Pirates Snap Streak of 20 Consecutive Losing Seasons With 81st Win vs. Brewers

The Pittsburgh Pirates have endured two decades of losing seasons, but even with plenty of games in hand for the remainder of the 2013 MLB season, that unenviable streak has come to an end.

Major League Baseball's official Twitter noted the historical significance of the Pirates' 81st win of the year on Tuesday evening—a 4-3 road victory over the National League Central division rival Milwaukee Brewers:

Rafael Rojas C of MLB.com noted the No. 1 hit song the last time the Pirates clinched a non-losing season:

B/R's MLB lead writer Zachary D. Rymer provided his take, comparing the Pirates' prowess to the success of other seemingly accursed baseball franchises:

Pinch hitter Travis Snider went yard in the ninth inning of a tied 3-3 game for just his fourth home run of the year, but it was a big one that doubled the Pirates' lead to two games over the St. Louis Cardinals in the division.

Superstar center fielder Andrew McCutchen has been at the epicenter of Pittsburgh's stunning turnaround, and he fittingly got his club on the board first. With two outs in the first inning, McCutchen smacked his 18th home run of the year off of Yovani Gallardo to give the Pirates the early 1-0 advantage.

However, the Brew Crew figured to foil their opponent's plans of getting off the losing season skid by plating two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Scoring was minimal aside from the Pirates' equalizing run in the third, but after the two teams exchanged one run apiece in the eighth, the stage was set for Snider's heroics.

Pittsburgh closer Mark Melancon retired the side in the ninth for his 11th save of the season.

As putrid as the Pirates have been for so long, there was an upward trend over the previous two campaigns to suggest that a breakthrough was in order. After going 57-105 in 2010, the club posted records of 72-90 and 79-83.

This 2013 club has shocked the baseball world, though, emerging with one of the best records in baseball thus far. It's primarily due to great pitching, as the Pirates lead the MLB with league lows in ERA (3.17) and opponents' batting average (.236).

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