The Pirates (98-64) locked up the right to host the Chicago Cubs (97-65) Wednesday night in a winner-take-all playoff, with a victory on the final day of the regular season.
Despite having the second-best record in the major leagues, the Pirates finished second to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. Pittsburgh will host the wild-card game for the third straight year after beating Cincinnati in 2013 and losing to the San Francisco Giants last season.
The Pirates had 20 straight losing seasons, the longest streak in major North American professional sports history, before their current run of postseason appearances.