Published for Pirates fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 19, 2026
🏳☠️ Pirates Fans — Raise the Jolly Roger in 2027!
First winning season since 2018 with Skenes dealing — and real fans don’t just watch it happen, they wear it. Check out Pirates-style home jersey designs and rep PNC Park everywhere you go.
The Club
The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of baseball’s charter souls — founded in 1882, playing at the gorgeous PNC Park on the Allegheny riverfront since 2001, dressed in black and gold like everything else worth loving in Pittsburgh. They own five World Series titles — 1909, 1925, 1960, 1971 and 1979. This is the franchise of Honus Wagner, of Roberto Clemente, of Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off homer in the 1960 World Series — the only Game 7 walk-off homer in Series history — and of the “We Are Family” 1979 champions. It’s also the franchise of the 20 straight losing seasons from 1993 to 2012, the longest streak of futility in the history of North American pro sports. Nobody in baseball knows both extremes like Pittsburgh. And in 2026, the Pirates finally gave their fans something they hadn’t tasted in eight years: a winning season.
⭐ FAN FAVORITE
#30 Skenes — Pirates Style Home Jersey
The ace’s number. Black arched PIRATES lettering with gold outline on white pinstripes — Skenes Day energy all season.
Last Season (2026): 82 Wins and a Warning Shot
82-80. Third in the NL Central, 21 games behind the 103-win Milwaukee Brewers, and six games short of the final National League Wild Card spot. The season ended the right way: a 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on September 27, sealed by a Konnor Griffin homer, clinching the franchise’s first winning season since 2018 — only its fifth in the last 34 years. It was an 11-win jump from the 71-91 disaster of 2025, and the club’s best divisional finish since 2016. But let’s be honest about the mood in Pittsburgh: this was supposed to be the year. The front office went for it last winter, trading for Brandon Lowe and signing Ryan O’Hearn, and the playoffs were the stated goal. Eleven straight Octobers without postseason baseball tells you how that went. Still — 82 wins, a young rotation, and the best pitcher on the planet saying he hasn’t shown his best stuff yet. That’s not nothing. That’s a foundation.
Best Players Right Now (2027 Roster)
Paul Skenes, 24, Starting Pitcher (#30) — The ace, the face, the franchise. A down year by his impossible standards (10-11, 3.82 ERA), but still 200 strikeouts over 174.1 innings and 32 starts — back-to-back 200-K seasons, something only Bob Veale and Ed Morris ever did in Pittsburgh. He says the World Baseball Classic messed with his ramp-up and his velocity dipped. He also says you haven’t seen his best stuff yet. Believe him.
Brandon Lowe, 31, Second Baseman (#5) — The steal of the winter. Acquired from Tampa Bay in a three-team deal, Lowe delivered 35 homers and 96 RBIs with a .260/.331/.493 line over a career-high 150 games — the club’s MVP, a Silver Slugger favorite, and the heartbeat of the clubhouse. The catch: he’s a free agent. Bringing him back is the entire offseason.
Ryan O’Hearn, 33, First Baseman — The professional. Signed to a two-year deal — the first multi-year contract for a Pirates position player since 2016 — and delivered 18 homers and 76 RBIs despite missing eight weeks with hamstring strains in both legs. Exactly the steady veteran presence this young roster needed.
Nick Gonzales, 27, Third Baseman (#3) — The batting champ of the clubhouse. Led the team at .303 with a .367 on-base percentage. When the Pirates needed a hit, Gonzales usually got it.
Konnor Griffin, 20, Infielder — The future, arriving early. The prized young prospect homered in the season finale in Detroit and looks like a star in the making. Pittsburgh hasn’t had a prospect this exciting in years.
Mitch Keller, 30, Starting Pitcher — The veteran of the rotation. Eats innings, takes the ball every fifth day, and gives the kids someone to follow.
Bubba Chandler, 24, Starting Pitcher — The co-ace in waiting. Electric stuff and a bulldog mentality; paired with Skenes, that’s a top of the rotation most teams would kill for.
Braxton Ashcraft, 27, Starting Pitcher — The steady riser. Kept getting better as 2026 went on and looks like a locked-in mid-rotation arm for 2027.
Carmen Mlodzinski, 27, Starting Pitcher — The depth arm who became essential. Filled whatever role the staff needed — and there were plenty of openings.
Mason Montgomery, 26, Reliever — The strikeout artist out of the bullpen. Made spot starts too, and his stuff plays anywhere.
Gregory Soto, 33, Reliever — The late-inning hammer. When the Pirates had a lead in the late innings, Soto made sure it stayed that way.
Manager: Don Kelly — The former big-leaguer has the clubhouse believing again. He talked all September about going 1-0 every day, and the players bought in — 82 wins is the proof.
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Star Spotlight: Stories You Should Know
Skenes’ grind — and the warning. The numbers say down year: 10-11, a 3.82 ERA nearly double his 2025 Cy Young mark, fastball velocity down from 98.1 to 96.8 mph. Skenes himself pointed at the World Baseball Classic — the early-March ramp-up wrecked his usual routine, and he never felt right mechanically. But look closer: 32 starts, 200 strikeouts, and a finale where he chased down strikeout No. 200 on the last batter of the season. “It was a grind,” he said afterward. “I don’t think [anything] went wrong, because honestly, I don’t think it did.” Then the warning shot: you haven’t seen his best stuff yet. The rest of the National League should be nervous.
