Pittsburgh Pirates: Next Home Series Could Bring Them to, or Past .500

It's May, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are (uncharacteristically) just below .500—to the point where a victorious home series could bring them to .500 (with a 2-1 showing) or past it (if they go 3-0).

The Bucs aren't any great shakes at home, where they have a losing record. Where they have been, excelling, for now, is on the road. They're 11-8 away from PNC Park, almost enough to make up for a four-game deficit in home wins.

The Pirates just won two series 2-1 against the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres out west. Hitters like Ryan Doumit and Garrett Jones found their bats, bolstering a still-deficient lineup. But the pitching has been good enough to make up for this.

In particular, Opening Day starter, Kevin Correia has won his first five road games, something no Pittsburgh pitcher has done in 90 years (since 1921).

Teams that routinely win two out of three away from home tend to make to the top of their divisions. In fact, only division and wildcard leaders the Colorado Rockies, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Florida Marlins have better road records than the Pirates.

The road victory against the Rockies was surprising, but it almost makes up for the 3-1 drubbing Colorado administered in PNC Park. That, and Mile High Stadium are polar opposites, with PNC being a pitchers' park and Mile High a hitters' park.

It almost seems as if Rockies pitchers and Pirates hitters come alive in opposing ballparks.

The defeat of San Diego was not so surprising, given the relative strengths the teams have shown so far, plus the fact that Pittsburgh has historically done well in Petco Park.

Pirate defeats at home are also explainable, coming as they have against the above-mentioned Rockies, plus Milwaukee, which has historically "owned" the season series with Pittsburgh. Also, PNC Park might not be "home" to (formerly San Diego) transplant Correia, who has suffered both his losses there.

Still, teams, particularly weak ones with many inexperienced players tend to do better at home than on the road. The resilience the Pirates have shown so far this year on the road is encouraging. Proving themselves on "home turf" is the easier task by comparison.

While there are no guarantees, even against the poorly ranked Houston Astros (who have historically done relatively well against Pittsburgh), things are beginning to look up for some long-suffering fans.