2015 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 2015 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the franchise's 134th season overall, the 129th season as a member of National League, and 15th season at PNC Park.
The Pirates qualified for the postseason for the third time in a row, clinching an [2015 National League (baseball)|National League Wild Card Game|NL Wild Card] spot before being eliminated by the Chicago Cubs. As of 2025, this is the most recent season that the Pirates have appeared in the postseason, the second longest active drought in MLB.

Background

The regular season began with a loss at Great American Ball Park against the Cincinnati Reds on April 6 and ended with a win against the Reds at PNC Park on October 4. The Pirates finished the regular season with the second-best record in baseball, finishing in second place for the third consecutive year in the National League Central with 98 wins and 64 losses.
The team clinched its third consecutive playoff berth on September 23, finishing second in its division behind the St. Louis Cardinals. The Pirates secured one of two NL Wild Card spots, but lost to the Chicago Cubs in the NLWC Game on October 7, eliminating the team from 2015 postseason play.
Four members of the 2015 Pirates were selected to represent the National League in the All-Star Game, including pitcher A. J. Burnett for the first time in his career in his final major league season. In addition, one player was named NL Player of the Month: Andrew McCutchen in August, one was named NL Rookie of the Month: Jung-ho Kang in July, and one was named NL Pitcher of the Month: Gerrit Cole in April.
On October 2, the penultimate game of the regular season, the Pirates set a PNC Park season attendance record for the second consecutive year at 2,498,596, beating the record set in 2014.

Season standings

Detailed records

Month	Games	Won	Lost	Win %
April	22	12	10		89	71
May	28	14	14		119	103
June	26	17	9		95	82
July	26	17	9		120	117
August	27	19	8		123	92
September	30	17	13		140	124
October	3	2	1		11	7
Total	162	98	64		697	596

Regular season

April

April 8 – Offseason bidding acquisition Jung-ho Kang makes his MLB debut after nine years playing in the South Korean KBO League.
April 9 – The Pirates are swept by the Cincinnati Reds in the first series of the regular season.
Gerrit Cole is named NL Pitcher of the Month for April.
The Pirates finish the month with a win–loss record of 12–10, third in the NL Central at 3.5 games out of first.

May

May 26 – Andrew McCutchen is named NL Player of the Week for the week ending May 24.
The Pirates finish the month with a win–loss record of 26–24, third in the NL Central at 7.0 games out of first.

June

June 12 – Clint Hurdle earns his 900th career win as a manager in a Pirates victory at home over the Philadelphia Phillies.
June 20 – The Pirates are no-hit by Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals, but a perfect game was broken up when Scherzer hit José Tábata in the elbow.
The Pirates finish the month with a win–loss record of 43–33, second in the NL Central at 8.0 games out of first.

July

July 6 – A. J. Burnett, Gerrit Cole, Andrew McCutchen, and Mark Melancon are named to the National League All-Star team.
July 12 – The Pirates enter the All-Star break with a win–loss record of 53–35, second in the NL Central and second-best in MLB.
Jung-ho Kang is named NL Rookie of the Month for July.
The Pirates finish the month with a win–loss record of 60–42, second in the NL Central at 5.5 games out of first.

August

August 10 – Andrew McCutchen is named NL Player of the Week for the second time in 2015 for the week ending August 9.
Andrew McCutchen is named NL Player of the Month for August.
The Pirates finish the month with a win–loss record of 79–50, second in the NL Central at 5.0 games out of first.

September

September 20 – Mark Melancon records his 47th save of the season, breaking the all-time Pirates franchise record set by Mike Williams in 2002.
September 23 – The Pirates clinch their third consecutive playoff berth with an away win against the Colorado Rockies.
September 24 – The Pirates achieve a come-from-behind win against the Rockies on the strength of an 8th inning Pedro Alvarez three-run home run, earning the franchise's 10,000th win since joining the National League in 1887.
September 26 – The Pirates earn their 95th win of the season, ensuring their best season-end win–loss record since 1992.
September 30 – The Cardinals clinch the division, ensuring the Pirates' third consecutive appearance in the NL Wild Card game.

October

October 2 – During the final homestand of 2015, the Pirates set a new PNC Park attendance record for the second consecutive year at 2,498,596, a 56,032 increase over 2014.
October 4 – At the conclusion of the season, the Pirates had a win–loss record of 98–64, finishing second in the NL Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals with the second-best record in Major League Baseball. The Pirates clinched home-field advantage for the NL Wild Card game on the last day of the season, finishing one game ahead of the Chicago Cubs, whom they would face in the play-in game.

Postseason

Wild Card Game

October 7 – National League Wild Card game – Chicago's Jake Arrieta pitched a complete game, striking out eleven batters and allowing only five hits. The Cubs were paced offensively by Dexter Fowler and Kyle Schwarber, both combining for five hits in seven at bats, each with a home run. Pittsburgh starter Gerrit Cole gave up two home runs in a game for the first time in the season. Cole lasted five innings, striking out four.

