The Pittsburgh Pirates can't alter the course of history by traveling back in time to the first night of October, when the San Francisco Giants rolled to a wild-card win at PNC Park that started their march to a third World Series title in five years. As the champs return, the Pirates can take a big step toward ensuring they won't see the Giants in another one-game playoff. Pittsburgh will try to put some distance between itself and third-place San Francisco as this four-game series gets underway Thursday night.