The Latest Breaking News from Pirates

PITTSBURGH — I will be headed to Acrisure Stadium on Sunday to cover the Bucs against the Steelers for the Post-Gazette, and here is what I plan to bring: A computer, a tablet, my credential ... and a big towel for Steelers fans and even some media members to cry…

There are six games on the schedule in which both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25. In four of those games, both teams are undefeated.

Who will come out on top between No. 3 St. Louis and No. 6 Philadelphia? Let’s break down the deciding factors in Friday’s first NL Wild Card Series matchup.

PITTSBURGH — Prior to Wednesday’s season finale, which turned out to be a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Pirates manager Derek Shelton admitted that he gets frustrated too, sometimes.

PITTSBURGH — Whatever happened later in the game to decide who had the more runs, the Cardinals had at least a gulp of concern for who was lost from the game.

PITTSBURGH — It’s still possible the Pirates will lose 100 games this season, but they aren’t going quietly into that good night.

Sunday in St. Louis had a festive feel and was supposed to be about a coronation of Cardinals stars, the formal feting of Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina in their final regular-season home game.

What Luis Ortiz had done to this point felt like finding a $20 bill in your back pocket.

PITTSBURGH — Rob Shelling's vast collection of baseball bats is enough to make any memorabilia junkie drool with jealousy. There's one Babe Ruth swung while cracking a home run in the first MLB All-Star Game in 1933. Another Joe DiMaggio used during his 56-game hitting streak eight years later.