Josh Swales handcuffed Pirates hitters.

Vaughn Grissom's solo home run off of Juan Rivera in the 7th gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Swales allowed just 5 base runners over the first 7 innings. Jimmy Stone doubled to lead off the bottom of the 8th, and Jonathan Taylor relieved Swales. Stone went to 3B on a wild pitch and scored on an Ezequiel Tovar sacrifice fly. Alejandro Olano followed with a single, stole 2B, and went to 3B on an Alvaro Amezola ground out, but was stranded when Jake Morrow grounded out to end the inning.

Adley Rutchman and Jonathan Slocum greeted reliever Frank Gonzalez with back-to-back massive bombs to lead off the 9th.

The Pirates brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 9th but Jimmy Stone grounded out 6-4 to end the game.

WP: J. Swales
LP: L. Flores
SV: J. Taylor
The series is tied at 2

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NLCS Game #5 – October 8 – Pittsburgh 21, Philadelphia 7

After the Pirates won 2 games in Philadelphia they felt confident about returning to the World Series, but the Phillies have tied the series and Pittsburgh turned to Thomas White (who has struggled in these playoffs) in this pivotal Game #5. The Phillies jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the 1st inning, thanks in part to a crucial error by Owen Paino. Neither run was earned. The Phillies broke the game open in the 5th when Silas Freake smashed a bases-clearing double to make it 5-0.

The Pirates did not get their first hit or base runners until Jake Morrow led off the bottom of the inning with an infield single. Alvaro Amezola followed with a double into the RF corner and Shohei Ohtani singled up the middle to make it 5-1. Owen Paino walked to reload the bases, and then Andres Bernal uncorked a wild pitch to make it 5-2 (still with nobody out). Dan Syquia walked to reload the bases. Jimmy Stone floated a single into CF to make it 5-3. Ezequiel Tovar followed with a routine grounder to SS, but Ethan Holliday fumbled it and everybody was safe. Alejandro Olano drew a walk on 4 straight balls which forced home the tying run. Carter Trice followed with a grand slam home run which just cleared the RF wall to put the Buccos on top. Pittsburgh made it 10-5 on Paino’s sacrifice fly.

Jorge Silva relieved White to start the 6th. After he retired the side, the Pirates made it 11-5 on Olano's RBI double. Olano scored on Trice 's sacrifice fly. After Morrow singled, Amezola belted his 1st postseason HR (394 feet to LF) to make it 14-5. Ohtani followed with a solo shot to RF.

There was a 43 minute rain delay in the top of the 7th. After play resumed, Silas Freake hit a 2-run home run to RF off of Alexander Cornielle. Trice drove home a run on a RBI groundout in the bottom of the inning, and another run scored on a Dylan Cease wild pitch. Morrow's sacrifice fly made it 18-7. The Buccos added to their lead with a Syquia RBI groundout in the bottom of the 8th and made it 20-7 when Stone tripled home another run. Tover’s RBI groundout made it 21-7.

Jimmy Stone had an outstanding game, going 4-5 and scoring 4 times (a Pirates playoff record). He also collected 2 RBIs. The 21 runs was the most scored by the Pirates in a game since 9/16/75 (22-0 win over the Cubs).

The Pirates took the critical game 5 in a bizarre game. The Pirates, held hitless through 4 innings, then exploded for 21 runs over the next 5 innings. The teams will now return to Philadelphia where Pittsburgh will try to close out the series. Shane Bieber will pitch game 6 and David Magdaleno is scheduled to pitch in game 7 if needed.

WP: T. White
LP: A. Bernal
Pittsburgh leads the series 3-2

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NLCS Game #6 – October 10 – Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 3

The Pirates drew first blood in the top of the 1st inning when Alejandro Olano doubled, advanced to 3B on an Alvaro Amezola groundout, and scored on Jake Morrow's sharp single to RF. The Pholliesoades the bases in the bottom of the inning with 2 outs and tied the game on an Ezequiel Tovar throwing error. Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead in Ethan Holliday's RbI single in the 2nd. Silas Drake's 2-run HR in the 4th made it a 4-1 game.

The Pirates got a run back in the 5th on Olano's sacrifice fly. Olano tripled with 2 outs in the 7th and scored on Amezola 's single. Jonathan Taylor shut the Pirates down over the last 2 innings.

WP: M. Fried
LP: S. Bieber
SV: J. Taylor
The series is tied at 3

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NLCS Game #7 – October 11 – Pittsburgh 9, Philadelphia 4

David Magdaleno and Dylan Cease squared off in Game #7. Both pitchers retired the side in order in the 1st inning, but Carter Trice’s 2-run HR to RF gave the Pirates the lead in the 2nd.

Jon Reed tripled to lead off the bottom of the inning. After Kuzari Vaughn struck out, Isaiah Drake hit a ground ball to 1B. Jake Morrow fielded it cleanly and threw a strike to Dan Syquia to nail Reed at the plate. Magdaleno struck out Vaughn Grissom to end the inning.

