Worth noting

By Tom Singer

September 27, 2013

• Postseason home-field advantage? Last October, home teams went 7-12 in National League playoff series -- including the loss by Wild Card host Atlanta.

In the Division Series era (since 1995), home teams in NL win-or-go home games stand 5-9. The most surprising aspect of that stat, actually, is that of 54 series, only 14 went down to a decisive game.

• Hurdle said he and his staff had drawn up three possible starting rotations for this season-ending three-game series, and settled on A.J. Burnett, Charlie Morton and, if needed, Cole.

• Starling Marte is the third Pirates player ever with more than 25 doubles (he has 26), 10 triples, 12 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season. Most impressively, the two predecessors played in a bygone era: Jake Stenzel in 1894 and Kiki Cuyler in 1925.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog Change for a Nickel. He can also be found on Twitter @Tom_Singer.