The fact that the Pirates now have to reckon with the Chicago Cubs isn’t news, but Wednesday night put things in stark perspective: The Cubs are now closer to catching the Pirates than the Pirates are to catching the St. Louis Cardinals.
After losing, 3-2, in 12 innings at PNC Park Wednesday night, the Pirates lead the Cubs by three games in the wild-card standings and trail the Cardinals in the NL Central by four. The Pirates have 17 games remaining, four against the Cubs, one of them coming at PNC Park Thursday afternoon and three more at Wrigley Field at the end of the month.