The Pirates will take on the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on Wednesday with the winner advancing to the best-of-five National League Division series against St. Louis. A large crowd of cheering fans gathered in Downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday to support the Bucs.
Despite having the second-best record in the major leagues,
The Pirates finished second in the league behind the St. Louis Cardinals, catapulting the Bucs into their third consecutive NL Central wild-card bid at home. They beat Cincinnati in 2013 but lost to the San Francisco Giants last season. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald congratulated the team for coming this far.
“Thanks to you, they set an attendance record of almost 2.5 million fans," Fitzgerald said.
According to Fitzgerald, only two other teams in the franchise’s 125-year history have won more games than the current team, which won 98 games this year. The wild card match marks the first playoff appearance for the Cubs in seven years. They will send Jake Arrieta to the mound against the Pirates' Gerrit Cole.
