The Pirates won by a score of 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep of the Marlins at PNC Park.

The three-game set, which began on Monday night, had a little something interesting in every contest.

The first matchup was a Paul Skenes Night, as the rookie pitching phenom went six strong innings and allowed one earned run on six hits while striking out nine batters and walking one. Skenes has 151 punch-outs on the season, the most for a rookie pitcher in franchise history. Oneil Cruz, the new regular center field, went yard in the bottom of the first inning for his 19th home run of the year. Aroldis Chapman picked up his seventh save on the season, as Pittsburgh won, 3-2. Skenes improved his rookie record to 10-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.10.

It was a bullpen night for the Buccos in Game 2 of the series on Tuesday. Carmen Mlodzinski started the game and pitched two scoreless innings. Joey Wentz followed and went two-and-two-thirds innings, allowing two hits and one earned run while striking out three batters. Pittsburgh had built a sizeable lead by that point which allowed Wentz to be credited with the victory, as the Buccos went on to win by a score of 6-4. The highlight was a three-run homer by veteran Andrew McCutchen in the bottom of the fifth inning, giving the home team a 6-1 lead. It was McCutchen’s 20th dinger of the year. It is the 10th time McCutchen has reached 20 home runs in a season during his storied career and the eighth time as a member of the Pirates, placing him second all-time in franchise history behind the great Willie Stargell.

The Bucs finished off the Fish on Wednesday afternoon, as Bailey Falter went seven-and-a-third strong innings to improve to 8-7 in a 3-1 win. The lefty Falter flirted with a no-hitter before allowing a one-out single in the top of the seventh inning. A Pirates left-hander hadn’t taken a no-no that far into a game since John Tudor in 1984.

The Pirates swept Miami in the series and the seven games played between the two during the 2024 campaign. It is the first time Pittsburgh has completed a seven-game season sweep in franchise history.

It was just the third sweep of three games or more for the Pirates this season (Pittsburgh swept the hapless White Sox in Chicago right before the All-Star break in July).

The Pirates have now won four in a row and are 70-76. In a vacuum, that record seems like something to celebrate after going 76-86 a season ago. With 16 games remaining, a 7-9 finish guarantees an improvement over 2023. Heck, 10 wins would get the Buccos to 80.

Ah, but one can’t view this season in a vacuum.

The Pirates were 55-52 and in legit wildcard contention at one point before losing 10 in a row and 15 of 19.

If you want to know the level of enthusiasm among Pirates fans, just consider the negative reaction to general manager Ben Cherington’s recent remarks that indicated Derek Shelton would be back as the team’s manager next year.

Big picture, the Pirates 2024 season will likely be viewed as nothing but a disappointment when the final out brings down the curtain on September 29.

Having said that, there may still be enough time to add some pretty colors to that picture before all is said and done.