Game log

Pitchers: 35 Mark Melancon 37 Arquimedes Caminero 38 Joakim Soria 44 Tony Watson 45 Gerrit Cole 47 Francisco Liriano 48 Jared Hughes 55 Joe Blanton 59 Antonio Bastardo
Catchers: 19 Chris Stewart 29 Francisco Cervelli 66 Elías Díaz
Infielders: 3 Sean Rodriguez 5 Josh Harrison 10 Jordy Mercer 17 Aramis Ramírez 18 Neil Walker 24 Pedro Álvarez 31 Michael Morse 51 Pedro Florimón
Outfielders: 6 Starling Marte 22 Andrew McCutchen 23 Travis Snider 25 Gregory Polanco 60 Keon Broxton

Notable achievements

Awards

2015 Baseball America Organization of the Year
2015 National League Saves Leader

Mark Melancon

2015 Roberto Clemente Award

Andrew McCutchen

2015 Trevor Hoffman Award

Mark Melancon

Silver Slugger Award

Andrew McCutchen

Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award

Starling Marte

2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

A. J. Burnett, P, reserve
Gerrit Cole, P, reserve
Andrew McCutchen, OF, reserve
Mark Melancon, P, reserve

NL Pitcher of the Month

Gerrit Cole

NL Rookie of the Month

Jung-ho Kang

NL Player of the Week

Andrew McCutchen
Andrew McCutchen

NL Player of the Month

Andrew McCutchen

Award	Player	Result
MLB Best Major Leaguer	Andrew McCutchen	Nomitated
MLB Best Everyday Player	Andrew McCutchen	Nomitated
MLB Best Starting Pitcher	Gerrit Cole	Nomitated
MLB Best Rookie	Jung-ho Kang	Nomitated

Milestones

Player	Milestone	Reached
	1st Career MLB Game	April 8, 2015
	1st Career MLB Hit	April 12, 2015
	1,000th Career MLB Hit	April 13, 2015
	1st Career MLB RBI	April 21, 2015
	300th Career MLB Game	April 24, 2015
	200th Career MLB Game Started	April 26, 2015
	1,000th Career MLB Hit	April 29, 2015
	500th Career MLB Hit	May 2, 2015
	1st Career MLB Home Run	May 3, 2015
	2,400th Career MLB Strike Out	May 7, 2015
	100th Career MLB Double	June 9, 2015
	200th Career MLB Game	June 9, 2015
	500th Career MLB RBI	June 13, 2015
	500th Career MLB Game	June 14, 2015
	300th Career MLB Game	June 25, 2015
	500th Career MLB Inning Pitched	July 11, 2015
	100th Career MLB Stolen Base	July 17, 2015
	100th Career MLB Game	July 18, 2015
	300th Career MLB Game	July 20, 2015
	100th Career MLB Save	July 20, 2015
	500th Career MLB Walk	August 5, 2015
	100th Career MLB Game	August 18, 2015
	1,400th Career MLB RBI	August 21, 2015
	100th Career MLB Hit	August 22, 2015
	1,000th Career MLB Game	August 24, 2015

Statistics

Players

Final stats for 2015
;Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player
	3	8	3	0.375	0	0
'	130	451	133	0.295	7	43
'	157	566	165	0.292	23	96
^‡	27	38	11	0.289	0	4
	58	159	46	0.289	0	15
	126	421	121	0.287	15	58
	114	418	120	0.287	4	28
'	153	579	166	0.287	19	81
^‡	3	7	2	0.286	0	1
^†	45	69	19	0.275	1	7
'	151	543	146	0.269	16	71
'	153	593	152	0.256	9	52
	139	224	55	0.246	4	17
^†	56	196	48	0.245	6	33
	116	394	96	0.244	3	34
	150	437	106	0.243	27	77
^†	38	58	13	0.224	1	8
	35	54	12	0.222	2	9
	23	28	6	0.214	0	1
^†	18	26	5	0.192	1	8
	23	17	3	0.176	0	0
	29	65	11	0.169	1	7
	30	60	9	0.150	0	2
	24	42	5	0.119	1	5
^†	11	22	2	0.091	0	0
	24	23	2	0.087	0	1
	29	45	3	0.067	0	2
	20	25	1	0.040	0	0
	21	36	1	0.028	0	1
	61	2	0	0.000	0	0
^†	21	3	0	0.000	0	0
	7	2	0	0.000	0	0
	2	2	0	0.000	0	0
	8	1	0	0.000	0	0
	8	5	0	0.000	0	0
	14	1	0	0.000	0	0
	12	10	0	0.000	0	0
	1	1	0	0.000	0	0
	67	0	0		0	0
	71	0	0		0	0
	11	0	0		0	0
	72	0	0		0	0
	28	0	0		0	0
^†	29	0	0		0	0
	1	0	0		0	0
	72	0	0		0	0
Team totals	162	5,631	1,462	0.260	140	661

