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Baseball
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The Pirates' offense improved in 2026, but one major weakness never went away: they simply could not hit left-handed pitching.
Alex Stumpf breaks down Pittsburgh's struggles against left-handed starters, the development of Esmerlyn Valdez and Konnor Griffin, and why the Pirates may need to look outside the organization for another right-handed bat this winter. Alex also explains why Brandon Lowe should remain the Pirates' top free-agent priority and looks at possible fits including Taylor Ward and Eugenio Suárez.
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https://bookrulebucs.substack.com/
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Pirates Beat Tigers, Finish 2026 With Winning Record
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"The Pirates Have One HUGE Problem To Fix This Winter" is an episode of North Shore Nine: A Pittsburgh Pirates Podcast. Runtime 15 min. Published September 24, 2026. Hit play above to stream it here, or open the free Spot Sports app for background play and offline downloads.