Tim Benz: Another Pirates April Fools' joke? Or is there reason to buy Bucs' hot start?

If the Duquesne basketball team can win its first NCAA Tournament game since 1969, can the Pirates perhaps win their first full playoff series since 1979?

Or their first division crown since 1992?

OK, perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves.

But the Bucs just opened 2024 with a four-game sweep of the Marlins in Miami. Via a team release, the last time the franchise began a season with a four-game road sweep in one city was in 1903 against Cincinnati. A Pirates team hasn’t started 5-0 since 1983.

Now, to be fair, March and April were great for last year’s Pirates too. Manager Derek Shelton’s group was 20-9 before the start of May. Yet they totaled just 27 wins over the next three months and finished below .500 (76-86).

Oh, and that 1983 team? It ended up a fairly pedestrian 84-78 and missed the playoffs.

So maybe this opening series is more of a commentary about how much the Marlins have slipped from wild-card status last year, as opposed to assuming the Pirates will reach that level this year.

Or maybe it’s just four games out of 162 for both organizations.

That shouldn’t dull enthusiasm for the positive results in Pittsburgh. After all, the early pop from April in 2023 at least carried interest until about Memorial Day weekend when the reality set in.

I can fool myself for about 60 days of baseball interest. Hey, I’ve been fooling myself that the local hockey team was eventually going to turn it around since December. What’s another two months?

Or maybe this year, we won’t be fooling ourselves. As we outlined here at “Breakfast With Benz” on Opening Day, there are plenty of reasons to believe that the Pirates could at least build incrementally on last year’s 14-game jump. I’ve got the Pirates winning 81 games this year to at least hit .500.

And if the national football media has taught us anything through their coverage of the Steelers, non-losing seasons are cause for great celebration in Pittsburgh these days.

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One point I’d argue about the Pirates’ hot start so far this year versus what we saw in April 2023 is that there is at least reason to believe that the catalysts to their early success are things that can be replicated as the year goes along.

In particular, the Pirates are leaning into their offense. And the ceiling for the lineup appears to be higher than that of the starting rotation (until Paul Skenes gets called up, anyway).

Through the first weekend of the season, the Pirates are fourth in runs scored (31) and on-base percentage (.382). With Oneil Cruz healthy and Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes perhaps elevating from decent 2023 campaigns at the plate to All-Star-worthy performances this year, the lineup could be something special throughout 2024. All three are off to good starts, combining for 19 hits and 29 total bases in the opening series.

The Pirates bullpen appears to be an area of strength. David Bendnar’s blown save on Sunday aside, the bullpen was fantastic versus the Marlins. Working 20.1 innings over four games, the Pirates’ relievers yielded just two earned runs for a collective ERA of 0.89. That is third best in MLB to start the year. Marlins hitters batted just .123 against Pirates relief pitchers in the series.

Meanwhile, last year’s blistering start was largely on the back of some flukish starting pitching that never quite seemed sustainable. And the Pirates were a little ahead of the curve when it came to dealing with the new base-running rules and pitch-clock regulations — an advantage that inevitably waned as the others got adapted.

Of course, all this happy talk could evaporate in an instant. Anyone who has followed this franchise for the better part of 45 years knows good times are often short-lived. They could be swept by Washington and return to Pittsburgh at 4-3 for Friday’s home opener.

Don’t rule out that possibility.

Then again, I considered a similar potential for Duquesne going to Omaha before their NCAA opener against BYU. Two days later, I was still there watching a second game against Illinois.

When it comes to sports success in Pittsburgh, you can’t use the phrase “stranger things have happened” and apply it to the Pirates too often. But in the case of what we’ve already witnessed this spring with Dukes, I’m willing to keep an open mind it may apply this year.

For a few weeks, anyway. Check back with me when the NFL Draft rolls around.

Listen: Tim Benz and Kevin Gorman discuss Pirates baseball