2017 Pittsburgh Pirates season


The 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the franchise's 136th season overall, 131st season as a member of the National League, and the 17th season at PNC Park. They failed to improve on their record from the previous season and finished fourth in the National League Central. The Pirates failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Offseason and spring training

Infielder Jung-ho Kang was found guilty by a South Korean court for his third offense of driving under the influence, and as a result, the initial request for a work visa to enter the United States for the 2017 season was denied. He would miss the whole season with the Pirates.
The Pirates recorded a 19–12 win–loss record in preseason spring training, the third best record in the Grapefruit League. In addition, two of their games finished tied and were therefore not included in the standings.

Regular season

April

  • April 3 – The Pirates lost on Opening Day to the Boston Red Sox 5–3.
  • April 7 – In their home opener against the Atlanta Braves, the Pirates defeated the Braves 5–4. The Pirates would go on to win all three games of the series to sweep the Braves.
  • April 9Starling Marte hit a walk-off home run in the tenth inning to propel the Pirates to a 5–4 win and series sweep over the Braves.
  • April 12 – The Pirates were swept by the Cincinnati Reds following a 9–2 loss.
  • April 16 – Following a four-game losing streak, the Pirates rally to beat the [2017 2017 Chicago Cubs season|Chicago Cubs season|Chicago Cubs] 6–1 to sweep the three-game series at Wrigley Field.
  • April 18Starling Marte was suspended 80 games after testing positive for nandrolone, a performance-enhancing substance; he will not be eligible to return until after the team's 93rd game on July 17 and is ineligible for postseason play if the team qualifies.
  • April 19 – The Pirates were swept following three straight 2–1 losses to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Pirates have been swept in three of the five series to date and have swept their opponent in the other two series to date.
  • April 22 – The Pirates lost to the New York Yankees 11–5 after beating them in the first game of the series. The series marks the first series of the year where the Pirates did not sweep their opponent nor did they get swept.
  • April 24 - the Pirates fielded the first baseball player to be born and raised in Lithuania, to reach the major leagues, Dovydas Neverauskas. In 1933, Joe Zapustas was the first Lithuanian-born player to play in MLB, as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics, however he grew up in Boston.
  • April 26 - The Pirates promoted South African Gift Ngoepe from the AAA Indianapolis Indians; making him the first African-born player in MLB history.
  • The Pirates finished the month with a win–loss record of 11–13, fourth in the NL Central at 2.0 games out of first.

May

June

July

August

September

Season standings

Detailed records

MonthGamesWonLostWin %
April24111390110
May301317122140
June261313129126
July25141110594
August291217114159
September2711169794
October110118
Total1627587668731

Game log

August 20 game vs St. Louis Cardinals to be played at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania as part of the 2017 MLB Little League Classic.

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
PlayerGABRH2B3BHRRBISBBBAVGSLG
Andrew McCutchen156570941593022888173.279.486
Josh Bell159549751402662690266.255.466
Jordy Mercer145502521282451458051.255.406
Josh Harrison1284866613226216471228.272.432
David Freese130426441121601052058.263.371
Adam Frazier12140655112206653936.276.399
Gregory Polanco10837939952001135827.251.391
Starling Marte773094885727312120.275.379
Francisco Cervelli812653166132531032.249.370
John Jaso12625628541901035140.211.402
José Osuna104215315013473009.233.428
Elías Díaz641881842140119111.223.314
Chris Stewart51131824120409.183.221
Max Moroff56120192441321016.200.325
Sean Rodriguez39951216103508.168.274
Jordan Luplow27786163131106.205.385
Alen Hanson3757811020122.193.263
Gift Ngoepe28541012210608.222.296
Phil Gosselin284036100202.150.175
Christopher Bostick202768200104.296.370
Jacob Stallings51435200302.357.500
Danny Ortiz91211000001.083.083
John Bormann1100000000.000.000
Pitcher totals162278113350112010.119.147
Team totals162545866813312493615163567519.244.386

Source:

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerWLERAGGSSVIPHRERBBSO
Gerrit Cole12124.2633330203.0199989655196
Iván Nova11144.1431310187.0203968636131
Chad Kuhl8114.3531310157.1159817672142
Trevor Williams794.0731250150.1145736852117
Jameson Taillon874.4425250133.2152696646125
Felipe Vázquez531.677302175.14719142088
Wade LeBlanc524.50500168.06435341754
Tyler Glasnow277.691513062.08161534456
Daniel Hudson274.38710061.25734303366
Juan Nicasio252.85650260.04920191860
Tony Watson533.664701046.25720191435
Steven Brault104.67114134.24121181423
Jhan Mariñez013.18240034.03412121226
A. J. Schugel401.97320032.031871427
Johnny Barbato014.08240028.22513131823
Dovydas Neverauskas113.91240025.1241111817
Edgar Santana003.50190018.016871220
George Kontos111.84150114.2933315
Ángel Sánchez108.7680012.1161212110
Josh Lindblom007.8440010.11899310
Antonio Bastardo0115.009009.016151598
Joaquín Benoit027.568008.1119763
Jack Leathersich000.006004.130026
Dan Runzler004.508004.074224
Team totals75874.22162162361440.214647316765111262

Source:

Notable achievements

Awards

National League Pitcher of the Month
National League Player of the Month
2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
National League Player of the Week
  • Andrew McCutchen

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Altoona