Trying to predict the outcome of any one baseball game is a silly idea, underscoring how unfair it seems for two of the very best clubs in MLB in 2015 to be reduced to a one-game play-in scenario while inferior teams around the country prep for best-of-five division series. But Wednesday’s matchup between the Cubs and Pirates in Pittsburgh in the NL Wild Card game has all the makings of a classic.

Here are five things to watch in the NL Wild Card game:

1. Awesome baseball

Again, it’s probably not fair. But the Cubs’ and Pirates’ shared misfortune in playing in a division with the St. Louis Cardinals at least pays off in the form of serious drama for this Wild Card game. Here’s a pair of great teams and division rivals squaring off behind a pair of bona fide aces at arguably the nicest park in baseball, playing for the right to face yet another great team and division rival in the NLDS. Anything can happen in the course of nine innings, and the Wild Card game could well end up a snoozefest. But everything about the matchup is exciting as heck.

2. The Pirates’ running game

The stolen base might be something of a dying art in today’s baseball landscape, but the Pirates have a bunch of guys who can swipe a bag or two. And given how difficult it is to get anyone at all on base against Cubs starter Jake Arrieta, the Pirates might try to make the most of their opportunities by getting aggressive on the bases. Arrieta is hardly Jon Lester, but he allowed 27 stolen bases in 33 attempts while on the mound, and none of the Cubs catchers threw out more than the league-average 28% of baserunners.

For that matter, though: The Cubs stole only three fewer bases than the Pirates in the regular season, and Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli allowed 17 more stolen bases than any other catcher in the Majors in 2015. But likely Cubs starter Miguel Montero would be right there with Cervelli if he played as many games.

3. Strikeouts

The Cubs can hit, but they strike out a ton — more than any other big-league team in 2015 by a wide margin. And Pirates starter Gerrit Cole seems apt to miss some bats. Especially against strikeout-prone Cubs like Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Dexter Fowler, Cole could find a way to kill some rallies with whiffs. And Cole doesn’t walk many batters, neutralizing one important facet of Chicago’s patient offense.

4. Jake Arrieta’s complete dominance

From the start of August to the end of the regular season, Arrieta went 11-0 with a 0.41 ERA across 88 1/3 innings. If Arrieta can keep his run of ridiculous pitching alive in Pittsburgh, the Cubs may only need one run off Cole to pull out a victory. Arrieta just finished perhaps the best half-season of pitching in baseball history. If you’re looking for the top candidate to be “This year’s Madison Bumgarner” — in that such a thing could ever exist — it has got to be the Cubs’ right-hander.

5. Some guy claiming he’s Joe Blanton

A couple years ago, a veteran big-league innings eater named Joe Blanton came to the end of the line while pitching for the Los Angeles Angels, yielding a 6.04 ERA in 132 2/3 innings with an unfortunate 2-14 record. In 2015, some studly and fit righty reliever apparently stole Joe Blanton’s identity and used it to come storming into the Pirates’ bullpen. Now this guy who claims to be Joe Blanton has a 1.57 ERA and 39 strikeouts against only five unintentional walks in 34 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh.

I kid, obviously, and presumably the Pirates would be best served with Cole pitching well enough to skip over their middle-innings relief corps entirely. But Blanton’s success in Pittsburgh underscores the excellent work GM Neil Huntington and pitching coach Ray Searage have done with reclamation projects in the recent past. And because of guys like Blanton, the Pirates’ bullpen looks a good bit longer than the Cubs’. If Arrieta and Cole match zeroes and the game goes into extra innings, Pittsburgh should have the advantage.