The National League playoffs will begin on Tuesday night when the surprising Pittsburgh Pirates host the Cincinnati Reds in the one-game, winner-take-all Wild Card playoff. The winner of the game between the two Central Division teams will get the opportunity to face the team that won their division, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Over the last 10 days of the regular season the Pirates and the Reds played each other six times, with the Pirates winning 4 of the games, so the two teams are quite familiar with each other. With little more than home field advantage for tonight's game at stake during their last series both teams were able to set up their pitching rotations for tonight as the staff aces, Johnny Cueto for the Reds and Francisco Liriano, will be on the mound.
These two teams have played each other 19 times this season with the Pirates coming out on top 11 of times. Much has been said about the rivalry between the Reds and the Cardinals but make no mistake, the Pirates and Reds are not fond of each other. In the 19 games they played a whopping 28 batters have been hit by pitches; more than in any other rivalry this season, according to MLB.com.
Here are five things that could be the difference in tonight's game.
1. A raucous home crowd
The Pirates haven't hosted a playoff game since game 5 of the 1992 NLCS; three days before former-Pirate Sid Bream would break their heart with his slide past Mike LaValliere in the last playoff game played by the Pirates.
The Pirates have been fantastic at PNC Park this year and manager Clint Hurdle told MLB.com about the importance of playing the game in their own park.
"The important part to me is getting these guys home and playing in a park where they won 50 games, and giving our fans postseason baseball," Hurdle said. "That's significant.
2. Cueto loves pitching in Pittsburgh
Johnny Cueto spent a significant amount of time on the disabled list this year and it was uncertain whether or not he would even be pitching in the playoffs. In two September starts to after returning from the injury Cueto only gave up one run in 12 innings, according to ESPN.
The more important stat may be that Cueto has taken the mound twice at PNC Park this year and has a 1-0 record with a 0.73 ERA to show for it.
3. The Reds lefties vs. Francisco Liriano
Much of the reason that Hurdle gave the nod to Liriano for this game is the way that he is able to dominate left handed hitters. Liriano has not given up a home run to a left handed hitter this season as southpaws were only able to put up a paltry .131 batting average against the starter, according to ESPN.
Three of the best hitters on Cincinnati - Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Shin-Soo Choo - bat left-handed. Historically Votto and Bruce have been able to hit lefties while Choo struggles mightily. Shutting those three bats down could be the key to a pirates victory, ESPN reports.
4. The speed of Billy Hamilton
The Reds have decided to keep outfielder Billy Hamilton on their roster for the postseason. While Hamilton may have flaws in many aspects of his game there is one thing he can do better than anyone in the league, run. Hamilton is 13 for 14 in stolen base attempts this year and has shown blazing speed that practically no one else can compete with. Look for manager Dusty Baker to use him in a pinch running situation late in the game.
5. Who can finish the game?
The Pirates spent much of the first half of the season winning games thanks to Jason Grilli and Mark Melancon slamming the door on opponents in the late innings. Grilli ended up missing six weeks with a forearm injury but was able to return in September where he picked up right where he left off, according to ESPN.
Of course, the Reds have a formidable closer themselves with Cuban fireballer Aroldis Chapman. Chapman struck out 112 hitters in 63.2 innings this season while often hitting triple digits on the speed gun. If either team gets a late lead chances are they are holding on to it.
*Stats used in this article provided by MLB.com.