Pittsburgh Pirates fall in NL Wild Card game to Cubs

“Come Friday, we’re not friends anymore“, Lester said, laughing.

Arrieta is not holding any grudges, at least publicly, against the Pirates. His teammates barely flinched. It would be weird if it remained outside PNC Park all day. I did not see any punches thrown…until Sean Rodriguez was ejected and returned to the dugout. It matched the number of actual hits the Pirates mustered on the night. The fourth run came courtesy of a Dexter Fowler homer.

It was the third such time the Pirates played in the Wild Card Game and second time in as many years a solid run through the summer was left to the mercy of a nine-inning, win-and-you’re-in proposition for the real playoffs. Not just the post-All-Star break ERA of 0.75. Fowler singled with one out and Schwarber turned an 88 miles per hour slider from Cole into a massive two-run shot that appeared destined for the downtown Pittsburgh skyline before disappearing over the stands in right field. You want to hit Jake Arrieta? “They’re out for blood”.

Arrieta’s night was not all plain-sailing, having found himself in a bases-loaded jam in the sixth, and getting involved in an altercation in the seventh after being hit by a Tony Watson pitch. Surely the latter was unintentional. The last thing I want to do is fight. But for whatever reason, Arrieta was bad. No, for years he was a top pitching prospect, and one of the gems of the Baltimore Orioles organization, a muscled, athletic guy with lights-out stuff who was blessed with a power arm that hits the high 90s easily. You look back at the end of a season and wonder what could have been if only a few things had gone your way. “It was like, ‘Wait, wait, wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, dude, whoa, whoa”. Not with Jake Arrieta dealing.

“I expected that. They’re going to take care of their own guys”.

Even Vedder swooned at what Arrieta did Wednesday. Perhaps you’ve heard of the other three to do it: Sandy Koufax in the 1965 World Series, Justin Verlander in the 2012 ALDS and Madison Bumgarner in last year’s wild-card game in this very same park. Arrieta had no time for such foolishness. CUBS TAKE ON CARDINALS IN NLDSFriday’s game is likely to attract a bigger crowd.

While Arrieta thrived, Gerrit Cole failed to adequately contain the Cubs bats.

But a better measure of his deft touch is evident in the way he’s moved players in and out and up and down in the line-up and from one position to another (catcher to left field, third base to center to first, etc.) without apparent damage to play or morale.

“The preparation and the process supersedes the results”, Dempster said.

More than anything, though, I think it comes down to this: I was thrilled – ecstatic even – to see my beloved Cubs finally bring home a postseason win.

“Oh, yeah”, Arrieta said. I’m not saying Huntington can’t put together another winning team.

The Pittsburgh Pirates spent all summer breathlessly and relentlessly chasing the St. Louis Cardinals while simultaneously trying to fend off the Chicago Cubs. However, the Wild Card game was not a part of our “formal playoff format” of today. All are members of the NL Central. I found out past year, one inning matters.