CHICAGO — At the beginning of the season, when the Pirates got off to a hot start and sought to prove their doubters wrong, the question was whether they could sustain their early success.
At the very least, one thing is clear: The Pirates are a streaky team. At the peak of their young season, they were nine games above .500, a half a game up in the National League Central.
Since that date — May 17 — the pendulum has swung, and it hasn’t come back. The Pirates have not won consecutive games since that time.