The Pittsburgh Pirates clinched home-field advantage in the National League’s win-or-go-home showdown for the third straight year by beating the Reds 4-0 in Game 162 on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park. The Cubs beat the Brewers 3-1, but the Pirates’ victory — their 98th of the season — kept them one game ahead in the standings. The Pirates finished the season 98-64, the Majors’ second-best record and Pittsburgh’s highest win total since capturing the NL East title in 1991. Pedro Alvarez hit his team-leading 27th home run Sunday. Starting pitcher J.A. Happ pitched six shut-out innings, allowing just three hits and striking out seven.
The Pirates will send Gerrit Cole to the mound for the Wild Card game Wednesday at 8pm. In four starts against the Cubs this season, Cole has gone 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA. He went 9-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 15 starts at PNC Park this year. The Chicago Cubs will counter with Cy Young Award candidate Jake Arrieta. Arrieta is 3-1 with an 0.75 ERA in five starts against the Pirates this season. He’s 13-1 with a 1.60 ERA in 18 starts on the road. The winner of Wednesday’s game will head straight to St. Louis, where they will face the Cardinals in a best-of-five NL Division Series that begins Friday at Busch Stadium.
More than 35,000 fans attended Sunday’s game. The Pirates finished the season just shy of the 2.5 million fan attendance mark.The post Pirates clinch Wild Card home game appeared first on Inside Butler County – Butler, PA.
