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Rafael Flores Jr. Rafael Flores Jr. Launches 10th homer
Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 7:43 PM
Flores went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and a double in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Royals.
Analysis: Flores provided the decisive blow in Sunday's victory -- he launched a 426-foot blast off Nate Pearson in the eighth inning to put the Pirates ahead 4-3. The 25-year-old Flores has been on a tear of late, going 20-for-47 (.426) over his last 13 games. Overall, he's batting .286 with a .910 OPS, 22 RBI and 16 runs scored across 147 plate appearances this season. |
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Mason Montgomery Mason Montgomery Extends scoreless streak in 16th save
Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 7:32 PM
Montgomery earned the save in Sunday's 4-3 win over Kansas City, allowing a hit while striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning.
Analysis: Montgomery is up to 16 saves this season, as he extended his scoreless streak to 23.2 innings -- he's given up just nine hits and seven walks while striking out 34 in that span. Overall, Montgomery's lowered his ERA to 2.59 this season with a 1.03 WHIP and 99:26 K:BB across 66 innings. |
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Lake Bachar Lake Bachar Drawing start in bullpen game
Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 8:11 AM
Bachar will serve as the Pirates' opening pitcher in a bullpen game Sunday against the Royals, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Analysis: Bachar will be making his 11th start of the season but hasn't covered more than three innings in any of those prior 10 appearances and will be in line for an abbreviated workload once again Sunday. After tossing three scoreless innings in a long-relief appearance against the Brewers on Tuesday, Antwone Kelly could be called upon to work multiple frames out of the bullpen once Bachar exits the game. |
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Ronny Simon Ronny Simon Hits first career homer
Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 6:45 AM
Simon went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Royals.
Analysis: Simon opened the scoring with his first career major-league home run in the second inning. The 26-year-old has been solid in a small sample this season, hitting .313 with four extra-base hits, four RBI, nine runs scored and seven steals across just 52 plate appearances with the Pirates. |
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Brandon Lowe Brandon Lowe Hits clutch homer in win
Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 6:42 AM
Lowe went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Royals.
Analysis: Lowe hit what proved to be the game-winning blast in the bottom of the eighth inning. It continued a strong run by the 32-year-old, who's hit safely in 10 of his past 11 games while going deep in four of his last five. For the year, he leads all second basemen with 33 long balls while slashing .262/.332/.494 with 93 RBI, 92 runs scored and two steals across 630 plate appearances. |
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Bubba Chandler Bubba Chandler Labors in no-decision
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 9:46 PM
Chandler did not factor into the decision in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Royals, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk with six strikeouts over four innings.
Analysis: Chandler entered the fifth inning with a 4-1 lead but allowed the first two batters he faced to reach, departing at 90 pitches before both inherited runners ultimately came around to score. It marked just the third time in 11 second-half starts that the 24-year-old was unable to complete at least five frames, though he's now yielded a homer in four straight outings. He owns a 4.34 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 138:76 K:BB across 151.1 innings and will close out his full year in the majors in Detroit next weekend. |
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Mason Montgomery Mason Montgomery Secures 15th save
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 9:38 PM
Montgomery earned the save in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Royals, allowing no hits and one walk with one strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning.
Analysis: Montgomery was called upon to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning and worked around a leadoff walk to close things out. It continued a ridiculous second half for the 26-year-old, who's yielded just two earned runs while converting all 14 of his save opportunities in 28 appearances since the All-Star break. On the season, he owns 15 saves and nine holds to go along with a 2.63 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 98:26 K:BB across 65 innings. |
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Henry Davis Henry Davis Making impact at plate
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 9:17 AM
Davis went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and an RBI against the Royals on Friday.
Analysis: Davis started behind the plate for the second consecutive game and made an impact at the plate in both contests. He popped his 10th home run of the season Thursday and then provided an insurance run with an infield single Friday. Davis is still having a poor offensive season overall, but he has set career-high marks in homers, RBI and runs scored. |
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Spencer Horwitz Spencer Horwitz Starting to get on track
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 9:13 AM
Horwitz went 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBI and two runs scored Friday against the Royals.
Analysis: Horwitz delivered a two-RBI single in the seventh inning to give the Pirates a lead they wouldn't relinquish. He has struggled significantly since returning in early August, as he's hit just .182 with 13 RBI and seven runs scored across 34 games. However, Horwitz has started to turn things around of late, hitting .333 with five RBI and three runs scored in his last seven contests. |
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Konnor Griffin Konnor Griffin Four hits in Friday's win
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 8:49 AM
Griffin went 4-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI in Friday's 8-5 win over the Royals.
