Buctober Part 2: Pittsburgh Pirates Clinch Second Consecutive Playoff Berth
By Matt Gajtka
Sep 23, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; The Pittsburgh Pirates celebrate in their dugout after clinching a playoff spot by defeating the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. The Pirates defeated the Braves 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
This win was a lot like the rest throughout this spectacular September, except it ended with a champagne shower.
In a month that’s seen the Pittsburgh Pirates string together victory after victory to put a choke hold on a playoff berth, they capped their quest for the postseason in a city that holds some terrible memories.
The emotions were quite the opposite from 1992 on Tuesday night, as the Pirates came from behind to top the Atlanta Braves 3-2 at Turner Field, clinching a spot in the MLB playoffs for the second consecutive year.
Pittsburgh (86-71) locked up at least a wild-card berth after Freddie Freeman grounded into a game-ending 3-6-3 double play, sealing Tony Watson‘s second save in three days.
Cincinnati helpfully downed Milwaukee just moments earlier, which meant that the Bucs’ magic number fell to one as the bottom of the ninth began.
By that time, the Pirates had rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the second inning to grab a one-run lead. For the second straight September, Starling Marte had the go-ahead hit in the playoff clincher, as he doubled in Andrew McCutchen in the sixth to put Pittsburgh up for the first time. Travis Snider had hit a leadoff homer in the fifth to tie the game.
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While the offense was rallying, starting pitcher Gerrit Cole settled in. The second-year right-hander allowed six baserunners in the first two innings, but he retired the final 17 batters he faced to provide the foundation for the Pirates’ 15th win in their past 18 games.
Although the Pittsburgh offense garnered much of the attention as this pivotal stretch began, the pitching has been airtight recently, allowing just eight runs in eight games. Cole’s seven-inning, eight-strikeout, 111-pitch performance was the latest example of a rotation blooming as summer turns to autumn.
The bullpen continued its recent sterling work, too, with Jared Hughes delivering a scoreless inning for the second night in a row and Watson stepping in for an unavailable Mark Melancon to close the door. Both relievers used double plays to erase baserunners and make quick work of the slumping Braves (76-81).
Atlanta was entertaining thoughts of its first victory since Wednesday when Freeman doubled in a run in the first and Andrelton Simmons bounced into a double play to plate another in the second. However, Cole found the rhythm with his mid-90s fastball and a sharp curveball to stymie the Braves from that point on.
The night started to turn the Pirates’ way in the fourth, when McCutchen sprinted home on Christian Bethancourt‘s two-out throwing error. The Atlanta catcher was trying to throw out Starling Marte, who took off from first base on a pitch from Braves starter Alex Wood.
Although the Pirates had scored in just three innings over the previous four games, they plated runs in three consecutive frames against Wood, capped by back-to-back doubles from McCutchen and Marte in the sixth. The dynamic outfielders had two hits each, with McCutchen adding a pair of walks.
Pittsburgh moved within 1 1/2 games of the Cardinals for the NL Central lead, so that race isn’t over yet. After sleeping off the bubbly, the Pirates will send Jeff Locke to the mound against Julio Teheran on Wednesday night.