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The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 4-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday in the opener of their four-game series at Busch Stadium. With this loss, the Pirates are now officially out of postseason contention.
This marks the ninth consecutive season in which the Pirates have failed to make the playoffs. The last time they reached the postseason was in 2015 when they played in the NL Wild Card game against the Chicago Cubs and lost.
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Several Pirates fans took to X/Twitter to react to the news of their ongoing playoff drought:
“Jackson Merrill ended their season,” a fan said.
“They made it past April this time at least,” another fan said.
“Surprised they weren’t eliminated earlier this month,” another comment read.
“At least we lasted until September maybe next year,” one fan wrote.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (71-80), with a .470 winning percentage, are ranked last in the National League Central standings. They previously endured a 20-year playoff drought from 1993 to 2012.
The Bucs joined the NL Central division in 1994 and have yet to win a division title since joining.
Pirates GM Ben Cherington ‘fully expects’ Derek Shelton to return as manager in 2025
On Wednesday, General Manager Ben Cherington said that he expects Derek Shelton to return as Pittsburgh's manager next season.
Cherington said (via MLB.com):
“I think there’s a lot to the job I believe he does really, really well, and I also believe he works his tail off to continue to improve in a number of ways. Seeing that, I believe he’s the right person to manage this team in 2025, so I fully expect that will happen.”
Derek Shelton currently has a 289-407 overall managerial record. Shelton and Cherington both joined the Pirates during the 2019 offseason.
Pittsburgh recorded another loss to the Cardinals on Tuesday, losing 3-1 this time, in the second game of their series. Both teams will face each other again at Busch Stadium on Wednesday where the Cardinals will look to take the series.
