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The Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten off to a good start this year. Unfortunately, the rest of the teams in the NL Central have also gotten off to a solid start.
There is only one team in the division with a losing record, and that is the Cincinnati Reds. So, that puts more pressure on Pittsburgh to stay afloat.
Pittsburgh has gotten here with an elite starting rotation and solid offensive production from the offense, but they are coming off a rather poor week.
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Pirates fall in the rankings after a disappointing weekend series
The Pirates are coming off a week where they played the Houston Astros and then the Atlanta Braves over the weekend. It was a big test that showed Pittsburgh still has some work to do.
They were able to take care of the Astros, winning the series 2-1, but it would be a different story against the Braves. Pittsburgh struggled to get anything going, getting swept over the weekend.
With this, and the test they have this week, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter bumped them down a spot from No. 7 to No. 8 in his latest power rankings.
"The Pirates played the Braves tough in a three-game series sweep, with one three-run inning in each game proving to be the difference. Now they have another opportunity to show they belong in the serious contender conversation when they welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to town on Tuesday."
Going up against the Braves and then the Dodgers is no laughing matter. It will be interesting to see if this team can bounce back from a sweep, clear their minds, and come out firing against Shohei Ohtani and company.
If they can bounce back, they could set themselves up nicely for the rest of the month with a few series against some weaker teams like the Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies.
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