Pittsburgh Pirates News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Pirates Doing Something They Haven't Since 1940

May 26, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe (5) celebrates in the dugout after scoring a run against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Pirates Doing Something They Haven't Since 1940

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI
By Dominic Campbell | Last updated May 27, 2026 2:00 PM ET

Add us as a preferred source on Google

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have had an excellent season, particularly from the plate, as they're maintaining impressive production so far.

The Pirates have scored 270 runs this season, ranking fifth-most in baseball and giving them an average of 4.91 runs per game, or five runs per game, to round it up to the nearest whole number.

It is the most runs per game they've scored this century, just ahead of their 4.90 runs they scored per game in the 2000 season, their final season at Three Rivers Stadium.

Joe Block of SportsNet Pittsburgh said that this was the most runs they've scored per game since 1940, although it is close, this isn't technically correct, as the 1940 Pirates averaged 5.19 runs per game.

The 4.91 runs per game this season does rank 12th most of any Pirates campaign in the Modern Era, since 1901.

How the Pirates Have Scored So Many Runs

The Pirates scored the least runs in baseball last season (583) and also hit the least RBI (561), home runs (117), while also posting the worst slugging percentage (.350) and OPS (.655), the third-worst batting average (.231) and tied for the seventh-worst on-base percentage (.305).

Pittsburgh went into this last offseason with the goal of adding players that would bolster their lineup and make them a formidable team going forward.

This included signing free agent Ryan O'Hearn and trading for Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe, but it's also seen them benefit from internal improvements as well.

Pirates 2026 Hitting Totals/MLB Rankings

Stat	Total (MLB Ranking)
Hits	482 (Tied-Second)
On-Base Percentage	.333 (Tied-Third)
Batting Average	.252 (Fourth)
Runs Scored/RBI	270/258 (Fifth)
OPS	.724 (Sixth)
Walks	209 (Tied-Eighth)
Slugging Percentage	.391 (Ninth)
Home Runs	58 (Tied-14th)

Center fielder Oneil Cruz, left fielder Bryan Reynolds, first baseman Spencer Horwitz and third baseman Nick Gonzales have all had great seasons too, while shortstop Konnor Griffin is excelling as a rookie.

Cruz and Griffin have used their speed to generate a great deal of runs scored, while Lowe and O'Hearn have made sure their power is playing in driving those runs in.

Pirates Runs Scored/RBI Rankings

Player	Runs Scored	RBI
Oneil Cruz	38	35
Bryan Reynolds	33	34
Brandon Lowe	32	33
Konnor Griffin	28	20
Ryan O'Hearn	27	29
Nick Gonzales	23	22
Spencer Horwitz	20	25

Cruz ranked tied for ninth in MLB/ fifth in NL in runs scored, while Reynolds is tied for 33rd in MLB/21st in NL and Lowe ranks tied 38th in MLB/25th in NL.

The Pirates have found a way to use new additions, plus returning players and bringing up a new talent like Griffin to have success.

Pittsburgh has scored double-digit runs four times, which includes a 17-7 win over the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on May 2, a 16-5 win over the Washington Nationals at PNC Park on April 13, a 13-3 win over the San Francicso Giants at Oralce Park on May 9 and a 12-1 win over the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on May 26.

The Pirates have also only been shutout six times and scored at least two runs in all but 10 games this season.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: