Pittsburg, PA
Pirates Could Be Team ‘No One’ Wants To Face In 2025
Pitching wins championships is an adage that has stood the test of time in baseball, and the Pittsburgh Pirates may not be far off from having a chance to prove that true again
MLB.com’s Will Leitch broke down one reason each team should be thankful, and for the Pirates, he tabbed their pitching staff and how dangerous they could be if everything clicked and they sneaked into the playoffs.
“Paul Skenes is reason enough to be thankful, of course, but don’t forget Jared Jones and Mitch Keller,” Leitch writes. “If the Pirates are ever able to sneak in the playoffs — and they just might in 2025 — that’s a triumvirate no one will want to deal with.”
Everything with the Pirates’ pitching staff starts and ends with Paul Skenes, who strung together one of the best first seasons in MLB history en route to winning the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year. Skenes was the Pirates’ first pitcher in franchise history to earn the accolade and the second player to do so, joining outfielder Jason Bay in 2004.
Skenes went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and he set a Pirates rookie record with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings pitched. He was also the first pitcher in MLB history to have an ERA below 2.20 and over 150 strikeouts in their first 21 games and the second pitcher since 1913 to have an ERA below 2.00 through their first 22 appearances. Pittsburgh’s ace was also the the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game since Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo in 1995.
Beyond Skenes, though, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller are also solid in their own right. Jones went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA over 22 starts, though, a strained right lat that cost him two months in the second half hindered his rookie season. Before the All-Star break, Jones was 5-6 with a 3.56 ERA over 16 starts.
Keller endured similar struggles that resulted in him finishing the season 11-12 with a 4.25 ERA. After the All-Star break, Keller was 1-7 with a 5.65 ERA.
Luis Ortiz also flashed promise with his strong ending to the 2024 season and Pittsburgh has top prospect Bubba Chandler knocking on the door to reach the big leagues. Chandler is MLB Pipeline’s No. 15 prospect and second-ranked pitching prospect in baseball.
There’s no disputing how good the Pirates’ pitching staff can be if everyone stays healthy and lives up to expectations. If they can get more production on offense to support their pitching staff, Pittsburgh may very well be the dangerous team no one would want to see in October.
Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburg, PA
Where to watch Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates: TV channel, start time, streaming for
What to know about MLB’s ABS robot umpire strike zone system
MLB launches ABS challenge system as players test robot umpire calls in a groundbreaking season.
Baseball is back and finding what channel your favorite team is playing on has become a little bit more confusing since MLB announced plans to produce and distribute broadcasts for nearly a third of the league.
We’re here to help. Here’s everything you need to know Thursday as the Colorado Rockies visit the Pittsburgh Pirates.
See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates?
First pitch between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies is scheduled for (ET) on Thursday, .
How to watch Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 6:32 a.m.
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MLB regional blackout restrictions apply
MLB scores, results
MLB scores for games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:
See scores, results for all of today’s games.
Gas prices continue to sit near the $5 mark for the better part of the Pittsburgh region. Not only is it impacting people’s wallets, but it’s also hitting the bottom lines of first responders’ operations.
While gas prices are not impacting day-to-day operations, budgets are always tight, and if prices stay high, it could have some long-term impacts. First responders say they’ll still come when you call 911, so there’s no need to panic, but there is some concern behind the scenes.
“We can’t charge more for our services. The only way to weather the storm is to become more efficient,” Regional Emergency Support Quick Response Service director Mike Gallagher said.
RESQRS said gas is normally about $2,500 to $3,000 a month. From March to April, it was $5,500. The ambulance they wanted to get this year is now on hold as costs go up.
“It definitely has affected other parts of the business and how we operate,” Gallagher said over Zoom.
It’s the same for volunteer firefighters. Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services had its bill go from $300 to $400, up to $1,000 last month. This price spike was, of course, never anticipated when making the budget last year.
“It absolutely wasn’t. We just have to take money from other things and reprioritize,” SAVES fire chief Mike Daniher said.
Medic Rescue in Bridgewater, Beaver County, covers that county and takes patients to Wexford and Pittsburgh hospitals. They easily rack up hundreds of miles a day driving. Insurance doesn’t cover gas spikes, and fuel reimbursements are set from the prior year.
“I don’t see how it would be sustainable in the long term without some changes in financing,” Medic Rescue director of operations Bill Pasquale said.
An immediate impact for many services is putting new equipment on the back burner. While grants can be used for that, there’s no guarantee it’s accepted.
Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh will have afternoon storm chances on Wednesday with gusty winds and lightning
It will be stormy this afternoon, and then cooler for the rest of the work week.
Temperatures then warm up with record-setting temperatures possible early next week. It’s going to be a busy stretch of weather. Let’s get right into it.
Rain chances today are low overall. The headline is the storm chance that occurs this afternoon. Gusty winds, frequent lightning, and isolated but intense downpours are expected as a narrow line of storms develops and rolls through Western Pennsylvania. The line of storms will be intensifying as it moves from the west to the east.
Right now, it looks like the storms will roll through between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
By the time you see this blog, our best chance for morning rain should have come and gone. Rain totals will not be very impressive today; most will see less than 0.05 inches of rain.
That excludes rain coming from afternoon storms.
Afternoon storms could add another fifth of an inch of rain for those who see the most ‘intense’ cells sliding through their areas. Temperatures in the morning are in the 50s. We will quickly rise up to the mid-60s for temperatures this afternoon ahead of storms. Temperatures will then dip back down to the 50s for the rest of the day, with brisk winds coming in from the northwest at around 15 mph.
Thursday highs will only hit the mid-50s.
We stay cool through Friday morning. We’d have to worry about frost on Friday if it wasn’t for the cloud cover that’s expected. Friday highs will be near 70°. Saturday and Sunday highs are expected to hit the low 80s both days.
A perfect ‘storm’ of low humidity levels, plenty of sunshine, and a strengthening sun angle will allow us to potentially see record highs early next week. I have high temperatures in the 90s on both Monday and Tuesday next week.
The record high for Monday is 91°, and that is what I am forecasting for a high.
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