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5 reasons the Pittsburgh Pirates will win the World Series in 2015

By Connor Muldowney

Aug 16, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Joakim Soria (38) and catcher Chris Stewart (19) celebrate after defeating the New York Mets at Citi Field. The Pirates defeated the Mets 8-1. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 16, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Joakim Soria (38) and catcher Chris Stewart (19) celebrate after defeating the New York Mets at Citi Field. The Pirates defeated the Mets 8-1. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 15, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Starling Marte (6) and center fielder Andrew McCutchen (22) and right fielder Gregory Polanco (25) celebrate the win after the fourteenth inning of the game against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 15, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Starling Marte (6) and center fielder Andrew McCutchen (22) and right fielder Gregory Polanco (25) celebrate the win after the fourteenth inning of the game against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports /

Momentum

To say Pittsburgh has momentum going into the stretch run is an understatement. The Pirates have been absolutely on fire for the past three months and, like I stated before, have torn through the league since the start of June.

Guys like Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole have been unstoppable for this team, and it seems as if no one can slow down the Pirates.

Since the All-Star break, the Pirates are 19-12 with a .273 batting average, .441 slugging percentage and .334 on-base percentage. The team ERA is the only category in which the Pirates have struggled, posting a 4.4 mark since mid-July, but that will fix itself as the staff gets over its minor slump.

There’s a reason that teams love getting hot later on in the year, and it’s because they carry that momentum into the postseason.

More often than not, the team that wins the World Series every year heads into October with a hot streak going, and then just keeps on rolling to the title.

Take last year’s Kansas City Royals for example. Although they didn’t win the World Series, they got hot at the end of the season, almost stole the division title from the Tigers, won the wild card, blew through the first two rounds and nearly beat the Giants for the crown.

Getting hot at the right time should not be overlooked.

Next: 3. Gerrit Cole

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