The combatants may want to downplay it, but the rivalry between the Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates seems to get taken up a notch or two every time the two teams face off.
When speaking with some Pittsburgh players in the visitors’ clubhouse prior to Saturday’s game, most seemed to suggest that playing the Cubs was no different than playing anyone else in the division.
The most anyone could muster was Sunday’s starter Gerrit Cole saying the Pirates “certainly don’t take losing lightly.”
Asked if there was any “distaste” between the two teams, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said he definitely wouldn’t use that word to describe the feeling.