Late in the first half, the Pittsburgh Pirates went through a gauntlet of games on the schedule where it seemed like they were facing ace after ace night after night.
In a particularly grueling stretch, the Pittsburgh Pirates faced Clayton Kershaw, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Madison Bumgardner. This came in the throes of a vital 20-game stretch.
After weathering the storm of aces, the Pirates look to build on a strong first half finish and take advantage of a very favorable schedule in the second half of the season.
After a three-game slate with the NL East-leading Nationals, the Pirates will play 42 of their 73 remaining games against teams below .500. 27 of those games come against bottom feeders in the NL Central, those being the Cincinnati Reds (11) and Milwaukee Brewers (16).
How does the Pirates’ schedule compare to other NL playoff contenders?
Below is a snapshot look at how each team in the postseason picture will finish. We’ll rank their schedules with 1 being the most favorable.
The Division Leaders
Washington Nationals – NL East – 54-36
Second Half Breakdown: The Nationals face eight teams with a record of .500 or better as well as eight more who are .500 or below. With 72 games remaining, the NL East-leading Nationals face teams with a losing record 36 times and teams above .500 36 times as well. With an even second half, the Nationals will rely on NL All Stars Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg to continue their trek toward the playoffs.
Currently, Washington has a six-game lead over the Miami Marlins and New York Mets who are tied for second in the NL East.
Key Match-Ups to Watch: The Nationals will face the Mets and the Marlins six times a piece in the second half. Luckily for Washington, the Braves at 31-58 are on the schedule 12 times between now and the rest of the season.
Second Half Schedule Rank: 5
Chicago Cubs – NL Central – 53-35
Second Half Breakdown: Chicago rocketed out to having one of the best records in baseball, however, they stumbled into the All-Star break going 2-8 in their last ten games. The schedule doesn’t get much easier for the Cubs in the second half of the season. Facing ten teams with records .500 and above while only facing six teams with losing records, the Cubs will play 43 games against those winning teams and 31 against the sub-par teams.
To start the second half of the season, the Cubs host the AL West-leading Texas Rangers who own the best record in the American League.
Key Match-Ups to Watch: The Cubs have 17 games remaining against St. Louis (10) and Pittsburgh (7). If the Cubs want to stay at the top of the division, it’s imperative they fare well in those games. While the Pirates and Cardinals are at the top of the NL Central with Chicago, the Cubs also face the bottom-feeding Brewers 14 times and the Reds six times in the second half.
Second Half Schedule Rank: 7
San Francisco Giants – NL West – 57-33
Second Half Breakdown: With a 57-33 record, San Francisco is at the top of Major League Baseball with the best record in baseball. Continuing to have the best record in baseball will be a daunting task for the Giants who look to return to the World Series in what is an even year.
In the second half, San Francisco will play 42 games against teams with a .500 or better record while only playing 30 against teams with losing records, ten of which coming against the San Diego Padres who own a 38-51 record.
Key Match-Ups to Watch: While the Giants have the benefit of playing the Padres ten times in the second half, they will have to face the NL East-leading Nationals seven times, as well as the arch-rival Los Angeles Dodgers nine times.
Second Half Schedule Rank: 6
National League Wild Card Contenders
Los Angeles Dodgers – NL West – 51-40
Second Half Breakdown: Ace Clayton Kershaw has been nearly unhittable for the National League team in Los Angeles. However, Kershaw entered the All-Star break on the disabled list. Keeping Kershaw healthy is the key for the Dodgers if they want to eventually catch the NL West-leading Giants.
The schedule in the second half makes the six-and-a-half game margin attainable for Los Angeles as they face only six teams with losing records yet play a total of 41 games against said teams compared to 30 games against eight teams with winning records.
Key Match-Ups to Watch: Highlighting the weaker end of the schedule for the Dodgers are the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, of which 23, 13 against the Diamonbacks and 10 against the Rockies, games will be played in the second half. As for the stronger side of the Los Angeles schedule, the Dodgers have nine key games against the division-leading Giants.
