The only thing that exploded more than Twitter following Jerry Meals' dubious call in the bottom of the 19th were the ratings the game received on Root Sports Pittsburgh.
↵The game began with a 7.0 rating at 7 p.m., meaning roughly seven percent of televisions had the game on. That is a nice increase from the average of 4.52. By 10:30 p.m., it had swelled to 14.5. To put that in perspective, the Penguins average between a 14 and 16 rating for first-round playoff games.
↵Perhaps the most astonishing stat of all is that the game still had a 7.8 rating when it concluded shortly before 2 a.m. These do not even count those who were watching the games on packages such as Extra Innings and MLB.TV.
↵This certainly has been a great year for Root Sports. After the Penguins drew the highest local ratings for a NHL team, the Pirates are seeing a 33% increase in 2011. It is a true sign that shows just how much "Bucco Fever" has swept through the city and has fans locked in on the team's first pennant race in almost two decades.