PITTSBURGH – Baseball is a game full of numbers that dictate milestones. With Thursday being the 81st game of a 162-game marathon, the Pirates haven’t produced a first half of this caliber in a decade. A 5-1 win over the Mariners at PNC Park gave Pittsburgh a 41-40 record at the midway point of the season. Brandon Lowe and Henry Davis combined for four hits and four RBIs while Bubba Chandler pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run baseball. The Pirates have faced plenty of injury trouble, from missing starter Jared Jones for the first two months to losing key offensive weapons Konnor Griffin, Oneil Cruz and now Spencer Horwitz. Yet Pittsburgh has managed to stay afloat as it enters a pivotal second half, increasing its win total by 9 from last season at this point and accomplishing its best first half since 2015, the last time it reached the postseason. “There's a better team that we'll see in the second half; they're more consistent,” manager Don Kelly said. “We need to play better in order to get to where we want to go. We're in a good spot, but we're not there yet.” The Pirates finished 2025 in last place in key offensive categories. They invested in the offseason to fix the issue, trading for Lowe and signing Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna. Lowe has been everything Pittsburgh could ask for and more, tallying 19 home runs and 51 RBIs while improving his defense. He punctuated his stellar first half in the bottom of the first inning Thursday, blasting a solo shot off Mariners starter Bryce Miller. Lowe is proud of what he and the team have produced, though the veteran knows there’s a higher potential to reach. “Every person in the world wants to be 20 games over \[.500\
