After enduring two decades of futility, the Pittsburgh Pirates are making a habit of making the playoffs.
Pittsburgh beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 at Turner Field on Tuesday night, and with the Milwaukee Brewers falling 3-1 to the Cincinnati Reds, the Pirates clinched a postseason spot for the second straight season. For 20 years before that, the Bucs didn't finish with a winning won-lost record, much less qualify for the World Series tournament.
The NL Central title remains a possibility, too, with the front-running St. Louis Cardinals falling 4-3 to the Chicago Cubs, bringing the Bucs within 1 1/2 games of first place.
Right-hander Gerrit Cole, who struck out eight and retired 17 batters in a row at one point, hadn't peeked at the out-of-town scoreboard to check on the Cards' progress. He didn't know the Bucs had qualified for the playoffs until he walked into the team's clubhouse at Turner Field and saw all of the lockers covered in plastic, to keep them dry from celebratory beer and champagne splash.
Cole was a rookie in 2013 who established himself as one of the better young players in the league, and who beat the Cards in Game 2 of the NL Division Series. What does returning to the playoffs mean to him?
Via the Associated Press:
''I think it establishes our presence in this league that we're not going to go away,'' Cole said.
The celebration this time was less raucous than the one in 2013. The Pirates were happy, but they also were acting like they've been here before. And that there was more.
Players exchanged high-fives in a line on the field before sharing hugs in front of their dugout. The emotions flowed with champagne and beer in the clubhouse.
Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates' MVP contender, wore big ski goggles as he held a bottle of champagne in one hand and lit a big victory cigar.
McCutchen, who had two hits and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth, already had his focus on bigger goals.
''To celebrate is fun, but we've still got to take care of business,'' he said.
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If the Bucs don't win the division, finishing with the better record among the wild-card teams would seem paramount. They're 52-30 at PNC Park, and 34-41 on the road. The Pirates are neck-and-neck with the San Francisco Giants in for wild-card lead.
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter!
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