The last time the Pittsburgh Pirates staggered this badly into a home opener, PNC Park was filled was boos.

That was in 2006. The Pirates began the season with a 1-6 road trip then came back to Pittsburgh and were dispatched 8-3 by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Things got ugly early and the jeers rattled Jim Tracy, who was is in his first season as manager after four years in the same job with the Dodgers. He spent much of his postgame press conference talking about how the booing surprised him.

The Pirates entered their first game of the 2021 season at PNC Park on Thursday coming off a 1-5 road trip. Though they lost again, 4-2 to the Chicago Cubs, there were no boos this time and manager Derek Shelton had an upbeat teleconference with the media.

But, hey, it was too perfect of a day for negativity.

For starters, the weather was gorgeous for Western Pennsylvania in early April. The temperature was 80 degrees under sunny skies.

More importantly, fans were back in the stands for the first time since the final game of the 2019 season. A socially distanced crowd of 7,749 was eager to watch baseball in person after being forced to follow along from afar during last year’s truncated season because of Covid-19 restrictions.

“The fans were awesome,” said right fielder Gregory Polanco, the longest-tenured Pirates player. “There were 100 percent behind us. You could feel it.”

The Pirates’ play, though, has been anything but awesome. They have lost six games in a row since opening the season by beating the Cubs on April 1 in Chicago.

The Pirates’ 1-6 record already leaves them 4 ½ games behind the first-place Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central standings one week into the season. The Pirates are tied with the Miami Marlins for the worst record in the NL and that duo is just ½ game behind the Oakland Athletics (1-7) for the worst mark in Major League Baseball.

Of course, no one expected the Pirates to contend this season, even in a division that contains no team looking capable of dominating.

The Pirates gave up on any pretense of being competitive in the offseason when they traded first baseman Josh Bell and right-handers Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon in three separate deals that netted 11 prospects.

The Pirates are not playing for 2021 or even 2022, though they would never acknowledge that publicly. Just like they would never use the term “tanking” to describe their strategy at the major league level.

However, “tanking” is exactly what the Pirates are doing. They are not trying to win.

MLB’s rules give the Pirates incentive to lose big so they can secure higher draft picks and more bonus pool money for international amateur free agents. That will allow them to try to accumulate more prospects in their attempt to reach respectability at a date to be determined.

The Pirates hold the first pick in this year’s amateur draft – thanks to having the worst record in the big leagues last season — and are likely to select a pitcher from Vanderbilt University, either Kumar Rocker or Jack Leiter. They could very well have the first pick next year.

Add that to an improving farm system and there is long-term hope in Pittsburgh.

However, the present is discouraging. The Pirates are 29^th in the majors in scoring (2.71 runs a game) and 28^th in runs allowed (6.57). Their seven errors are the second-most in the big leagues.

However, happy to be at the ballpark again, the fans gave the Pirates a pass – for at least one day.

“I think our fans realize that we’re building something here and that it’s going to be a journey” Shelton said. “I really appreciate their support, not only today but how they’ve been throughout. It’s outstanding.”

Pirates’ fans have had no choice but to learn to be patient. The Pirates have had three winning seasons since capturing their last division title in 1992 and haven’t been to the World Series since 1979.

Those streaks won’t end this year.

So, it will be interesting to see the fans’ reaction once the sun goes away and the novelty of being able to again go to the ballpark wears off.