Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call – Is this a playoff team?

In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pittsburgh Pirates followed up a sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers by getting swept by the Chicago Cubs. That’s not ideal. The Pirates were riding high, even into the first game of the Cubs series when a win against Jake Arrieta looked probable. But giving that game up seemed to flip the momentum back to the Cubs, who seem to have the ability to win games any way they want right now.

The Pirates are still just 2.5 games back of the Cardinals, which means the playoffs are still within reach. The Pirates also play the Cardinals six times down the stretch, so they can significantly help their chances of reaching the postseason by beating up on St. Louis.

Last night, the Pirates’ offense didn’t wake up until it was too late. The offense also fell flat the night before against Kyle Hendricks.. It’s funny how all season long the biggest issue for the Pirates was pitching. The starting pitching held one of the worst ERAs in baseball, and the bullpen was in flux outside of the back-end. Now, the rotation has stabilized for the most part and the bull-pen is pitching well and the offense has gone cold. This just might not be the year for the Pirates. A hot run to end September could change all of that, but for now, this doesn’t look like a team that can make a run in October.

Yesterday’s Player of the Game

The Pirates are swept out of Chicago, losing game three 6-5. Who is your player of the game?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) September 1, 2016

Baseball Talk Around the Web

• Today is September 1st, the day when rosters officially expand and when we’ll see prospects around the league get their chance to make an impact for teams in the playoff chase. Christopher Crawford of ESPN lists the top prospects to watch this month that could get called up. Did any Pirates make the list?
• The Pirates are still in the Wild Card chase, but are their chances of making the playoffs dwindling? Dan Szymborski of ESPN gives the percent chance of every team winning their division and making the Wild Card game based on his ZiPS model.
• We all saw Kyle Hendricks roast the Pirates two nights ago. Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs breaks down why Hendricks has been so good this year and makes a bold comparison for him.

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