​The Pittsburgh Pirates have been slipping in the National League Wild Card standings over the last few weeks, but a recent series win over the Boston Red Sox gave the team new hope in a potential playoff push.That said, it was clear after that series that Pittsburgh would need to play just about perfect baseball for the rest of the way, including a critical upcoming road trip that started Friday evening. The Pirates traveled out west a few days ago to start a three-game set away from PNC Park against the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals. This stretch of games has the potential to make or break Pittsburgh’s season, and it’s not off to a great start.The Pirates dropped their series opener against the Dodgers on Friday evening, 5-4, and officially lost the series on Saturday evening, 4-3, to Los Angeles.Pittsburgh is now 63-68 on the season and a full 7.0 games back of the final Wild Card spot in the National League. Aug 22, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA;Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly (12) walks to the dugout after a pitching change against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn ImagesThe Pirates have also set themselves up for a difficult remaining road trip on the mound because in their first two games against the Dodgers, Pittsburgh’s starters, Bubba Chandler and Jared Jones, combined to pitch just eight innings, forcing the reliever core to cover the next 10 innings.An already taxed Pittsburgh bullpen had to cover even more innings than anticipated.Manager Don Kelly acknowledged after Saturday’s loss that they’re in a tough spot with the bullpen because of how much they’ve had to throw. At the same time, Pittsburgh’s skipper praised the reliever core for keeping the team in the game.With all of this in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Pirates made some roster moves during this road trip to get some fresh arms.On top of the pitching woes, the offense hasn’t been able to put up enough crooked numbers to back up the starters or the bullpen. Looking at these two losses as a whole, Kelly believes “it’s those little [things], it’s the little details that we see are mattering a lot. They add up to big things. And when we have the opportunity to score, we have to push runs across.”If the Pirates want to keep playing meaningful baseball in September, they must come back home with a winning record on the final seven games of this road trip, and that starts on Sunday afternoon against the Dodgers.