When the Pittsburgh Pirates take the field Monday to start a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, huge playoff implications will be on the line.
First place in the NL Central, and not having to face Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta in a one-and-done playoff game is the prize, and will go a long way to the Pirates’ World Series chances.
With the Cardinals three games above the Pirates with six games left, the Pirates still control their own destiny to winning the division.
Having said that, is this the biggest regular season series in the history of PNC Park? A strong argument could be made that it is.
With the Pirates having played mostly non-competitive baseball from 2001, when the park opened, until 2012 when their infamous 20-year losing streak ended, there has not been a deep history of meaningful baseball played at PNC Park. However, since the Pirates became played in their share of meaningful series since they became a playoff contender again.
The first of these “big” series was arguably from July 29 to Aug. 1 during the 2013 season. The Pirates had a five-game series against the Cardinals, and ended up winning four of them. A few of the highlights from that series include Alex Presley’s 11th inning walk-off single in the first game of a Tuesday double-header, and Brandon Cumpton throwing seven shutout innings in the second game of it.
That series gave the Pirates a brief 1.5 game lead in the NL Central, which they would eventually give up to the Cardinals.
Another big series between these two teams on the North Shore came this past July, when the Pirates took three-of-four right before the All-Star Break. The last two games of that series were extra-inning comeback wins for the Pirates to narrow the Cardinals-then lead to 2.5 games.
But for this upcoming series, the stakes are much, much higher. It is not being played in July with two months of baseball left. This is for the division; a poor showing from the Pirates clinches the Central for the Cardinals.
A sweep of the Redbirds pulls the clubs even on top, affording the Pirates the chance to win it by in their next series against the Cincinnati Reds. Taking two-of-three mathematically keeps the Pirates’ hopes alive, but they would no longer control their own destiny with only three games after and two games behind. Anything else gives the division to St. Louis.
And how important is winning the NL Central?
For starters, it means the Pirates do not have to pin their World Series dreams on a single game in the Wild Card round. On top of that, they would have to go through Arrieta and his 12-1 record and 0.82 ERA over his last 15 games. Arrieta has stifled the Pirates all year, and it would be best for them to avoid him in that scenario.
But the division crown means much more than just not having to play in the Wild Card Game – it means home field advantage in the NLDS, where they have a distinct advantage if they were to face the Cardinals.
The Pirates are 5-2 against the Cardinals at PNC Park this season, and 18-8 since 2013. Home field means a potential Game 5 being played in Pittsburgh instead of what would be likely be a hostile crowd in Busch Stadium, where the Pirates have gone 3-6 this season and 8-20 over the last three seasons.
Playing at home against the Cubs hasn’t been as big of an advantage for the Pirates, as they are 4-6 at home this year against them. However, it would undoubtedly give them an edge if they play Game 5 of the NLDS at PNC Park, where a young Cubs team would have to contend with a football game-like crowd.
This advantage also gives them more flexibility with their rotation. If the Pirates play in and win the Wild Card Game, Gerrit Cole, the likely starter in the game, would likely only be available for one game of the NLDS, as opposed to Games 1 and 5 if they win the division.
With the division lead still in their reach, the Pirates need to show their maturity as a team in this series. A Wild Card berth is no longer good enough; time for them to rise up and claim the division.
