And so here we are. With 159 games behind us, we know that the Pirates will be in the playoffs and that it's almost certain that they'll be in the wild card game. By a strange turn of fate, they'll spend the weekend in Cincinnati playing the very same Reds team that they'll be facing in the wild card game on Tuesday. Whichever team wins at least two of these next three games will host Tuesday's playoff game. Obviously the hosting gig would be nice, but the only thing that really matters is that the Pirates win the game on Tuesday, and the details of how to get there from here are mostly irrelevant.
Still, I'd feel a lot better about Tuesday's game if it were at PNC Park and if the Pirates played well enough this weekend to get the game placed there. Of course, now that I think about that, it would require the Pirates to win three of these next four from the Reds and … ahhhhhh, maybe thinking about this isn't the best route to take.
AJ Burnett for the Pirates tonight. Homer Bailey for the Reds. First pitch is at 7:10
