While Andrew McCutchen, Tony Watson and Josh Harrison get ready to compete in the 2014 MLB All-Star Game Tuesday night, the rest of the Pittsburgh Pirates have to focus on a strong second half finish.
The Pirates, despite entering the All-Star break losers of five of seven, find themselves in a pretty good spot. While they are in fourth place in a very tight National League Central, they sit only 3.5 games out of first place and only three games out of the final Wild Card spot.
However the remaining schedule could play a major role in whether or not they experience the postseason for the second consecutive season.
The Pirates have only 23 games remaining against what can be considered bad teams- Phillies (4), Cubs (6), Padres (3), Rockies (6), Diamondbacks (4). By comparison, the St. Louis Cardinals have 26. But the division leading Milwaukee Brewers have only 19 and the Cincinnati Reds have only 18.
But it is going to come down to if the Pirates can beat the good teams consistently down the stretch. That especially rings true inside the division, a place they have struggled so far, posting only a 22-30 record on the season. The three teams ahead of them all boast winning records inside the division.
The Bucs have only 18 games remaining inside the NL Central against the top three teams- Brewers (6), Cardinals (6), Reds (6) – so they are running out of time to do damage inside the division.
By comparison, the Cardinals and Brewers face each other 10 more times. Overall the Brewers and Reds have 25 more games against the NL Central’s top four and the Cardinals have 28 such games remaining.
At the end of the day the Pirates are going to have to start taking care of business against the good teams in the National League if they are to have any chance of making the postseason.
They can’t afford losing streaks as the schedule doesn’t play to their advantage.
If they don’t start a hot streak beginning Friday at Colorado, they could watch their playoff hopes fade quickly.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
