The Pittsburgh Pirates are struggling so far this season.
The Pittsburgh Pirates nearly pulled off a win in the series finale over the Cleveland Guardians this weekend, but fell in extra innings for the sweep.
The team’s record dropped to 8-15 on the season, keeping them in last place in the NL Central standings.
Bleacher Report writer Joel Reuter also kept the Pirates low in his weekly power rankings, keeping them at No. 27.
The Pirates offense showed some signs of life last week, including a season-high 10 runs on Monday, but they were also shut out on Tuesday and Saturday as consistency at the plate continues to be a major issue. Oneil Cruz slugged three home runs last week, and he now has an .839 OPS with five long balls and 10 steals on the year.
The only teams that ranked lower in the power rankings were the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies.
We’re getting to a point in the season where patterns are beginning to form and things are now looking a little less flukey than it did in the first few weeks of the season.
The Pirates now face a tough road trip this week as they head to the west coast for series with the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers, two teams with winning records so far this season.
BD community, what do you think of Pittsburgh’s placement in the power rankings? Chime off in the comments section below.