Nearly a century of frustration is on the line as the Chicago Cubs face off against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a single-elimination National League Wild Card game. The winner gets the honor of facing off against the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Divisional Series.
The loser gets to watch with the rest of us. Scroll down for the live blog. Read on for a primer.
Here’s your lines for everything as of this very second.
Money Line : Chicago: -126, Pittsburgh: 115
5.5 O/U. Over: -110, Under: -110
Run line: Pirates (+1.5). Cubs: +150, Pirates: -170
The starting pitchers tonight are no surprise. For the Cubs, Jake Arrieta (22-6, 1.77 ERA) takes the hill and he’ll face off against Gerrit Cole (19-8, 2.60 ERA).
There are no significant injuries to report and the only man not up is Cubs’ relief pitcher Jason Motte.
Yesterday the Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees 3-0 to earn the right to face the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS. Dallas Keuchal got the win in six innings of work, giving up three hits, a walk and recording seven strike outs. Luke Gregson got the save with a near-perfect ninth.
The Astros got their first two runs on solo home runs. The first from Colby Rasmus in the second inning. Carlos Gomez knocked the second homer out in the fourth. Jose Altuv batted in Jonathan Villar in the top of the seventh.
The Yankees managed just three hits. Mashiro Tanaka took the loss on the hill in five solid innings, but the lack of offense doomed New York.
Here is the Cubs’ lineup:
CF Dexter Fowler
RF Kyle Schwarber
LF Kris Bryant
1B Anthony Rizzo
3B Tommy La Stella
2B Starlin Castro
C Miguel Montero
SS Addison Russell
SP Jake Arrieta
And here is the Pirates’ lineup:
RF Gregory Polanco
3B Josh Harrison
CF Andrew McCutchen
LF Starling Marte
C Francisco Cervelli
2B Neil Walker
SS Jordy Mercer
1B Sean Rodriguez
SP Gerrit Cole
And here’s some highlights from the preview at MLB.com.
If the Cubs can win behind Jake Arrieta, they’ll do something else they’ve never done, meeting their rival Cardinals for the first time in a postseason series.
Clint Hurdle’s Pirates are just as motivated to get a crack at the Cardinals, who stopped them short of the NL Championship Series in 2013….No hitters are more likely to step into the role of hero in the NL Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser than Andrew McCutchen and Anthony Rizzo….
While the Pirates’ lineup options are limited since Chris Coghlan’s takeout slide sidelined Jung Ho Kang, it’s unclear whom the Cubs will start at second base and in the outfield corners, but it appears as if Maddon will play Bryant in left field and Schwarber in right, with Tommy La Stella (the only Cub with an extra-base hit off Cole) at third.
Theo Epstein’s Chicago front office has had its computer humming with game simulations designed to suggest if the odds favor the best hitters available or the gloves to win a 1-0 game behind Arrieta. Either way, the margin of error is going to be tiny, and the significance of a big hit from the leading men, McCutchen and Rizzo, will be huge.
The game starts at 8 p.m. on TBS. Let’s watch a little history together.
