Pirates beat the Cardinals 2-1 to secure their first non-losing season since 2018

PITTSBURGH -- — Ronny Simon raced home on Spencer Horwitz's eighth inning sacrifice fly and the Pittsburgh Pirates assured themselves of the club's first non-losing season in eight years with a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. Simon reached on a walk by Ryne Stanek (2-3), advanced to second on a wild pitch and scooted to third when the throw from catcher Ivan Herrera skipped into center field for an error. Horwitz's flyball to center was plenty deep enough for Simon to score. Luke Weaver (4-1) got the final out of the eighth for Pittsburgh. Mason Montgomery struck out the side in the ninth for his 17th save in 19 chances as Pittsburgh improved to 81-78 with three games to go. The club's previous non-losing season came in 2018 when it won 82 games. Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes ended an uneven year by his standards with 6 1/3 excellent innings in his 32nd and final start. The 24-year-old, whose performance this year has been met with mild criticism locally, allowed one run, three hits and two walks and six strikeouts. He received a loud ovation when he was removed by manager Don Kelly after recording his 200th strikeout of the season when Cardinals designated hitter Leo Bernal was caught looking leading off the seventh. Skenes became just the second pitcher in the franchise's 145-year history to reach 200 strikeouts in consecutive seasons. He finished 10-11 with a 3.82 ERA, nearly double the MLB-leading 1.97 ERA he posted in 2025. St. Louis fell to 77-82, assured of consecutive losing seasons for the first time since the shortened 1994 and 1995 seasons. Alec Burleson hit his 24th homer of the season in the first inning for the Cardinals. Up next The Cardinals wrap up the season with a three-game set at NL Central champion Milwaukee while Pittsburgh heads to Detroit to face the Tigers. ------ See AP’s full MLB coverage here