2013 Pittsburgh Pirates season

Season standings

National League Central

National League playoff standings

Record vs. opponents

Detailed records

Regular season

April

• April 4 – The Pirates take one out of three games against the Chicago Cubs in the season-opening series.
• April 17 – Pitcher A. J. Burnett records his 2,000th career strikeout in a 5–0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
• April 29 – Russell Martin is named NL Player of the Week for the week ending April 28.
• Jason Grilli wins the Delivery Man Award for April.
• The Pirates finish the month with a win/loss record of 15–12, third in the NL Central and 0.5 games out of first.

  May

• May 11 – Pitcher Francisco Liriano makes his Pirates debut, striking out nine and allowing one run over 5.2 innings in an 11–2 road victory against the New York Mets. This was Liriano's first appearance of his NL Comeback Player of the Year season.
• Jason Grilli wins the Delivery Man Award for May, his second of the season.
• The Pirates finish the month with a win/loss record of 34–21, tied for second in the NL Central with the Cincinnati Reds and 2.0 games out of first.

  June

• June 11 – Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole makes his awaited MLB debut, in which he strikes out the first batter he faces on three pitches, records a two-run single, and pitches 6.1 innings to earn the win in an 8–2 home victory over the San Francisco Giants.
• June 24 – Pedro Alvarez is named NL Player of the Week for the week ending June 23.
• June 29 – The Pirates, with the best record in MLB, become the first team to reach 50 wins in the 2013 season.
• The Pirates finish the month on a nine-game winning streak with a win/loss record of 51–30, first place in the NL Central with the best record in the majors.

  July

• July 7 – Pedro Alvarez, Jason Grilli, Jeff Locke, Andrew McCutchen, and Mark Melancon are named to the National League All-Star team. The Pirates had not sent five players to the All-Star game since 1972.
• July 14 – The Pirates enter the All-Star break with a win/loss record of 56–37, second in the NL Central and one game behind the St. Louis Cardinals.
• The Pirates finish the month with a win/loss record of 65–42, first place in the NL Central with the best record in the majors.

  August

• August 1 – The Pirates win four games out of a five-game homestand, including a double-header sweep, against the St. Louis Cardinals to hold onto first place in the NL Central.
• August 5 – Francisco Liriano is named NL Player of the Week for the week ending August 4.
• August 28 – Recently acquired outfielder Marlon Byrd hits a three-run home run in his first game as a Pirate, contributing to a 7–1 home victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
• The Pirates finish the penultimate month of the regular season with a win/loss record of 79–56, one game ahead of the Cardinals for first place in the NL Central.

  September

• September 9 – After a four-game losing streak, the Pirates defeat the Texas Rangers on the road to secure their 82nd win of the season and ensure their first winning season since 1992.
• September 20 – Pitcher Francisco Liriano records the 1,000th strikeout of his career in a 6–5 extra-inning home loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
• September 23 – The Pirates defeat the Chicago Cubs on the road to secure their first playoff berth since 1992 as an NL Wild Card.
• September 28 – The Pirates combine to hit six home runs against the Cincinnati Reds, five off of starter Bronson Arroyo, two of which were hit by Neil Walker in an 8–3 victory.
• September 29 – The Pirates finish the regular season with a three-game away sweep of the Reds to earn home-field advantage in the NL Wild Card game.
• Gerrit Cole is named NL Rookie of the Month for September, having earned a win in each of his four starts in September, improving his rookie season win/loss record to 10–7.
• At the conclusion of the season, the Pirates had a win/loss record of 94–68, finishing second in the NL Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

  Game log

Postseason

Wild Card Game

• October 1 – National League Wild Card game – This game marked the first Pirates postseason appearance since 1992 and the first postseason game ever played at PNC Park. After a scoreless first inning and a half, the Pirates secured the first runs of the game with home runs by Marlon Byrd and Russell Martin in the bottom of the 2nd inning. In the bottom of the third, Pedro Alvarez hit a sacrifice-fly to Shin-Soo Choo, which allowed Andrew McCutchen to score. In the top of the fourth, with Choo and Ryan Ludwick on base, Jay Bruce hit a groundball single to Pirates left-fielder Starling Marte, allowing Choo to score. In the bottom of the fourth, Marte and Neil Walker scored off RBI hits by Walker and Byrd, respectively. In the bottom of the 7th inning, Russell Martin hit a solo home run. The Reds could only further respond with a Choo home run off of Tony Watson. The Pirates held on to win with Jason Grilli closing the game, setting the Pirates up to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS.