Jake Morrow doubled home a run in the 3rd and Shohei Ohtani followed with a 404 foot HR to RF to make it 5-0. Trice greeted reliever Aneurys Xabala with a bomb to LF to make it 6-0. Olano's RBI double in the 4th made it 7-0. Amezola followed with a run-scoring single. Ohtani singled home another run before reliever Luke Murphy could get out of the inning.

The Phillies got on the board on Reed’s RBI double in the bottom of the 4th. Drake blasted a 3-run HR (471 feet) to CF to make it 9-4. Alexander Cornielle relieved Magdaleno to start the 5th and pitch 1-⅔ scoreless innings. Jorge Silva retired all 4 men he faced. Alvaro Villa pitched the final 2 scoreless innings to send Pittsburgh to the World Series. Carter Trice earned MVP honors after batting .321 with 3 home runs and 11 RBIs.

WP: A. Cornielle
LP: D. Cease
Pittsburgh wins the series 4-3

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The Pirates will face the Seattle Mariners, who are looking for their 1st World Series title. The Mariners won 91 games in the regular season and were the top Wild Card team in the American League. Seattle has yet to lose a game in the 2032 playoffs (9-0).

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World Series Game #1 – October 13 – Pittsburgh 7, Seattle 4

The series opened at PNC Park with Luis Flores taking the hill. It was a rough start for Flores, who surrendered a leadoff double to Yohendrick Pinango, walked Noel Marte and, after striking out Alexis Rocha, surrendered an RBI single to Luis Suisbel. Flores then walked Lupe Ramirez to load the bases. Flores came back to strike out Oneil Cruz and Derek Curiel to escape further damage.

Jackson Ferris (15-12, 3.51) got the start for the Mariners. A walk, a hit batsman, and a single by Drayk Bowen single loaded the bases for Jeremy Gumm in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Ferris struck out Gumm and Drew Romo, but Jimmy Stone delivered with a single through the left side to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead. Alejandro Olano walked to lead off the bottom of the 3rd and Alvaro Amezola reached on an error by 1B Cruz. After Jake Morrow and Carter Trice were retired, Bowen came through in clutch with a 2-run single to make it 4-1. Gumm followed with a 421 foot home run to RF to break the game open.

The Mariners got a run back in the 4th, but Flores pitched 5 solid innings while striking out 10. Amezola tripled to lead off the bottom of the 5th and scored on Morrow's RBI single.

Seattle mounted a rally in the 9th against Boston Kellner. The first 2 batters reached on a single and an error. Campbell Smithwick doubled into the RF corner to make it 7-3. Pinango grounded out 4-3 with a run scoring. Kellner struck out Marte and Rocha to end the game.

WP: L. Flores
LP: J. Ferris
Pittsburgh leads the series 1-0.

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World Series Game #2 – October 14 – Seattle 3, Pittsburgh 0

Thomas White got the start for the Pirates. Adam Macko took the bump for Seattle. Macko has been one of the best pitchers in baseball for almost a decade and has won Cy Young in 2025, 2026, 2028, and 2029. The 31 year old went 14-9 with a 3.12 ERA this season.

The Mariners struck first in the top of the 3rd inning with a 2 out single by Noelvi Marte, a stolen base, and a run-scoring double by Alexis Rocha.

The Pirates got 3 straight hits by Ezequiel Tovar, Alejandro Olano, and Alvaro Amezola to load the bases to start the bottom of the 4th. Macko retired Jake Morrow, Carter Trice, and Jeremy Gumm on 3 straight infield pop-ups to preserve the 1-0 lead.

White pitched 6.2 innings and struck out 10. He left after a 2 out single and an error put 2 runners on in the 7th. Kervin Castro struck out Marte to end the inning. Oneil Cruz tagged Castro for a 2 run home run in the 8th to make it 3-0.

The Pirates offense never could get anything going against Macko or Andres Maldonado.

WP: A. Macko
LP: T. White
SV: A. Maldonado
The series is tied 1-1

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World Series Game #3 – October 16 – Seattle 6, Pittsburgh 4

The series shifted to Seattle's Safeco Field where Garrett Wright (3-4, 3.84 in 12 starts after being acquired from Colorado, where he was 3-7, 5.61) faced David Magdaleno. The Mariners took it to Magdaleno, sending 8 men to the plate and scoring 4 times in the 1st inning. After the Mariners collected 2 more hours in the 2nd, the Pirates summoned Josue Panacual from the bullpen.

The Pirates finally got in the board in the 5th when Owen Paino led off with a double and scored on Dan Syquia's single. After Jimmy Stone flew out to right, Ezequiel Tovar singled and Alejandro Olano follows with a 2 run double to the wall in CF to make it a 4-3 game. Pittsburgh tied it in the 6th when Alvaro Amezola singled, stole 2B, went to 3B on Shohei Ohtani’s ground out, and scored on Paino's sacrifice fly.

The Mariners United it in Yohendrick Pinango’s RBI double in the bottom of the inning. Alexis Rocha’s RBI double in the bottom of the 8th made it 6-4.

