 Ace pitcher John Smiley was traded to the Minnesota Twins.Despite the departure of Smiley and Bonilla, Pittsburgh charged out to a seven-game lead by late June, suffered through an 11–15 July that allowed the Montreal Expos to tie them for the lead by the end of the month, then won 11 straight in early August before pulling away from the Expos in September to earn its third straight NL East title, becoming the first team to win three straight NL East titles since the Phillies from 1976 to 1978.Future home run champion Barry Bonds won his second MVP Award and led the Pirates with 34 home runs and 103 RBI.