After a first half of baseball that exceeded most fans expectations it is time to look forward to some key match ups. Right now the Pirates have 75 games left to play with 46 games left against teams currently in contention. The key match ups being its nine games left against the Reds and 14 games left against the Cardinals. The 46 games against contenders is slightly skewed with 13 of those against NL West teams playing in a division that is currently wide open. Below is a list of games remaining against teams who are currently competing for a playoff spot.
Oakland three games, July 8-10, Home (Oakland is currently leading the AL West by half a game over Texas)
Washington four games, July 22-25, Away (Washington is 4 games behind Atlanta and 4 games out of the Wild Card)
Colorado six games, August 2-3 Home, 9-11 Away (Colorado is 5.5 back in the NL West and 8.5 out of Wild Card)
Arizona three games, August 16-19 Home (Arizona is leading the NL West by 4.5 games over LA Dodgers)
SF Giants four games, August 22-25 Away (San Francisco is currently 6.5 games back of Arizona, but it is hard to count out the defending World Series Champions at the midway point of the season)
Texas three games, September 9-11 Away (Texas is currently half a game back in the AL West, with one of the stronger teams in baseball)
These are the teams the Pirates have coming up outside of their division that could be considered playoff caliber at this time. It is possible for Colorado to possibly fall out of contention but as of right now, I believe the rest are a lock to be fighting for a playoff spot. Now comes the real beast, the NL Central games against the Cardinals and Reds. The highlight of them being the five-game set against the Cardinals July 29 to August 1, with a double-header thrown in on the 30th for good measure (makeup for earlier rain out). With the the non-waiver trade deadline at 4p.m. on the 31st of July, and the probability of both teams making last minute moves, this could be the most interesting series in the history of PNC Park, and probably the most meaningful. After that you look forward to the last nine days of the regular season, the Pirates play six against the Reds and three against the Cubs. In a division that could easily send three teams to the Playoffs this last week could easily be for the division, home field in the wild card, or just to get to the Wild Card game.
Things are going good now for the Pirates, but the road ahead is definitely not easy, and it is way too soon to consider it a guarantee. It is times like this when you really miss having the Astros in your division to beat up on. To succeed the Pirates need to feast on the bottom dwellers and hang even against the contenders. If the Bucs can pull an even .500 record of 23-23 against remaining teams identified as contenders, and finish 20-9 against the non contenders remaining on the schedule, a 96-66 record and a place in the Wild Card game is almost guaranteed. It is not as easy as it would seem though after back to back series losses to the struggling Phillie’s and Cubs. There is a lot of baseball left to be played, and if nothing else the Pirates seem determined to make it interesting.
