It looks like an old fashioned, Old West Wild Card Duel.
Jake Arrieta against Gerrit Cole on October 7, 2015 in the wild card game.
Arrieta has faced the Pirates 5 times this season. His record is 3-1.
Over 36 IP, he has allowd 18 H, 3 ER, 8 BB, 33 K for a 0.722 WHIP.
Cole has faced the Cubs 4 times this season. His record is 2-1.
Over 25.1 IP, Cole has allowed 20 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 32 for a 0.947 WHIP.
Arrieta has an ERA against the Pirates of 0.75.
Cole has an ERA against the Cubs of 2.13 ERA.
Arrieta has walked more Pirates per game than Cole.
Cole has more strikeouts per game than Arrieta.
But based on the metrics, Arrieta seems to have an advantage in the Wild Card game over Cole.
But there are variables in play. Arrieta has been getting better as the season has progressed. The home plate umpire and the unpredictable strike zone can either help or hurt the pitcher. And it may come down to defense. Depending on Maddon's choices, Pirates would have an advantage in defensive WAR.
The Cubs-Pirates Wild Card game clearly is going to be a low scoring, old school pitcher's duel.
