Pirates June Report Card: Offense Keeps Getting Better

Where the Pirates really excelled was with their bottom of the lineup and less-experienced players stepped up with injuries to the likes of shortstop Konnor Griffin, center fielder Oneil Cruz and Horwitz.

Jake Mangum took over in center field and slashed .329/.345/.400 for a .745 OPS, while Endy Rodríguez became the every day catcher and hit .270/.352/.540 for a .892 OPS, with four home runs in June.

Rookies in Tyler Callihan and Esmerlyn Valdez both stepped up for the Pirates as well. Callihan slashed .241/.323/.500 for a .823 OPS and hit three home runs, while Valdez hit four home runs in four games at the end of the month, hitting .406/.472/.906 for an OPS of 1.378, proving his bat crucial to the Pirates lineup.

The Pirates got Ryan O'Hearn back from injury and he hit five home runs, while second baseman Brandon Lowe added six home runs himself.

A combination of young talent and older veterans has given the Pirates a strong lineup, 1-through-9, that is worthy of postseason success.

Pitching Disappoints in Rough Month for Pirates: D

June was certainly not a great month from the Pirates pitching staff, with both the rotation and the bullpen having their troubles.

The Pirates starting pitching posted a 4.72 ERA, after posting a 3.82 ERA in March/April and a 3.74 ERA in May, while the bullpen posted a 5.34 ERA, rising from a 3.74 ERA in March/April to a 4.55 ERA in May.

Pittsburgh's rotation didn't have much of a good month, with some great starts and some other poor ones.

Both Mitch Keller and Bubba Chandler have pitched much better over recent starts than prior, with Keller posting a 3.63 ERA over his past three starts and Chandler putting up a stretch of five outings with a 2.82 ERA.

Paul Skenes pitched better than he did towards the end of May, but is still searching for a really great start to get him back on track, while the first and last start from Braxton Ashcraft seeing him give up a combined 11 earned runs.

Jared Jones is now in the starting rotation, but not back to his 100% best form, with a 4.79 ERA and looking for consistency after his return from long-term injury.

The Pirates bullpen continues posing a major problem for their postseason hopes, as they struggle protecting leads.

Closer Gregory Soto had a really tough month, posting a 13.50 ERA over 7.1 innings and nine games pitched.

Soto blew two saves, giving up three runs in the 11-9 loss to the Houston Astroas at Daikin Park on June 3, after the Pirates led 9-5 in the eighth inning, and gave up a three-run home run to Cincinnati Reds designated hitter Eugenio Suárez on the final strike in a 9-7 loss at PNC Park on June 27.

The Pirates bullpen also struggled in other games, giving up 15 earned runs vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park, June 9-11, and the offense really had to come through at times.

Lefty Mason Montgomery had some troubles with a 6.52 ERA and rookie Brandan Bidois did so too with a 9.52 ERA.

Pittsburgh could see a better bullpen forming, with Dennis Santana finding some form, Yohan Ramírez pitching well and Carmen Mlodzinski now a full-time reliever after starting the first two months,

The Pirates will still need to seriously add to their bullpen at the trade deadline and will hope for internal improvements prior to that.