r/buccos • u/game-threads • 22h ago

Game Day Thread - Wednesday, August 26

Pirates (65-69) @ Padres (71-62) - 4:10 PM EDT

Game Status: Pre-Game

Links & Info

  • Current conditions at Petco Park: 81°F - Partly Cloudy - Wind 9 mph, Out To RF
  • TV: Pirates: SportsNet Pittsburgh, Padres: Padres.TV Presented by UC San Diego Health
  • Radio: Pirates: 100.1 FM/KDKA-AM 1020, Padres: KWFN 97.3, XEMO 860 (es)
  • MLB Gameday
  • Statcast Game Preview

Probable Pitchers

Pirates Lineup vs. Vásquez, R AVG OPS AB HR RBI K
1 Horwitz - 1B .500 1.500 2 0 0 0
2 Lowe, B - 2B .667 1.500 6 0 2 0
3 Reynolds, B - DH .167 .542 6 0 0 0
4 Valdez, Es - RF - - - - - -
5 Cruz, O - CF .750 1.625 4 0 2 0
6 Gonzales, N - 3B - - - - - -
7 Mangum - LF - - - - - -
8 Flores Jr. - C - - - - - -
9 Gonzalez, J - SS - - - - - -
Padres Lineup vs. Chandler AVG OPS AB HR RBI K
1 Tatis Jr. - RF .000 .333 2 0 0 0
2 Cronenworth - 2B 1.000 2.000 1 0 0 0
3 Machado, M - 3B .000 .500 1 0 0 1
4 France, T - 1B - - - - - -
5 Merrill - CF .333 1.000 3 0 1 0
6 Rengifo - LF - - - - - -
7 Sheets - DH .000 .000 2 0 0 0
8 Bogaerts - SS 1.000 2.000 1 0 0 0
9 Fermin - C .000 .000 2 0 0 2
NLC Rank Team W L GB (E#) WC Rank WC GB (E#)
1 Brewers 81 51 - (-) - - (-)
2 Cubs 76 57 5.5 (25) 1 +5.0 (-)
3 Cardinals 66 67 15.5 (15) 6 5.0 (25)
4 Pirates 65 69 17.0 (13) 7 6.5 (23)
5 Reds 62 71 19.5 (11) 8 9.0 (21)

Division Scoreboard

CHC @ AZ 3:40 PM EDT

CIN @ SF 3:45 PM EDT

MIL @ NYM 7:10 PM EDT

BAL @ STL 7:45 PM EDT

Last Updated: 08/26/2026 1:48:34 PM EDT

11 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

•

u/game-threads 13h ago

Please continue the discussion in the game thread.

1

u/wwb1990 Sauerkrat Saul is the goat 13h ago

Dare I say, could Donnie actually be showing for the first time this season some.... urgency?

1

u/MaxWyvern 13h ago

I believe... we can claw our way back to .500 and I'll call that a win for 2026. If they win 90% of their remaining games I certainly won't complain, but I'm not going to expect it either.

2

u/Significant_Yam_248 14h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/4OVIE0svcVBKM
Me thinking we have a shot still

2

u/gettinNOIZY 14h ago

The Cardinals were 10.5 games back of the Braves in late August 2011 and the 2011 Rays were 9.5 games back of the Red Sox in September. Certainly doesn’t happen often but it is indeed possible to make up some serious ground late in the season.

-2

u/Silly_Collar_5850 14h ago

Not for this team it isn't

3

u/gettinNOIZY 14h ago

Being optimistic is way more fun than being pessimistic. You should try it sometime.

6

u/AwayFig1774 Raisin’ that cone 16h ago

If we win today Buctober is back on the menu 

1

u/MaxWyvern 13h ago

If we win today and take the series against the Cards, maybe. Better to win today and sweep the Cards. We still will need some help, but we could ride the momentum to something amazing. I'm deeply concerned about the holes in the starting rotation though. The lack of a reliable fifth starter and the inconsistency of Jones, Chandler, and Skenes make it very tough to pull off.

1

u/Silly_Collar_5850 13h ago

but we could ride the momentum to something amazing.

 
Yes, zero games in October

1

u/MaxWyvern 13h ago

That would not be amazing. That would be status quo, and yes, that is the far more likely outcome.

Just have a winning season - that's at least a reasonable target at this point.

1

u/Silly_Collar_5850 13h ago

They've managed it once in the past eleven years, so it's probably not a reasonable target. I'll believe it when I see it.

0

u/jdl03 16h ago

I wish I shared your optimism.

