Pittsburgh Pirates Have Chance To Recover From Death Of Division Title Dreams

Sep 3, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Starling Marte (6) hits a single off of St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Shelby Miller (not pictured) during the second inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Pirates 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

If ever a team needed an off day, it’s the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Tough to imagine the Bucs’ Wednesday night flight from St. Louis to Chicago was very energetic following their fourth loss in a row. Just four days ago, the Pirates were on the verge of sweeping the Reds at PNC Park to move within a game of the National League Central lead.

Now, any dreams of the franchise’s first division title since 1992 are dead. After getting excruciatingly swept in St. Louis, the Pirates (71-68) are five games behind the Central-pacing Cardinals with 23 games to play.

It’s over. Better luck next year.

What isn’t over – against all odds – is the “race” for the second NL wild card. With the Brewers (73-66) riding a stunning eight-game losing streak and the Braves (73-67) matching the Pirates’ up-and-down summer, it’s a three-way battle for the right to be the road team in the coin-flip game.

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That carrot isn’t as enticing as free entry into the divisional round, but it is a 50-50 shot to get to that point. (Alright, maybe it’s a little less than 50-50 if the Giants host the wild-card game and start ace Madison Bumgarner.)

At any rate, if the Pirates can recharge adequately Thursday, they have a decent shot at making up ground over the next two weeks. Pittsburgh has six games against the Cubs, four against the Phillies and three vs. the Red Sox during that span. Those opponents aren’t as poor as the standings make them seem – especially prospect-laden Chicago – but it’s reasonable to expect the Bucs to win each of those series.

If they do manage to grab nine or 10 wins over that span, it should be enough to keep them in the playoff running until Sept. 19-26, when they face the Brewers (three games) and Braves (four) consecutively. At that point, the Pirates will have to come through in head-to-head situations.

No matter how you describe the past four days – I’m going with “crushing” – there is the potential for more exciting baseball ahead. It all hinges on how the Pirates handle the next two weeks.