An intense, budding rivalry begins anew for Cubs, Pirates

2:28 AM ET

PITTSBURGH — Two National League powerhouse teams meet this week for the first time since last year’s NL wild-card game, and though the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals have a long history to their rivalry, the Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates have some budding nastiness to theirs.

It was October when the teams met in the most intense game of the year, with the Cubs coming out on top 4-0 behind Jake Arrieta’s complete game — but not before tempers flared when Pirates pitcher Tony Watson plunked Arrieta in the seventh inning, not long after the Cubs star got out of the biggest jam of the night with an inning-ending double play.

Watson’s first pitch to Arrieta seemed intentional. There were two outs and no one on base, and Arrieta had just hit his second Pirate of the night. The benches cleared, David Ross and Sean Rodriguez made contact, and the Rodriguez took his frustrations out on a water cooler back in the dugout.

Tensions flared between the Cubs and Pirates when the two clubs met during the NL wild-card game. Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

Rodriguez’s anger mimicked that of the hitters in the lineup that night against Arrieta. Arrieta couldn’t be solved in the second half of last year, and that game was no different, though his postgame comments might have foreshadowed what was to come for the eventual Cy Young …

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