Game could be first of more Central showdowns
PITTSBURGH— Was Wednesday night’s wild-card game a sneak preview of coming attractions in the National League Central the next few years?
Players on both sides of the field seemed to think so on a night 195 combined victories added up to a loser-out playoff game.
“From my point of view, the best two teams in the long run for years to come are going to be the Cubs and the Pirates,” Cubs catcher Miguel Montero said of teams with two of the youngest, developing cores in the league.
The Cubs started three rookies in their first playoff game in seven years, including the Nos. 2 and 3 hitters— with No. 2 hitter Kyle Schwarber driving in three runs in the first three innings with a single and a two-run home run into the Allegheny River.
The Pirates had a second-year leadoff man in right field and the first overall pick of the 2011 draft pitching.
“Those two teams have so much potential,” said Montero, who came up with the We Are Good hashtag and T-shirts. “The Pirates have that core with [Starling] Marte, [Gregory] Polanco, [Andrew] McCutchen, and the pitching they’ve got. Those are good players, man.
“It’s going to be fun watching the next few years those series against the Pirates because it’s going to be two good teams. For sure the Cubs are going to be in a lot of people’s ears in the next few years. Even this year they already are.”
And the 100-win Cardinals don’t appear to going anywhere, either.
Even rookies such as Pirates outfielder Keon Broxton see the makings of an NL Central repeat of producing the top three teams in baseball— a major-league first this season.
“It’s going to be a battle for a while to come,” Broxton said. “Every year the division seems to get better and better, so it’s going to be scary.”
Human resources
As expected, Cubs manager Joe Maddon went with a hitting-first lineup that sacrificed some defense behind Jake Arrieta, who induces mostly weak contact and few balls hit to third base, where contact hitter Tommy La Stella started.
Third baseman Kris Bryant was in left, with catcher/outfielder Schwarber in right.
“Maybe not on paper what would be our best defensive lineup, but matching against [ Gerrit] Cole, our best offensive lineup,” said Maddon, who planned to sub in defenders in the middle and late innings with a lead. “Tommy is the most underrated hitter on our team. So we wanted to include him.”
The playoff roster included few surprises. The 15-hitter, 10-pitcher list included No. 2 starter Jon Lester as an emergency option and starter Kyle Hendricks as insurance for extra innings.
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