The Pirates welcomed the St. Louis Cardinals to PNC Park for what felt like a pivotal early-season series within the division. Coming off a series win in Milwaukee, the opportunity was there to keep building momentum with the first-place Cincinnati Reds also coming to town next. Instead, this series quickly turned into one that unraveled in just about every way possible.
The Pirates got off to a strong start in Game 1, and for most of the night it looked like they had things exactly where they wanted them. Their only runs came early, but with how the pitching unfolded, it felt like it might be enough. After Brandon Lowe doubled in the first inning, Ryan O'Hearn drove him in with an RBI single to make it 1-0. In the second, Nick Gonzales led off with a double, Konnor Griffin moved him over, and Jake Mangum, a late addition to the lineup with Oneil Cruz out due to illness, came through with a single to make it 2-0.
From there, it was about as perfect of a bullpen game as you could ask for. With Braxton Ashcraft on the bereavement list, Don Kelly turned to Mason Montgomery as the opener, and the plan worked flawlessly for most of the night. Montgomery threw a quick scoreless inning, Justin Lawrence followed with another, and then Wilber Dotel took over and was completely locked in. Dotel tossed four perfect innings, striking out three and looking totally in control. By the time Evan Sisk allowed the first hit with two outs in the seventh, the Pirates had strung together 6 2/3 perfect innings out of the bullpen. Sisk, Isaac Mattson, and Gregory Soto all did their part to keep the shutout intact, and it set things up exactly how you would draw it up.
If you said before the game that a bullpen effort would hand a 2-0 lead to Soto and Dennis Santana in the late innings, everyone would take that. It felt like a win was right there.
Then it all fell apart. Santana gave up a home run on an 0-2 pitch to Pedro Pages, and then Mars, Pennsylvania native JJ Wetherholt followed with a no-doubt homer to tie the game. The inning only got worse from there, with a walk, an incredibly unfortunate infield single that died on the line, another walk to Jordan Walker, and finally a two-run double from Jose Fermin that made it 4-2. What had been nearly perfect turned into a complete disaster, and the Pirates not only lost the game but also taxed their bullpen in the process. It felt like one of those losses that could come back to bite you.
Game 2 did not offer much relief. It was ugly from the start. Braxton Ashcraft returned to the mound but was clearly not himself. After a scoreless first, he gave up towering home runs to Nolan Gorman and Victor Scott II, both shots that felt like they were headed toward the Allegheny River. Jordan Walker added an RBI single to make it 3-0, and the damage continued in the fifth when Ashcraft walked two, allowed a ground rule double, and then two sacrifice flies pushed the score to 6-0. He finished with 4.1 innings, six hits, six earned runs, seven strikeouts, and three walks in a tough outing.
The Pirates showed some fight in the sixth. Oneil Cruz led off with a home run, Bryan Reynolds followed with a hit, and O’Hearn launched another homer to cut the deficit in half and make it 6-3. For a moment, it felt like there might be something there.
That feeling did not last. Hunter Barco struggled in the seventh, walking two of the first three batters before more hard contact stretched the lead back out to 9-3. Alec Burleson later added a two-run double to make it 11-3. Barco stayed out there to finish the game and save the bullpen, which was about the only positive to take away from the night. The Pirates added a few runs late, including an RBI single from O’Hearn, a two-run single from Gonzales, and the first home run at PNC Park for Konnor Griffin, but the final score of 11-7 did not reflect how one-sided it felt.
If Game 1 was a collapse and Game 2 was a rout, then Game 3 was the heartbreaker. Bubba Chandler gave the Pirates a decent outing with five innings and six strikeouts, but once again the consistency and command were not quite there. He ran into trouble late in his outing when Burleson hit a two-run homer in the fifth to make it 3-0. Spencer Horwitz answered with a solo homer in the next inning, but the Cardinals added two more runs in the seventh to make it 5-1.
The Pirates kept fighting. They loaded the bases in the seventh, and Nick Yorke delivered a clutch pinch-hit single to drive in two runs. In the eighth, they loaded the bases again, and Cruz brought in a run on a fielder’s choice to make it 5-4, but they could not get the tying run home. That set up one last chance in the ninth. With Bryan Reynolds on first and two outs, Gonzales stepped in and crushed a ball to deep left field that looked like it might carry out for a walk-off win. Instead, Nathan Church made a leaping grab at the wall to rob him, and just like that, the comeback fell short. You could see the frustration from the crowd and the home dugout, and it felt like a perfect snapshot of the series to that point.
By the time Game 4 rolled around, the Pirates needed a win in the worst way. A Paul Skenes bump day felt like exactly what they needed to stop the bleeding, but the misfortune of this series continued right from the start. JJ Wetherholt led the game off with a no-doubt home run, and later in the inning Jordan Walker added a two-run shot to make it 3-0 before many fans had even settled into their seats.
The vibe never really recovered. Even in moments where the Pirates started to chip away, it never quite felt like it would turn into something. Trailing 5-1, they showed some fight again as Reynolds doubled in the fifth to cut the deficit to 5-3. In the seventh, Lowe added a solo homer off a lefty to make it a one-run game and give the crowd a bit of life.
Just as quickly, that hope disappeared. Reynolds lost a ball in the lights, and suddenly the Cardinals had runners in scoring position with nobody out. Church followed with a blast off the wall to drive in two runs and make it 7-4, and the game slipped away from there. The Cardinals added three more runs to put it out of reach, and the Pirates fell 10-5. Skenes was charged with the loss, and the Pirates were officially swept away in four games by the Red Birds. The losing streak is now up to five games.
Final Thoughts
For starters, JJ Wetherholt made it very clear that he will be a “Pirate Killer” for years to come. My goodness, that kid is special.
This was a big homestand for the Pirates early in the 2026 season. Coming off a series win in Milwaukee, the vibes were high with a chance to make up ground in the division with the Cardinals and Reds coming to town. Instead, the vibes could not be any lower. Getting swept in four games by this “rebuilding” Cardinals team feels worse than a punch in the gut. You can say it is too early to scoreboard watch, but the rest of the division keeps winning and the Pirates are digging themselves into a hole during this losing streak. The offense has not been good enough, the starting pitching has not provided enough length, the bullpen looks worn down, and the frustration from the fanbase is building again as the Pirates close out April at 16-16.
Woof. Sweep the Reds.
It will be Mitch Keller vs Brady Singer for Cincinnati tomorrow night at PNC Park with first pitch set for 6:40 PM.
