It’s been a polarized week for the Pittsburgh Pirates since their return from the MLB All-Star break.
The Pirates opened the second half of their regular-season schedule by getting swept by the Chicago White Sox, the worst team in the American League. They followed that up with a sweep of the Detroit Tigers, the team with the best record in the AL.
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The Pirates completed their three-game sweep of the Tigers on Wednesday with a 6-1 win. They also won 8-5 on Tuesday and 3-0 on Monday, anchored by six shutout innings from Paul Skenes.
Spencer Horowitz broke Wednesday’s win open with a second-inning grand slam off Tigers starter Troy Melton.
Pirates starter Bailey Falter picked up the win with seven innings of one-run baseball on the mound.
Per Elias Sports Bureau, the sweep of the Tigers makes the Pirates the first team since the 1980 San Diego Padres to get swept by the worst team in a league and sweep the best team in the league in back-to-back series after the midway point of the season.
The third consecutive loss to Pittsburgh dropped the Tigers to 60-43, into a virtual tie with the Houston Astros (59-42) and Toronto Blue Jays (59-42) for the best record in the AL — though the Astros and Blue Jays (.584) have a better winning percentage by a smidge than the Tigers (.583) thanks to having played two fewer games each.
The White Sox, meanwhile, remain the dregs of the AL at 36-66 (.354)
So which Pirates are the real Pirates? Their record speaks for itself.
Despite the sweep of the Tigers, the Pirates remain one of the worst teams in baseball and sit at the bottom of the NL Central with a 42-61 (.408) record. This is a team that’s produced a 5-8 record for Skenes, a Cy Young contender with a 1.91 ERA and 0.91 WHIP.
The sweep of the Tigers is a highlight of their season, but it’s not a sign of anything larger for the Pirates.
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