Pirates' Gerrit Cole undaunted by Cubs challenge

PITTSBURGH -- Go ahead, keep talking about Jake Arrieta and his historic second half.

Keep dreaming about the Chicago Cubs' magical season and their quest to break that 107-year curse.

It might surprise the folks watching back home or everyone who lives within 100 miles of Wrigleyville, but there happens to be another stud pitcher taking the mound Wednesday in the National League wild-card game.

His name is Gerrit Cole, and the Pittsburgh Pirates have every bit of confidence that Cole will shut down the Cubs, just as the Cubs think Arrieta's dominance will continue.

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"He's the most competitive guy that I've ever been around," Pirates second baseman Neil Walker said of Cole. "Having watched him, he loves being the guy that has the ball in his hand in a big situation.

"He expects a lot out of himself."

Let's be honest, Cole fully expects to win and be packing his bags for St. Louis, where the Pirates would face the Cardinals in the NL Division Series.

Cole might have just turned 25, but he hardly lacks for confidence.

This is the same guy who was drafted out of high school in the first round by the New York Yankees. The Yankees were prepared to offer him about $3 million, but Cole passed, wanting to go to college and thinking he'd be worth even more in three years. He was the first pitcher in seven years drafted in the first round who didn't sign.

Three years later, pitching for UCLA, he was the No. 1 pick in the country, receiving a franchise-record signing bonus of $8 million and proving to be worth every penny. He is 40-20 in his career, winning more games since his debut than every NL pitcher but Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Madison Bumgarner.

"He respects everything about the game, and he fears absolutely nothing about the game," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.

That means facing Arrieta and the Cubs.

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Why, ever since the Pirates mapped out this scenario by skipping Cole's start in early September, he has envisioned this moment.

Cole, in his last four starts, faced the Cubs twice, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cardinals. He went 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA, yielding just 25 baserunners in 271/3 innings, ensuring the Pirates would at least win home-field advantage for the wild-card game.

"He doesn't want to be the No. 1 guy," Pirates catcher Chris Stewart told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week. "He wants to be one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game."

Now, pitching the biggest game of his life, in his first postseason game at PNC Park, Cole is embracing the moment, thinking he can match Arrieta pitch for pitch and inning for inning.

"I feel like when you're in these situations, you want to face the best," Cole said. "You work so hard to put yourself in position to have these opportunities, and it doesn't feel any better than going up against the best."

Yes, and let's face it, he's going up against the hottest pitcher on the planet. Arrieta (22-6, 1.77 ERA) has gone 16-1 with a 0.86 ERA in his last 20 starts, striking out 147 and walking 27 in 147 innings. Since the All-Star break, he has yielded a record-low 0.75 ERA, and he has a mind-boggling 0.41 ERA since August.

No pitcher in the history of baseball has ever had a better second half, and no one is pitching these days with more confidence.

"I feel confident that I can neutralize a lot of their power, a lot of their speed guys with different sequences," Arrieta said.

"You know, I intend to have some good success (Wednesday)."

Arrieta has even been toying with Pirates fans since his arrival into town, taunting those on Twitter who think the crowd noise will unnerve him. He felt no need to remind them of his 3-1 record and 0.75 ERA against the Pirates this year, but he did plead with them to make PNC Park as noisy as possible.

"Bring out all the reinforcements. I need it loud."

"Whatever helps keep your hope alive, just know, it doesn't matter.

"It's all in good fun," Arrieta said. "I don't mean anything negative towards anybody. Just, it's kind of the buildup to the game."

Just try to pretend the Pirates' sold-out crowd, wearing all black, standing and screaming from the top of their lungs for nine innings, Cole said, smirking, won't make a difference. Ask Johnny Cueto, who became unglued on the mound two years ago, when he started for the Cincinnati Reds in their wild-card game at PNC Park.

"It's an advantage for sure," Cole said, "especially when you have fans that can make noise like these ones can. It can rattle some people. That's no joke. I think we saw that a couple years ago."

Maybe the atmosphere won't rattle Arrieta or his young teammates, Cole says, but he thinks it will only fuel him, knowing he has the chance to knock off the king of the hill, with the baseball world watching. Cole has a career 7-1 record in nine starts against the Cubs, including 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA in four starts this year.

"The key for Cole is not to get too fired up just because he's facing Arrieta," said Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart, who dominated Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens as an Oakland Athletic, going 8-0 with a 1.80 ERA. "You've got to stay calm. You've got to stay focused. The good ones control their emotions. If you don't, that can be your biggest enemy.

"When I pitched against him, I was just determined that when the last out came I would be the one standing on the mound."

Cole plans on being that guy Wednesday, and if you listen to his teammates, they're convinced the baseball world could soon be talking about another pitcher besides Arrieta who can suffocate an offense and prematurely terminate a team's season.

"The Cubs have been the hype all year," Pirates All-Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen said. "They haven't been winning a whole lot, and now they've opened a lot of eyes. It's, 'Let's talk about the Cubs.'

"They're the new team now. It's all about the hype. It's all about Kris Bryant, who just got there. It's all about (Kyle) Schwarber, who just got here. It's all about what's new. Honestly, that's all the media cares about, is what's new. And now, all eyes are on Arrieta. Not necessarily the Cubs, but Arrieta.

"So (Cole) is just sitting back and chilling, you know. He can be that snake in the tall grass. He can hopefully be able to look back and own the 'W.'

"I look forward to him going out and really doing well."

If you know Cole's fiery demeanor, you can count on it.

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