2015 Pittsburgh Pirates season
The 2015 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the franchise's 134th season overall, the 129th season as a member of National League, and 15th season at PNC Park. The regular season began with a loss at Great American Ball Park against the Cincinnati Reds on April 6 and ended with a win against the Reds at PNC Park on October 4. The Pirates finished the regular season with the second best record in baseball, finishing in second place for the third consecutive year in the National League Central Division with 98 wins and 64 losses.
The Pirates clinched their third consecutive playoff berth on September 23, finishing second in their division behind the St. Louis Cardinals. The team secured one of two NL Wild Card spots. The Pirates lost to the Chicago Cubs in the 2015 National League Wild Card Game on October 7 and were, as a result, eliminated from the 2015 postseason.
Four members of the 2015 Pirates were selected to represent the National League in the All-Star Game, including pitcher A. J. Burnett for the first time in his career in his final major league season. In addition, one player was named NL Player of the Month: Andrew McCutchen in August, one was named NL Rookie of the Month: Jung-ho Kang in July, and one was named NL Pitcher of the Month: Gerrit Cole in April. On October 2, the penultimate game of the regular season, the Pirates set a PNC Park season attendance record for the second consecutive year at 2,498,596, beating the record set in 2014.
Season standings
National League Central
National League playoff standings
Record vs. opponents
Detailed records
Month | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | ||
April | 22 | 12 | 10 | 89 | 71 | |
May | 28 | 14 | 14 | 119 | 103 | |
June | 26 | 17 | 9 | 95 | 82 | |
July | 26 | 17 | 9 | 120 | 117 | |
August | 27 | 19 | 8 | 123 | 92 | |
September | 30 | 17 | 13 | 140 | 124 | |
October | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 7 | |
Total | 162 | 98 | 64 | 697 | 596 |
Regular season
April
- April 8 – Offseason bidding acquisition Jung-ho Kang makes his MLB debut after nine years playing in the South Korean KBO League.
- April 9 – The Pirates are swept by the Cincinnati Reds in the first series of the regular season.
- Gerrit Cole is named NL Pitcher of the Month for April
- The Pirates finish the month with a win/loss record of 12–10, third in the NL Central at 3.5 games out of first.
May
- May 26 – Andrew McCutchen is named NL Player of the Week for the week ending May 24.
- The Pirates finish the month with a win/loss record of 26–24, third in the NL Central at 7.0 games out of first.
June
- June 12 – Clint Hurdle earns his 900th career win as a manager in a Pirates victory at home over the Philadelphia Phillies.
- June 20 – The Pirates are no-hit by Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals, but a perfect game was broken up when Scherzer hit José Tábata in the elbow.
- The Pirates finish the month with a win/loss record of 43–33, second in the NL Central at 8.0 games out of first.
July
- July 6 – A. J. Burnett, Gerrit Cole, Andrew McCutchen, and Mark Melancon are named to the National League All-Star team.
- July 12 – The Pirates enter the All-Star break with a win/loss record of 53–35, second in the NL Central and second-best in MLB.
- Jung-ho Kang is named NL Rookie of the Month for July.
- The Pirates finish the month with a win/loss record of 60–42, second in the NL Central at 5.5 games out of first.
August
- August 10 – Andrew McCutchen is named NL Player of the Week for the second time in 2015 for the week ending August 9.
- Andrew McCutchen is named NL Player of the Month for August.
- The Pirates finish the month with a win/loss record of 79–50, second in the NL Central at 5.0 games out of first.
September
- September 20 – Mark Melancon records his 47th save of the season, breaking the all-time Pirates franchise record set by Mike Williams in 2002.
- September 23 – The Pirates clinch their third consecutive playoff berth with an away win against the Colorado Rockies.
- September 24 – The Pirates achieve a come-from-behind win against the Rockies on the strength of an 8th inning Pedro Alvarez three-run home run, earning the franchise's 10,000th win since joining the National League in 1887.
- September 26 – The Pirates earn their 95th win of the season, ensuring their best season-end win/loss record since 1992.
- September 30 – The Cardinals clinch the division, ensuring the Pirates' third consecutive appearance in the NL Wild Card game.
October
- October 2 – During the final homestand of 2015, the Pirates set a new PNC Park attendance record for the second consecutive year at 2,498,596, a 56,032 increase over 2014.
- October 4 – At the conclusion of the season, the Pirates had a win/loss record of 98–64, finishing second in the NL Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals with the second-best record in Major League Baseball. The Pirates clinched home-field advantage for the NL Wild Card game on the last day of the season, finishing one game ahead of the Chicago Cubs, whom they would face in the play-in game.
Game log
Postseason
Wild Card Game
- October 7 – National League Wild Card game – Chicago's Jake Arrieta pitched a complete game, striking out eleven batters and allowed only four hits. The Cubs were paced offensively by Dexter Fowler and Kyle Schwarber, both combining for five hits in seven at bats, each with a home run. Pittsburgh starter Gerrit Cole gave up two home runs in a game for the first time this season. Cole lasted five innings, striking out four.