Analysis: All four knocks were singles, but the precocious shortstop still did his job from the top of the order as part of a 15-hit barrage from the Bucs. Griffin is having a strong finish to his first MLB campaign, and over the last 10 games the 20-year-old sports a .311/.354/.422 slash line with three doubles, a triple, two steals, six runs and six RBI. |
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Gregory Soto Gregory Soto Nabs 15th save
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 8:46 AM
Soto gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his 15th save of the season in an 8-5 win over the Royals.
Analysis: Mason Montgomery threw 29 pitches Thursday, so Soto got his old job back for a night as he picked up his first save since Aug. 1. Soto remains prone to meltdowns, and while he's blanked the opposition in five of his seven September appearances, he still has a 10.13 ERA in 5.1 innings on the month. On the season, the veteran southpaw has a 3.78 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 76:28 K:BB through 64.1 frames with six wins and 13 holds in addition to his saves. |
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Paul Skenes Paul Skenes Fans seven in Friday's no-decision
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 8:43 AM
Skenes didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 8-5 win over the Royals, giving up five runs on six hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out seven.
Analysis: The 24-year-old righty had trouble keeping the ball in the yard, serving up solo shots to Vinnie Pasquantino in the first inning and Michael Massey in the fourth, but it was a three-run third that accounted for most of the damage against Skenes. The would-be ace has unexpectedly crashed back to earth in 2026, and he's been tagged for five runs in four of his last 10 starts, limping to a 4.96 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 54:21 K:BB over 52.2 innings during that stretch. Skenes will try to head into the offseason with some momentum when he makes his final start of the year at home next week against the Cardinals. |
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Braxton Ashcraft Braxton Ashcraft Return this season ruled out
Fri, Sep 18, 2026, 3:46 PM
Ashcraft (arm) played catch Friday but is not expected to return this season, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Analysis: Ashcraft landed on the 15-day injured list last week with right arm discomfort. He received multiple medical opinions and his injury is not considered serious, but the Pirates will not push the right-hander to return before the end of the season. Ashcraft had a breakout year for Pittsburgh, logging a 3.65 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 173:35 K:BB over 165.1 innings covering 28 starts. |
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Jake Mangum Jake Mangum Out of lineup again Friday
Fri, Sep 18, 2026, 2:25 PM
Mangum is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Royals.
Analysis: He's now been out of the lineup for two straight contests after starting each of the six tilts prior to that. Ronny Simon will play right field for the Pirates in the series opener. |
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Rafael Flores Jr. Rafael Flores Jr. Exiting starting lineup
Fri, Sep 18, 2026, 1:54 PM
Flores is not in the lineup for Friday's game versus the Royals.
Analysis: After starting each of the previous four contests, Flores will exit the lineup for Friday's series opener. Henry Davis will do the catching for the Pirates. |
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Mason Montgomery Mason Montgomery Up to 14 saves
Thu, Sep 17, 2026, 3:04 PM
Montgomery earned the save Thursday in a 7-4 win over the Brewers, allowing two walks while striking out two over 1.1 scoreless innings.
Analysis: It was another strong performance from Montgomery, who's been nearly untouchable since late July. The southpaw's now delivered 21.2 straight scoreless innings, allowing just eight hits while striking out 32 in that span. Montgomery has converted 14 saves this season while working to a 2.67 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP and 97:25 K:BB across 64 innings. |
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Jake Mangum Jake Mangum Receiving breather Thursday
Thu, Sep 17, 2026, 10:07 AM
Mangum is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Brewers.
Analysis: After starting in each of the last six games while going 4-for-22 with a double, a walk and a stolen base, Mangum will get a break as the Pirates wrap up their series with the Brewers. Ronny Simon will replace Mangum in the starting nine, manning right field while batting seventh. |
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Jacob Gonzalez Jacob Gonzalez Idle for series finale
Thu, Sep 17, 2026, 10:05 AM
Gonzalez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Brewers.
Analysis: With left-hander Kyle Harrison on the bump for the Brewers, the left-handed-hitting Gonzalez will retreat to the bench for the third time in four games. Jared Triolo will spell Gonzalez at third base and will bat eighth. |
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Ryan O'Hearn Ryan O'Hearn Taking seat versus lefty
Thu, Sep 17, 2026, 9:47 AM
O'Hearn is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Brewers.
Analysis: O'Hearn has gone 4-for-17 with one home run in five games since coming back from the injured list. He'll get a breather during Thursday's afternoon tilt, with Rafael Flores slotting in at first base and Nick Gonzales serving as the Pirates' designated hitter. |
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Wilber Dotel Wilber Dotel Starting Thursday
Wed, Sep 16, 2026, 9:58 PM
Dotel will start Thursday's game against the Brewers, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
Analysis: Dotel will be making his second start of the season as the Pirates lean on their bullpen to get through Thursday's affair. The 23-year-old righty gave up three runs while pitching two innings during his first start Friday against the Cubs, and he will likely handle a similar workload Thursday. |
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