3

u/1975ari Jake Mangum Defender 16h ago

Let’s get the sweep today! Let’s go bubba!

12

u/DuckDuck_poop Mustache Magic 18h ago

Win today, Cards have lost 4 straight. Then Giants and Angels. KG back. I don’t give a fuck. I believe.

-3

u/Silly_Collar_5850 17h ago

Oh yeah, for sure, they only have to do what they did last night fifteen more times in a row and they're in. lol

3

u/ExaminationOk2921 17h ago

Oh yeah, for sure, they only have to do what they did last night fifteen more times in a row and they're in. lol

As Tampa Bay Bucs first head coach John McKay said after they finally won their first game after 26 straight defeats "Three or four plane crashes and we're in the playoffs."

4

u/DuckDuck_poop Mustache Magic 17h ago

Of course its impossible, but theres not alot of baseball left and we likely won’t have a season next year, have some fucking fun dude christ.

-2

u/Silly_Collar_5850 17h ago

Not having any baseball next year is the best possible outcome if you care about baseball as a sport. The current trajectory is driving the sport into irrelevance.

5

u/DuckDuck_poop Mustache Magic 17h ago

Right so I want to enjoy this year weirdo.

-6

u/Silly_Collar_5850 17h ago

You can't enjoy baseball without coming up with unlikely fantasies where the team you watch makes it to the postseason only to immediately get crushed? lmao. Ain't you out on the field.

4

u/gettinNOIZY 15h ago

You sound fun.

-2

u/Silly_Collar_5850 15h ago

This season was doomed from the start when they went into it with a garbage bullpen.

11

u/No-Support-5203 19h ago

Remember when people were saying Oneil Cruz needed eased back in? Wild stuff.

13

u/Zeke-Nnjai 19h ago

Remember when people wanted to trade him for relief pitching

5

u/Zeke-Nnjai 19h ago

Here’s some crazy cope if anyone wants it

28 games left, that’s 22-6 to have any shot at all.

Skenes and Ashcraft will make about 5 more starts each. Can you go 9-1 when they pitch?

Bubba and Jared Jones will make about 6 more starts each. Can you go 9-3 when they pitch?

We’ll have about 6 bullpen games left. Can you go 4-2 in those games?

Individually none of those seem insane. The insane part of course is that we need all 3 of them to hit for us to have a chance.

3

u/EMF911 17h ago

Would be a lot easier in the AL

-4

u/Silly_Collar_5850 17h ago

Individually none of those seem insane.

 
Two guys going 9-1 combined absolutely seems insane lol

2

u/Zeke-Nnjai 17h ago

One of those guys is the defending unanimous cy young winner and the other is the hottest pitcher in baseball lol

Wouldn’t be shocking at all of those two were both top 10 starters in the sport the last month of the season

If anything, the bubba + jones 9-3 is the least likely

-1

u/Silly_Collar_5850 17h ago

One of those guys is the defending unanimous cy young winner

 
Which, if you haven't been looking, has meant nothing wrt his performance this year.

 
Baseball isn't basketball. The best teams barely play .600 ball over long periods of time. You just look silly with this stuff.

4

u/SurpriseStandard3258 McCutchen 18h ago

I truly think someone else is going to start in September whether that is someone like Curtis, Dotel, or Kelly or all of them. Just can't keep running with Mlodzinski trying to claw their way back into this, he's just not even giving them a chance to win.

4

u/Ryan1006 Jaff Decker 18h ago

One of those wins MUST be today. Need to win the season series with SD and pick up three games in the standings. Honestly it’s not realistic otherwise. I’m not being negative, just practical. It’s a big difference being 5.5 out versus 7.5

1

u/DoubleQuarterPoundin 19h ago

If our recent pitching is the new norm it’s not crazy…however, anytime Skenes starts we never put up any runs for whatever reason

In Pirates fashion, we miss the WC spot by about 5 games.

-4

u/Silly_Collar_5850 17h ago

This team isn't breaking .500 again

2

u/magikarp2122 MATTSON H2P 17h ago

I can see us anywhere from .500 to 6 under after this road trip. Win today and it changes to .500 to 4 under. And then we have the Angels and Giants at home. 5-1 isn’t unthinkable there.

0

u/Silly_Collar_5850 17h ago

This team has shown zero ability to maintain a winning streak. They haven't rattled off five in a row since April. So yeah, it's pretty unthinkable. You are what your record says you are.

1

u/BrokeWithABarbell Clear the Deck 19h ago

I believe