Player
	1	1	1	1.000	0	0
	1	1	1	1.000	0	0
	1	4	2	0.500	0	0
	1	3	1	0.333	0	0
	1	3	0	0.000	0	0
	1	1	0	0.000	0	0
	1	3	0	0.000	0	0
	1	4	0	0.000	0	0
	1	2	0	0.000	0	0
	1	4	0	0.000	0	0
	1	1	0	0.000	0	0
	1	3	0	0.000	0	0
	1	0	0		0	0
	1	0	0		0	0
	1	0	0		0	0
	1	0	0		0	0
	1	0	0		0	0
Team totals	1	30	5	0.167	0	0

;Pitching
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player
	1	1	0	0	0.00	0
	1	2	0	0	0.00	0
	11	8	0	0	1.13	8
^†	21	34	5	0	1.57	39
^†	11	63	7	2	1.85	69
	77	75	4	1	1.91	62
^†	29	26	0	0	2.03	28
	78	76	3	2	2.23	62
	76	67	3	1	2.28	36
'	32	208	19	8	2.60	202
	28	30	2	4	2.64	24
	66	57	4	1	2.98	64
'	26	164	9	7	3.18	143
'	31	186	12	7	3.38	205
	1	5	1	0	3.60	5
	73	74	5	1	3.62	73
	23	71	4	6	4.02	49
	14	23	1	4	4.24	27
	30	168	8	11	4.49	129
	23	129	9	9	4.81	96
	10	16	2	0	6.48	17
Team totals	162	1,489	98	64	3.21	1,338

Player
	1	1	0	0	0.00	2
	1	1	0	0	0.00	0
	1	1	0	0	0.00	3
	1	1	0	0	0.00	1
	1	5	0	1	7.20	4
Team totals	1	9	0	1	4.00	10

;Legend
– Stats reflect time with the Pirates only.

^† – Denotes player was acquired during season.

^‡ – Denotes player was relinquished during season.

– Injured reserve.

– ''Qualified for batting title or ERA title ''

Transactions

The Pirates were involved in the following transactions during the 2015 season:'Black line marks the transition between off season and regular season'''''

Trades

November 11, 2014	To Colorado Rockies: ---- Shane Carle	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Rob Scahill
November 12, 2014	To New York Yankees: ---- Justin Wilson	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Francisco Cervelli
November 23, 2014	To Oakland A's: ---- Ike Davis	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- International Signing Bonus Money
December 1, 2014	To Tampa Bay Rays: ---- PTBNL or Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Sean Rodriguez
December 10, 2014	To Philadelphia Phillies: ---- Joely Rodriguez	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Antonio Bastardo
January 27, 2015	To Baltimore Orioles: ---- Travis Snider	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Stephen Tarpley PTBNL
February 3, 2015	To Baltimore Orioles: ---- Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Steve Lombardozzi Jr.
February 4, 2015	To Miami Marlins: ---- Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Arquimedes Caminero
February 5, 2015	To Atlanta Braves: ---- Bryton Trepagnier	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Edward Salcedo
April 2, 2015	To Milwaukee Brewers: ---- PTBNL	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Hunter Morris
May 10, 2015	To Toronto Blue Jays: ---- Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Jayson Aquino
July 3, 2015	To Chicago Cubs: ---- Clayton Richard	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Cash Considerations
July 23, 2015	To Milwaukee Brewers: ---- Yhonathan Barrios	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Aramis Ramírez Cash Considerations
July 29, 2015	To Cleveland Indians: ---- Jayson Aquino	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Cash Considerations
July 29, 2015	To Kansas City Royals: ---- Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Joe Blanton
July 30, 2015	To Chicago White Sox: ---- Justin Sellers	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Cash Considerations or PTBNL
July 30, 2015	To Detroit Tigers: ---- JaCoby Jones	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Joakim Soria
July 31, 2015	To Seattle Mariners: ---- Adrian Sampson	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- J. A. Happ
July 31, 2015	To Los Angeles Dodgers: ---- José Tábata	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Michael Morse Cash Considerations

;Notes

– Buddy Borden fulfilled on December 12, 2014.
– Steven Brault fulfilled on February 20, 2015.

Other

;Legend

– invited to training camp

Draft picks

Rd	#	Player	Pos	DOB and Age	School	Signed
1	19		SS		University of Arizona	June 15, 2015
CB A	32		3B		Concordia Lutheran High School	June 16, 2015
2	62		SS		University of California, Los Angeles	June 16, 2015
3	96		LF		University of Alabama	June 18, 2015
4	127		RHP		Pearl River Community College	June 18, 2015
5	157		LHP		University of Virginia	July 16, 2015
6	187		RHP		University of Akron	June 12, 2015
7	217		3B		University of Oregon	June 18, 2015
8	247		RHP		Florida Atlantic University	June 12, 2015
9	277		RHP		University of Utah	June 12, 2015
10	307		RHP		Tiffin University	June 18, 2015

;Notes

Compensation pick for the Toronto Blue Jays signing Russell Martin.

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: West Virginia Black Bears