WP: J. Saum
LP: B. Kellner
SV: A. Maldonado
Seattle leads the series 2-1

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World Series Game #4 – October 17 – Seattle 9, Pittsburgh 5

Chase Silseth (1-1, 5.16 in 7 games after being acquired from Cincinnati) took the mound for Seattle and the Pirates jumped on him immediately. Ezequiel Tovar led off with a double and Alejandro Olano singled. Tovar scored on a Alvaro Amezola sacrifice fly.

The Mariners returned the favor against Shane Bieber in the bottom of the inning. Yohendrick Pinango doubled to lead off, went to 3B on Alexis Rocha's ground out, and scored on Luis Suisbel’s sacrifice fly. Seattle took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 4th when Rocha doubled and Suisbel singled him home. Suisbel later stole 2B and scored on Lupe Ramirez’s RBI single.

Dan Syquia led off the 5th with his 4th HR of the postseason to make it 3-2. Pittsburgh tied it when Tovar walked, went to 3B on Olano's single, and scored on another Amezola sacrifice fly.

Noelvi Marte’s 2 out home run down the LF line in the bottom of the 6th gave Seattle a 4-3 lead, but the Pirates tied it on Olano's sacrifice fly in the 7th. Amezola 's 2 out double to the LF scored Jimmy Stone with the go ahead run.

Alexander Cornielle relieved Bieber to start the bottom of the 7th and Oneil Cruz greeted him with a HR to LF to tie the game. Campbell Smithelwick’s run scoring double made it 6-5, and Pinango followed with an RBI triple. Smithwick's 2 run single in the 8th made it 9-5.

WP: J.Saum
LP: A. Cornielle
SV: A. Maldonado
Seattle leads the series 3-1

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World Series Game #5 – October 18 – Seattle 6, Pittsburgh 5

The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning when Jake Morrow singled and later scored on Jeremy Gumm 's sacrifice fly. Lupe Ramirez's 2 run home run in the bottom of the inning gave Seattle the lead. Gumm’s clutch 2 out, 2 run double in the top of the 4th gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead. Drew Romo followed with a single to RF to score Gumm. Morrow singled home another run in the 5th.

After two batters reached in the bottom of the 6th, the Pirates summoned Kervin Castro to relieve Luis Flores with 1 out. Castro served up a 94 MPH fastball that Ramirez tattooed 409 into the RF stands to tie the game.

The first 2 Mariners reached against Boston Kellner in the bottom of the 7th. Kellner got Alexis Rocha to roll into a 4-6-3 double play, but the runner at 3B scored to give Seattle a 6-5 lead. Quinton Low pitched the final 2 innings to preserve the win and give the Mariners their first World Series title in franchise history.

WP: J. Saum
LP: B. Kellner
SV: Q. Low
The Mariners win the series 4-1

[TribeTown]

A disappointing finale to the season as the Pirates fell short in the world Series for the 2nd straight year. And now, for the off season. The Pirates are operating under the typical constraints. Although the budget has steadily grown, it is still in in the bottom third of MLB teams. They will look to move some of their bigger contracts and bring in less expensive players who can help the team stay on top of the NL Central.

A Flurry of Moves in the Week After the World Series Ended

October 19
Executed Shane Bieber’s option
Executed Ezequiel Tovar’s option
DFA’d Xavier Edwards

The wheeling and dealing started pretty quickly:

October 20 – Traded Ernesto Parra and Jeremy Gumm to the NY Mets in exchange for Mike Rippey and Billy Gautreaux.

The Pirates like Parra especially, but are happy with the return. Gautreaux is one of the best relievers in the game. Ripley provides excellent outfield defense and is an average hitter with average power. The deal cleared approximately $5,000,000 from the books.

October 20 – Traded Luis Flores and Dave Brunnell to Baltimore in exchange for Xiomer Guacache and Alejandro Avalos.

Flores is an excellent pitcher but is injury prone (fragile) and has a large, multi-year contract. Gaucache had a good season starting for Baltimore and will be a free agent after the season. Avalos is a decent prospect. This deal cleared another $7,000,000 from the books.

October 21 – Traded Joshue Panacual to Toronto in exchange for Korey Ferguson.

Ferguson is an intriguing arm who should be able to fill a rotation spot.

October 21 – Traded Owen Paino and Vince Corbett to Seattle in exchange for Sam Bruce and David Peralta.

Bruce and Peralta are serviceable pitchers. The Pirates love Paino, so this was clearly a move to cut salary. It also signals their intention of moving Ezequiel Tovar to 2B and giving prospect Arturo Ayala an opportunity to be the everyday shortstop. Tovar's SS defense is poor, but he is above average at 2B. Ayala is an excellent defender. This deal cleared another $4,000,000 from the payroll and gives the team $11,000,000 available before arbitration.

October 24 – Signed Josh Pulido to a 1 year, $920,000 contract.

DFA'D Bubba Chandler – This was a salary move, too, as Chandler commanded more in arbitration than the Pirates were willing to pay.