The Pittsburgh Pirates season is long over and a few teams still in the playoffs played a key role in them missing out on the postseason for the ninth straight season.

Eight teams remain in the MLB playoffs after the New York Mets staged a ninth-inning rally to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 and advance to the National League Division Series, setting the stage for a pair rivals who faced each other. The Mets will take on the Philadelphia Phillies, while the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will face off in the NLDS for the second time in three years.

At the other end of the standings in the American League, the New York Yankees face the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Guardians face the Detroit Tigers after scoring a huge upset against the Houston Astros.

Here’s how the Pirates fared against the eight teams still playing in October.

Los Angeles Dodgers: 2-4

The Pirates got the best of the Dodgers in their first series, taking two of three at PNC Park. Jared Jones defeated former Pirates starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow in a 1-0 win to open the series on June 4 and Paul Skenes was buoyed by a rare offensive outburst in a 10-6 victory. Pittsburgh dropped the final game of the series in another high-scoring affair, 11-7.

A struggling Pirates team didn’t get any help when it made the trip to Los Angeles in August, as they were swept for the second straight series after losing three straight to the Padres at home. Paul Skenes turned in the worst performance of his rookie season, allowing four runs in six innings, and Los Angeles capped the sweep with a come-from-behind walk-off victory over Pittsburgh.

The sweep extended the Pirates’ losing streak to seven and lowered their record to 56–61.

New York Mets: 2-5

A red-hot Pirates team first took on a Mets team still finding their footing in early April.

Naturally, the Mets got on track with a three-game sweep of the Pirates. The loss sent Pittsburgh into a tailspin, as it went from 11-6 to 14-17 in late April and failed to get back to .500 on July 14 with a sweep of the Chicago White Sox just before the All-Stars break.

The two teams faced off again on the first weekend of July, splitting the four-game series at PNC Park. The Pirates and Skenes turned in a dominant performance in a 14-2 win to open the series and Mitch Keller saved it as an 8-2 victory helped Pittsburgh drop three of four to the Mets.

Philadelphia Phillies: 4-3

Of the six teams that made the NL playoffs, the Phillies were the only team against which the Pirates had a winning record.

The two Pennsylvania teams met in early April and traded wins en route to splitting the four-game series. Pittsburgh’s loss in the first game of the series put the team in first place in the NL Central and marked the last time it held sole lead in the division.

The two teams faced off again for a three-game series immediately after the All-Star Break at PNC Park. Pittsburgh won its first two games, including a walk-off victory in the series opener, to move above .500 for the first time since April 24.

Pittsburgh’s bid for a sweep was thwarted with a 6-0 loss in the final meeting of the season against the Phillies.

San Diego Padres: 0-6

Pittsburgh’s hopes of making the playoffs as a wild card team essentially ended at the hands of the Padres. During the Pirates’ 10-game losing streak in August, they were swept twice by San Diego.

In their first three-game series, the Pirates blew a pair of ninth-inning leads en route to two one-run losses. With these losses, Pittsburgh fell below .500 for the first time in almost a month.

The Pirates took on the Padres again four days later for another three-game set and were swept again, essentially putting the final nail in the coffin for their playoff hopes.

Cleveland Guardians: 1-2

A matchup between two of the league’s better pitching teams produced a slugfest in the first game of the series at Progressive Field, though the Pirates were unable to hold on to a two-run lead and ultimately lost 10-8.

Luis Ortiz turned in one of his best performances of the season, holding Cleveland scoreless through six innings of work en route to a 3-0 victory. With a series win on the line, the Pirates’ bats struggled mightily in a 6-1 loss.

Detroit Tigers: 2-2

The Pirates and Tigers met for a two-game series, splitting the two. After winning the first game of the series at PNC Park in April, the Pirates bid for a sweep was thwarted when the Tigers scored four runs off David Bednar in the ninth inning to beat Pittsburgh 5–3.

In late May, the two teams met for a doubleheader at Comerica Park and traded blowout victories. The Tigers won the opening game 8-0 after a strong performance from Tarik Skubal, and the Pirates took the second game after a great performance from Skenes on their way to a 10-2 victory.

Kansas City Royals: 1-2

Still in the hunt for the AL Central crown, the Royals took care of business in the first two games of the series, winning 8-3 and 5-1. The Pirates avoided the sweep with a 4-3 victory in the series finale.

New York Yankees: 2-1

The Pirates ended their season on a high note, taking two of three from the Yankees. Bryan Reynolds’ two home runs lifted Pittsburgh past the Yankees 4-2 in the series opener and the offense powered AL Rookie of the Year contender Luis Gil to a 9-4 win. The Pirates’ bid for a sweep was ruined with a 6-4 loss in the final game of the season.

The series victory over the Yankees was Pittsburgh’s first since 2017.

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