The 1992 NLCS ended in heartbreaking fashion for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Leading 2-0 in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7, Doug Drabek loaded the bases with none out. Stan Belinda got Ron Gant to hit into a sac fly to make it 2-1, and after a walk kept the bases loaded, Brian Hunter popped up for out number two. Then, Francisco Cabrera singled to left to score David Justice and Sid Bream, shattering the hopes and dreams of Pirates fans everywhere.
The Pirates wouldn’t make the playoffs again until last season, when they defeated the Reds in the NL Wild Card game and took the eventual NL champion Cardinals to five games in the NLDS.
Check out this infographic about Bream’s famous slide (click to enlarge).
Pittsburgh hasn’t been back to the NLCS since. They’re looking to put that unfortunate history behind them in 2014, but to advance into the NLDS on Fox Sports 1, they’ll need to win a Wild Card playoff game at PNC Park for the second straight year. This year, they’ll be battling the San Francisco Giants and ace Madison Bumgarner. It certainly is a tall order.
But Pittsburgh can do this, even with Edinson Volquez on the hill. Just look at what happened last night in Kansas City – the A’s took an early 2-0 lead, the Royals stormed back to lead 3-2, Ned Yost managed Kansas City into a 7-3 hole, and they scraped and clawed their way to a 9-8, 12 inning victory. The Giants may have the better starter, but strange things can happen in the playoffs. Remember in 2012, when Joe Saunders and the Orioles went into Arlington and beat Yu Darvish and the Rangers?
Getting back to the NLCS will be a tall order, because if the Pirates get by the Giants, they have the NL East champion Washington Nationals ahead of them. Miracles can happen, and sooner rather than later, the Pirates will make a deep Postseason run and gain the full-fledged support of the city of Pittsburgh.
