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 Pirates qualified for the postseason for the third time in a row, clinching an NL Wild Card spot. However, they lost in the NLWC Game at home for the second consecutive season, this time against their division rival Chicago Cubs. As of 2026, this is the most recent season that the Pirates have appeared in the postseason, the second longest active drought in MLB.
Background 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 with 98 wins and 64 losses.
The team clinched its third consecutive playoff berth on September 23, finishing second in its division behind the St. Louis Cardinals. The Pirates secured one of two NL Wild Card spots, but lost to the Chicago Cubs in the NLWC Game on October 7, eliminating the team from 2015 postseason play.
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 (2,442,564).
Season standings
National League Central
National League playoff standings
Record vs. opponents
Detailed records
National League Opponent W L WP NL East Atlanta Braves 4 2 29 21 Miami Marlins 6 1 30 15 New York Mets 6 0 37 10 Philadelphia Phillies 5 2 21 15 Washington Nationals 3 4 23 37 Total 24 9 140 98 NL Central Chicago Cubs 8 11 71 81 Cincinnati Reds 8 11 69 81 Milwaukee Brewers 9 10 81 79 Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals 9 10 79 76 Total 34 42 300 317 NL West Arizona Diamondbacks 5 1 28 15 Colorado Rockies 6 1 42 28 Los Angeles Dodgers 5 1 33 26 San Diego Padres 5 2 29 25 San Francisco Giants 6 1 32 19 Total 27 6 164 113 American League Chicago White Sox 4 0 20 4 Cleveland Indians 2 1 8 8 Detroit Tigers 4 2 27 18 Kansas City Royals 1 2 12 15 Minnesota Twins 2 2 26 23 Total 13 7 93 68 Season Total 98 64 697 596
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 Games Won Lost Win % Home 81 53 28 343 281 Away 81 45 36 354 315 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 (OF) 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 (P), Gerrit Cole (P), Andrew McCutchen (OF), and Mark Melancon (P) 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
|- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 1 || April 6 || @ Reds || 2–5 || Diaz (1–0) || Watson (0–1) || Chapman (1) || 43,633 || 0–1 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 2 || April 8 || @ Reds || 4–5 (11) || Hoover (1–0) || Liz (0–1) || — || 30,859 || 0–2 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 3 || April 9 || @ Reds || 2–3 || Chapman (1–0) || Scahill (0–1) || — || 15,616 || 0–3 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 4 || April 10 || @ Brewers || 6–2 || Locke (1–0) || Fiers (0–1) || — || 27,373 || 1–3 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 5 || April 11 || @ Brewers || 0–6 || Nelson (1–0) || Worley (0–1) || — || 41,108 || 1–4 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 6 || April 12 || @ Brewers || 10–2 || Sadler (1–0) || Lohse (0–2) || — || 39,017 || 2–4 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 7 || April 13 || Tigers || 5–4 || Cole (1–0) || Sánchez (1–1) || — || 39,933 || 3–4 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 8 || April 14 || Tigers || 0–2 || Greene (2–0) || Burnett (0–1) || Soria (3) || 31,755 || 3–5 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 9 || April 15 || Tigers || 0–1 || Simón (2–0) || Liriano (0–1) || Soria (4) || 19,509 || 3–6 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 10 || April 17 || Brewers || 6–3 || Worley (1–1) || Nelson (1–1) || Melancon (1) || 25,664 || 4–6 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 11 || April 18 || Brewers || 6–2 || Locke (2–0) || Lohse (0–3) || — || 33,961 || 5–6 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 12 || April 19 || Brewers || 5–2 || Cole (2–0) || Garza (1–2) || Melancon (2) || 28,129 || 6–6 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 13 || April 20 || Cubs || 2–5 || Arrieta (2–1) || Caminero (0–1) || — || 11,777 || 6–7 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 14 || April 21 || Cubs || 8–9 || Jackson (1–0) || Melancon (0–1) || Rondon (3) || 13,680 || 6–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 15 || April 22 || Cubs || 4–3 || Worley (2–1) || Hammel (1–1) || Watson (1) || 15,101 || 7–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 16 || April 23 || Cubs || 5–4 || Liz (1–1) || Schlitter (0–2) || Melancon (3) || 22,224 || 8–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 17 || April 24 || @ Diamondbacks || 4–1 || Cole (3–0) || Collmenter (1–3) || Melancon (4) || 24,427 || 9–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 18 || April 25 || @ Diamondbacks || 2–1 || Watson (1–1) || Reed (0–1) || Melancon (5) || 38,859 || 10–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 19 || April 26 || @ Diamondbacks || 8–0 || Liriano (1–1) || Hellickson (1–3) || — || 32,353 || 11–8 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 20 || April 27 || @ Cubs || 0–4 || Hammel (2–1) || Worley (2–2) || — || 29,159 || 11–9 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 21 || April 28 || @ Cubs || 2–6 || Wood (2–1) || Locke (2–1) || — || 29,915 || 11–10 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 22 || April 29 || @ Cubs || 8–1 || Cole (4–0) || Hendricks (0–1) || — || 30,634 || 12–10
|- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 23 || May 1 || @ Cardinals || 1–2 (10) || Choate (1–0) || Scahill (0–2) || — || 40,912 || 12–11 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 24 || May 2 || @ Cardinals || 1–2 (11) || Villanueva (3–1) || Hughes (0–1) || — || 45,095 || 12–12 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 25 || May 3 || @ Cardinals || 2–3 (14) || Socolovich (1–0) || Liz (1–2) || — || 44,382 || 12–13 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 26 || May 5 || Reds || 1–7 || Lorenzen (1–1) || Locke (2–2) || — || 16,822 || 12–14 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 27 || May 6 || Reds || 0–3 || Leake (2–1) || Cole (4–1) || Chapman (6) || 16,527 || 12–15 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 28 || May 7 || Reds || 7–2 || Burnett (1–1) || DeSclafani (2–3) || — || 27,302 || 13–15 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 29 || May 8 || Cardinals || 5–8 || Wacha (5–0) || Liriano (1–2) || Rosenthal (11) || 33,507 || 13–16 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 30 || May 9 || Cardinals || 7–5 || Scahill (1–2) || Martinez (3–1) || Melancon (6) || 38,068 || 14–16 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 31 || May 10 || Cardinals || 4–3 || Hughes (1–1) || Harris (1–1) || Melancon (7) || 34,036 || 15–16 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 32 || May 11 || @ Phillies || 4–3 || Cole (5–1) || Williams (2–3) || Melancon (8) || 21,358 || 16–16 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 33 || May 12 || @ Phillies || 7–2 || Burnett (2–1) || O'Sullivan (0–2) || — || 20,393 || 17–16 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 34 || May 13 || @ Phillies || 2–3 || Hamels (3–3) || Liriano (1–3) || Papelbon (7) || 29,576 || 17–17 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 35 || May 14 || @ Phillies || 2–4 || Harang (4–3) || Worley (2–3) || Papelbon (8) || 29,205 || 17–18 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 36 || May 15 || @ Cubs || 10–11 (12) || Jackson (2–1) || Liz (1–3) || — || 33,617 || 17–19 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 37 || May 16 || @ Cubs || 1–4 || Lester (4–2) || Cole (5–2) || Wood (1) || 38,883 || 17–20 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 38 || May 17 || @ Cubs || 3–0 || Burnett (3–1) || Arrieta (4–4) || Melancon (9) || 36,289 || 18–20 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 39 || May 19 || Twins || 5–8 || Nolasco (4–1) || Liriano (1–4) || Perkins (14) || 22,357 || 18–21 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 40 || May 20 || Twins || 3–4 (13) || Duensing (2–0) || Bastardo (0–1) || Perkins (15) || 21,718 || 18–22 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 41 || May 22 || Mets || 4–1 || Cole (6–2) || Syndergaard (1–2) || Melancon (10) || 33,337 || 19–22 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 42 || May 23 || Mets || 8–2 || Burnett (4–1) || Harvey (5–2) || — || 39,385 || 20–22 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 43 || May 24 || Mets || 9–1 || Liriano (2–4) || Niese (3–5) || — || 37,784 || 21–22 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 44 || May 25 || Marlins || 4–2 || Morton (1–0) || Phelps (2–2) || Melancon (11) || 20,046 || 22–22 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 45 || May 26 || Marlins || 5–1 || Locke (3–2) || Urena (0–1) || — || 20,806 || 23–22 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 46 || May 27 || Marlins || 5–2 || Cole (7–2) || Dyson (2–2) || Melancon (12) || 33,238 || 24–22 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 47 || May 28 || @ Padres || 11–5 || Burnett (5–1) || Kennedy (2–5) || — || 23,104 || 25–22 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 48 || May 29 || @ Padres || 2–6 || Kimbrel (1–1) || Scahill (1–3) || — || 28,317 || 25–23 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 49 || May 30 || @ Padres || 5–2 || Morton (2–0) || Ross (2–5) || Melancon (13) || 43,207 || 26–23 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 50 || May 31 || @ Padres || 1–7 || Despaigne (3–3) || Locke (3–3) || — || 20,556 || 26–24
|- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 51 || June 1 || @ Giants || 4–3 || Cole (8–2) || Vogelsong (4–3) || Melancon (14) || 41,546 || 27–24 |- bgcolor="ccffcc"