Second Half Schedule Rank: 2
New York Mets – NL East – 47-41
Second Half Breakdown: The Mets will have to take on the second half of the season with out pitcher Matt Harvey who underwent season-ending surgery this past week. Currently six games behind division-leading Washington, New York will need to take advantage of a schedule that sees them play 38 games against teams with a losing record.
The downfall for the Metropolitans is they still face teams with .500 or above records 36 times in the second half including each current division leader in the NL.
Key Match-Ups to Watch: New York and Washington square off six times in the second half, but the ten games the Mets have against the Miami Marlins will be pivotal for both the division race and the Wild Card race. The Mets will have the benefit of facing the Philadelphia Phillies 13 times in the second half of the season.
Second Half Schedule Rank: 4
Miami Marlins – NL East 47-41
Second Half Breakdown: Miami has hands down the toughest schedule of the teams in contention for the playoffs in the second half. The Marlins will be running through a gauntlet that sees them facing ten teams with .500 or better records and playing 44 games against such teams. Miami has to play each of the playoff contending teams at least three times as well as the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians in interleague play.
Catching the Nationals and staying even or moving past the Mets won’t be easy, but there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Marlins. Of the 30 games Miami will be playing against teams with losing records, 20 of them will come against divisional foes in Atlanta and Philadelphia.
Key Match-Ups to Watch: The ten games the Marlins will be playing against the Mets will prove to be the deciding factor in which team makes the playoffs or stays home. With even records, those ten games will be pivotal in how each team’s season ends up.
The good news for Miami is that they play the Phillies 13 times in the second half. They also play as well seven games against the Braves, both teams at the bottom of the NL East.
Second Half Schedule Rank: 8
St. Louis Cardinals – NL Central – 46-42
Second Half Breakdown: After winning 100 games in 2015, the Cardinals have not come close to that level of play in 2016. Now, only seven games behind the Cubs, St. Louis will need to take advantage of a weaker second half schedule in order to catch the Cubs, as well as the Dodgers, Mets, and Marlins in the Wild Card race.
The Cardinals will benefit from 40 of their remaining 74 games coming against teams with losing records. On the downside, the Cardinals still have match-ups with the Cubs and Pirates looming, playing the Cubs ten games and the Pirates six games in the second half.
Key Match-Ups to Watch: To gain on the Pirates and the Cubs, the Cardinals will need to take advantage of the 13 games they play against the Cincinnati Reds. Where the schedule becomes difficult for St. Louis is the fact they have their 16 games between the Pirates and Cubs coming as well. Overall, the second half schedule should bode fairly well for the reigning NL Central champions.
Second Half Schedule Rank: 3
Pittsburgh Pirates – NL Central – 46-43
Second Half Breakdown: Currently seven-and-a-half games behind Chicago for the NL Central lead, the Pirates will need to ride the momentum of their first half finish winning eight of their last ten heading into the break. With fresh young arms beginning to stabilize a wild starting rotation, Pittsburgh needs to take advantage of a schedule that sees them play 42 games against teams with losing records.
The Pirates still have six games remaining with the Cardinals as well as seven games remaining with the Cubs that will play a big factor in Pittsburgh returning to the post season for the fourth consecutive year.
Key Match-Ups to Watch: The aforementioned Cubs and Cardinals games will be integral in seeing where the Pirates end up at the end of the season, however, at the end of the first half, Pittsburgh handled both teams easily, cruising to series wins. What will be to the benefit of the Pirates in the second half is the 16 games being played against the Milwaukee Brewers and the 11 being played against the Reds.
Second Half Schedule Rank: 1
While overcoming their deficits will not be easy, the Pirates, Dodgers, and Cardinals have the best chance to gain ground and eventually dethrone their division leaders.
For the PittsburghPirates, they will have to rely on a stable of healthy, young arms of Jameson Taillon, Gerrit Cole, Chad Kuhl, and eventually Tyler Glasnow in addition to their favorable schedule, to get back to the post season for the fourth season in a row.
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