NL Wild Card Standings: Pirates facing final chance to climb back into race despite slim odds

What was supposed to be a joyous month filled with dream-like additions at the trade deadline has turned into a nightmare for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as their once-solid grip on the Wild Card race in the National League has slipped to "barely hanging on by a thread." Heading into the final weekend of August, the Bucs have mustered a 10-14 record thus far.

There's a lot of blame to go around, especially within an offensive group that has completely collapsed following a terrific showing in the first half. They've now slid to five games below .500, putting them 7.5 games below the Padres for the third and final Wild Card while staring up at three others teams also hanging on the periphery of the playoff picture.

And yet, despite precipitously falling playoff odds and unfavorable power rankings placements, the Pirates aren't dead in the water just yet. Their upcoming schedule, which includes a trip to St. Louis this weekend, gives them a prime opportunity to jump the team directly ahead of them in the standings, and they'll begin September with a pair of incredibly soft matchups against the Giants and Angels.

Pirates' disappointing August performance can be salvaged by taking advantage of favorable September schedule

The only tough part of the schedule still remaining comes in mid-September, when the Pirates will draw the three best teams in the AL and NL Central divisions — the White Sox, Cubs, and Brewers — in consecutive three-game series. That's certainly not an appetizing slate, but as they say, to be the best, you have to beat the best.

On either side of that nine-game stretch, there are some favorable series scheduled at home, including the aforementioned Angels one. The Royals (who have gotten surprisingly hot recently) will follow the Brewers, before the Pirates once again draw the Cardinals (this time at home) in the final week of the season. They'll wrap up the regular season by traveling to Detroit for three games against the Tigers.

So, to really understand what the Bucs are up against, let's lay out their remaining schedule like this:

1. Six games (two series) against Cardinals | Opponent one game below .500
2. Nine games (three series) against White Sox, Cubs, Brewers | Opponents 56 games above .500
3. 12 games (four series) against Giants, Angels, Royals, Tigers | Opponents 82 games below .500

It's clear that those series against the Redbirds will be absolutely crucial, since the Pirates not only have to jump them in the standings, but also have three other series they won't be favored to win. Split or lose both against them, and we'll be looking at an otherwise unfavorable schedule the rest of the way. Winning against their NL Central rivals, however, will set them up for an improbable comeback in the Wild Card race.

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