All major-league teams have their highs and lows during the season. A 162-game schedule makes it inevitable.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had more lows than highs every year. That is why they have clinched a seventh straight losing season and will finish under .500 for the 29th time in the last 33 years.

The Pirates had their high nine days ago when they swept a three-game series from the defending World Series champion and National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park.

The sweep concluded a stretch where the Pirates won 11th of 14 games. The Pirates also took two of three from the American League East-leading Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox, who are in postseason position as the second AL wild card.

The Pirates haven’t won since sweeping the Dodgers. They were swept in a three-game series by the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles, then lost to the National 6-5 on Friday night at Nationals Park in Washington in the opener of a three-game series.

So, who are the real Pirates? It’s likely somewhere between the team that went 11-3 and the one currently on a seven-game losing streak.

However, the losing streak is better for the Pirates’ future than the hot streak.

It sounds counterintuitive to be sure. Please let me explain.

Winning 11 of 14, including seven of nine against teams likely to participate in the postseason, is not an accurate indication of the Pirates’ talent level. Yes, they played well against the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Dodgers.

However, the seven losses in a row show how far the Pirates are from being a contender.

Their pitching staff is close to being good enough to put the Pirates in the postseason. If they trade right-hander Mitch Keller for a hitter, they will then need to add a veteran starter to stabilize a talented and young rotation. The Pirates also need to find a couple of proven relievers to bolster the bullpen.

However, this losing streak only reinforces the obvious – they desperately need to bolster their offense.

Whether it’s general manager Ben Cherington or someone else overseeing the baseball operations in the offseason, the Pirates need to acquire at least two legitimate big-league hitters—guys who can do damage, not complementary players or third-tier free agents.

Hitting coach Matt Hague must go. While it would be unfair to fire a coach after one season, the offense has been an abomination, and I can’t think of any hitter that Hague has helped.

Just three Pirates hitters are considered better league average with an OPS+ over 100, and all are barely crossing that line – Horwitz (102), Andrew McCutchen (102), and Pham (101).

Pirates’ fans’ most fervent hope should be that owner Bob Nutting did not put too much stock in the 11-3 stretch. He has been swayed by small sample-sized results in the past, and it could happen again.

Nutting is famously hesitant to make changes, and 11 of 14 wins might be the thing to convince him the Pirates are on the verge of contending and everything is OK.

However, everything isn’t OK with the Pirates. The current roster setup means they will not contend again next season. The losing streak only reinforces that idea.

Changes are necessary, and Nutting can’t lose sight of that.

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