  Division Series

• October 3 – Game one – The Cardinals set a new NLDS record with seven runs in an inning, highlighted by Carlos Beltrán's three-run home run, his 15th in post-season play tying Babe Ruth for eighth place on the list. Only Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols among active players had more at the time.
• October 4 – Game two – The Pirates scored first with two outs in the second inning as Gerrit Cole drove in Pedro Álvarez with a single after Jordy Mercer was intentionally walked. Alvarez hit his second home run of the series in the third, a two-run line drive. The Pirates added to their lead with two runs in the fifth inning as Marlon Byrd drove home Justin Morneau with a double and Russell Martin plated Byrd with a single. The Cardinals finally got on the board with a solo home run from Yadier Molina in their half of the fifth inning. It was his third post-season home run. The Pirates added runs in the seventh inning as Martin plated Byrd again, this time via a sacrifice fly.
• October 6 – Game three – The Pirates opened up their first non-Wild Card postseason home game in 21 years by scoring two runs in the first inning. The Cardinals would later tie the game in the fifth with a two-out RBI single by Carlos Beltrán. The Pirates responded by scoring the next inning on a Russell Martin sacrifice fly, which was later answered by a Carlos Beltrán home run in the eighth. The Pirates would retake the lead in the bottom of the 8th and win the game by the score of 5-3.
• October 7 – Game four – Game 4 featured a quality start from St. Louis Cardinals rookie Michael Wacha. Wacha held the Pirates to just three base runners through innings pitched. It was the longest no-hitter length by a rookie pitcher since Jeff Tesreau went innings with no hits allowed for the 1912 New York Giants. Pedro Alvarez broke up Wacha's no-hitter in the eighth with his third home run of the series. Matt Holliday hit a two-run home run in the sixth, providing the Cardinals' margin of victory. Charlie Morton went innings pitched, allowing just two runs.
• October 9 – Game five – Game 5 pitted Game 1 winner Adam Wainwright against the Pirates' rookie Gerrit Cole. The Cardinals got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning as Jon Jay walked with two-outs and David Freese broke the tie with a two-run home run. The Cardinals added to their lead in the sixth as Jay singled home Matt Holliday to make it 3–0. The Pirates rallied with two outs in the top of the seventh as Justin Morneau, Marlon Byrd and Pedro Alvarez all singled, but Wainwright was able to get Russell Martin to ground out to end the threat. Entering the bottom of the eighth and with the Cardinals leading 3–1, they put the game out of reach as Matt Adams hit a two-run home run off of Mark Melancon to make it 5–1. They added another run on a Pete Kozma single. Wainwright finished the complete game by striking out Alvarez with two runners on base to end the Pirates' season.

  Game log

Roster

Opening Day lineup

Notable achievements

Awards

• Pedro Álvarez, 3B, Reserve
• Jason Grilli, P, Reserve
• Jeff Locke, P, Reserve
• Andrew McCutchen, OF, Reserve
• Mark Melancon, P, Reserve – replaced Jeff Locke

• Russell Martin
• Pedro Álvarez
• Francisco Liriano

• Jason Grilli
• Jason Grilli

• Gerrit Cole

• Francisco Liriano

• Clint Hurdle

• Francisco Liriano

• Clint Hurdle

• Andrew McCutchen

  Milestones

Statistics

• Stats reflect time with the Pirates only.

Transactions

• Black line marks the transition between off season and regular season

  Trades

Free agents

Waivers

Signings

Other

Draft picks

Farm system