Thursday: Pirates-Rays Rubber Match, JT v Chris Archer, Lineup, Notes

Tonight: It's the rubber match between the Rays and Pirates, starting at 7:05 PM at PNC Park. It will be carried on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan. It's Game of Thrones night with the first 1,000 fans getting a GOT glass.

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Josh Harrison 3B, Cutch CF, Josh Bell 1B, John Jaso LF, Gregory Polanco RF, Jordy Mercer SS, Stew C & Jameson Taillon P. Archer has a 50-point lefty/righty split, so Clint is loading up as much as possible.

Jamo storms the hill on Military Night (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (3-2, 3.33) will try to take the series winner against Chris Archer (6-4, 3.97) in a pretty solid match. Jamo has gone 1-1, 3.38 in three starts since returning from DL, going 16 IP and giving up six runs on 17 hits with five walks and 16 K, pretty good but still not quite where he'd like to be with his command. He's never faced the Rays. Chris Archer is a workhorse, going at least six frames in 13 of his 16 starts and is kinda the Rays version of Ivan Nova in consistency. Archer doesn't have an appreciable home/away split, and he's tough on RH hitters (.210 BA). He's met the Bucs just once back  in 2014, giving up four runs in seven innings.

Notes:

• J-Bell is the fourth Pirate switch-hitter to hit 15 or more home runs in a season, joining Bobby Bonilla (five times), Neil Walker (three times) and Ryan Doumit (once). Josh gone long 10 times batting lefty and five times from the right side of the plate.
• Indy's LHP Steven Brault (6-3, 2.24), IF Chris Bostick (.288) and RHP Drew Hutchison (4-3, 3.31) were selected as International League All-Stars
• RHP Luis Escobar, 21, is the Pirates rep for the All-Star Futures Game and will be a member of the World roster. He's a Top-15 Pirates prospect with a slash of 6-3/4.77 and 97 strikeouts in 71-2/3 IP for the Class A West Virginia Power.

Home Sweet Home: Bucs & Jay TCB With 4-0 Win Over Reds

Jay opened with a clean frame, while the Bucs made some noise against Josh Smith. With and out, Josh doubled and scampered home on The Kid's two-out knock. Starling followed with another single, but Pedro left them aboard.

The Reds tried to answer in the second. Todd Frazier and Jay Bruce had back-to-back singles, but Jay pumped in a whiff and Frazier was caught trying to steal third to allow Happ to escape. Jay celebrated with a knock of his own, but ended up the only Bucco runner. In the third, the Redlegs got a leadoff walk, but a pair of forceouts and a whiff ended their bats. Josh led off with a single, but only made it as far as second before the third out.

Jay issued a two out walk followed by a wild pitch in the fourth, but a swinging punchout calmed the waters. Pedro bombed a 1-2 heater Smith left up in the zone over the wall in right center, a blast that covered 479' and was caught by a passer-by on the River Walk. It was a 1-2-3 fifth for JA. Jumbo Diaz came on for Smith. After a pair of whiffs, The Kid singled, but was cut down stealing; it'd be nice for the Bucs to get a little more breathing room.

After a pair of K to start the sixth, Joey Votto battled and won, drawing a 13 pitch walk (and getting a call on ball four; it sure looked like strike three). It didn't look good when Brandon Phillips followed with a two strike single off a shoetop slider, but ended well when Phillips got happy feet and was gunned out at second by Starling, a call the Reds challenged and lost. Carlos Contreras took the ball. Fran doubled on a full count fastball with two gone and Jordy came through, banging a 1-2 hook at the knees into left for a two bagger and 3-0 lead.

Jay answered the bell big time today (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Joakim Soria climbed the hill and gave up a leadoff knock to Frazier. Two whiffs with a liner in between left him there. Sam LeCure had his number called, and Gregory said "hi" by bopping a changeup to right for a leadoff double. LeCure hung another change and Josh doubled El Coffee home. The Reds came up with a pair of nice plays, with Eugenio Suarez taking away a hit from Cutch and Tyler Holt running down The Kid's shot to center before Starling walked. Michael Morse bounced out; the Bucs are six outs away from win #98.

Tony Watson allowed a Jason Bourgeous single with one gone and a Votto knock with two outs. No sweat; Tony got Phillips on a comebacker. Ryan Mattheus got the call, and gave up a harmless knock to Fran. Save situation or not, The Shark jogged in for the ninth to an ovation from the crowd; two flies and a whiff later, the Bucs had home field advantage to a rockin' house, despite the Cubs winning again.

Ya know, we tend to focus on the division losses, errors, the bad baserunning & the back end of the rotation, but 98 wins marks a remarkable year. The guys played under pressure seemingly the entire season with St Louis and Chicago seeming to never lose (we'll bet they thought the same of the Pirates), and played all nine innings every night behind a strong rotation and lights out bullpen. If there's one bummer to the year, it's that Jung Ho Kang (he's not in the dugout because he can't put weight on his leg yet) will miss the post season.

Now it's Gerrit Cole and Jake Arrieta on another Black Out date Wednesday night. Here's hopin' there's a lot more dancin' left in that dugout.

• The last time the Pirates had the top two NL outfielders in assists was 1970 with Willie Stargell (16) & Matty Alou (15). Starling Marte (16) & Gregory Polanco (13) lead this year. The only other time it happened in Bucco history was in 1958 with Roberto Clemente (22) & Bob Skinner (19). (S/O to John Dreker of Pirates Prospects)
• If you were wondering, the Cards (100-62), Pirates (98-64) and Cubs (97-65) ended up with the three best records in baseball. The Pirates had three other 98 win teams in 1991, 1979 & 1909.
• Today’s attendance of 35,362 extended the single season record to 2,498,596, with 21 sellouts.
• The Pirates presented A-Ram and AJ with portraits before the game to mark their final season; Ramirez's featured him before and after as a Bucco, and Burnett's was him on PNC's mound with the City and Bat signal behind him.
• Congrats to Jeff Banister. Banny's Rangers won the AL West today.

Jay v Josh Smith For Home Field; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - Jay Happ (10-8, 3.74; 6-2, 2.04/Pittsburgh) closes the regular season against Josh Smith (0-3, 7.22). Jay was quite sharp in his last outing, tossing just 56 pitches while shutting out the Cards for six frames, and has been sharp pretty much all month. he has one start against the Reds this year, a 5-4 win on September 9th.

Jay's spinning the ball in a big one today (photo Wilfredo Lee/AP)

Smith’s lack of control is pretty striking - he's issued 21 walks in his 28-2/3 IP, and has lots of trouble getting even modestly deep into games. He's another Cincy youngster on audition and so far it looks like he's more bullpen rather than rotation material. Smith has faced the Bucs twice. He was clobbered in June when he couldn't find the dish, and put up a pair of zeroes last month when he threw strikes. The game begins at 3:05 and will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Today's Lineup - Gregory Polanco RF, Josh 3B, Cutch CF, Neil Walker 2B, Starling Marte LF, Pedro 1B, Fran Cervelli C, Jordy SS, Jay P.

Josh for A-Ram is the big switch; that moves The Kid to cleanup.

