The Pirates planned weeks ago for Cole to pitch the first game after the conclusion of the regular season, be it a tiebreaker, wild-card game or Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
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Maddon feels good about his clubhouse but said the message has to be nurtured constantly, with the younger players carrying the message and becoming veteran leaders to “teach the Cubs’ way we want to do things here”. The right-hander closed his regular season by going 2-1 with a 1.62 ERA in his last six starts.
“I just think it’s a step in the right direction”, Wagner said.
After a frustrating collapse late past year, the Milwaukee Brewers got off to a slow start, never recovered, then finished with a three-game sweep at the hands of a rival.
Cueto appeared rattled by a raucous crowd in 2013, giving up eight hits and four earned runs in 3 1/3 innings as the Reds lost 6-2.
This team has set plenty of records this season as Kris Bryant topped Billy Williams and his rookie home run and RBI record late in the year, finishing one base knock shy of 100 runs batted in. And if they beat Pittsburgh, the Cubs will do something they have not done since Game 4 of the 2003 NL championship series – win a playoff game.
After the Cubs scored three runs in the first inning of their 3-1 win over the Brewers Sunday afternoon, everyone on the field seemed to play as if they had a plane to catch. Arrieta has carried this Cubs team this far so I’m hoping he can do it one more time.
Brewers: The team is already looking forward to next year, with pitchers and catchers scheduled to report on February 19 at the spring training complex in Phoenix. It was his major league-leading 17th start without a decision.
“We love playing at home”, said Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle, whose team went 53-28 at PNC Park.
I kind of liked this last day with all games at the same time, though it made it almost impossible to watch more than the Cubs.
“I just think it’s a step in the right direction”, Wagner said. Now, we’ll see how they respond in the playoff spotlight.
“Just being a positive person by nature, I was accused of being too positive, which I really find hysterical”.
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When push comes to shove, there is one scary thought that Cubs fans (and Pirates fans, for that matter) need to keep in mind: the Wild Card Game is essentially a coin-flip proposition, with both teams boasting an equal chance of winning and advancing to play the St. Louis Cardinals in the next round. “But you’re not surprised at the level of how it begins with the players and how much they respect him”.
