At this moment, the Pittsburgh Pirates are tied for first place in their division with the St. Louis Cardinals. A couple of days ago the Pirates lost and the Cards won, so the Pirates were a game back. On Saturday the Pirates won and the Cards lost, so they're tied again.
The rest of the schedule favors the Cards. Eleven of their last 14 games are against teams with losing records, and their last six are at home. The Pirates play the Reds--just 2.5 games behind in their division--six more times, and their last six games of the season are on the road. Those are big hills to climb. The Cards seem over their losing streak, and the Pirates emerged from their longest of the year--four games--with 5 victories out of the last 6. But three of those 4 losses were to the Cards, and so they lost the margin that might have made the next few weeks a lot easier.
So the smart money is on the Cards holding on to win the division by a game or two, in which case the Pirates and Reds would win wild card spots--and play each other in a single game win or go home situation. The Pirates have played well against the Cards, less well against the Reds--so far.
But the Pirates are as healthy as they've been in months, and if they can come out of their current home stand with only a few losses (and 2 of 3 from the Cubs so far is a great start) they can keep the pressure on, and vie for their first division win in a generation.
Meanwhile their center fielder Andrew McCutcheon is considered the frontrunner for the National League Most Valuable Player.
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