Pirates Avoid Breaking Embarrassing MLB Record

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have served as one of the worst offenses in baseball, ranking among the worst in recent history.

The Pirates tied the MLB record for most consecutive games scoring four runs or fewer, with 26 from April 23 to May 22. They tied three other teams who also achieved this feat, along with the 1906 Boston Nationals, the Boston Braves who did it twice in 1918 and 1931, and the 1969 California Angels, according to John Perrotto of Pittsburgh Baseball Now.

Pittsburgh broke the previous record in the 21st century, with the Miami Marlins scoring four runs or fewer in 22 straight games in the 2022 season.

The Pirates previously scored more than four runs in a 9-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium on April 22. Bryan Reynolds and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had three hits and two RBIs, while Andrew McCutchen hit a three-run home run.

Pittsburgh would face the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on May 22, with one last game to avoid setting the record.

The Pirates trailed 8-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning and both Oneil Cruz and McCutchen walked and Reynolds hit an RBI-double, making it 8-4.

Spencer Horwitz came through with a groundout, bringing McCutchen home for that crucial fifth run and breaking the streak in the 8-5 defeat.

The Pirates finished with an 8-18 record during the streak, which included a seven game losing streak, that saw them fire manager Derek Shelton after one win in 10 games, and a four-game losing streak.

Pittsburgh scored four runs four times during that streak, in defeats to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium on April 26, San Diego Padres at PNC Park on May 2 and to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on May 16, plus a win over the Chicago Cubs at home on April 30.

The Pirates have the worst slugging percentage at .322, have the second worst OPS at .622, rank tied with the Colorado Rockies for the second worst batting average, .219 and tied with the Kansas City Royals for the sixth worst on-base percentage at .300 in the MLB.

Pittsburgh has also scored the least amount of runs (151), RBIs (147) and doubles (58), second least home runs (34), the third least hits (366) and the sixth most strikeouts (439) in the MLB.

The Pirates only have two regular starters hitting over .250 in Isiah Kiner-Falefa at .282 and Joey Bart at .259

Seven starters have hit below .250 and both Tommy Pham and Jared Triolo have hit below .200.

The Pirates have a 17-34 record, 13.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs in first place of the National League Central Division, 11.5 games behind the San Diego Padres in the last NL Wild Card spot and have the third worst record in the MLB.