The difference in where the Pirates had been recently and where they are now was illustrated in Tuesday’s sixth inning, when Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon made a pitching change.
Lefty Travis Wood entered, faced one batter – lefty Matt Joyce – and struck him out. Maddon came right back to the mound to pull Wood in favor of righty Trevor Cahill to face Sean Rodriguez.
The Cubs didn’t need the 6-4 victory against the Pirates at PNC Park. They’ve clinched home-field advantage through the NLCS. But Maddon is preparing his team for the postseason, deploying his relievers situationally, mixing and matching his regulars, pitching his starters.