PITTSBURGH — The standings show the Pittsburgh Pirates recorded the second-most wins in the major leagues during the regular season, going 98-64.
However, their postseason run lasted all of one game. They lost 4-0 to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night in the National League wild-card game, getting blanked on four hits by Jake Arrieta.
The Pirates had the misfortune of playing in the same division — the National League Central — that housed the teams with the majors’ three top records, and they wound up in the one-game postseason showdown. The Cubs, whp went 97-65, next will face the Cardinals (100-62) in the best-of-five National League Division Series that begins Friday night at St. Louis.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon believes the wild-card teams should play a best-of-three series. However, even after losing in the wild-card game for a second consecutive season, manager Clint Hurdle was not ready to become an advocate of change.
“This is an outlier season, for sure, where you have three teams with the best records in one division,” Hurdle said, “so it’s a challenge of the game. I think there will be more conversation over the winter. I don’t have any fixes for it right now.”
The Pirates ran into a hot pitcher in the wild-card round for a second straight year on their home field.
Last year, Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner also pitched a four-hit shutout to begin his historic October run that ended with San Francisco winning its third World Series title in five years.
Arrieta seems poised for the same type of October. His shutout came after he pitched 22 scoreless innings over his last three regular-season starts and went 12-1 with a 0.75 ERA in 15 starts after the All-Star break.
“Well, our friend Tracy Ringolsby, we talk about bull riding and sometimes you draw a tough bull,” Hurdle said, referring to the Hall of Fame baseball writer. “Two years in a row, we’ve drawn a tough bull.”