Weekly Report: Hot Too Late, Three Amigos Mason+Oneil+Brandon, Brax Done, Ronny Simon IL Batting King, Last Week...Playoffs, Hot Stove Next Up

September song…

Pirates Stuff:

• Pittsburgh was eliminated from the postseason when the Padres defeated the Marlins on Friday night. The Bucs most recent playoff outing was in 2015 and they last won a Buctober game in 2013.
• Mason Montgomery has spun 24 straight scoreless outings (23-2/3 IP), a streak that started on July 26th, to top the previous Buc mark set by Mark Melancon in 2015.

Oneil Cruz – 9/2026 image/Sportsnet.Pgh

• Oneil Cruz’s homer on Wednesday vs. Milwaukee was the Pirates’ 172nd homer of the year, setting a new single-season team record (since 1887) by topping the previous franchise mark posted in 1999. His Sunday dinger put him in the 20/20 club for the third consecutive year, joining Andrew McCutchen and Barry Bonds to become the third Pirate to post three straight 20/20 campaigns.
• Gregory Soto (15 saves) and Mason Montgomery (16 saves) are the first pair of Pittsburgh LHPs to each post at least 15 saves in a season (since saves became official in 1969). They became the first set of MLB lefty teammates to each earn at least 15 saves in a season.
• Ben Cherington said that Braxton Ashcraft’s missed starts will be filled by bullpenning. That leaves a rotation of Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and Bubba Chandler plus two by-committee games every five days; the Bucs prefer a parade of bulk inning guys rather than rotation auditions. Brax, btw, had no structural issues after being evaluated, just a tired arm. He pushed to get in another start or two after his IL stint, but with Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes gone pfft, he’s being shut down.
• Brandon Lowe was selected as the Pirates Roberto Clemente Award nominee. Then on Clemente Day, he became the first Buc since 2019 (Josh Bell/37 HR) to bang 30 homers in a season. If you’re wondering about his future, Connor Byrne of MLBTR has this update.

Brandon Lowe – Clemente Award 9/15/2026 photo/Pirates

• SABR has been running a series of various All-Time clubs and just released the Free Agency Era team; Barry Bonds is the only Bucco rep. TSN is also running a series of stars; currently up is the Pioneer all-timers. The Bucs had Hank Greenberg, who mentored Ralph Kiner here in 1947, on the squad.
• Ronny Simon won the International League batting title (.334 BA). 
• Greensboro came in second in the Sally League, losing the championship series 2-games-to-none to the White Sox Hi-A affiliate Winston-Salem. Consolation prize: 1B Jared Jones, C Axiel Plaz and SS Wyatt Sanford were named post-season South Atlantic League All-Stars.
• The eight guys the Pirates are sending to Glendale for Arizona Fall ball are C Easton Carmichael, SS Wyatt Sanford, 3B/OF Jhonny Severino, LHP Cristhian Tortosa and RHPs Brandon Cain, Cameron Keshock, Zander Mueth & Michael Walsh.

Game Stuff:

• Miz did his thing and the Brew Crew took a 5-1 decision from the Bucs on Clemente Day. Brandon Lowe homered to became the first Buc 2B to reach 30 HR, but it was too little & too late to overcome the Brewers four-run sixth inning posted against Gregory Soto and Wilber Dotel. The win clinched the NL Central for Milwaukee, their fourth straight crown.
• Brandow Lowe, Rafe Flores and Oneil Cruz homered while the team posted 12 hits, but Milwaukee still won, 5-4.
• Pittsburgh saved some face with a 7-4 dub in the series finale; Henry Davis roped a two-run homer while disruptors Konnor Griffin and Oneil Cruz chased home a pair of RBI apiece in the Bucs five-run second. 
• Paul Skenes was meh again, but Brandon Lowe homered while Griffin & Cruz combined for seven hits as the Bucs and Yohan Ramirez won the series opener from KC 8-5.

Ronny Simon – 1st homer 9/19/2026 photo/Pirates

• Ronny Simon (his MLB first) and Jake Mangum hit two-run homers to give the Bucs a lead that they lost in the seventh, but no prob – Brandon Lowe banged another two-run blast in the eighth. Mason Montgomery shut the door in the ninth to preserve Luke Weaver’s dub as the Pirates popped above .500 again with a 6-5 victory.
• Using yesterday’s playbook: The opener committee and a Cruz missile gave the Bucs a 2-1 lead going into the seventh. A two-run homer off of Carmen Mlodzinski took care of that, but it was covered by an answering two-spot blast by Rafe Flores before “it’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s…” Mason Montgomery put it away and the Pittsburgh nine had a home sweep of the Royals with a 4-3 dub.
• The Cards are in for three on Tuesday, the Bucs head to Motown for the weekend and then it’s hello, tee times.

MLB Stuff:

• RHP Jose Urquidy, who was let go by the Pirates in July and claimed by the White Sox, was DFA’ed after six outings (22-2/3 IP/4.37 ERA). He wasn’t unemployed long before Philly signed him.
• RHP Peter Strzelecki, who the Bucs had stashed at Indy for awhile last year, has been with four different orgs since the Pirates released him in July of ’25; he just got DFA’ed by the Cards, so he’s looking for a fifth team after declaring for free agency.
• The Rockies have reinstated LHP Jose Quintana from the 60-day IL 

Gerrit Cole – 2012 Bowmans First

• Gerrit Cole hasn’t let injuries or changes-of-address derail him; Cole Train earned his 162nd career victory Friday night, passing Mike Moore for the most wins ever by a pitcher selected first overall (Pirates/Cole – 2011) in the MLB Draft.
• Teams that have punched their postseason ticket: the Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers (won NL Central), Los Angeles Dodgers (won NL West), New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves.