Pirates double-up Rockies, 6-3

DENVER On the night the Pittsburgh Pirates saw their magic number shrink to one with a 6-3 win against the Colorado Rockies, they were reminded what terror awaits should they settle for a third consecutive appearance in the National League wild-card game.

A thousand miles from Coors Field, Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta tossed a three-hit shutout for his league-leading 20th win. To avoid Arrieta, the Pirates will need to close the four-game gap between they and the first-place St. Louis Cardinals.

At 91-60, the Pirates own the second-best record in the majors and are 31 games over .500, tying a season-high. They are two games ahead of the Cubs for the top wild-card spot and home-field advantage in the Oct. 7 NL wild-card game.

The Pirates planned to gather as a team after the game Tuesday and decide whether they would remain in the clubhouse until the conclusion of the San Francisco Giants game in San Diego. A Giants loss would punch the Pirates’ ticket to the postseason.

The Pirates have reached the playoffs in three consecutive seasons only twice before, in 1970-72 and 1990-92. The past two years, they clinched a postseason berth on Sept. 23.

Before Tuesday’s game, manager Clint Hurdle was asked how he would reconcile wanting to enjoy clinching a playoff spot while staying laser-focused on catching the Cardinals. His reply: You don’t reconcile.

“Our job is to win the game today,” he said. “Things will figure themselves out. We’re not backing off on trying to win the division.”

Recently, Hurdle shared with the team the story of the 2007 Rockies, the team he managed that went on a 21-1 streak leading up to the World Series. That team was 61/2 games back with 14 games to play. The Pirates are four back with 12 to play.

“It’s not looking forward, and it’s not looking behind you,” Hurdle said. “Those are the two worst things you can do.”

On Tuesday, Josh Harrison and Starling Marte had two hits apiece, and Aramis Ramirez socked an RBI triple off the center-field wall before leaving in the fifth with left groin tightness.

The Pirates built an early lead for the second night in a row in the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field. They did so Tuesday with two-out rallies in each of the first four innings against Rockies left-hander Chris Rusin (5-9), who gave up eight hits and six runs in four innings.

Gregory Polanco, Michael Morse, Harrison and Ramirez each drove in a run with two outs, and Starling Marte did it twice to put the Pirates ahead, 6-3.

Marte’s second hit, a slow roller that clipped the third-base bag, scored Ramirez. On the previous play, Ramirez had blasted Rusin’s 1-1 curveball off the center-field wall. The 37-year-old third baseman rumbled around second without glancing at his third-base coach and slid in safely for his first triple this season, and just his second since the 2012 season.

Left-hander J.A. Happ, acquired at the trade deadline, wasn’t as sharp as he had been in his previous seven starts he was 5-1 with a 1.30 ERA over the stretch but few pitchers thrive here at Coors Field.

Happ (6-2) scattered seven hits and three runs over 5 1/3 innings, the first time he’d allowed more than two runs since Aug. 4, his Pirates debut. He served up a solo home run to Wilin Rosario in the second, and got nicked for two more on RBI singles from Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado in the third.

After the first two Rockies hitters in the fourth reached safely, Happ stranded them by getting a fly ball and two strikeouts to end the threat. For the last out, he fired six heaters, each at 94 or 95 mph, and got pinch-hitter Kyle Parker swinging at a full-count fastball.

Closer Mark Melancon, a native of nearby Wheat Ridge, Colo., pitched a scoreless ninth for his league-leading 49th save, extending his single-season club record.

Then, the Pirates filed into the visitor’s clubhouse at Coors Field and decided their next course of action: wait around for the Giants or save the carnival for later. They will face Arrieta and the Cubs this weekend before heading home to mount a last-chance run at the Cardinals.

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