A season that started with a blackout in the home opener ended with a shutout in the season finale.

The Pittsburgh Pirates started the season the way they ended it, by celebrating the 10th anniversary of their NL wild-card win over the Cincinnati Reds with a victory.

Miguel Andujar broke a scoreless tie with an RBI double to left field, and Jack Suwinski followed with a two-run double down the left-field line in the eighth inning to lift the Pirates to a 3-0 win over the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon before 22,954 at PNC Park.

The victory allowed the Pirates to avoid a three-game series sweep by the Marlins, who clinched an NL wild-card berth with a 7-3 win Saturday night. It came 10 years to the day that Pirates fans serenaded Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto by chanting his surname, and he responded by dropping the ball while on the mound, then surrendering a home run to Russell Martin.

The Pirates encouraged fans to create a blackout by wearing all black for the home opener against the Chicago White Sox on April 7, when Martin and A.J. Burnett threw out the ceremonial first pitch and five-time All-Star and 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen was welcomed home to the Pirates five years after being traded. Pirates manager Derek Shelton showed highlights of both plays to his team.

“Hopefully, in the future, we’re in the playoffs,” Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes said, “and we’re making someone drop the ball on the mound.”

After back-to-back 100-loss seasons, the Pirates finished 76-86, a 14-game improvement over their 2022 season record (62-100). It was a positive finish for the Pirates, as they completed their first month with a winning record (15-13) since April.

After a 20-9 start to the season, the Pirates were in first place as late as June 15 before a 10-game losing streak dropped them to the bottom of NL Central standings. After adding an influx of top prospects in mid-July, the rookie-laden lineup went 35-32 (.522) over the final 67 games.

“Fourteen more wins than last year is really important. And we still have steps to go,” Shelton said, noting the Marlins started September with a .500 record (67-67) before winning 17 of their final 27 games. “It’s realizing for a lot of these guys that it’s a long season. When you go through stretches, you have to be able to pull yourself out. I’m really proud, especially of the group we had the last two months, with a lot of young players, of the amount of improvement we’ve made.”

Where the Marlins celebrated Saturday night after clinching a playoff berth, the Pirates finished with the crowd standing and cheering Sunday as All-Star closer David Bednar retired the side in order in the ninth, striking out Jesus Sanchez for the final out to notch his 39th save.

“All of the ‘Buctober’ game videos are all over my social media,” said Bednar, a Mars alum. “I had chills pretty much all day while watching that. Still, that’s just a special memory for Pittsburgh sports and the Pirates. It’s something that we want to get back to here soon. But, no, it was huge to I think just finish off the season on a strong note.”

It took seven-plus innings for the Pirates to score, as both teams blew scoring chances early.

After Dauri Moreta struck out the side in the eighth, the Pirates rallied for three runs in the bottom of the inning. Connor Joe hit a one-out double to the left-field corner to move into a tie with Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds for the team lead with 31.

Jared Triolo, who had struck out in six of his previous seven at-bats, drew a four-pitch walk from Bryan Hoeing. Andujar followed with a double to left to score Joe for a 1-0 lead, and Suwinski drilled one down the left field-line to score Triolo and pinch runner Joshua Palacios to make it 3-0.

Bednar closed the door emphatically, giving the Pirates a feel-good finish to the season.

For Shelton, it was proof that the Pirates are heeding general manager Ben Cherington’s directive.

“Ben’s talked consistently about, ‘We have to get better,’” Shelton said. “This year, we got better.”

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