Game log
Roster
Opening Day lineup
Disabled lists
15-day disabled list
60-day disabled list
Notable achievements
Awards
2015 Baseball America Organization of the Year2015 National League Saves Leader
- Mark Melancon
- Andrew McCutchen
- Mark Melancon
- Andrew McCutchen
- Starling Marte
- A. J. Burnett, P, Reserve
- Gerrit Cole, P, Reserve
- Andrew McCutchen, OF, Reserve
- Mark Melancon, P, Reserve
- Gerrit Cole
- Jung-ho Kang
- Andrew McCutchen
- Andrew McCutchen
- Andrew McCutchen
Award | Player | Result |
MLB Best Major Leaguer | Andrew McCutchen | |
MLB Best Everyday Player | Andrew McCutchen | |
MLB Best Starting Pitcher | Gerrit Cole | |
MLB Best Rookie | Jung-ho Kang |
Milestones
Player | Milestone | Reached |
1st Career MLB Game | April 8, 2015 | |
1st Career MLB Hit | April 12, 2015 | |
1,000th Career MLB Hit | April 13, 2015 | |
1st Career MLB RBI | April 21, 2015 | |
300th Career MLB Game | April 24, 2015 | |
200th Career MLB Game Started | April 26, 2015 | |
1,000th Career MLB Hit | April 29, 2015 | |
500th Career MLB Hit | May 2, 2015 | |
1st Career MLB Home Run | May 3, 2015 | |
2,400th Career MLB Strike Out | May 7, 2015 | |
100th Career MLB Double | June 9, 2015 | |
200th Career MLB Game | June 9, 2015 | |
500th Career MLB RBI | June 13, 2015 | |
500th Career MLB Game | June 14, 2015 | |
300th Career MLB Game | June 25, 2015 | |
500th Career MLB Inning Pitched | July 11, 2015 | |
100th Career MLB Stolen Base | July 17, 2015 | |
100th Career MLB Game | July 18, 2015 | |
300th Career MLB Game | July 20, 2015 | |
100th Career MLB Save | July 20, 2015 | |
500th Career MLB Walk | August 5, 2015 | |
100th Career MLB Game | August 18, 2015 | |
1,400th Career MLB RBI | August 21, 2015 | |
100th Career MLB Hit | August 22, 2015 | |
1,000th Career MLB Game | August 24, 2015 |
Statistics
Player
Final stats;Batting
Player | ||||||
3 | 8 | 3 | 0.375 | 0 | 0 | |
' | 130 | 451 | 133 | 0.295 | 7 | 43 |
' | 157 | 566 | 165 | 0.292 | 23 | 96 |
‡ | 27 | 38 | 11 | 0.289 | 0 | 4 |
58 | 159 | 46 | 0.289 | 0 | 15 | |
126 | 421 | 121 | 0.287 | 15 | 58 | |
114 | 418 | 120 | 0.287 | 4 | 28 | |
' | 153 | 579 | 166 | 0.287 | 19 | 81 |
‡ | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0.286 | 0 | 1 |
† | 45 | 69 | 19 | 0.275 | 1 | 7 |
' | 151 | 543 | 146 | 0.269 | 16 | 71 |
' | 153 | 593 | 152 | 0.256 | 9 | 52 |
139 | 224 | 55 | 0.246 | 4 | 17 | |
† | 56 | 196 | 48 | 0.245 | 6 | 33 |
116 | 394 | 96 | 0.244 | 3 | 34 | |
150 | 437 | 106 | 0.243 | 27 | 77 | |
† | 38 | 58 | 13 | 0.224 | 1 | 8 |
35 | 54 | 12 | 0.222 | 2 | 9 | |
23 | 28 | 6 | 0.214 | 0 | 1 | |
† | 18 | 26 | 5 | 0.192 | 1 | 8 |
23 | 17 | 3 | 0.176 | 0 | 0 | |
29 | 65 | 11 | 0.169 | 1 | 7 | |
30 | 60 | 9 | 0.150 | 0 | 2 | |
24 | 42 | 5 | 0.119 | 1 | 5 | |
† | 11 | 22 | 2 | 0.091 | 0 | 0 |
24 | 23 | 2 | 0.087 | 0 | 1 | |
29 | 45 | 3 | 0.067 | 0 | 2 | |
20 | 25 | 1 | 0.040 | 0 | 0 | |
21 | 36 | 1 | 0.028 | 0 | 1 | |
61 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
† | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
7 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
8 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
8 | 5 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
14 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
12 | 10 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
† | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Player | ||||||
1 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 4 | 2 | 0.500 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 3 | 1 | 0.333 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 3 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 3 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 4 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 4 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 3 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Pitching
Player | ||||||
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | |
11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.13 | 8 | |
† | 21 | 5 | 0 | 1.57 | 39 | |
† | 11 | 7 | 2 | 1.85 | 69 | |
77 | 4 | 1 | 1.91 | 62 | ||
† | 29 | 0 | 0 | 2.03 | 28 | |
78 | 3 | 2 | 2.23 | 62 | ||
76 | 67 | 3 | 1 | 2.28 | 36 | |
' | 32 | 208 | 19 | 8 | 2.60 | 202 |
28 | 2 | 4 | 2.64 | 24 | ||
66 | 4 | 1 | 2.98 | 64 | ||
' | 26 | 164 | 9 | 7 | 3.18 | 143 |
' | 31 | 12 | 7 | 3.38 | 205 | |
1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3.60 | 5 | |
73 | 5 | 1 | 3.62 | 73 | ||
23 | 4 | 6 | 4.02 | 49 | ||
14 | 1 | 4 | 4.24 | 27 | ||
30 | 8 | 11 | 4.49 | 129 | ||
23 | 129 | 9 | 9 | 4.81 | 96 | |
10 | 2 | 0 | 6.48 | 17 |
Player | ||||||
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | |
1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 7.20 | 4 |
;Legend
– Stats reflect time with the Pirates only.
