After a heartbreaking 3-2 loss Friday night in San Diego, Bailey Falter was up in the rotation, hoping to pick up his team after they fell just short due to a terrible umpiring call the night before.
For Falter, he was looking to close out the month of May just as strongly as he started it. Ironically, his first start of the month also saw him pitch against the Padres, but at PNC Park. In that game, he went seven strong innings and held San Diego to a single run.
But he was let down by his offense, who only offered him and the bullpen one run of support in a 2-1 loss. Now, pitching at Petco Park, Falter aimed to give his team an even greater chance at winning.
He did just that.
The southpaw pitched an unconventional game, only picking up one strikeout in 6.1 innings. However, he held the Padres to only two hits all night. No base runner advanced past first base after the first inning, and Falter helped secure not one, but two groundball double plays to end innings.
He was electric, stifling a Padres offense that incldes Luis Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr, and Manny Machado.
His teammates also helped out this time. Pittsburgh had already secured a 1-0 lead before Falter stepped on the mound, giving him a run to work with. That lead almost evaporated quickly, with Tatis on third and a sharp Jackson Merrill hit to left field.
Alexander Canario was there, though, making a diving catch and preserving the lead.
That was truly the last time Falter was in any sort of danger. He breezed through San Diego’s lineup, facing 20 batters in all. Pittsburgh’s bats made it even easier on him later in the game. The Pirates tacked on a run in both the fourth and fifth innings, and Falter had a 5-0 lead going his way by the time the bullpen was called upon.
He finished his day with 52 pitches on 79 strikes, a pair of hits, a walk, a strikeout, and the win.
He far and away out-dueled Dylan Cease, who struggled to 4.1 innings while surrendering seven hits, three earned runs, and a home run.
But Falter isn’t just playing good baseball. He’s pitching historically well for the Pirates, etching himself into an almost unbeatable list of names.
Falter’s 0.76 ERA in the month of May is the third lowest mark by any Pirates pitcher in a single month in the Live Ball Era (since 1920). The only two other names there, in the history of this storied and very old franchise, are Zane Smith and Falter’s current teammate, Paul Skenes.
Smith posted an 0.66 ERA in September of 1990, and Skenes put up a 0.75 in September of 2024.
While Saturday’s shutout win by the Pirates helped clinch the historical nod for the Pirates, it was just a microcosm of how well Falter has tossed the ball all month long.
Falter started six games in May. He didn’t allow a single run in four of those six games, and he never allowed more than two in any May contest.
He started the month with that aforementioned May 3rd game against the Padres at home, pitching seven innings of one-run ball. The Pirates still lost.
Not good enough? How about six shutout innings and only two hits against the Atlanta Braves on May 9th? In Don Kelly’s first game as manager, Falter helped deliver a win, picking up his second of the year as the Pirates held on for a 3-2 win.
On May 14th, he only went 3.2 innings in New York against the Mets, and got himself into a jam in the fourth, which sparked the early hook. But his bullpen picked him up in a big way, as every starter needs now and again.
He followed that game up with seven shutout innings against the Cincinnati Reds, holding the Pirates in the game as long as possible in a 1-0 win. It was his third win of the season.
His “worst” game of the season was a 5.2-inning performance against the Milwaukee Brewers, where he allowed four hits and two earned runs. But that’s still a game that is plenty winnable for normal teams.
Even with that subpar game, by May standards, Falter followed it up with his Saturday performance. He finishes this month with a 0.76 ERA, 0.841 WHIP, and three wins.
With June now on the calendar, Pirates fans are excited to see Bryan Reynolds continue to heat up. June has historically been Reynolds’ best month, as the switch hitter has a career .340 batting average that month.
But we may need to start talking about Falter and May in the same light. While May of 2025 was a historically dominant stretch for Falter in the second month of the season, Falter has amazing stats in May over his big league career.
In 83.2 innings pitched in May, Falter has a stellar 2.04 ERA and 1.051 WHIP, both by far the best marks of his career. The trend of May dominance has mostly happened in Pittsburgh; last season, May was Falter’s best month, where he started five games and threw 32.1 innings to the tune of a 2.23 ERA and 0.959 WHIP.
It’s just so great to see yet another member of the Pirates’ rotation pitching so well. And unlike some other names in Pittsburgh’s rotation (Keller), Falter is getting to pick up wins in the process. In May, Falter was the only Pirates starter to be credited with multiple wins, and only one of two arms to notch multiple wins. Reliever Chase Shugart had two.
Falter is one of the very rare trade wins under general manager Ben Cherington. Acquired for Triple-A infielder Rodolfo Castro, who has only played 14 games for the Phillies since the trade, Falter has pitched to a 4.02 ERA in just over 200 innings as a Pirate. In several stretches, he’s been around or slightly worse than a league average pitcher. But he also goes on tremendous runs like the one we are seeing now.
His success opens an interesting door for the Pirates later in the summer. Assuming that the Pirates are still out of the running for the postseason and that Cherington is still in charge (both of which are likely), should the Pirates trade Falter to secure some offensive help?
Asking Cherington to go 2-for-2 on a trade involving the same player is quite the tall order for someone of his résumé. If Falter keeps this type of performance up, his value would skyrocket. A lefty on a cheap deal with these kind of numbers? The phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
But that’s a conversation for another day. Right now, Falter is pitching the best baseball of his career, and we are all witness.
If he doesn’t earn the nod as NL Pitcher of the Month, they might as well stop handing it out.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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