"A fun game. I think that's what we're proudest about, that we battled, kept grinding," said Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer. "We did a lot of good things, the sort of things you have to do in the postseason, and put ourselves into a good situation."
"This is what you play for," said A.J. Burnett, still able to feel the tingle near the end of his 17th and final season. "The Cubs are in town, it's exciting."
Unless the current order changes in the regular season's 17 remaining games -- the Pirates slipped to four games behind the National League Central-leading Cardinals, while seeing their Wild Card lead over the Cubs trimmed to three -- this was a teaser for the NL Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser, in three weeks to the day.