Tonight at 8:08 p.m.ET the Pirates (98-64) will host the Cubs (97-65) in the National League Wild Card game on TBS, in a game that can be live streamed free by clicking this link. The Cubs will send ace Jake Arrieta (22-6, 1.77 ERA) to the mound against Gerrit Cole (19-8, 2.60 ERA). Cubs fans can listen to the game on WGN 720 while Pirates fans may do likewise on KDKA-FM 93.7.
The Pirates are familiar with this position; it's the third consecutive season they have hosted the Wild Card game, and they are 1-1 in those two tilts. Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen told reporters the Cubs they will face tonight are reminiscent of the 2013 Pirates.
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"They've opened a lot of eyes," McCutchen said. "We were the hype in 2013. Look at what we did. Everybody was on us ... now it's 'Let's talk about the Cubs."
The Cubs are worth talking about. Arrieta has silenced any doubters that his 2014 campaign was a fluke, and their push has been thanks to a deep corps of very young offensive talent. That group is led by third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant, a rookie who swatted 26 home runs, and slashed .275/.369/.488. He's joined by infielder Addison Russell, 1B Anthony Rizzo, and OFs Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber who are all under the age of 23.
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Those guys are tasked with hitting Cole's vaunted fastball. He averaged an 95.5 miles per hour on that heater, which was 23.9 runs better than the average MLB fastball. That value was bested only by Clayton Kershaw.
Even armed with one of the sport's best pitches, Cole thinks Pittsburgh's experience might win out over Chicago's youth.
"There's a lot of luck involved," Cole said. "But there's a lot of little details that matter. And the team that takes care of those the best comes out on top usually."
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