PITTSBURGH — The last time the Pittsburgh Pirates were at PNC Park, they completed perhaps their best homestand in franchise history. 

The Pirates went a perfect 6-0, sweeping the New York Mets and outscoring them 30-4 in three games. They then shutout the St. Louis Cardinals in three-straight games to cap off an impressively dominant stretch.

That proved to be a mirage.

Any momentum the Pirates had after a flawless homestand was short-lived. Pittsburgh hit the road for a nine-game road trip before the All-Star break and dropped the first eight before salvaging the brutal road trip with a win on the Sunday before the All-Star break.

The Pirates returned to PNC Park to open the second half of the season and were dismantled by the Chicago White Sox, who have the worst record in the American League (35-65). 

The White Sox earned their first sweep of the season – the last team to do so this year – with a 7-2 victory over the Pirates in Sunday’s series finale. 

With the loss, the Pirates have dropped 11 of 12 games following their season high six-game win streak. 

The offense continued to struggle as it has all season. Between the three games, the Pirates scored seven games while the White Sox touched home 27 times.

The pitching, which has been solid for much of the season, was the bigger concern over the weekend.

Bailey Falter lasted only four innings in Friday’s loss while the bullpen was tagged for six runs in five innings. On Saturday, Mike Burrows pitched well, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning before allowing a pair of runs. The bullpen allowed eight runs, however, over the game’s final four frames. 

On Sunday, the bullpen pitched well, but starter Andrew Heaney allowed seven runs for the third time in his last six starts. He also allowed two more home runs in his four innings of work.

Heaney had a blunt assesemnt of his outing.

“I’m throwing 88 mph fastballs, shitty breaking balls. And when you fall behind, you don’t have much to get guys out with. I guess narrow margin of error. I’ve got to go make better pitches.”

There was energy at PNC Park this weekend as part of the Pirates ‘Yinzerpalooza’ celebration. They even had a sellout crowd on Saturday. But the good vibes soured, ultimately getting outshined by multiple “sell the team” chants, adding insult to injury in a frankly embarrassing homestand. 

The Pirates, now 39-61, are 22 games under .500 for the first time since they finished the 2022 season with a 62-100 record. It’s now the sixth year of a rebuild. They have a generational starting pitcher and somehow, they’re as bad as they’ve ever been.

There’s no such thing as an easy series in Major League Baseball, even the worst teams in baseball usually win one out of every three games. But the Pirates will go from the AL-worst White Sox to the AL-best Detroit Tigers for the start of a three-game series on Monday night. 

The Pirates have no choice but to look ahead.

“Looking forward to starting the series tomorrow, we’ll have Paul on the mound, having that sense of urgency, that energy coming out,” manager Don Kelly explained. “It’s tough when you fall behind early like we did in the first game, in the third game and finding ways to have that energy. The offense drives that energy. The way that we have our at-bats, continue to compete, run the bases well, that’s what we’ve got to get back to and continue to work on and continue to get better at.”

In a season that’s been filled with demoralizing moments, this series White Sox is near the top of the list.