• CBS Sports captured a couple of nice moments during AJ's start last night.
• A pretty poorly kept secret: Clint finally quit playing coy and officially announced Gerrit Cole as the wild card starter.
• Saturday night's crowd of 34,180 broke the Pirate attendance record; the Bucs have drawn 2,463,234 to PNC Park and will add on today.
• The last game having some meaning is a carry-over from last year. if you recall, the Bucs had a chance to catch St. Louis for the NL Central, but fell short.
• It's just not Pittsburgh; eight teams have something to play for today.

Home Field Down To The Last Day: Buc Bats Silent In 3-1 Loss To Reds

Don't blink; almost all the game's offense was generated in the first frame. With one gone in the first, Eugenio Suarez singled of AJ; he was shortly on third after a pickoff throw went astray. A grounder brought him in, and a little two out damage by the Redlegs added another. Brandon Phillips singled the opposite way, stole second and came home on Todd Frazier's two-bagger. A walk and bouncer ended it; the Bucs were down 2-0 that quickly.

Brandon Finnegan had his early issues, too. Josh opened with a triple and came in on El Coffee's grounder. An out later, an A-Ram walk and Starling single had the Pirates in business, but Michael Morse whiffed.

The second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth frames went just ducky for the pitchers, with each team collecting a single and walk over that span. With one out in the seventh, Adam Duvall went yard to right center, and a pair of walks sandwiched around a K was the coup d' grace for AJ, struggling and at 107 pitches. He left the game to a standing ovation and curtain call ("Going back out there, you can ask me a million times what it’s like, but I can’t tell you, man.") before Jared Hughes shut the gate. The Bucs again went quietly to Burke Badenhop.

"Best night of my career, hands down." (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Bobby LaFromboise got Joey Votto to start the eighth, then Joe Blanton got the call. He gave up a knock to Phillips, picked him off (upon review) and finished up with a bounce out. Michael Lorenzen nailed the first pair of Pirates, then El Coffee singled. That brought out Aroldis Chapman, sniffing for a four-out save, and he collected the first one with a swinging whiff of Cutch to end the frame.

Arqimedes Caminero tossed a clean ninth, and Chapman finished off the Pirates with just a little drama. He bopped Marte with an out, but left him on first to save the Reds' 3-1 win.

Well, Batman overcame a slow start - and who knows if his wayward toss to first may have been the key play of the game; it was followed by a grounder - and worked his strongest outing since coming off the DL with nine whiffs. But the Pirate bats, frustratingly cool as the weather, generated no action. So home field comes down to the 162nd game of the year.

The finish is still in Bucco control; a win (or Cub loss) and they're at PNC Wednesday.  Jay Happ will try to collect that win against Josh Smith this afternoon.

• AJ has 2,513 K's in his career. He passed Christy Mathewson for 31st place all-time on the major league whiff list. Burnett told the press after the game "That’s a big name. It feels like, like I said, I’m old and I pitched a lot."
• The Reds ended a historic 13 game losing streak. Joey Votto ended his on-base streak at 48 games, tied with Pete Rose for the franchise record.
• The Pirates need a win or Cub loss tomorrow to get home field advantage. The club is a game up in the loss column, but if they finish with the same record as Chicago, the Cubbies hold the tie breaker by winning the season series 11 games to eight.

AJ v Brandon Finnegan; Notes & AJ's Final Regular Season Start

Today's Game - AJ Burnett (9-6, 3.15) takes on lefty Brandon Finnegan (4-2, 3.86; 1-2, 5.09/Cincy) in the middle game of the set. This will be AJ's 430th regular season start during his 17 year career, and his last one. We're hoping it's a special moment in more ways than one. He's gone 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four starts v the Redlegs this season, but most of that bad mojo was brought on when he was thumped in July, just prior to going on the DL. AJ's usually pretty good versus Cincy, having won three of his last four decisions and allowing two earned runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts.

AJ will stroll off the hill for the last time in the regular season tonight (Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Finnegan was the prize catch of the Johnny Cueto deal, with a 90s heater, slider that eats up lefties and a change to keep righties off pace. He's projected to eventually develop into a solid mid-rotation arm, altho KC used him out of the pen. The knock on him is a jerky, hard-to-repeat motion that caused control issues, but he seems to be dealing with that OK, as he averages three walks  and nine K's every nine innings. Finnegan is still adjusting to a starter's role, though, with an ERA of six in his three starts. The 22 year old has never faced the Pirates. The game starts at 7:05 and will be on Root Sports, MLB.tv and 93.7 The Fan.

We hope that AJ gets a rowdy sendoff despite the football weather. He brought a swagger and fire to the clubhouse that had been lacking for decades, and his STFD moment may be the most memorable & iconic event (along with "Qway-toe") of the Clint Hurdle era. It'd be nice to see AJ get a well-deserved postgame pie in the puss after this one.

• 38 year old AJ will be going after win #165, and with 2,504 strikeouts, he's just four shy of passing Christy Mathewson for 31st place on the all-time list. It will be start #430 of his 17 year career.
• Starling has 15 OF assists and El Coffee 13.
• The Pirates will break their franchise attendance record for a second straight season today. Friday night's crowd of 31,442 pushed the 2015 total to 2,429,054, 13,511 shy of topping last season's record gate of 2,442,564.
• The Bucs need a win or Chicago loss in the next two days to clinch the play-in home field for the third straight season.

Marte Partay: Bucs Cut Home Magic Number To One In 6-4 Walk-Off Win

Well, Frankie was ready; he tossed six pitches in a 1-2-3 opening frame - and that included a whiff. Keyvius Sampson one upped him, collected two punchouts. Jay Bruce singled with one away in the second, and Eugenio Suarez sent the next pitch, a knee-high changeup, over the centerfield wall into the hedges to give the Reds a quick 2-0 lead. Adam Duvall doubled as Frankie is catching way too much plate this frame; the last three hits have been tattooed.

Ramon Cabrera lined out to Cutch. A wild pitch moved Duvall to third, but he stayed there as Sampson lined out to right on a hop - El Coffee tossed him out by a half-step 9-3, with Pedro being heads up too by heading straight to the bag. A-Ram gave the ball a ride, but it became a loud out to center. The Kid reached on a Todd Frazier boot and Petey walked. Fran lined out to left, but Jordy fouled off some balls down the middle and whiffed on a hook.

Joey Votto dribbled a single up the left side with one gone in the third. Brandon Phillips singled an out later, after getting new life following a phantom foul call on a ball in the dirt that should have been strike three. It hurt; Bruce knocked home Votto  on a bloop and Suarez's single brought in Phillips. Frankie got a whiff to close it; Fran dug out two balls in the dirt during the at-bat. Pittsburgh went down in order.

With an out in the fourth, Sampson reached on Pedro's misfire to Frankie. Tyler Holt bounced into a force, stole second and went to third when Fran's throw missed the target. Francisco K'ed Votto to leave Holt stranded. Cutch pumped some life back in the Bucs with a blast over the right center fence to make it 4-1, and A-Ram again just missed the fence, lining out to deep center. Two routine outs got Keyvius back to the dugout.

Andrew had three hits tonight (photo: USA Today)

Frankie worked a clean fifth. Sampson picked up two more whiffs. The second one ended up on first as Travis Snider missed a curve and so did the catcher, but it didn't help the cause. Jared Hughes sprinted in for the sixth. After a K, Duvall walked and Cabrera legged out an infield single, but never threatened. Starling dropped a bunt for an opening knock, Cutch singled and A-Ram walked. That brought in lefty Tony Cingrani, and Michael Morse hit for The Kid, walking on five pitches to make it 4-2. Clint let Pedro bat (Cingrani has reverse splits), and Petey put up a battle before rolling into a force, making it a one-run game.

Righty Jumbo Diaz came on with runners on the corners and K'ed Fran on a high slider. Jordy picked him up, lining a fastball to center to tie it up and chasing Pedro to third. Josh went up and swung at everything; he sat down after four pitches, one of which may have crossed the plate. But a good frame nevertheless; now it's a battle of the bullpens.

Joakim Soria took the ball in the seventh. With two gone, Phillips lined a 1-2 hook for a knock and Ivan DeJesus Jr ran for him. He didn't go far as Bruce K'ed. El Coffee led off with a bloop hit and went to second on Starling's bouncer; Marte might have made it interesting at first with a little more hustle down the line. A Cutch liner to short was snagged before A-Ram walked. Ryan Mattheus came on to face Morse. A wild pitch moved the runners up a base, but Morse was caught him looking, his bad as took a swing at ball four on the 3-1 pitch and then failed to spoil a fastball on the corner.

Tony Watson climbed the hill, and gave up an infield single to Cabrera with two gone before ending the frame. Carlos Contreras toed the rubber and had a quiet frame. Mark the Shark got the ninth inning call and sailed through. Aroldis Chapman answered the bell and sat down the Bucs without any sweat. Antonio Bastardo came out for the 10th and retired the Redlegs in order. Sam LeCure came out and gave up a leadoff knock to Cutch, but a K and DP closed that book quickly enough.

Duvall greeted AB in the 11th with a ground ball single to left and was bunted to second. After a K, Bastardo lost Tyler Holt, hitting .100, to get to Votto. Joey was HBP, loading the bases for Frazier. It ended well, though, on a fly out that Cutch ran down on the track in right center. Collin Balester took his number and walked Travis Ishikawa on four pitches. Keon Broxton ran for Ishy. Fran fouled off a heater down the middle with Keon in motion, then grounded the next pitch, well outside, to second for a DP. That was followed by a K.

A Marte partay (Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Arquimedes Caminero was next in line for the 12th and tossed a clean frame. El Coffee walked with one away, and the long night ended on a sweet note as Starling jacked the next pitch the opposite way over the Clemente Wall for the walk off win.

Clint didn't exactly distinguish himself in extra innings. Andrew and Keon Broxton were aboard with no one on to open the 10th & 11th frames respectively, and there was only only break for second by either, without a bunt call, and both runners were eliminated by DPs. That's a little too earl Weaver-ish for us, but hey, it worked out. The Bucs magic number for a home date with the Cubs is one, and AJ will take the hill tomorrow against Brandon Finnegan on Batman's last regular season start; we hope it's the clincher.

• This was the Pirates 11th walk-off win of the campaign; they haven't had that many since 1982.
• Todd Frazier became Frankie's 202nd strikeout victim in the third, setting a personal single season high for Liriano. 
• The Pirates and Reds have near identical NL Central records (33-41 for Pgh; 32-42 for the Reds). The Bucs have 97 wins on the year; the Reds have 97 losses. (S/O to Dan Zangrelli of The Fan). 
• This is just the seventh time the Pirates have reached 97 wins in a season. Three of those years (1909,1971,1979) ended in World Series titles (Hat tip to John Dreker of Pirates Prospects)
• Pedro has 23 errors, the most by a 1B since Kevin Young in 1999. Remember who the Bucs brought into spring camp to help Petey transition from third to first?
• Tonight's crowd was 31,422, with not many left at the finish.
• Joey Votto tied Pete Rose's Reds record by reaching base safely in his 48th straight game.
• Cincinnati has now lost 13 in a row.

Frankie v Keyvius Sampson; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - Francisco Liriano  (12-7, 3.27) opens against Keyvius Sampson (2-6, 6.46). Francisco is coming off a shutout win over the Cubs, and the team has won 15 of his last 16 starts. The lefty has a 1.38 ERA in two starts against the Reds this season and struck out 10 in six innings of a 7-3 victory when he last faced them September 8th.

The 24 year old Sampson has had a rough intorduction to the league. He was claimed off waivers by the Reds from the Padres earlier in the year and has been in-and-out of the rotation. Sampson is 0-2 v the Bucs in three outings; he's given up eight runs in 11-1/3 IP, although he has punched out an even dozen, so he does have some swing-and-miss stuff, particularly his hook. The games starts at 7:05 and will be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Clint's sending out the A Team in search of a couple more wins. The Reds have lost 12 in a row, but beware - the hidden vigorish suggests that they're due to win one sometime, and they are 10-6 against the Buccos. The magic number for a PNC date against Jake on Wednesday is two, and we're hoping the Bucs aren't looking ahead to that match before TCB now.

• Cutch has reached base safely 25 times in his last 51 plate appearances and in 36 of his last 38 games.
• Frankie is the third Pirate southpaw to notch 200+ K in a season, joining Bob Veale (four times) and Ollie Perez.
• Pittsburgh’s bullpen ERA of 2.70 is the lowest in the majors, and the club’s 30 wins in relief rank second behind the Cubs 37.
• The Pirates are 51-27 at home in 2015, the third straight year they've reached the 50-win mark at PNC Park.
• A victory tonight would give the Bucs 97 wins for the seventh time in franchise history and for the first time since 1992's club won 98 times.
• Pittsburgh made a late run at the division, but are guaranteed a losing record against every team in it. They're 6-10 v Cincy, so a sweep still won't get them to .500, and finished 9-10 v St. Louis, 8-11 v Chicago & 9-10 v Milwaukee.
• Cincinnati’s pitching staff has allowed an average of seven runs per game during the last 10 games. The all-rookie staff will have tossed 65 consecutive games by the end of the series. The price? Cincy has clinched last place in the NL Central, the first time they've finished on the bottom of a division since 1983.
• On the other side of the pillow, Joey Votto has reached safely in 47 straight games, leaving him one shy of tying Pete Rose’s modern era Reds record set in 1978.

Sorry Charlie - Heyward, Lyons Dismantle Bucs, Win Central Crown 11-1

Charlie didn't do much to instill any faith in the first. He gave up a leadoff triple to Matt Carpenter on a ball that looked like Starling could have had; maybe he and Cutch forgot that communication thing. Then Jon Jay's pant leg was brushed by an 0-2 curve. A 4-6-3 DP - Josh made a diving stop as it appeared the ball took a reverse hop on him - made it 1-0. Jason Heyward singled to right and came home on Matt Adam's double. It hit the concrete base of the Clemente Wall and caromed past El Coffee to put the Bucs down a pair before they got to the bat rack. Tyler Lyons put them away 1-2-3.

Ground Chuck was back for the second, getting a pair of bouncers before whiffing Lyons. A-Ram opened with a Texas League single between three fielders. Starling smoked one up the middle; the Cards were squeezed for the DP, Peralta took one step and turned two 6-4-3. Michael Morse banged one high of the Clemente Wall, but just foul, and then grounded out.

In the third, the Redbirds chased Morton. Carpenter doubled into the corner, Jay was drilled in the thigh while trying to bunt, and Peralta walked. That brought a chorus of boos, Clint and Bobby LaFromboise to the mound in that order. Heyward got ahead 2-1, got a center cut heater and banged a grand salami to right center. The next three outs came quietly, but the Pirates are in a six run hole. They went down in order again, with Heyward robbing Cervelli with a diving catch of his dying liner to center.

Joe Blanton came in for the fourth, and gave up a walk but put up a zero. The Bucs had another typical frame - line out, whiff, fly out to the track. Joe tossed a clean fifth. The first two Pirates whiffed chasing, then Heyward took a ball off the Clemente Wall smacked by Morse, pulling it in just under the "21" logo. Blanton kept dealing, surrendering just a quail single that Cutch missed by a half step. Lyons was takin' a cruise; he's faced the minimum so far.

Arqimedes Caminero took the hill in the seventh, and didn't help the cause. Jay walked, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Peralta's single. Heyward then doubled, but a pair of tappers closed the tap with the score now 7-0. The Bucs put three hits together, but still couldn't score. Josh singled to lead off, and El Coffee one hopped the next pitch to short for a 6-4-3. Cutch followed with a knock and A-Ram rolled a soft double to left. Starling then bounced out on the following pitch.

This sez it all about tonight...

Vance Worley took the ball and gave up a looping double that a hard charging Marte sold out for, but had hit his wrist as he dove. Two routine outs later, Vanimal walked back-to-back Cards and Peralta dropped a single to center to make it 9-0. Rob scahill took over, walked the bases loaded and then got a swinging K to end the frame. Kevin Siegrist toed the rubber.

The Pirates broke through, but a base running brain cramp cost them a second tally (not that it mattered much). Morse walked, then Stew banged one to the bullpen. Jay called it, missed the catch, and the ball took a high hop. At that point, Morse apparently thought it was going into the pen for a ground rule double, but it came down, hit the top padding, and bounced in play. Jay held the ball up and waved it for some reason, but Morse, head down, missed Rick Sofield's windmill as he trotted toward third; poor Stew was halfway to the hot corner before he saw him anchored there. A grounder scored Morse, but Stew never got in.

Rob gave up a couple more in the ninth on a Kolten Wong double and Tony Cruz bomb. Carlos Villanueva finished up. Polanco doubled to open, but Villanueva sliced and diced through Travis Snider, Pedro Florimon and Elias Diaz to bring it home.

Congrats to the Redbirds; 100 wins in the bank despite an injury list as long as your arm. For the Bucs, they couldn't break Lance Lynn or dent Tyler Lyons. Now they have to take care of business against the Reds this weekend and get ready to take on da Cubbies Monday.

• Charlie has made 23 starts and given up 23 first inning runs. He hasn't made it to the fifth inning in his last three starts.
• The Pirates used six pitchers; Joe Blanton, who tossed three frames, was the only one who wasn't scored upon.
• The attendance was 34,279 fans.
• Tyler Lyons went seven innings for only the third time in his career, and for the first time since 2013.
• The Cards are the first team to clinch a title at PNC Park. The last opposing team to clinch before them were the Phillies in 1993.
• The Cubs won; we know Cole Train and Jake will go for the gusto on Wednesday, October 7th at 8:08 on TBS. It's still uncertain where the game will be; the Pirates magic number for a home match is two.

Nitecap: Charlie v Tyler Lyons; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - Charlie Morton (9-8, 4.54) works the finale against southpaw Tyler Lyons (2-1, 3.96). Charlie has been underperforming this season and lost four of his last five decisions. But he still knits together stretches of strong ball when his command is on; hopefully, that will be the case tonight. Chuck is 0-1 this season v SL, losing a 4-1 decision (he gave up a pair of runs over six frames, one earned) three weeks ago. Overall, he's been not very good against the Redbirds. Morton is 2-11 with a 5.30 ERA in 17 career outings.

Lyons has been the Cards long man/spot starter, so probably about 80-85 pitches should be his max. He's has mixed results this year against the Bucs, being hit hard twice, but in between tossing 5-1/3 shutout frames. Lyon is 0-2/3.51 lifetime against the Pirates with three starts and three bullpen outings.

Carlos Martinez, who has been murder on Pittsburgh this year, was scheduled to start, but lasted just seven pitches into his last outing and is out for the remainder of 2015 with a shoulder sprain. The back end of the twin bill starts at 7:05 and will be carried by ESPN, Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

The only change is Michael Morse, a righty, taking over at first. Fran is slated to catch two today, but after the game was being checked out after taking a foul ball in the ear area in the first game, so he may or may not go, pending the doc's opinion.

• The Bucco rotation for the Red series is Frankie, AJ and Jay, dependent on whether the games are meaningful or not.
• The Pirates magic number for home field wild card is two.
• The Cards have their champagne in the locker room; let's hope they have to take the bubbly to Atlanta with them tonight.

Cole Train v Michael Wacha: Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - Gerrit Cole (18-8, 2.60) gets the middle game of the set against Michael Wacha (17-6, 3.15). Gerrit is coming off a big win against the Cubbies at Wrigley, and is 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA in three starts against the Cards this year, having defeated John Lackey & Lance Lynn while dropping a 4-2 decision to Wacha. Lifetime, Cole Train is 3-3 with a 2.96 ERA in seven career regular season starts versus the Redbirds. This will also be Gerrit's final regular season start.

Cole Train gets his final tuneup before the post-season (Jared Wickersham/Getty Images)

Wacha hasn't been showing ace stuff in his last four starts. During that span of 20 innings, he's given up five home runs, walked 14 and surrendered 15 runs. He may be wearing down, having tossed 70 more frames already this season than he did last year. Wacha's managed to find a way against Pittsburgh, tho - he's 2-0 in three 2015 starts and 3-0/1.93 ERA in six career games (five starts) versus the Buccos.

The ace-on-ace match-up starts at 1:35 and will be on the MLB Network, Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan. The weather should be fine if a bit autumn-ish, in the mid-60s with gray skies. So if you can slip outta work, this should be a good game to catch, with Cole v Wacha as a top shelf drawing card and prob not much of a crowd to deal with.

Today's Lineup - Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte LF, Cutch CF, A-Ram 3B, The Kid 2B, Pedro 1B, Fran Cervelli C, Jordy SS, Cole P.

The Buccos will try to recover their batting mojo after back-to-back whitewashes. The lineup is the same as last night's would have been. Our only question mark was whether Fran would catch this game with Gerrit on the mound or if Stew would get the call; but they're no longer an item.

• Craig Edwards of Fangraphs writes that "Gerrit Cole Is Now the Most Important Pirate." 
• The Cards magic number is two; if they win either game today, they clinch. The Pirates have gone 8-9 against the Cardinals this season. The Redbirds are the only NL Central team the Bucs have a chance of finishing with a winning record against this year.
• Pittsburgh's magic number for a home wild card game against the Cubs is three. 
• JHK visited the clubhouse Monday, apparently in good spirits considering the situation. 
• Adam Wainwright will be available from the pen today. OF'er Stephen Piscotty was diagnosed with a mild concussion after his Monday collision; he may rejoin the club in Atlanta.
• The Cards have 99 wins; one more will make them the first 100-win team since the 2011 Phillies went 102-60.
• If you had a ticket to last night’s postponed game but can’t make it to the park this afternoon, you can swap your ticket for a another home game, of which four remain. The Pirates will allow fans to trade in Tuesday tickets for an April 2016 game during the offseason. 
• Now that the Giants are eliminated, baseball will have gone a record-setting 15 consecutive years without a repeat (back-to-back) champion.

Charlie v Michael Wacha; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - Charlie Morton (9-8, 4.54) draws Michael Wacha (17-6, 3.15) in the middle game of the series. This is a tough matchup no matter who's on the hill, and Charlie has been underperforming this season and lost four of his last five decisions. But he still knits together stretches of strong ball when his command is on; hopefully, that will be the case tonight. Chuck is 0-1 this season v SL, losing a 4-1 decision three weeks ago. Overall, he's been not so effective against the Redbirds. Morton is 2-11 with a 5.30 ERA in 17 career outings v St. Louis.

Charlie is looking to get the Bucs back on the winning track (Gene Puskar/AP)

Wacha hasn't been showing ace stuff in his last four starts. During that span of 20 innings, he's given up five home runs, walked 14 and surrendered 15 runs. He may be wearing down, having tossed 70 more frames already this season than he did last year. Wacha's managed to find a way against Pittsburgh, tho - he's 2-0 in three 2015 starts with a 1.93 ERA. The game starts at 7:05 and will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

However, we wouldn't hold our breaths - it's supposed to rain through the night. And that makes things interesting with the season about wrapped up; there are showers in Thursday's forecast, too, making a twinbill problematic. Maybe it will pass. The Pirates have only had one game rained out this season, but have endured 14 rain delays at PNC Park totaling 15 hours and 33 minutes. What's one more? (Edit - the game was cancelled; they'll play two tomorrow)

Today's Lineup - Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte LF, Cutch CF, A-Ram 3B, The Kid 2B, Pedro 1B, Fran Cervelli C, Jordy SS, Charlie P.

The A-Team is on the card tonight. We'll see if the Buc bats can rebound from back-to-back shutouts. They've only managed to collect seven hits in the last pair of games; bad luck or bad hitting?

• Gregory Polanco picked up his 11th outfield assist last night, which is tied with Jay Bruce for the most among NL right fielders. The Pirates lead all NL teams with 36 outfield assists, with Starling Marte leading all outfielders with 15 gun outs.
• Stephen Piscotty was released from the hospital today after staying for observation overnight; looks like he'll be OK after his outfield crash with peter Bourjos.
• The Cards will clinch the NL Central title with a win today or tomorrow. 
• The NL wild card game is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7th at 8:08 PM and will be aired by TBS.

Pirates Strand 16, Lose In the Ninth 3-0 to Redbirds

Couldn't ask for more out of Jay Happ. He spun six shutout innings, giving up just one hit. Trouble was, the Bucs were busy stranding runners and blowing opportunities all over the lot against Lance Lynn and company.

The first went quietly, then in the second, Starling led off with a walk and The Kid doubled him to third. Fran's short fly to right froze them, and Pedro was walked intentionally. Jordy hit one to center, not very deep, and Marte tried to tag with Jay due up; he was gunned by Jason Heyward, who threw a no-hop strike home.

In the third, the Cards got their hit, quickly erased by a DP. The Pirates loaded the bases with an out after singles by El Coffee and Josh, followed by a Cutch walk. Starling whiffed, The Kid bounced out, and more ducks were left on the pond. The fourth only saw a Pedro walk. In the fifth, the Bucs were up to their old tricks; Gregory led off with a double, and tried to go to third on a bouncer by Josh; Jhonny Peralta would have none of it and threw him out. The Buccos squandered two walks in the sixth off Steve Cishek, capped by a two-out diving catch by Heyward.

Jay was the Pirates lone clutch performer tonight (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Joakim Soria took over in the seventh; a one-out walk moved to second on a roller, and Neil Walker came up with a diving stop to hold Heyward to a single and save a run. Joakim buried a change up to Peralta for the inning-ending K.

Josh led off against Kevin Siegrist and hit a gapper. Peter Bourjos ran it down, but in the process kneed Stephen Piscotty in the head for a very scary moment. Piscotty was strapped to a cart and taken away, but did manage a weak wave to the crowd that gave him a well deserved ovation. Say a little prayer for him; he took a hellacious shot to the face and was out cold for a spell.

Cutch then singled and swiped second with two down. The Kid grounded one to Peralta, who muffed it to put Pirates on the corners. Fran worked the count full as the crowd was on its feet; he walked to load 'em. Pedro batted, lefty-on-lefty (Siegrist has a reverse split), and flew out to left to let the Redbirds off the hook. The Bucs are 0-for-9 with RISP and have left 13 runners on base; they've had the bases loaded four times tonight.

Tony Watson took the hill. He gave up a one-out singled to Kolten Wong, who was promptly doubled off on a liner - to right field; it's just not the Bucs with happy feet. Jonathan Broxton came on and Jordy hit a laser - right into Matt Carpenter's glove. Lunchbox walked and Keon Broxton ran for him, but Gregory and Josh hit into routine outs.

Mark the Shark toed the rubber. Carpenter singled with an out and Jon Jay (in as a sub for Piscotty) followed with a grounder into right; Polanco couldn't come up with the ball, and the Cards had the game's first run. It got worse; Mark Reynolds got an 0-2 fastball down the middle, belt-high, and he banged it over the fence to make it 3-0. He's homered in his last three games at PNC Park.

Trevor Rosenthal took the ball and walked Cutch. Starling dropped an 0-2 fastball on the outside half into right for a knock. The Kid put up an 11 pitch battle, but went down swinging. Fran put good wood to the ball, but lined out to right. A-Ram's liner was the third out, and now the Bucs can worry about game-planning for Jake Arrieta in the wild card game.

No doubt about it, it was a brutal loss. And it was a loss - the Cards didn't beat the Pirates as much as the Bucs beat themselves. They stranded 16 and went 0-for-12 with RISP, with the obligatory big error and baserunning blunder tossed in while facing two guys they love to hit against in Lynn and Broxton. Tomorrow, Charlie Morton takes on Michael Wacha,

• The Cards said Stephen Piscotty suffered a head contusion; he was taken to the hospital to be further evaluated. Tests came back negative, so that's good news.
• 16 runners LOB is the Pirate season high. 10 runners were put aboard via walks.
• Tonight's attendance was 30,198.
• Cardinal injury update: Adam Wainwright may be available from the pen by Wednesday. Yadier Molina is out for the regular season and Carlos Martinez has been shut down for the year. Matt Holliday & Matt Adams are both back.
• The Cubs won; they're three back of the Pirates in the loss column.

Jay v Lance Lynn; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - JA Happ (10-8, 3.88; 6-2, 2.28 with the Pirates) starts the soiree off against Lance Lynn (12-10, 3.16). Jay's been a blessing to the staff since his deadline acquisition. His last start was a 6-3 win in Colorado Tuesday and he's won six of his last seven decisions. Happ has gone 1-0 in one start this year against the Redbirds, giving up three hits over seven scoreless innings while winning a 9-3 decision . But overall, he's not been so hot, having lost each of his previous six starts vs. St. Louis with an overall 2-8/6.00 slash.

Jay Happ opens the three game set against the Cards tonight (photo Gene Puskar/AP)

Lance looked bullpen-bound for the playoffs after three shaky starts in a row, but found his fastball command against the Reds last time out, tossing six goose eggs. Lynn stopped the Bucs in April 2-1, tho he didn't get the decision. He was treated rudely by the Pirates in his next two starts, losing 5-2 and 10-5. Overall, he's 5-5/5.00 v the Buccos in 18 career outings.

Pittsburgh pretty much needs a sweep to unseat the Cards in the division. And it's certainly within the realm of possibility: the Cardinals have not won a series at PNC Park since April, 2012. The game starts at 7:05 and will be on ESPN 2, Root Sports, and 93.7 The Fan.

Today's Lineup - Gregory Polanco RF, Josh Harrison 3B, Cutch CF, Starling Marte LF, Neil Walker 2B, Fran Cervelli C, Pedro 1B, Jordy SS, Jay Happ P.

First team, as expected, except A-Ram's been swapped out for Josh at the hot corner; Harrison is a liftime .368 hitter v Lynn with a 1.000 OPS, in a small sample of 19 AB.

• The Bucs are 8-8 against the Cardinals this season, going 5-2 at home. Overall, the Pirates are 50-25 at home in 2015, the third straight season in which they've hit the 50-win mark at PNC Park.
• Bobby LaFromboise has quietly turned into a pretty effective LOOGY. He's unscored upon in eight appearances (6-2/3 IP),  striking out eight and stranding all eight of his inherited runners.
• The Pirates have six games left, all at home, and are about 140,000 fans shy of setting a new attendance record for PNC Park. 
• For magic number fans: the Cards magic number to clinch first against the Pirates is four, while the Buccos magic number to guarantee home field against the Cubs in the wild card is three. 

Arrieta One-Hits Bucs In 4-0 Win

AJ and Jake are matched up for the fourth time, and they've all been dandies. Jake, however, took his sense of dandy to the extreme - he tossed six innings of perfect baseball against the Buccos. AJ held up his end, too.

He gave up a first inning run when a leadoff walk was cashed in after a tapper and ground ball single. The Cubs threatened to put it away then, when another walk and an infield single loaded the sacks, but AJ had a K and bouncer up his sleeve. Another run crossed the plate in the second when Arrieta homered, the first time in Burnett's career that he's allowed an opposing pitcher to go long.

Burnett left a pair on in the fourth, again reaching back for a couple of punchouts. AJ had two on with an out in the fifth; another K and a fly took care of that. A single in the sixth was erased on a caught stealing (upon review) and that inning ended AJ's night. He went six, giving up two runs, seven hits, two walks, a bopped batter and five whiffs, doing what he does best, ducking raindrops.

El Coffee got the Bucs' first hit to open the seventh; he stole second as Starling K'ed. Cutch got HBP, and the Pirates had a threat. Jake fed A-Ram a slider and he scorched the pitch, but right at Starlin Castro for a deflating 6-4-3 DP.

AJ was tough, but Jake was tougher (photo Rick Scuteri/USA Today)

Antonio Bastardo came in to work, and gave up a single and walk (Fran actually argued that it was only ball three; we suspect he was playing for time for the pen). Jared Hughes came on and nailed Kris Bryant on a fly; Bobby LaFromboise got Anthony Rizzo to do the same. Rizzo's fly moved up the runners; Cutch made a poor decision throwing to third instead of second. Clint played some September roulette with his pen, bringing on Arquimedes Caminero, who was lit up by Castro for a double (it was originally ruled a HR, but review stopped him at second). Andrew's misguided toss to third cost the Bucs a run as Arqie closed out the inning; 4-0 is quite the mountain to climb.

Travis Wood climbed the hill for Chicago in the eighth. He didn't miss a beat, whiffing The Kid and Fran on six pitches. Josh then worked a walk, but Jordy flew out to left to leave the Pirates just three more outs. Joe Blanton toed the rubber and tossed a clean frame. Pittsburgh went down 1-2-3 in the ninth, and the Cubs avoided the sweep.

Tough to win with one hit, but Jake does that to teams. Arrieta got the better of tonight's strike zone, too, but an ace at home will get that advantage. The key to us was the seventh; AJ kept the Bucs around til then, and if A-Ram gets under the ball instead on top, and the bullpen doesn't give up a big two-out hit, (and we're not sure that you can even properly warm up four pitchers in one inning; but we guess use what ya got), it's a different game.

Now the Bucs come home after a wildly successful (8-2) road trip to take on the Cards for three games. And they have to think sweep if they want to wrest away the division crown; they're three back, and the Redbirds close out the year against the sad sack Bravos. Jay Happ and Lance Lynn kick of the festivities.

• AJ became the 32nd MLB pitcher to collect 2,500 punchouts in his career.
• This was the first time in five sets that the Pirates have failed to sweep a three-game series in which Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano and Burnett have pitched.
• A nice gesture: the Cubs held a ceremony for A-Ram before the game, much as the Brewers did a little earlier in the season. Been a pretty sweet farewell tour for Aramis.

AJ v Jake; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - AJ Burnett (9-5, 3.15) closes out the series against Jake Arrieta (20-6, 1.88). Tall order for AJ; he's basically been a five inning starter since returning from the DL this month and hit the wall pretty hard. In his three starts, he's gone 16 IP, giving up 17 hits, seven walks and seven earned runs. He's gone 1-0 with a 1.47 ERA while opposing Jake Arietta three times this season AJ received a no-decision in a 5-2 Bucco loss at PNC Park on 4/20, tossed seven scoreless innings while winning a 3-0 decision at Wrigley Field on 5/17, and started in a 3-2, 12-inning loss on 9/16 at PNC Park

Jake has been on a Cy Young run. He's 14-1 with a 0.94 ERA in his last 18 starts. During this stretch, opponents are hitting .158 against him and he has allowed just two home runs in 134 innings. Arrieta is 2-1 against Pittsburgh this year with a 0.93 ERA in four starts. The game starts at 8:08 and will be on ESPN and 93.7 The Fan.

Everyone's back in action, with A-Ram and El Coffee in the lineup. The Bucs have swept the four three-game series that AJ, Gerrit & Frankie have started this year; they're looking for brooming #5 tonight. Batman is matching up for the fourth time against Arrieta this year, and has hung toe-to-toe with him.

• With his next whiff, AJ will become the 32nd pitcher to record 2,500 strikeouts in his career.
• Antonio Bastardo has retired each of the last 15 batters he has faced over his last seven appearances.
• The Bucs enter the game riding their second eight game winning streak of the year.
• The Pirates have had eight single-season 200-K performances over their history, tossed by: Frankie (200 - 2015); Gerrit (200 - 2015); AJ (209 - 2013); Ollie Perez (209 - 2004) and Bob Veale (250 - 1964, 276 - 1965, 229 - 1966 & 213 - 1969).
• Tonight marks the final regular season road game for the Pirates. They have gone 45-35 away from home this season, the most on the road since the 1991 squad posted a 46-32 record away from home.

Frankie, Jordy Send Cubs To 4-0 Defeat

Frankie Liriano and Jason Hammel, were both sharp through the first three innings. Pittsburgh had only Lunchbox's first inning double while the Cubs first eight went down before consecutive, and harmless, two-out singles in the third.

In the top of the fourth, Cutch hammered a ball to center but the wind was blowing in again, and for the second straight game, he ended up with a ground rule double in the ivy.The Bucs couldn't cash him in. Kris Bryant doubled to open the Cub half, but he was stranded, too. He had a chance to plate after moving to third with one gone, but the Cubbies opted not to challenge Snider's arm on Starlin Castro's short fly to right  Good thing, too - Travis' throw was a mile off line.

Fran opened the fifth with a single, and Pedro Alvarez followed suit. Jordy drilled a fat 1-0 fastball into the left field bleachers to break the tie and give the Pirates a 3-0 lead. Frankie and Starling (who had to make a u-turn back to first when Francisco decided to stay at second) both followed with knocks.

Jason Hammel was replaced by Justin Grimm. After striking out Lunchbox, Cutch walked to load the bases. That brought on a call for Trevor Cahill, who retired A-Ram on a fly (not much chance of Liriano tagging). The Kid struck out swinging to kill the frame, without getting a strike thrown to him. The Cubs managed a two-out walk and that was it.

Frankie's been a beast with an extra day's rest (photo Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)

Clayton Richards worked the sixth and gave up a walk. Frankie surrendered a Bryant single in an otherwise calm frame. Neil Ramirez got the nod for the seventh and survived a Bryant boot; the Cubs went three up, three down.

In the top of the eighth with Tommy Hunter on the mound, Fran singled with one out, moved to second on a passed ball, and came in on S-Rod's two-bagger. Jordy bounced to first as S-Rod was off on the pitch. Serpico kept on motoring around third, trying to steal another run, but was gunned down; give Anthony Rizzo credit for not napping on the play. Liriano's second hit put runners at the corners, but Starling whiffed to end the frame.

Frankie walked Addison Russell to open the Cub at-bats. A pair of strikeouts was followed by another free pass and Clint swapped Liriano (four hits, three walks, nine punchouts) for Antonio Bastardo, who retired Rizzo on a fly. Carl Edwards shut the Bucs down in the ninth and Joakim Soria did the same to the Cubbies as The Shark got a day off.

The Bucs got another fine outing today; both Frankie and Gerrit (as also true for the Cub pitchers) were aggressive with the lake winds blowing in and took full advantage. Jordy ended up the unlikely batting hero, and Pittsburgh now has a 5-1/2 game cushion on Chicago. It seemed like it was yesterday that the Cubs were looming large in the rear view mirror.  AJ goes for the broom against Jake Arrieta tomorrow.

• Frankie joined Gerrit in the 200 K club today. They are the first pair of Pirate pitchers to hit the 200 whiff mark in the same season in franchise history.
• This was Jordy's first three RBI day of the season, and his first homer since early June, when he went long in back-to-back games against the Giants.
• Pittsburgh has won eight in a row, and all on the road for the first time since 1938. The Pirates' 95 wins are their most in a season since 1992.
• Awkward - the Cubs were on the field celebrating their playoff berth after the game. The price of backing in...

Frankie v Jason Hammel; Lineup (El Coffee Out) & Notes

Today's Game - Francisco Liriano (11-7, 3.41) climbs the hill against Jason Hammel (9-6, 3.79). Francisco's last start was a 3-2 win over Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium Saturday. He's gone 10-3 in his last 21 starts, and the Bucs have won 14 of his last 15 starting assignments. This will be Frankie's first start against the Cubs since an April no-decision. Overall, he's 4-2 with a 2.56 ERA in 10 career starts v the baby bears.

A-Ram is in today (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Hammel has had first inning woes, with an ERA over five for the opening frame. In fact, he's given up three runs or more in six of his last seven starts, getting past five innings just twice. His last start against the Bucs was a 5-4 loss; he got a no decision. Hammel split two April games, losing 4-3 and winning 4-0. He's been around the block with the Bucs, going 5-4/3.86 in 10 career starts. The game begins at 1:10 and will be on Fox Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Today's Lineup - Starling Marte LF, Travis Snider RF, Cutch CF, A-Ram 3B, Neil Walker 2B, Fran Cervelli C, Pedro Alvarez, Jordy SS, Frankie P.

Looks like Gregory's knee is still bothersome; Lunchbox is in right. And we're a little surprised A-Ram got the start; he looked a little gimpy after his double last night, so we're guessing that's good news. Starling slides up to leadoff today with Travis in the two hole; otherwise same ol'.

• The Pirates have won seven consecutive road games for the first time since the 2013 season and a win today would give them eight straight wins on the road for the first time since 1987. The last time the Bucs won seven straight games in one continuous road trip was 1987 and the last time the Pirates won eight games in a row on one road trip was during the 1938 season.
• The Pirates are 34 games over .500 for the first time since 1991.
• Gerrit Cole yesterday recorded his 200th strikeout of the season, joining AJ Burnett (209 in 2013) as the only righthanders in team history to whiff 200 or more batters in one season.
• The Pirates are a MLB-leading 36-17 in one-run games.
• The Pittsburgh feel good stories have a little different tone this season than they did in 2013-14. Now they're about how they team is built for the long run.
• The Cubs clinched their playoff spot last night as the Giants lost. So did the Cards; Pittsburgh is just three games out of first.

Gerrit v Jon Lester; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - Gerrit Cole (17-8, 2.64 ) opens the Cub series against lefty Jon Lester (10-11, 3.46). Gerrit may not be in the stratosphere quite yet, but he's 3-1/2.79 in his last six starts, and that's pretty dang good. His 17 wins are also the most by a Bucco pitcher in a season since John Smiley went 20-8 in 1991. Cole Train is 6-1 with a 3.10 ERA in eight career outings against Chicago and he's gone 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in three starts this year. He's also a morning person - Cole is 8-1 with a 2.07 ERA in 11 day starts.

Lester has been a solid if expensive addition to the Cub staff, and has pitched better than his 10 wins would indicate. His last outing against the Bucs was a complete game gem, whipping JA Happ 2-1 at PNC, but that was followed but a whupping at the hands of the Cards. He's been tough on Pittsburgh in limited outings, with a lifetime 2-1/1.64 slash in three starts. The game begins at 2:20 and will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Big series; aren't they all in September? But this one should have a razor sharp edge to it, with its playoff implications and the JHK injury still fresh in Bucco minds. The Cubs have won seven of nine and are 3-1/2 games behind the Pirates (who have won six in a row themselves) in the race for home-field advantage in the wild card matchup. We're really looking forward to three games of hardball (and Joe Maddon's fractured fairy tales) at Wrigley this weekend.

Clint sat on the lineup for awhile - he was letting A-Ram (groin) & Gregory (knee) get in some hitting and fielding to see if they were ready for action; apparently they are. Michael Morse is at first and Josh at second against the lefty Lester; Pedro & The Kid take ten..

• Starling Marte has 15 hits during his current five game hitting streak, raising his batting average from .278 to .293.
• The Cubs had an off day yesterday; it gave them the opportunity to skip Dan Haren in this series.  Their magic number for a playoff spot is one.
• Chicago has won 10 of the first 16 games against the Pirates, so they've already clinched home-field advantage if the teams end up with the same record.
• Only a couple of old teammates in opposing unis today: A-Ram played for the Cubs (2003-11) and David Ross for the Bucs (40 games in 2005).
• Minor league managers Dean Treanor (Indy) and Tom Prince (Altoona) have joined the club today; it's not just the players' roster that expands...
• Wrigley Field received a bomb threat that was called in about an hour before the gates opened; the police gave an all clear after a quick sweep.

Petey and the Pen Sweep the Rox 5-4

The Buccos continued to sprint out of the gate. Jaff Decker drew a walk from Chad Bettis, went to second on Cutch's infield hit and scored on Starling's single. Jeff Locke worked around a two-out Nolan Arenado double to keep the Rox off the board. Stew singled for the only Buc action in the second and Colorado went down 1-2-3.

Pittsburgh stranded Starling in the third, and the Rox took their first lead of the series. The Bucs couldn't convert a roller into a DP after a walk (to the pitcher!) and single, and Arenado made them pay by banging a two-out, two run double. The fourth went quietly, with both sides leaving a runner at first.

Josh led off the fifth with a double, and Decker followed with knock up the middle to tie the game. It was frustration afterward; Cutch banged into a DP and Starling was thrown out at second after his third hit, a call that was upheld by review. In the bottom half, Corey Dickerson singled on a hopper that Petey couldn't glove that was generously ruled a single, and that hurt when Cristhian Adames' tripled to right to take the lead back for Colorado.

Pittsburgh went down in order in the sixth, while the Rockies added on. Kyle Parker singled, stole second and came home as Alvarez was handcuffed by Ben Paulsen's two-out grounder. Scott Oberg took the ball in the seventh, and left Josh at second after his two-out two bagger. Joe Balnton got the call for Pittsburgh, and it was a messy but scoreless inning. Blanton missed Pedro's toss on a grounder, but that was negated by a caught stealing. With two outs, CarGo singled and went to second on Jaff's misplay. Justin Morneau was intentionally walked, and Joe got out of it with a pop out.

Pedro's glove gave a couple, but his bat took a couple today (photo Gene Puskar/AP)

Jaira Diaz climbed the hill in the eighth. Starling and The Kid singled with an out, but Jordy whiffed. Then Pedro of the lead mitt stepped up and atoned, drilling a 2-1 fastball over the right center wall to put the Pirates up 5-4. You chalk that one up to Walt Weiss; the Rox manager had a lefty loosening, but stuck with righty Diaz. Antonio Bastardo took Tony's usual eighth inning role (Watson was on a rest day) and tossed a 1-2-3 eighth.

John Axford came in, and the Bucs threatened with two outs when Jaff blooped a single and Cutch walked, but he got Starling for the first time today on a hopper to second. Mark the Shark has been absolutely untouchable lately, and he threw a clean ninth with a couple of K for his 50th save.

Well, the good, the bad and the Pedro came through today; seems like a different hero every outing. The Bucs close out September visiting the Cubs and hosting the Cards with 3-1/2 games, as of now, on either side of standings. Gerrit Cole and Jon Lester start the fun tomorrow at Wrigley.

• Mark the Shark became the 12th member of MLB's 50-save club.
• Starling has 13 hits this series, tied for the most in a four-game series in Pirates history with Pie Traynor from August 2-4, 1928.
• The top four Pirate hitters - Josh, Jaff, Cutch and Starling - reached base 11 times today via nine hits and a pair of walks.
• The Bucs scored in the first inning of all four games of the series.
• The Pirates recorded their first four-game sweep on the road since July of 1997 at St. Louis. It was also their sixth win in a row. Hopefully, the pen doesn't get into a jam with the Cubs and Cards coming up; no starter made it through the sixth against the Rox.
• Today is Pirate win #10,000 in NL, which the Bucs joined in 1887 and use as the franchise starting date. The franchise actually started its major league days in 1882 as the Alleghenys of the American Association and from that point of time, this is win #10,236.

Jeff v Chad Bettis; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - Jeff Locke (8-11, 4.48) works getaway day against Chad Bettis (8-5, 4.46). Jeff's had a disappointing season, and right now sits as the sixth man in the rotation; he may be pitching for a back-end spot in 2016 as he alternates between good and bad outings. Despite his spotty work, tonight will be his 30th start of the year, a career high. He's 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA v the Rox, and hasn't seen them yet this year.

Bettis profiles as a mid-to-back end guy for the Rox, and Colorado has played well behind him, winning 12-of-18 games that he's started. He's pitched better since returning from the DL a month ago, and has given up just one run in his last 12 innings. Bettis hasn't gone against Pittsburgh this year, and is 0-1/7.37 when he has in the past, although that's over just a seven inning sample. The game starts at 3:10 and will be on Root Sports & 93.7 The Fan.

As expected, A-Ram and Gregory are being held out with the Cub series looming. The only surprise is Jaff getting the start in El Coffee's place; we thought it would be Lunchbox. Stew's in too, giving Fran a night-to-day game break.

• In the first three games of this series, Starling Marte has gone 9-for-15 with six RBI and now has a four-game hitting streak.
• El Coffee has a hit in five straight games and has scored in 11 of the past 14 matches. Also, no official word on the results of his ugly slide last night, but he seems to be no worse for the wear.
• Cutch has been walked 13 times in his last five games. He's only had 12 official at bats during that span.
• Seems only fitting: in a bit of a mix 'n' match quirk, last night's starting lineup consisted of the same position players (in a different order) as Opening Day.
• After sputtering along at the start of the month, the Bucs have taken five games in a row and are 13-10 for September.
• Pittsburgh is one victory shy of posting its 10,000th franchise win since officially joining the NL in 1887. That's the Pirates party line; if you count the five years they were in the American Association as the Alleghenys, they won #10,000 in 2013.
• Deadline magic: don't overlook the pitching NH brought in at the deadline - JA Happ is 6-2/2.28 in nine starts, Joe Blanton 4-0/1.88 in 17 outings, and Joakim Soria is 0-0/2.38 with five holds (one blown) in 25 appearances.
• The Pirates will put limited number of tickets for the post-season on sale at 10AM Monday.