For teams competing for the playoffs, every series is important. When the series is against a team first in their respective division, the stakes get higher.
But for the Pittsburgh Pirates who have three straight series coming up against divisional leaders, the stretch could be a make or break one.
Starting Friday, they have consecutive three game sets against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets – all currently in first place of their division.
The Pirates have a sluggish 9-9 post-All-Star break record, having beaten good teams but also having struggled in winnable games. They have a lot to prove over the next 10 days.
Will they rise to the occasion and show why they have the second best record in the NL? Or instead will they be plagued by the inconsistencies and mental errors that haunted them recently against the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals and Cincinnati Reds?
It is not the end of the world if the Pirates tank these next nine games, though it could show they may not be as good as their record indicates. Worse yet, the Pirates’ chances at winning the NL Central could vanish, and their Wild Card lead could slip away.
The San Francisco Giants are gaining ground on the Pirates for the top Wild Card spot thanks to a 13-5 record after the Midsummer Classic, while the Chicago Cubs refuse to fade. A rough stretch could begin to derail a third straight playoff season for the Pirates.
The first game of this stretch will feature one of the best pitching matchups in baseball, when Gerrit Cole takes the mound against Clayton Kershaw on Friday. The Pirates should avoid Zack Greinke over the weekend, but Saturday’s probable starter Mat Latos and Sunday’s scheduled starter Alex Wood are no slouches. The pitchers the Pirates are slated to face are tough enough in their own right, and because of this the offense cannot afford to go silent against them the way they have at times over the last few weeks.
Things do not get any easier for the Pirates after when they start a three-game set in St. Louis on Tuesday. The Pirates have shown over the last few seasons they can contend with the Cardinals, but the Pirates have to improve on their 5-17 record at Busch Stadium since 2013 if they want to best them in a playoff series in which the Cardinals would likely have home field advantage in.
The Pirates played the Cardinals tough the last time they faced them in St. Louis, taking them to extra innings all three games. But as the saying goes, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Moral victories do not win games; therefore the Pirates have to show they can get over the hump and win in a hostile, playoff-type atmosphere if they want to make a deep run in October. And on top of it all, the Pirates will have a golden opportunity to put a dent in the Cardinals 5.5 game lead over them in the NL Central.
What the Pirates do have going for them is their day off on Monday. It allows them to skip what would be J.A. Happ’s regularly scheduled start on Tuesday, and instead have Jeff Locke Tuesday, Gerrit Cole go Wednesday and Francisco Liriano on Thursday, all on five days’ rest.
Sure, the Pirates would then not have either Cole or Liriano go against the Mets, but the series against the Cardinals means much more to them.
Speaking of the Mets, they have been red-hot lately as winners of six in a row and nine of their last 11. Newly acquired Yoenis Cespedes has jolted to their once woeful offense, and they also boast one of the best young pitching staffs in baseball. They have surged in the standings, and now have a two game lead over the Washington Nationals in the NL East. This does not look like the same Mets team as the one that got swept by the Pirates in May.
The Pirates still have a 3.5 lead for the top spot over the Giants and a 4.5 lead over the Cubs for the last spot, so they are not in immediate trouble of maybe missing the playoffs. But if they fare poorly in their upcoming games, it may be enough to make Pirate fans begin sweating.
The Pirates have the talent to beat the NL’s best, now they have to prove it.
