I suppose I have to say something about this game, right?
If the Pirates are going to win many games with Andrew McCutchen on the shelf, everyone else on the club is going to have to be at their best. In the eighth inning tonight, Josh Harrison booted an inning ending double play, Justin Wilson gave up a single and two walks after entering with runners on first and second and one out with a two-run lead, Jeanmar Gomez basically threw batting practice after entering a one-run game with the bases loaded and one out, and Clint Hurdle somehow decided to go to Wilson and Gomez in the eighth inning of a close game in a pennant race without using Tony Watson or Mark Melancon at any point in the game.
That is much closer to everyone being at their worst than it is to everyone being at their best. You only get so many games like this in a pennant race before you’re no longer in the pennant race.
