This is the second Wild Card win for the Cubs, as they were in a “one and done” match-up in 1998, against the San Francisco Giants.
Advertisement
Gerrit Cole pitched for the Pirates and he simply could not match what Arrieta did in the game.
Blame the Pirates offense. The Cubs won thanks in large part to starting pitcher Jake Arrieta, who threw a complete game shut out. The truth is they were abysmal, continuing a depressing postseason trend.
Under the current format, the top team in each of the three NL divisions advances directly to a best-of-five Division Series, while the two teams with the next best records meet in the Wild Card game. While he saw no competitive advantage to playing at home, Maddon said, there is a benefit to playing on the road. “That’s shocking”, Andrew McCutchen said. Those hit basemen were obviously unintentional; no pitcher is going to willingly put men on when he’s hurling a shutout in a win-or-go-home game. 1B Pedro Alvarez began the game on the bench.
“When a Pirates fan tweeted at him Sunday, promising a sea of black in the stands and predicting “#crowdIsGoingToEatYoualive”, Arrieta responded, “Whatever keeps your hope alive, just know, it doesn’t matter”. He had seven goals and 27 assists in 58 games last season for New Jersey. And they say Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla were bad in October.
And then there was Pirates first baseman Sean Rodriguez.
But the exercise here was to pick the single most significant game of the year.
Heck, blame the Gatorade cooler in the Pirates dugout.
Do you notice a pattern here?
“Two years in a row we’ve drawn a tough bull”, manager Clint Hurdle said. Given the Cubs’ well-known track record of futility, any previous playoff series against the Cardinals likely would have ended like all of the other Cubs disappointments.
Whether that’s fair or not is beside the point. “They are going way above and beyond what anyone could have expected”. Either way, the Pirates were frustrated, as they now have not scored in two straight wild card games. But who had them losing for the next 20 years?
Cubs manager Joe Maddon believes the wild-card teams should play a best-of-three series.
But, again, there is no guarantee.
Sure, the Pirates were unlucky that the Cardinals won 100 games, but Pittsburgh didn’t take care of business on its own, ultimately paying the price for not winning the NL Central. Michelle Dopp, a lifelong Cubs fan, said she has lived in Chicago her entire life – most recently in Wrigleyville.
Ramirez and A.J. Burnett are retiring. But Alvarez proved no help, striking out three times.
The Cubs have earned a reputation this season for their post-game dance parties, and after their victory over the Pirates on Wednesday, the team did not disappoint.
“I look forward to being a strong team, even stronger”, he said. That season, 60 years ago, also counts as the last time the North siders played in a World Series game. He might never be the same player. Game 4, if necessary, will be Tuesday. When he first came to this country, his cousin took him to one Cubs game.
Advertisement
“I’m working to be as intimidating when i can”, he was quoted saying.
