The Pirates went 3 and 2 over these five days, and they did it in dramatic fashion, dropping the first two before ripping off three straight wins. Runs for landed at 29, runs against at 26.
The Braves came into PNC Park and took the first two, 3-0 and then 10-5. That series ended up a loss for Pittsburgh, 2 games to 0. But the Brewers followed them into town and the Pirates flipped the script completely, sweeping that series. They won 7-6 and 3-2 in a doubleheader on Saturday, July 11, then closed it out with a 14-5 blowout on Sunday, July 12. That sweep is also what's fueling the Pirates' current three-game winning streak.
That stretch mattered around the National League Central too. The Brewers, who sit atop the division, went just 1 and 4 in their own window, and the Pirates picked up two games in the standings as a result. Pittsburgh sits at 50-47 now, up from 47-45 a week ago, still fourth in the division but the gap shrank from 11.5 games back to 9.5. In the wild card race they've closed to 2 games back, sitting fifth. Over the last ten games, the Pirates are 7 and 3.
Now things go quiet. The last game before this stretch closes out was that Sunday, July 12 win, and the sport pauses for the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 14. There's no baseball again until Friday, July 17, when the Pirates head to Progressive Field to open a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians, first pitch at 4:10 PM.