Neil Walker had four hits and drove in a career-high six runs, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Colorado Rockies 13-7 on Wednesday night at Coors Field, clinching the third consecutive postseason appearance for the Bucs.
Pirates clinch playoff spot for 3rd straight season
Pittsburgh last reached the postseason in three straight seasons from 1990-92.
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The big blow came in the third inning with a three-run home run for Walker, who also singled home two runs in the first inning and then singled home another run in the ninth.
Starling Marte had three hits, scored twice and drove in two in the win. Josh Harrison also had three hits and scored three runs.
Pittsburgh is the second team in baseball to clinch a playoff spot in 2015. The St. Louis Cardinals were the first team in baseball to clinch a playoff spot, doing so on Saturday.
The Pirates (92-60) are assured finishing ahead of both the San Francisco Giants (entered Wednesday 79-71) and the Washington Nationals (78-73), meaning at the absolute worst Pittsburgh would be in the National League Wild Card Game.
Pittsburgh still has sights on its first division title since 1992, and trails the Cardinals by four games in the National League Central with 10 games remaining. The Pirates lead the Chicago Cubs by three games for home field advantage in the National League Wild Card Game, to be played on Wednesday, Oct. 7 and televised by TBS.
Since the advent of two Wild Card teams in each league, the Pirates hosted the NL Wild Card Game both times, beating the Cincinnati Reds in 2013 and losing to the San Francisco Giants in 2014.
This is the third time in the 134-year history of the Pirates they have reached the postseason in three straight seasons, along with 1970-72 and 1990-92. After the 1992 NL East title, the Pirates suffered through 20 consecutive losing seasons before breaking through two years ago.
Since the start of the 2013 season, the Pirates’ 274 wins are second-most in baseball, trailing only their division-mate Cardinals (283 wins).
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