The six-year playoff drought is over for the Cubs, but they don't plan on feeling good about themselves just yet - there's plenty of work to do.
Sending their best pitcher to the mound in Wednesday's Wild Card Game against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, there is reason to believe Joe Maddon's club has a deep run in it. The contest will mark the first time Chicago plays a postseason game since 2008, and it will battle a Pittsburgh team that faces a Wild Card play-in game for the third straight year.
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The Cubs surged into the postseason, winning eight straight contests to close out the regular season and finish with a 97-65 record, matching the 2008 club. Now, the team sends Jake Arrieta to the mound after an impressive season that saw him finish with an MLB-best 22 wins, while ranking second in the NL in ERA (1.77) and third in strikeouts (236).
With its ace on the mound, Chicago is poised to advance deep into the playoffs and possibly win a World Series title. Arrieta is 13-1 with a dazzling 1.60 ERA on the road this season, is 5-0 in his last six starts and went 3-1 with a 0.75 ERA against the Pirates in five games on the 2015 campaign.
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Overall, the Cubs were 11-8 against the Pirates in the regular season. Arrieta's Twitter game is also on-point, as he shot down a trash-talking, Pirates supporting heckler on the social media site.
If Arrieta can outduel Gerrit Cole, the Cubs would then move on to face the NL Central champion Cardinals in the NLDS, with Jon Lester the likely candidate to take the hill for Game 1. Chicago had its issues with St. Louis this season, going 8-11 in head-to-head meeting with them, however with injuries playing a factor, anything could happen.
Lester has a 6-4 record with a 2.57 ERA in 14 career playoff games. The left-hander may have been 1-3 against the Redbirds this season, but he had a respectable 2.59 ERA against them.
With Arrieta, Lester and a lineup full of tremendous rookies (what's up, Kris Bryant?), the Cubs appear poised to play deep into October.
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