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PITTSBURGH — The Pirates and Diamondbacks are two of the main contenders competing for one of the National League wild card spots, and the first two games of their series at PNC Park have shown how evenly-matched the two clubs are.
The Pirates came back for a 3-2 walk-off win in the series opener on Monday night, and they nearly pulled off a much larger comeback on Tuesday. Pittsburgh entered the eighth inning down 6-0 and rallied to force extras, but Arizona prevailed with an 8-7 win in 12 innings.
“Just to be down six-zip, eighth-inning put up three, and then the way the ninth inning unfolded, the fight back and forth — it’s a tough one to come up on the losing side of,” manager Don Kelly said after Tuesday’s loss.
But the Pirates will have to quickly turn the page.
Through the first two games of the series, the Pirates have scored 10 runs on 23 hits. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, have scored 10 runs on 24 hits.
Arizona entered the series with a one-game lead for the third wild card spot. After the Pirates tied them in the standings with a win on Monday, the Dbacks reclaimed their advantage following Tuesday’s win.
The dramatics of the first two games of the series have set the stage for a crucial rubber match game in Wednesday’s finale, and for more reasons than one.
Considering how close the two teams are in the standings, the game is already important. Playoff races aren’t determined this early in the year, but one game could end up making the difference once the final out is recorded on the last day of the regular season.
The Pirates are doing their best to not add any extra pressure to the importance that looms.
“It’s just July. Can go game by game right now,” said Brandon Lowe. “Let’s get home, dress up pretty quickly and go win a series tomorrow.”
In addition to the standings, another factor — one perhaps even more important to consider — is that the Pirates could clinch the season tiebreaker against Arizona with a win on Wednesday. If Pittsburgh is able to prevail in the rubber match, they’ll own a 4-2 head-to-head record against the Diamondbacks this season after taking two of three on the road in May.
The Pirates already clinched a season tiebreaker against the Nationals — another team squarely in the wild card race — earlier this year, and having the advantage over both teams could be paramount in a race as tight as this one is currently shaping up to be.
The Pirates are hoping that Tuesday’s comeback, despite the end result not being the desired one, will help spark them in their final meeting with Arizona this season. Although it’s only July, it will be one of the more important regular season games in PNC Park history.
“Just really proud of the guys and the way that we continue to fight,” said Kelly. “We got to rinse it off tonight and find a way to bounce back tomorrow.”
The post Another Dramatic Game Between Pirates, Dbacks Sets Stage for Pivotal Rubber Match appeared first on Pittsburgh Baseball Now.
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