The Pirates Scored 160 More Runs in 2026 and Still Watched October From Home

The Pittsburgh Pirates spent the 2026 season fixing the thing that had been broken. It just wasn't enough to buy them a playoff berth — and that tension is the defining story of their offseason.

Start with the improvement, because it's real and it's large. Pittsburgh scored 621 runs in 2025 and 781 in 2026, a jump of 160. Home runs climbed from 125 to 189. The team OPS went from .658 to .733, and the batting average rose from .233 to .252. According to reporting around the club, that represented baseball's best year-over-year improvement in runs scored. For a franchise that had been defined by anemic offense, that is a genuine step forward.

And yet the final record was 82-80, a third-place finish in the NL Central behind a Milwaukee team that won 103 games and a Cubs club that won 89. The Pirates were better and still on the outside when the division series began.

The September surge arrived too late

The most recent news of the week frames the whole season. Jared Jones and Mason Montgomery swept National League monthly pitching honors for September, a fitting cap on the best month Pittsburgh played — one that came after the playoff math had already turned against them.

The individual numbers back up the hardware. Montgomery posted a 2.88 ERA across 70 appearances, striking out 105 batters in 68.2 innings while converting 18 saves. Jones, in his 21 starts, ran a 3.72 ERA with 123 strikeouts in 101.2 innings and a 1.08 WHIP. Those are the arms of a team that can pitch with anyone in a short series. They just didn't get the chance.

The broader staff line tells a more complicated story: a 4.04 team ERA, a bullpen ERA of 4.21, and 13 blown saves. The rotation is also carrying uncertainty into the winter, with Mitch Keller and Endy Rodríguez both on the 60-day injured list.

Skenes set the bar; the roster has to meet it

Paul Skenes turned in a 3.82 ERA over 174.1 innings with 200 strikeouts and a 1.12 WHIP. By almost any measure outside his own, that's a front-line season. By his standard, it was a step back — and it's the reason his looming arbitration raise, reportedly projected near $7.2 million, is being framed as a moment of truth for the front office rather than a formality.

That framing matters because the rest of the roster is at a hinge point. Brandon Lowe, who hit 35 home runs with 96 RBI and an .824 OPS, heads a short list of free-agent decisions. Oneil Cruz closed the year hot — a .362 average and .931 OPS over his final 16 games, finishing with 30 stolen bases — and rookie Konnor Griffin showed a .272 average with 23 steals in 80 games. The Athletic has already named Pittsburgh among the teams positioned to break through in 2027 with a solid winter.

What this means for 2027

The external signals lean optimistic. Pittsburgh's power rating climbed from 17th to 13th, powered by a 0.468 week-over-week jump, and the club drew noticeably better attendance once it gave fans a reason to show up.

But 82 wins in a division with a 103-win heavyweight is not a breakthrough — it's a platform. The Pirates proved in 2026 that they can score. The offseason question is whether they'll surround Skenes, Jones, and Montgomery with enough to make the next 160-run improvement matter in October instead of September.