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Chicago Cubs: When the Pirates fans tried to use home field advantage to get into the Cy Young winner’s head, he assured everyone it wouldn’t matter

10.7.15. The first postseason game for the Cubs since 2008 would take place at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Despite winning 97 games that year, the Cubs would have to face the division rival Pirates in the one-and-done NL Wild Card game. Jake Arrieta against Gerrit Cole.

PNC Park was “blacked out” with some splotches of Cubs blue in the stands. The Pirates faithful were loud and proud in the pregame as they wanted to give their team as much of an advantage as possible. Arrieta and the Cubs were not phased and quickly turned the cheers into silence.

Arrieta got an early 1-0 lead before taking the mound thanks to an RBI single by Kyle Schwarber, scoring Dexter Fowler two batters in. Schwarber’s next trip to the dish in the top of the third ended with him hitting a titanic two-run blast completely out of the ballpark and into the Allegheny River. Fowler added a solo homer in the fifth to make it 4-0 Cubs. As for Arrieta, he would go on to pitch a complete game, five-hit shutout. He struck out 11 batters and walked none.

The Pirates hitters were flustered all night, and even a bases-loaded threat in the sixth inning did not phase Arrieta. Nor was he phased by getting thrown at, resulting in a benches-clearing situation, in the seventh. (RIP Pirates Gatorade cooler) Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli lined out to Starlin Castro for the 27th out, as Arrieta and the Cubs mobbed each other on the field.

Ironically, this would be the final MLB game in the career for former Cubs All-Star Aramis Ramirez, who finished his career with the Pirates, the same team that traded him to the Cubs in 2003.

This was the Cubs’ first postseason win since 2003.