Francisco Liriano has been the best pitcher in the rotation for the Pirates’ this season. He now has the opportunity to send Pittsburgh back to NLDS. Liriano has been making hitters look foolish the whole season, by holding the opposition to a .224 average and left-handed batters can’t touch him with them only managing a .131 average. He loves to pitch at home, where he has an 8-1 mark with an ERA of 1.47. The southpaw handles pressure well by limiting teams to a .233 average with runners in scoring position and two outs. He has faced Cincinnati four times this season and his holding them to a .193 batting average.

By Chris Lacey (Lead Baseball Columnist/Minority Website Owner) Follow @aecanada12

The National League Central has been the most exciting division to watch in baseball this season. There were three teams each with their own strengths and weaknesses vying for one spot.

It was expected that it would take up to the final weekend in baseball to determine the winner of this division. The St.Louis Cardinals just recently wrapped up the division title and are now focusing on trying to finish the season with the best record in the NL.

Pittsburgh Pirates: 2013 Highlights – Parental Guidance Is Advised

Andrew McCutchen has been the best hitter for Pittsburgh in this very special season for them. He is an MVP candidate for the club and plays the outfield with Gold Glove caliber defense. He is hitting .317 on the season with 21 HRs and has 296 Total Bases. He is first in the NL with an Offensive WAR of 7.3.

The Cardinals currently lead the Atlanta Braves by one game for the best record in the senior circuit and there is only one game left in the season. St.Louis and Atlanta are two of the best teams at home in the NL with them winning 53 and 55 games at home respectively.

The chance for one of the teams to have home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs would be instrumental in them going to the World Series. If St.Louis ends up with the best record, they will face the winner of the Wild Card game.

The other two teams in the Central being the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds are still alive in the playoff chase. These two teams have already locked up playoff spots, but the only unknown is which team would host the Wild Card game.

The Pirates cleared that up by taking the first two games against the Reds this weekend on the road at Great American Ball Park. This means that for the first time since 1992, playoff baseball is returning to Pittsburgh.

This is great for a Pirates’ team that has won 50 games at home this season and has waited a long time for this to happen.

The match up for the winner take all game is Francisco Liriano on the mound for Pittsburgh and Johnny Cueto pitches for the Reds.

Liriano was the gamble that paid off greatly for Pittsburgh, as he has been the best starting pitcher in the rotation for them. He has done just about everything that Pittsburgh has asked of him and then some.

He seems to have rejuvenated his career with the Pirates and is the dominating pitcher we saw years ago with the Minnesota Twins. The other important thing is at home, it’s nearly impossible to beat him.

The southpaw is 8-1 at home in 11 starts with a 1.47 ERA and has only allowed two homers at PNC Park.

For the Reds Cueto has also been great, but the only problem is that he has only made 11 starts on the season. He’s dealt with numerous trips to the disabled list this season because of a strained lat muscle.

That seems to be a thing of the past with him throwing 13 innings over his last two starts and only giving up one earned run. The Reds need him at his best in this start with their season on the line.

A problem for Dusty Baker’s crew has been playing well on the road, as they are just 41-41 away from Great American Ball Park. This is a stark contrast from their record at home, where they are 49-30.

The team that does win this game will start the postseason on the road. It’s very possible that the winner could end up facing the St.Louis Cardinals, as if they didn’t see enough of them during the regular season.

The Cardinals went 11-8 against the Reds, but against Pittsburgh they had some issues with a 9-10 record. The way the St.Louis is playing right now, it probably would not matter what team they face.

There are some key players for both teams in the Wild Card game that could help their team emerge victorious. For the Pirates, it all starts with their MVP candidate in outfielder Andrew McCutchen.

He is hitting .317 with 20 HRs and 83 RBIs to include him stealing 27 bases. He is what makes their offense go and they will need him to have good game.

There is another player that could help the Pirates win and this is Pedro Alvarez. He won’t win any batting titles with his .231 average, but makes up for it by the power he displays. He has hit 36 HRs to include 100 RBIs and can be a difference maker with one swing.

For the Reds, they also have a player that can provide some thunder with his bat and that would be Jay Bruce. Bruce has hit 30 HRs with 107 RBIs, but the only drawback are his 182 strikeouts.

The other player that can have an impact in a different way is Billy Hamilton. Hamilton has a talent and he uses it very well. The youngster knows how to use his speed to his advantage. He has already swiped 13 bases while only being caught once.

This should be a great game and it will be good for the fans of Pittsburgh to have playoff baseball back in their city.

Johnny Cueto has not been on the mound much this season with him only making 11 starts in the Reds’ rotation this season. However he has only given up more than three runs once this season. Cincinnati will need a good performance from him if they are to advance past this game. Cueto has thrown 60.2 innings this season with a 2.82 ERA and a WHIP of 1.05. The right-hander is holding the opposition to a .209 average, with right-handed batters hitting .213 against him. He is great with runners in scoring position by just allowing teams to have a .219 average in this situation. When there are two outs and runners in scoring position, opposing teams can only muster a .176 average against him.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views      of mlbreports.com or their partners.***

A big thank-you goes out to our ”Lead Baseball Columnist and Minority Website Owner” Chris Lacey. Chris has been a fan of watching baseball since the age of 13. Now he does like all sports – but his favorites after baseball are hockey and basketball. 

Chris is very good with computers and is a college graduate.  

Chris is very active on Twitter and especially during the baseball season chatting with other Diamondbacks fans. Be sure to follow him and talk about the great game of baseball. Chris is addicted to writing baseball. 

Check out his work for rantsports.com here, for baseballhotcorner.com here, for venom strikes here and if you can believe it – fanrag.com here

Follow @aecanada12

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