Wild card, round three
The Pirates are returning to the wild-card game, and now their work begins on ensuring they play it at home.
After losing two of three to the Cardinals, the Pirates are 96-63, with three games remaining against the Reds this weekend. The Cubs, their wild-card opponent, are 93-65, with four games remaining, one against the Reds and three in Milwaukee.
The Pirates’ magic number to clinch home-field advantage is two. If they sweep or win two of three, they clinch home field regardless of what the Cubs do. If they go 1-2, they need the Cubs to lose at least one game. If the Pirates are swept, they need the Cubs to go 2-2 or worse.
“Plan A’s off the board,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “Our next objective is to show up and win Friday night.”
The Pirates won 96 games for the 11th time in club history and first since 1992. They have won 94 games or more twice in the five seasons Hurdle has managed.
“It stinks, obviously,” Jordy Mercer said. “But winning 96 games so far, still got three to play, by my standards that’s a hell of a year. Could be like a lot of other teams and not be in this situation.”
They just happen to be in the same division as the Cardinals.
“What's today's date? September 30th? We've got 100 wins,” said Jason Heyward, who went 3 for 4 with a grand slam and a double. “That's how much we were pushed by them. Very good teams. The numbers speak for themselves."
”This was a fight,“ Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. ”We had a feeling between the way Chicago and Pittsburgh were playing right out of the gate it was going to be down to the wire. That's exactly what it ended up being. It's a tough team we just beat. This division has been a grind for everybody.“
Catching the Cardinals was a tall task to begin with, but Charlie Morton dug the Pirates an early hole. He was removed after loading the bases with no outs in the third and was charged with five runs.
”Folks showed up tonight, everybody’s excited, and I go out there and I give it up,“ Morton said. ”It’s just heartbreaking.“
Morton has pitched 101/3 innings in his past three starts, which will be his final outings of the season. He allowed 17 runs, 16 earned, on 23 hits in those starts.
On the other hand, Gerrit Cole continues to look as though he’ll give the Pirates a fighting chance against Jake Arrieta Oct. 7. He allowed two runs in seven innings, pitching to contact with a big lead. He said he ”didn’t have much to offer“ in Game 1, meaning he didn’t have his best stuff, yet was still excellent.
”I got run support,“ Cole said. ”The grand slam [from Francisco Cervelli] was huge. Allowed us to keep attacking the zone after I scuffled a little bit in the fourth. We played fantastic defense, a ton of balls in play.“
Game story: Pirates relegated to wild-card game after splitting doubleheader.
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