The Pirates headed into Houston, Texas playing some of their best baseball of the season. With series against two of the National League's best teams, the Braves and Dodgers, looming on the schedule, Pittsburgh needed to take care of business against a struggling Astros squad before things got much tougher.
Game 1 featured one of the more intriguing pitching matchups the Pirates have had all season. It was a battle between two arms who, just one year ago, were viewed as major pieces of the Pirates' future in Bubba Chandler and Mike Burrows. Burrows was shipped to Houston in the now constantly mentioned three-team trade that brought Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum, and Mason Montgomery to Pittsburgh. Chandler, meanwhile, still carries the label of being one of the franchise's cornerstone pieces moving forward, but he has desperately needed a get-right outing. The matchup felt like the type of game that would come down to whichever young arm could avoid trouble the longest.
Well, Chandler found trouble almost immediately. Just two pitches into the game, he gave up a leadoff single and then watched Yordan Alvarez launch the next pitch into the seats for a two-run homer. Two pitches into a pivotal start, the Pirates were already staring at a 2-0 deficit.
Fortunately, the offense answered right away. With Nick Gonzales aboard, Endy Rodriguez launched his first home run since 2023. It was originally ruled a triple off the wall, but replay review showed the ball clipped a pole beyond the short fence and the call was overturned. Just like that, the game was tied at 2.
Houston grabbed the lead back fairly quickly. Christian Walker drove in a run with a single in the third inning, and Carlos Pena added another in the fourth when Bryan Reynolds was unable to come up with a line drive that made it 4-2 Astros.
The defining moment of the game came in the sixth. Ryan O'Hearn worked a leadoff walk and Gonzales followed with a single. Oneil Cruz then took matters into his own hands, unloading another Cruz Missile into the seats for a go-ahead three-run homer. In the blink of an eye, a 4-2 deficit became a 5-4 Pirates lead.
Rodriguez later walked, stole a base, and eventually scored when a Jake Mangum bunt led to an errant throw. The Pirates suddenly led 6-4 and never looked back.
They completely put the game out of reach in the eighth inning courtesy of Brandon Lowe. Who else? Lowe drilled the foul pole in right field for a three-run homer that silenced the Houston crowd and extended the lead to 9-4. Rodriguez nearly left the yard again in the ninth, settling for an RBI double as the Pirates offense hung a 10-spot on the Astros.
Dennis Santana made things slightly uncomfortable in the ninth by allowing the lead to shrink to 10-6, but Gregory Soto entered and quickly recorded the final two outs to secure the victory.
Game 2 was a completely different story. There have been several contenders for "worst loss of the year" already this season, but this one may have taken the crown.
The offense remained red hot and continued to look like one of the most dangerous groups Pirates fans have seen in a very long time. Paul Skenes, however, did not quite look like himself. He entered the game carrying a personal three-game losing streak and dealt with several innings where Nick Gonzales, playing third base, was unable to convert plays that he would likely tell you he makes nine times out of ten. Skenes battled through some long innings and elevated pitch counts but still put himself in position to leave with a lead.
After surrendering two runs in the third, he got all the support he needed when Henry Davis stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. Trailing 2-0, Davis looked like a man on a mission. He crushed a 3-1 pitch all the way to the train tracks in left field. When it landed, the Pirates suddenly held a 4-2 lead and Greg Brown delivered one of his best calls of the season.
Things got dicey again in the fifth. Skenes allowed a pair of singles before striking out the next two hitters. Don Kelly came to the mound as Skenes approached 100 pitches, but Skenes had no interest in handing over the baseball. He battled through a lengthy at-bat against Cam Smith before ultimately losing the battle, allowing an RBI single that cut the lead to 4-3. Skenes exited after 4.2 innings and once again was denied a chance at a victory.
Yohan Ramirez entered and worked out of the jam before giving the Pirates 2.1 innings of relief. Meanwhile, the offense kept rolling.
Jared Triolo delivered an RBI single in the sixth to make it 5-3. In the seventh, Gonzales launched a two-run homer and Jhostynxon "The Password" Garcia added an RBI double as the lead ballooned to 8-3.
Ramirez surrendered a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning, but Pittsburgh still held a comfortable 8-5 lead entering the late innings. Gonzales added another RBI double in the eighth and the Pirates appeared to be cruising toward a series victory.
Then came the collapse. Mason Montgomery entered needing just four outs to finish things off. He recorded two quick outs in the eighth and had nobody on base.
That is where everything unraveled. Back-to-back doubles and a walk suddenly brought the tying run to the plate. Don Kelly elected to go to Gregory Soto for the biggest matchup of the night against Alvarez.
Things only got worse from there. Alvarez lined an RBI single to make it 9-7. Walker followed with a fortunate infield hit that brought home another run. A wild pitch tied the game, and moments later Cam Smith ripped a triple down the right field line that gave Houston an 11-9 lead.
A six-run rally with two outs and nobody on base. Just an absolute nightmare.
The score held and the Pirates somehow walked away with what was undoubtedly their most crushing loss of the season.
Thankfully, one of the most encouraging traits of this 2026 club has been its ability to respond after getting knocked down. The Pirates did exactly that in the rubber match.
With the bullpen heavily taxed after the previous night's collapse, Pittsburgh turned to a Jared Jones and Carmen Mlodzinski piggyback plan. It worked almost perfectly. Jones looked like the pitcher Pirates fans remembered, as he tossed five scoreless innings, struck out four batters, and put the club in position to secure the series.
Mlodzinski entered with plenty of pressure on his shoulders and immediately found trouble when the second pitch he threw was launched into the left field seats for a solo homer.
To his credit, he responded beautifully. Mlodzinski settled in and shut the Astros down the rest of the way. He struck out three, walked nobody, and delivered exactly the type of outing the Pirates needed from him in his new role.
The offense was not nearly as explosive as it had been earlier in the series, but it still did more than enough. Brandon Lowe doubled and Ryan O'Hearn singled him home in the first inning to make it 1-0.
They added major insurance in the sixth. Lowe doubled again, Bryan Reynolds delivered an RBI single, and O'Hearn crushed a two-run homer to stretch the lead to 4-0. Later in the inning, Jared Triolo reached on an error that allowed Gonzales to score and push the lead to 5-0.
That was more than enough support for the pitching staff. The Astros managed only the lone run off Mlodzinski's homer allowed, and the Pirates closed out a 5-1 victory to secure the series win in Houston.
After one of the most frustrating losses imaginable in Game 2, the Pirates showed resilience once again and found a way to respond. That has become one of the defining characteristics of this team so far. They have taken some punches this season, but they continue to get back up.
Now comes a much bigger challenge. The Pirates head to Atlanta to begin a three-game series against the Braves before eventually welcoming the Dodgers to town. It is about to get significantly tougher, but if Pittsburgh continues to play the brand of baseball it has over the last few weeks, they should head into those matchups with plenty of confidence.
Game 1 against Atlanta is set for Friday night. It will be Mitch Keller versus Martin Perez with first pitch scheduled for 7:15 PM.
