PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 07: Andrew McCutchen #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on in the dugout in the third inning during the National League Wild Card game against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on October 7, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen hopes that one day nobody has to experience the bitter defeat of a one-game playoff.
On the heels of another disappointing end to the season after losing the NL Wild Card, McCutchen expressed his disdain for the one-game format, which has been active since the 2012 season.
"Baseball's built for a series more than a one-game [Wild Card]," McCutchen said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "You don't ever see anywhere in the game of baseball where 30 teams play a team one time. Doesn't happen. I believe the reason behind that is because the game is so unpredictable you don't know what's going to happen."
While the Pirates have made the postseason in three consecutive seasons after a 21-year drought, they've fallen in the NL Wild Card game in back-to-back years, abruptly ending their season.
In both instances, Pittsburgh was shut out by a dominant performance from the opposing ace.
In 2014, eventual World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner struck out 10 and held the Pirates scoreless over nine frames in the San Francisco Giants' 8-0 victory.
This past season, Chicago Cubs ace and eventual NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta struck out 11 and didn't allow the Pirates to cross home plate for the entirety of the Cubs' 4-0 win.
McCutchen notes that a one-game playoff between two teams gives a lopsided advantage to starting pitching.
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