OK, so the Pirates lost Thursday. You didn’t expect them to sweep a four-game series on the road from the St. Louis Cardinals, did you? You don’t expect them to win every game, right? Their 7-2 trip to Seattle, Oakland and St. Louis, though it ended with a 5-1 loss to the Cardinals, has put them in a nice spot and set them up for a run at a fourth consecutive playoff spot. They clearly are trending up as the All-Star break nears.
The Pirates team that will take the PNC Park lawn tonight against the Chicago Cubs is a much different group than the one that headed west June 27.