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The 2015 National League Wild Card Game was a play-in game during Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2015 postseason played between the National League's (NL) two wild card teams, the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates. In MLB, the two teams with the best record in each league who do not win a division play against each other in the Wild Card Game.
The game was held at Pittsburgh's PNC Park on October 7, 2015. This was the third consecutive year that the NL Wild Card Game was played in Pittsburgh. This was the third consecutive postseason appearance for the Pirates, all of which came as a wild card qualifier, while the Cubs made the postseason for the first time since 2008. This was the first postseason meeting between the Cubs and the Pirates.
The Pirates and Cubs had finished with the second and third-best records in all of baseball during the 2015 season, with 98 and 97 wins respectively. However, since they were in the same division as the 100-win St. Louis Cardinals, they were slotted into the wild card game.
Box score & recap
Chicago's Jake Arrieta pitched a complete game, striking out eleven batters while allowing only five hits. The Cubs were paced offensively by Dexter Fowler and Kyle Schwarber, both combining for five hits in seven at bats, each with a home run. Pittsburgh starter Gerrit Cole gave up two home runs in a game for the first time in that season. Cole lasted five innings, striking out four. For the first time in 12 years, the Chicago Cubs won a postseason game and went on to play the St. Louis Cardinals in the Division Series.