The Chicago Cubs will visit the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight for the second game of the 2015 MLB postseason. It's the first time ever these two clubs will battle in the playoffs and it couldn't be more fitting that it's the one-game NL Wild Card playoff.
Pittsburgh owned the second-best record in the MLB during the regular season and the Cubs had the third-best, but because the St. Louis Cardinals are in their division, these two top teams are subjected to the do-or-die matchup.
In a duel between the teams' aces, the Cubs' Jake Arrieta will take the mound against Gerrit Cole to determine who will advance to the NLDS against the Cardinals.
Here are five things you need to know about the Pirates vs. Cubs:
5. The Cubs won the regular season series 11-8
Chicago took the MLB by storm this year and it was a truly balanced effort. They managed to win 97 games with a bunch of rookies and a new manager, refusing to lie down against the MLB's best clubs. They won games against Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, finished 7-0 against the New York Mets and gave the Cardinals a run for their money (they were 8-11 against St. Louis in the regular season, but four of those losses were by one run).
And most notably, they finished 11-8 against the Pirates, including 6-4 at PNC Park. Two of those road wins came with Arrieta on the mound and another with Lester, so the Cubs are in a good spot heading into tonight.
4. Jake Arrieta has given up just nine earned runs in the second half of the season
As we all know, Arrieta is a frontrunner for the NL Cy Young award. If his overall season stats weren't daunting enough for you (22-6 with a 1.77 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 236 strikeouts in 33 starts), his second half stats are among the best in MLB history.
The right-hander was 12-1 with a 0.75 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 113 strikeouts in 15 starts, including two complete game shutouts (one of which was a no-hitter). He has faced the Pirates five times this season and is 3-1 with a 0.75 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in 36 innings.
"He had the lowest ERA (0.86) by any pitcher in his final 20 starts of the season since ERA became in an official statistic in 1912 in the National League and 1913 in the American League; only Bob Gibson in 1968 had a better ERA in any 20-start stretch of anyone's career," writes ESPN's Tim Kurkjian.
3. Gerrit Cole has lost to the Cubs only once in his career
But let's not forget about Cole, whose season was overshadowed due to the masterful performances from Arrieta, Greinke, Kershaw and Max Scherzer. The 25-year-old finished out the year 19-8 with a 2.60 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 202 strikeouts in 32 starts (208 innings) and earned his first All-Star honors.
He faced the Cubs four times and went 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 32 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings, and the loss he suffered against them back in May (6 IP, 2 ER, 8 K) was the only loss against them in his career.
Overall he's 7-1 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 69 strikeouts in nine career starts (56 1/3 innings) vs. Chicago.
2. Joe Maddon and Clint Hurdle are top candidates for NL Manager of the Year and are likely to make it interesting tonight
Both of these lineups are among the best in the MLB, but tonight will be a game of strategy. How can the Cubs score on Cole/handle the Pirates' dominant bullpen and how can the Pirates avoid being shut down by Arrieta?
That'll be up to Maddon and Hurdle - both of whom have been perhaps the best managers in the game in recent years. Maddon has endless flexibility with his roster and there's no question Hurdle has a game plan for his team as they'll face Arrieta for the sixth time this season, being that it was a foregone conclusion for weeks that this would be the pitching matchup.
The Pirates have one of the most balanced rosters in the MLB while the Cubs are hungry after having been absent from the postseason for six straight years.
What will tonight's lineups look like and what adjustments will be made later in the game?
1. Chicago's lack of playoff experience vs. the pressure on Pittsburgh to avoid losing a second straight home wild-card game
The Cubs' roster - with the exception of Maddon - has perhaps the most notable combination of youth and lack of postseason experience (the Astros and Mets give them a run for their money). However, Chicago has not played like a young team, as evidenced by their performance down the stretch.
They've won eight in a row as they fought as hard as they could for home-field in the NL Wild Card Game and finished 42-18 in the final two months of the season (in the MLB's best division), which certainly indicates they're up for tonight's challenge.
On the other hand, the Pirates have reached the postseason for their third consecutive season (following a 20-year drought) and this will be their third straight home NL Wild Card Game. They defeated Cincinnati in 2013, but lost to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants last year when Madison Bumgarner pitched a complete game four-hitter at PNC Park.
But this time Cole will take the mound in the one-game playoff and he's not worried. He actually feels this matchup is fitting.
"I feel like when you're in these situations, you want to face the best," Cole told Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports. "You work so hard to put yourself in position to have these opportunities, and it doesn't feel any better than going up against the best."
We'll find out later today who will advance to the NLDS to face another division rival. Tune in to TBS at 8:00 p.m. ET tonight for the NL Wild Card Game between the Cubs and Pirates.
