NL Wild Card Game Preview: Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
By Max Wildstein 10/7/15
The National League Central consists of the top three teams in baseball: St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. The first of those teams will have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, except for the World Series, because the American League won the All-Star Game. The ladder two teams will have to play each other Wednesday night at 8:00 PM eastern time in Pittsburgh in the Wild Card round. The Cubs won the nineteen-game season series against the Pirates, 11-8.
For the Cubs, Jake Arrieta will take the bump. Arrieta has pitched through one of the best second-half performances in major-league history. In fifteen starts since getting snubbed for the Mid-Summer Classic, he went 12-1 with a historic 0.75 ERA (nine earned runs, two home runs allowed) in 107.1 innings pitched. Batters only hit .148/.204/.205 against him in the second-half, as well. On the year, he is a league-leading 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA (only second to Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke) in 229 innings pitched over 33 starts, along with four complete games, three of which were shutouts. In his last two starts against the Pirates, Arrieta has allowed just one run and seven hits over fifteen innings pitched.
Arrieta is not the only Cubs player who the Pirates should worry about. Over 87 plate appearances against Pittsburgh this season, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has hit .352/.437/.549 with three home runs and eleven runs batted in. Over his career against Cole, he has hit .353/.450/.412 with no home runs and one run batted in. Rookie phenom third baseman Kris Bryant also has performed well against Chicago, hitting .400/.494/.557 over 85 plate appearances against them this season, along with one home run and fifteen runs batted in.
On Saturday, the Pirates announced that they would send their ace to the mound in right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole. Cole was named to the All-Star team for the National League, unlike Arrieta, as he went 13-3 with a 2.30 ERA in eighteen first-half starts for Pittsburgh, followed by a 6-5 record, along with a 2.98 ERA, in fourteen second-half starts. All totaled up, he went 19-8 with a 2.60 ERA over 208 innings pitched over 32 starts.
Andrew McCutchen, who is the leader of this Pittsburgh squad, has not fared well against Chicago this season. Over 75 plate appearances, he has hit just .222/.333/.381 with two home runs and nine runs batted in. Francisco Cervelli has emerged as a top catcher in the National League this season, as he’s batted over .290 in over 125 games this season. Against the Cubs this year, he’s hit .321/.345/.396 over 56 plate appearances, along with no home runs and eight runs batted in.
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