† – Denotes player was acquired during season.
‡ – Denotes player was relinquished during season.
– Injured reserve.
– Qualified for batting title or ERA title
Transactions
The Pirates were involved in the following transactions during the 2015 season:- Black line marks the transition between off season and regular season
Trades
November 11, 2014 | To Colorado Rockies: ---- Shane Carle | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Rob Scahill |
November 12, 2014 | To New York Yankees: ---- Justin Wilson | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Francisco Cervelli |
November 23, 2014 | To Oakland A's: ---- Ike Davis | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- International Signing Bonus Money |
December 1, 2014 | To Tampa Bay Rays: ---- PTBNL or Cash Considerations | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Sean Rodriguez |
December 10, 2014 | To Philadelphia Phillies: ---- Joely Rodriguez | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Antonio Bastardo |
January 27, 2015 | To Baltimore Orioles: ---- Travis Snider | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Stephen Tarpley PTBNL |
February 3, 2015 | To Baltimore Orioles: ---- Cash Considerations | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Steve Lombardozzi |
February 4, 2015 | To Miami Marlins: ---- Cash Considerations | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Arquimedes Caminero |
February 5, 2015 | To Atlanta Braves: ---- Bryton Trepagnier | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Edward Salcedo |
April 2, 2015 | To Milwaukee Brewers: ---- PTBNL | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Hunter Morris |
May 10, 2015 | To Toronto Blue Jays: ---- Cash Considerations | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Jayson Aquino |
July 3, 2015 | To Chicago Cubs: ---- Clayton Richard | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Cash Considerations |
July 23, 2015 | To Milwaukee Brewers: ---- Yhonathan Barrios | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Aramis Ramírez Cash Considerations |
July 29, 2015 | To Cleveland Indians: ---- Jayson Aquino | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Cash Considerations |
July 29, 2015 | To Kansas City Royals: ---- Cash Considerations | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Joe Blanton |
July 30, 2015 | To Chicago White Sox: ---- Justin Sellers | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Cash Considerations or PTBNL |
July 30, 2015 | To Detroit Tigers: ---- JaCoby Jones | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Joakim Soria |
July 31, 2015 | To Seattle Mariners: ---- Adrian Sampson | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- J. A. Happ |
July 31, 2015 | To Los Angeles Dodgers: ---- José Tábata | To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Michael Morse Cash Considerations |
;Notes
- – Buddy Borden fulfilled on December 12, 2014.
- – Steven Brault fulfilled on February 20, 2015.
Free agents
Waivers
Signings
Other
;Legend- – invited to training camp
Draft picks
Rd | # | Player | Pos | DOB and Age | School | Signed |
1 | 19 | SS | University of Arizona | June 15, 2015 | ||
CB A | 32 | 3B | Concordia Lutheran High School | June 16, 2015 | ||
2 | 62 | SS | University of California, Los Angeles | June 16, 2015 | ||
3 | 96 | LF | University of Alabama | June 18, 2015 | ||
4 | 127 | RHP | Pearl River Community College | June 18, 2015 | ||
5 | 157 | LHP | University of Virginia | July 16, 2015 | ||
6 | 187 | RHP | University of Akron | June 12, 2015 | ||
7 | 217 | 3B | University of Oregon | June 18, 2015 | ||
8 | 247 | RHP | Florida Atlantic University | June 12, 2015 | ||
9 | 277 | RHP | University of Utah | June 12, 2015 | ||
10 | 307 | RHP | Tiffin University | June 18, 2015 |
;Notes
- Compensation pick for the Toronto Blue Jays signing Russell Martin.
Farm system