The 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates are not off to a hot start.
Following Monday evening’s 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Pirates are 1-4, having dropped three of four contests in their season-opening series against the Miami Marlins, all in walk-off (and highly frustrating) fashion.
Of the many errors and lapses that have plagued the Pirates to begin the season, many have come on the basepaths.
Notably, the opening series in Miami featured multiple players being gunned down at home plate, as well as a particularly brutal sequence by Ji Hwan Bae on Sunday that ended in him being thrown out at third base.
All that said, the Pirates’ bad baserunning so far has obscured the fact that they currently lead MLB in stolen bases with 17, nearly double that of the Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres, who are tied for second with nine apiece.
Through five games, the Pirates are 17 of 18 (94.4%) on stolen base attempts.
The Pirates’ on-base aggression has come in spite of a slow offensive start to the year.
As a team, the Pirates are slashing only .174/.287/.257.
Their team batting average and slugging percentage both rank 27th in MLB, while their on-base percentage is 21st.
But helping create opportunities to swipe bags have been a league-leading 25 walks.
However, advancing runners hasn’t quite translated to plating runs, as through five games, the Pirates’ 15 runs scored rank 21st in baseball.
Bullpen highs, lows
The high-leverage meltdowns of relievers Colin Holderman and David Bednar early in the year have cast a shadow on the Pirates’ bullpen, which finished 21st in MLB last season with a combined ERA of 4.42.
Bednar has blown a save, allowed runs in all three of his appearances and has an ERA of 27.00 through just one inning pitched.
As for Holderman, he has blown two saves. His ERA sits at 9.00 through three games and three innings.
Despite the visible struggles of their most prominent relievers, several members of the Pirates bullpen have looked sharp to start.
For example, Ryan Borucki is looking like his effective, 2023 self, as he has yet to allow a run through three appearances, with five strikeouts, one walk and a WHIP of 0.67.
Monday in Miami, Borucki delivered 1 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out three with one walk and no hits.
“Borucki looked really sharp,” manager Derek Shelton said on Monday’s SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show.
Caleb Ferguson, signed by Pittsburgh in January, is also sporting a zero ERA through three outings and three innings.
The two lefties are currenty holding batters to a .111 average and are tied for the team lead in holds with two apiece.
Note: Speaking with reporters postgame Monday, Shelton did not announce Tuesday evening’s starter in Tampa Bay. The Pirates are expected to pitch a bullpen game against the Rays, with Paul Skenes then set to make his second start of the season Wednesday afternoon. Ferguson, who last pitched an inning Sunday in Miami, could get the call Tuesday. The 28-year-old has made 14 career starts (of 266 MLB appearances), with a career-high seven starts coming in 2023 while a member of the Dodgers. This year, his first with Pittsburgh, Ferguson has made three appearances, allowing zero runs, two strikeouts and two walks over three innings.
