That's what confuses me. I think the Pirates are probably a better team than St. Louis, so I'd rather try to knock them out at once with Arrieta and deal with St. Louis in a longer series. Especially since the St. Louis SP are pretty interchangeable. Facing St. Louis in the Wild Card does maximize the odds of *getting to* the NLDS though, so maybe people just want to get there and let the cards fall as they may. Bingo. You neutralize the whole "Pittsburgh is better than St. Louis" thing by only facing them once, and with Arrieta on the mound. Get me that match-up for one game over five with them.