The Pirates have had a rough go of it in the past week, but they're still very much in the NL Central race, as their divisional rivals have struggled as well. The Bucs have a 5-5 record in the past 10 games; no team in the division has a better record in that span, although the Reds and Cubs are also 5-5.
↵Here are the NL Central standings:
↵Brewers 41-34 (Brew Crew Ball)
↵Cardinals 40-34 (Viva El Birdos)
↵Reds 38-36 (Red Reporter)
↵Pirates 36-37 (Bucs Dugout)
↵Cubs 30-43 (Bleed Cubbie Blue)
↵Astros 27-48 (Crawfish Boxes)
↵At this point, it's pretty plain that the Cubs and Astros are really bad teams. The Pirates have to run the gauntlet in the next week with a very tough series against the Red Sox and a challenge against the Blue Jays, but if they can somehow get through those two series with a few wins, they might just be able to start making some noise - starting at the beginning of July, they have four games against the 36-37 Nationals, then nine straight against the Astros and Cubs, six of which are at home. If they have success there, their home series against Cincinnati and St. Louis in mid-July should be very, very interesting.
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