Documenting the roller-coaster week that was for the Pittsburgh Pirates (98-64) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2).
Pirates
Destiny called, but the Bucs were apparently too busy to pick up.
Needing to win the season’s final seven games in order to secure a division title outright over the St. Louis Cardinals (100-62), Pittsburgh came up with a 3-4 record and will settle for the top NL Wild Card spot for the third straight season. The Bucs had plenty of chances to catch the Redbirds this season, including a record 16 baserunners left stranded in Monday’s 3-0 loss to St. Louis, but ultimately they could not cash in. Neil Walker’s solo shot and Francisco Cervelli’s grand slam were exciting to watch on Wednesday’s 8-2 victory over the Cardinals in the first game of a double-header. However, the Cardinals slammed the door shut on the division crown with an explosive offense led by Jason Heyward’s grand slam in an 11-1 rout.
Andrew McCutchen’s solo blast and Starling Marte’s second walk off home run of the season led Pittsburgh to a 6-4 victory over the Reds in 12 innings on Friday. After a disappointing 3-1 loss last night, in what could be A.J. Burnett’s final regular season start, the Bucs came back this afternoon and clinched home field advantage over the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card game with a 4-0 victory. J.A. Happ pitched yet another solid outing with six shutout innings allowing just three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. Walker provided an RBI single, Pedro Alvarez homered, and the Bucs got RBI doubles from Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison on Fan Appreciation Day. Pittsburgh fell just short of 2.5 million fans in attendance for the season and should expect another blackout crowd to kick off the post season for the senior circuit on Wednesday. The Bucs will have their hands full against Jake Arrieta and the Cubs will have their hands full against Gerrit Cole in what could be a pitching duel for the ages.
Steelers
Thursday night’s 23-20 overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens (1-3) overshadowed an otherwise excellent night for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bill Cowher and Jerome Bettis were in the house as “The Bus” received his Hall of Fame ring, presented to him by Cowher. Michael Vick completed 19 of 26 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown in his first start as a member of the Black and Gold. He also threw a key block for Le’Veon Bell’s touchdown in the second quarter. Bell went on to rush for 129 yards on 22 carries to go along with the score. The Steelers defense recorded two takeaways thanks to Ross Cockrell’s interception in the second quarter and fumble recovery in the third. However, the defense missed too many tackles and the offense wasted too many opportunities to put away the Ravens. Baltimore scored the game’s final 16 points and Josh Scobee’s two missed field goals were too much to overcome. Scobee has since been released and former Giants kicker Chris Boswell becomes the third attempt to replace Shaun Suisham for Pittsburgh since the Hall of Fame game way back on August 9th. With the Cincinnati Bengals at 4-0, the Steelers have a lot of work to do if they want to secure a second straight AFC North title. Pittsburgh has another eight days to chew on Thursday night’s loss before a Monday night game on October 12 against the San Diego Chargers.
Stats courtesy MLB Gameday and Yahoo! Sports
piratesandsteelerstalk 