How The Cubs Won The NL Wild-Card Game

As we watch these two teams beat each other up, remember that the National League playoffs are a mess. We are watching two of the best teams in the league (in the Cubs and Pirates) battle, but only one will go on. Meanwhile, the Cardinals rode unsustainably good luck into the playoffs, and the Dodgers nearly ran unsustainably bad fortune out of them. There is no clear favorite, as there is in the AL with the Blue Jays. Read my full breakdown of the NL field here.

The Pirates had the fourth-worst defense in MLB this year, per FanGraphs, and their shaky hands — or slippery gloves — contributed to the run they yielded in the top of the first inning. After Dexter Fowler led off with a single, his steal of second was aided by a drop, and he later scored on a single. Then Anthony Rizzo reached first thanks to a throwing error by second baseman Neil Walker, though the ball looked catchable off the hop but caromed off first baseman Sean Rodriguez’s glove. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, aware of his team’s defensive shortcomings, played Rodriguez instead of Pedro Alvarez in part because of Rodriguez’s superior glove. But it hasn’t been sure so far.