At 2:20 PM on Friday, the Pittsburgh Pirates will kick off the second half of their 2019 schedule. The Pirates woke up on Friday morning owning a 44-45 record. Despite being a sub-.500 team right now, the Pirates are jsut 2.5 games out of first place in the National League Central, as well as 2.5 games out of the second NL Wild Card spot.
This weekend the Pirates will begin their final 73 games with a crucial three-game series at Wrigley Field against the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs. With a series sweep this weekend, depending on what the Milwaukee Brewers do, the Pirates could pole vault into first place in the division.