The Lowe trade was a heist. When GM Ben Cherington swung the three-team deal with the Rays and Astros to land Brandon Lowe, Pirates fans had seen this movie before — veterans come, veterans go, nothing changes. This time was different. Lowe’s 35 homers and 96 RBIs were the best production from a Pittsburgh second baseman in years, and his clubhouse presence earned him the club’s Roberto Clemente Award nomination. One problem: it was a one-year deal, and he’s a free agent now. If the Pirates let him walk, this season’s best story becomes next season’s biggest regret.
The question that will define the decade. Paul Skenes is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, projected around $7.2 million for 2027 — and under club control through 2029. But one longtime Pittsburgh reporter already wrote what every fan fears: Skenes’ salary will be out of the Pirates’ comfort zone after next season, and he’ll likely be pitching somewhere else in 2028. The fanbase erupted — at owner Bob Nutting, at the payroll, at everything. The Pirates have the best young pitcher in baseball and a winning season. What they do with Skenes will tell you everything about whether they mean it.
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More Pittsburgh stars, same black-and-gold pinstripes.
Next Season (2027): Pay Skenes, Keep Lowe, Win the Central
The formula isn’t complicated. The rotation — Skenes, Chandler, Keller, Ashcraft, Mlodzinski — is young, deep, and controllable, the kind of staff that can carry a team. The lineup needs Lowe back in the worst way, plus one more bat to protect him. The division, though, is a mountain: Milwaukee just won 103 games and the Cubs won 89. The Pirates closed the gap from 32 games back to 21. Now they have to close it again. The opener helps: for the first time since 2016, Pittsburgh starts the season at home — March 25 against the Athletics at PNC Park, with Skenes on the mound where he belongs. One caveat, same as everywhere: the collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, and a lockout could scramble everything. But if baseball is played on time, this is the most interesting Pirates team in a decade — and the pressure is on the front office to act like it.
Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming Games to Watch
Wondering when the Pirates play? The Pirates schedule for 2027 is out — and for once, it starts at home. Grab your Pirates tickets early for these:
- March 25 — vs Athletics (Opening Day, PNC Park): The first home opener in Pittsburgh since 2016. Skenes gets the ball for his third straight Opening Day start — this time in front of the home crowd. Hang it on the fridge.
- Early April — vs Milwaukee Brewers (home): The 103-win division champs come to PNC Park early. The measuring stick series — we’ll know fast if the gap is really closing.
- July 15-18 — Rivalry Weekend: MLB’s rivalry weekend always delivers a geographic grudge match. Circle the whole weekend now.
- September 15 — vs St. Louis Cardinals (Roberto Clemente Day, PNC Park): The most sacred date on the Pittsburgh baseball calendar. Clemente Day at PNC Park, against a division rival — there is nothing like it.
- Late September — closing stretch (season ends Sept. 26): The schedule closes with divisional matchups. If the Pirates are in the Wild Card hunt, PNC Park in late September will be electric.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
1. Cincinnati Reds — The Ohio River war. The NL Central’s nastiest little feud. Two small-market clubs, two fanbases that genuinely can’t stand each other, and six-plus series a year of bad blood.
2. St. Louis Cardinals — The old guard. The Cardinals owned this division for a generation while Pittsburgh rebuilt. The Pirates have been chasing them for years — and Clemente Day against St. Louis is appointment baseball.
3. Chicago Cubs — The big-market foil. The Cubs spend, the Pirates develop, and twice a summer they remind each other why the Central runs through the big cities — unless Pittsburgh says otherwise.
4. Milwaukee Brewers — The new kings. One hundred and three wins. The Brewers lapped the division in 2026, and until someone knocks them off, they’re the team every Pirate circle on the schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Pirates’ last winning season?
2026. The 82-80 finish was Pittsburgh’s first winning season since 2018 — only the fifth winning season in the last 34 years.
When the Pirates play on Opening Day 2027, who gets the ball?
Paul Skenes — March 25, 2027 at PNC Park against the Athletics, Pittsburgh’s first home opener since 2016 and Skenes’ third straight Opening Day start.
Who are the best Pirates players right now?
Paul Skenes, the 24-year-old ace with back-to-back 200-strikeout seasons; Brandon Lowe, whose 35 homers and 96 RBIs led the club; and Bubba Chandler, the co-ace in waiting.
Will Brandon Lowe stay with the Pirates?
Lowe is a free agent after delivering 35 homers and 96 RBIs in 2026 — re-signing him is the club’s top offseason priority.
Show Your Colors
Raise the Jolly Roger — at PNC Park or watching from home, true fans wear the black and gold. Gear up with quality fan sportswear — jerseys, tees and athletic wear built for real supporters:
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Sources & official links: Pittsburgh Pirates official site · Pittsburgh Pirates tickets
Raise it — 82 wins was the start, not the ceiling.
