The series finale against the Atlanta Braves was a rough game to watch. An 8-1 loss that saw starting pitcher Martin Perez leave with a groin injury and catcher Joey Bart leave with a thumb issue.

There has not been an update on either Perez nor Bart, other than that they are being evaluated. The former had went 3.0 innings, allowing 4 hits and 1 run before a seemingly routine play looked to cause Perez discomfort.

He threw a few more pitches, but his velocity was way off and something clearly looked wrong, so after a consultation with the medical staff on the field, he was removed.

The bullpen proceeded to become a doormat for a frustrated Braves team that had lost the first two games of the season and would find out after the game that they had also just lost star Ronald Acuña Jr. for the season.

Aside from just an ugly day of baseball around at PNC Park, the Pirates cannot afford to let that one bad loss stifle their momentum. They dominated the Braves for an 11-5 win in the series opener, and amidst a rain delay they stuck with it and beat Atlanta again 4-1 to win the series.

They had taken a series from the Braves in a series for the first time since the 2021 season. That’s no easy feat, and even despite their injuries the Braves are a very good team. They’re now 30-21 on the season and in firm control of second place in the NL East.

It’s an impressive series win for the Pirates, and one they need to build off as we rapidly enter the month of June. Pittsburgh is on the road Tuesday for a quick two game series vs Detroit, and then they cross the border for a three game stand vs Toronto.

Both of those are winnable series for the Pirates, and a road trip that can help the team climb back to .500 on the year.

The Tigers are 26-27 on the season, good for fourth place in the AL Central. Heading into Monday, they were 5-5 in their last ten games, and have been very hot and cold recently.

They took two out of three against the Arizona Diamondbacks, including routing them 13-0 in the series opener on May 17th.

They then were swept by the Kansas City Royals, who outscored them 26-9 in the three game series.

To rebound from that, they took three of four from the Blue Jays at home in Detroit. It’s hard to tell what kind of Tigers team the Pirates are going to be playing in either game. Ideally, you could take both on this mini trip, but a split at least is vital.

Now, if the Pirates were a normal team, I would say that since rookie phenoms Jared Jones and Paul Skenes are slated to pitch in Detroit, it should be an easy two game sweep.

However, we’ve seen the Pirates, and in particular their bullpen screw over both Jones and Skenes’ dominant performances this season on multiple occasions, so who knows?

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have been reeling recently. They entered Monday with a record of 24-29, last place in the AL East. They are also 5-5 in their last ten, but two of those wins came against the ultra-lowly Chicago White Sox.

They recently lost a series against the aforementioned Tigers, and have struggled at the plate against any team recently that isn’t the White Sox.

While a sweep of the Blue Jays while in Canada is probably a stretch to ask for, taking two of three from Toronto is absolutely possible.

Pittsburgh is sitting at 25-29 on the year, four games under .500 and fourth place in the weak NL Central. The distance from second place to last place is incredibly thin; a hot streak by any one of Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Cincinnati, or the Chicago Cubs could help fuel a surge to second place.

Considering the rickety ship the Pirates are currently running, it’s hard to predict that surge ever coming for Pittsburgh. However, the longer they manage to not sink, the better their chances get of still playing meaningful baseball when the leaves start to change.

It starts right now. They need to be aggressive and go get after this next stretch of games.

(Featured photo by David Banks/USA Today Sports)