The Pittsburgh Pirates host the Chicago Cubs in the National League Wild Card Game tonight at PNC Park. The winner will advance to play the St. Louis Cardinals in the best-of-five NL Division Series starting Friday in St. Louis. The Cubs closed the regular season with eight straight wins, but the Pirates finished one game ahead for the top Wild Card berth and home field in this single-elimination game.
Jake Arrieta starts for Chicago, while Pittsburgh counters with Gerrit Cole in a matchup of NL Cy Young candidates. Arrieta led the majors with 22 wins this season and had the second-best ERA at 1.77. Cole went 19-and-8 with a 2.60 ERA for the Bucs. The Cubs won 11 of the 19 meetings between these NL Central rivals during the regular season. The Cubs are in the postseason for the first time since 2008, while the Pirates are making their third straight appearance as a Wild Card.