I don’t know if you know this or not, but there’s a little stipulation in Major League Baseball’s Collective Bargaining Agreement which stipulates that fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates are barred from ever feeling joy.

Ok fine, that technically isn’t true. But it certainly feels true. Yesterday, news broke that shortstop Konnor Griffin went down with a torn finger tendon. The rookie sensation, who broke into the major leagues in Pittsburgh’s home opener and has slashed .276/.332/.404 (.736 OPS) so far this season, is now slated to be out of the lineup until early September.

Griffin, the ninth overall pick from 2024 and just 20 years old, represented a new era of Pirates baseball. Not only was he a rare homegrown batting prospect who the Pirates were able to help develop into a major-league talent at warp speed, his inking of a nine-year contract earlier in the year signified an actual investment in the future of this club.

Much of that first year has already been lost to injury. Griffin missed nearly all of June with a forearm strain, and now might be lucky to play half a season’s worth of games in his first year in the bigs.

The injury to someone so exciting, promising, and talented is a major blow to a Pirates team that is fighting to stay above the .500 watermark. It was easy to feel the vibes start to spiral out of control after yet another injury to a face of this team. But, the Pirates can survive Griffin’s absence. It’s a matter of whether they choose to.

Injuries have plagued the Pirates all season. Griffn now joins Oneil Cruz and Spencer Horwitz on the injured list, a group of players who have already missed substantial time or are scheduled to miss weeks of action.

Griffin was blossoming more and more every day. Cruz was finally developing into the power hitter the Pirates always hoped he would. Horwitz was one of baseball’s leaders in on-base percentage. And yet, the Pirates have maintained one of the best offenses in the sport.

The Pirates are second in batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. They are a top five base stealing team in baseball. They are scoring well over five runs a game, another top mark in MLB.

Yes, the Pirates have the occasional frustrating night at the plate, but by and large this team really knows how to score. And it’s important to remember that they have maintained these numbers despite the fact that Cruz hasn’t played since June 7th, Horwitz hasn’t played since June 24th, and Griffin has played just eight games since the end of May.

That’s not even to mention their designated hitter in Marcell Ozuna, the guy they paid $8 million simply to hit, is barely above a .200 average and has sported an OPS over .600 for less than two weeks all year.

The Pirates know how to score, and they know how to survive. Sustaining the absence of Griffin, much like the absences of Cruz and Horwitz, all comes down to whether the other facets of the team can continue to pull their weight.

Last night was a prime example of that.

Ryan O’Hearn stole the show with a record-setting performance which saw him launch three home runs and set a franchise record ten RBI in the win, but the remainder of the offense had positive showings as well. Every starter made it on base at least once, and the ability to knock base hits or draw walks was a massive help in O’Hearn’s grand slam and pair of three-run shots.

Yes, O’Hearn did the lion’s share of the work, but that lineup hung 12 runs on one of the best teams in baseball and earned the honor of facing a position player pitcher in the dying inning.

And the pitching staff was up to the task as well.

The Pirates went into Tuesday night’s game having lost the last nine games where Paul Skenes started. The defending Cy Young winner had also hit a rough patch, tossing a 5.36 ERA during that streak and garnering six lost decisions during that time.

But on Tuesday, Skenes bounced back from a shaky first inning to turn in a quality start for the Pirates. Sure, Atlanta racked up eight hits off him, but Skenes was able to induce several ground ball double plays and held Braves batters in check. He kept Atlanta to two runs through six, while benefitting from a generous cushion early on.

Carmen Mlodzinski threw a scoreless pair of frames to follow Skenes up, and Hunter Stratton worked out some kinks while facing his former team and playing his first MLB inning since May 2nd.

This is the kind of performance we know the Pirates are capable of, and it was the team firing on all cylinders that shows they can survive losing Griffin for most of the season. It’s just a matter of actually going out and fighting to make sure when he does come back, the games still count.n

It’s a matter of the rest of the offense continuing to perform the way they have. The Pirates still have O’Hearn, Bryan Reynolds, and Brandon Lowe as a fantastic power trio. They still have Nick Gonzales and Jake Mangum as your base-hit merchants and small ball batters. They still have intriguing, relatively new talent in Endy Rodríguez, Esmerlyn Valdez, and Tyler Callihan.

It’s a matter of most of Pittsburgh’s rotation getting back to pitching the way the Pirates know they can. Last night was a monumental step in the right direction for Skenes, and the Pirates need to hope Jared Jones and Mitch Keller have similar moments in the coming days.

And it’s a matter of the bullpen continuing to rehabilitate themselves into an actual major league bullpen. The Pirates don’t need top-end relief pitching, they just need average outings from all of those guys and they will be just fine.

Whether the Pirates will do this is still a big question, but as for whether or not they can, the answer is rather clear. If someone else can step up every night, the Pirates can compete for a playoff spot down to the last minute.