Jul 5, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Andrew McCutchen (22) strikes out to Seattle Mariners pitcher Andrés Muñoz (75) during the ninth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images John Froschauer-Imagn Images

Pirates Make Wacky MLB History vs. Mariners

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI
By Dominic Campbell | Last updated Jul 7, 2025 9:00 AM ET

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates find themselves setting new feats in MLB history that no other team has done before.

The Pirates suffered a sweep vs. the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park this past weekend, losing 6-0 on July 4 and 1-0 each on July 5 and July 6.

Pittsburgh had just come off an incredible homestand, where they swept both the New York Mets, June 27-29, and the St. Louis Cardinals, June 30-July 2, at PNC Park.

They scored 43 runs over the six games, including nine runs twice and a season-high 12 runs vs. the Mets on June 29, while adding 13 runs vs. the Cardinals. They also only allowed four runs vs. the Mets and none vs. the Cardinals, outscoring their two opponents 43-4.

That marked the most runs scored over a six-game span with less than five runs allowed in MLB history.

The Pirates also made history again, becoming the first MLB team ever that shutout another team over a three-game series and then followed that up with their opponent shutting them out in another three-game series, according to OptaStats.

OptaStats also noted that this would've also made MLB history if they had it the other way around as well.

The Pirates were shut out in all three games of their series against the Mariners after shutting out the Cardinals in all three games of their previous series. They are the first team in MLB history to have back-to-back series of 3+ games with a sweep of shutouts for and against,… pic.twitter.com/6EyWyLsijB
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 6, 2025

The Pirates struggled mightily from the plate, with just 12 hits in 94 at-bats, a .127 batting average. They tied their season-low for hits with just two in the 1-0 defeat on July 5 and then set a season-high of 13 strikeouts in the 1-0 loss on July 6.

Pittsburgh is one of the worst hitting teams in baseball, with their six-game homestand vs. the Mets and Cardinals coming as an aberration, rather than a change in their play.

The Pirates have the worst slugging percentage (341), second worst OPS (.644), tied for fourth worst in batting average (.261) and seventh worst on-base percentage (.303).

They also have the least home runs (61), scored the second least runs (310) and doubles (118), the sixth least hits (694) and posted the fifth most strikeouts (797).

The Pirates also tied the MLB record for most consecutive games with four runs scored or less at 26 games from April 23 to May 22.

Pittsburgh willl hope they make MLB history for better offense again, as they travel and face the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, July 7-9.

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

More must-reads: