One year ago today, the Pittsburgh Pirates clinched the post-season for the first time since 1992. Exactly one year later, they made it back to the playoffs, winning 3-2 over the Atlanta Braves. That, paired with a loss by the Milwaukee Brewers, was enough to clinch the post-season. The Pirates currently hold home field advantage in the Wild Card game, but might have a shot at improving their status. Here is an update on all of the races based on tonight’s results.
NL Central
Cubs 4, Cardinals 3
Pirates 3, Braves 2
The Cardinals lost in walk off fashion to the Cubs, which means the Pirates pulled to within 1.5 games of first place in the Central. The magic number for the Cardinals is four.
Wild Card
Pirates 3, Braves 2
Dodgers 4, Giants 2
Reds 3, Brewers 1
The Pirates hold a one game lead over the Giants. The Brewers haven’t been eliminated yet, although they would need San Francisco to lose out, and they would need to win the rest of their games. Even if that happens, the two teams would have a one-game tiebreaker to see who gets the second Wild Card spot. The magic number for the Pirates to clinch home field advantage would be 4.
Playoff Seeding
Here are the current playoff seeds if the season would end today. The winner of the Wild Card game would go on to play the Washington Nationals.
1. Washington
2. Los Angeles
3. St. Louis
4. Pittsburgh
5. San Francisco
