This weekend’s series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park featured two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum, and it’s been that way for quite some time.

The Brewers swept the Pirates in three games and improved to an MLB-best 89-55, closing in on their seventh postseason appearance in the last eight seasons.

The Pirates, meanwhile, fell to 64-80 and are now two losses away from clinching their 29th losing season in the last 33 years. 

“They’re a good team, that’s certainly part of it. They’re holding the standard right now in the NL Central,” general manager Ben Cherington said on his weekly 93.7 The Fan radio show. “We need to hold ourselves to that same bar.”

The contrast between the two teams on the field over the weekend was clear. The Pirates hung tough with the Brewers in the first game but Milwaukee pulled away late for a 5-2 win. The Pirates were dormant in a 4-1 loss on Saturday and were blown out 10-2 in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.

It seemed like the Brewers did all of the little things right while the Pirates couldn’t get out of their own way at times. 

“They don’t beat themselves. Like I said, really good defensive team. Good baserunning. They take advantage of every opportunity,” said Cherington. “Really respect how they play, and we gotta hold ourselves to that bar and beat them because we’re really tired of these outcomes.”

Looking at the Brewers’ lineup, there aren’t many household names, especially with 2018 National League MVP Christian Yelich out of commission with a back issue.

The Brewers are 19th in the league in home runs, but they lead the National League in batting average, on-base percentage and stolen bases and are 10th in OPS.

Many in their lineup fit a similar demographic of contact-oriented hitters who put the ball in play and are capable of turning singles into doubles and doubles into triples with smart baserunning and speed. But those players are meshed with more powerful hitters such as Yelich and Jackson Chourio.

“They have good, solid lineup depth but it’s not like they’re flooded with superstars up the lineup, but it’s just a good, solid lineup,” said Cherington. “They make a lot of contact. They can run.”

While the on-field disparity was evident – and a solid lineup is supported with good defense and a strong pitching staff – there are a few other separators between the two organizations. 

The Brewers’ ability to develop hitters is something that Pirates have been trying to figure out all year, and really since the current regime took over prior to the 2020 season.

Chourio, Sal Frelick and Brice Turang were all brought into the organization as amateurs and have turned into key players. Caleb Durbin and Isaac Collins were drafted by other organizations, but were savvy pickups by Milwaukee – the former of which was a waiver claim. 

The Pirates’ ability to draft and develop hitting talent has been abysmal, and they haven’t necessarily done a good job of acquiring position-player prospects who have turned into valuable contributors, either. 

Brewers ownership – despite residing in a market even smaller than Pittsburgh – hasn’t shied away from making splashes, whether it be extending Yelich or signing a free agent like Rhys Hoskins.

Spending and developing hitters are the two areas the Pirates need to improve the most if they want to become a contending team. 

Hopefully the Pirates took some notes this weekend. It sounds like Cherington did.

“I think every team’s gonna be different, but the things you clearly take from how they play the game are the defensive execution and the way they run the bases,” he said. “There’s an identity that they have clearly. It’s not by accident they’re acquiring players who do those two things really well.”