I had one of two quotes ready to unleash on Twitter (presently known as X) at the conclusion of the Pirates’ four-game weekend series against the Reds at PNC  Park on Sunday afternoon.

One quote was the title of this article. The other quote was this: “The Pirates didn’t lose the series against the Reds, and that’s all that matters.”

Both quotes were smartass in nature, but I went with the former after Pittsburgh’s 4-3 come-from-behind victory made possible by catcher Yasmani Grandal’s one-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Rowdy Tellez grounded out to lead off the inning. Bryan De La Cruz then reached base after being hit by a pitch. Moments later, Grandal smacked a 1-2 pitch over the wall in right-centerfield to give the Pirates the victory and series win.

Pittsburgh won the first two games of the series before losing by a score of 10-2 on Saturday night–better known as Fireworks Night. Tellez actually came on to pitch in the top of the ninth inning and retired Cincinnati’s batters without allowing another run.

The Pirates built an early 2-0 lead in the series finale on Sunday afternoon behind the pitching of starter Luiz Ortiz, who went six innings, allowing four hits and no runs, while striking out five batters and walking one. But the bullpen couldn’t secure the victory for Ortiz, as Kyle Nicolas allowed two hits and two runs in the top of the seventh inning.

Jalen Beeks relieved Nicolas and allowed the go-ahead run to score on a bases-loaded walk.

The score remained 3-2 until Grandal’s heroics in the bottom of the ninth.

Back to the premise of this article.

The way the Pirates won the four-game series–taking the final contest to avoid a split–is how you want to do it in baseball. If you win a series in that fashion, it gives you license to say things like, “We won the series, and that’s all that matters.”

The Pirates came into the series in the National League Central Division basement and two-and-a-half games back of the Reds for fourth place.  Pittsburgh is still in last place in the division but is now just one-half game behind the Reds. Had the Bucs dropped Sunday’s game, they would have gained no ground over four days.

You see why every game matters?

How about this: Say the Pirates won the first three games to get out of the cellar but then lost on Sunday to fall back into last place. Sure, they would have gained ground over the four days, but a loss in the finale would have been a two-game swing.

Two-game swings may not mean so much when fighting to get out of last place, but every outcome is vital when trying to win the division or secure a wildcard seed.

Sunday’s victory improved the Pirates record to 62-68. As for playoff aspirations? They’re still eight games back of the final wildcard spot; with only 32 games left in the 2024 campaign, we may have to put those aspirations into hibernation for the fall and winter.

However, some milestones can still be achieved. A 16-16 finish would give Pittsburgh a 78-84 record and a two-game improvement over 2023. A 20-12 finish would mean an 82-80 mark; a winning record would be quite the feather in the cap for a struggling baseball organization still looking for tangible improvement from one season to the next.

At any rate, the Pirates will look to continue their recent momentum when they begin a three-game series against the Cubs at PNC Park on Monday night.