The National League Wild Card game is about as pure as you can get: two teams with identical records, close to evenly matched on paper, fighting it out for the right to visit the nation’s capital. It may not match the back-and-forth excitement of last night’s crazy contest, but it should be a good game in its own right.
The Pirates finished the season as one of the hottest teams in baseball, while the Giants have struggled to find any kind of consistency over the past two months. All of that goes out the window tonight, though. Here are five things to look for in tonight’s winner take all matchup:
Can Edinson Volquez stay hot?
Volquez has been lights-out since the beginning of August, lowering his season ERA by nearly a run in that time frame. He gave up a grand total of four earned runs in September and has shockingly been the Pirates’ best starter down the stretch. Does he have enough magic left to get the Pirates to the NLDS? He faces a Giants team that is filled with guys who have faced him plenty in the past and have had good success against him. Plus the Giants have the advantage when it comes to postseason experience: their lineup is stacked with guys who have gone deep into the playoffs, while Volquez has one career postseason appearance and a 21.60 ERA to go with it. Will that matter tonight? If the Volquez from the last two months shows up, the Pirates are going to be tough to beat.
Can the Brandons carry the Giants’ offense?
The Brandons- Belt and Crawford- are extremely important to a Giants offense that has been decimated by injury. Crawford gives them a threat at the bottom of their lineup and he has been on fire in September, posting a .365/.388/.541 line to go with 16 RBI. That’s an impressive number from an eighth-place hitter and the Giants would surely take a big hit from him tonight. As for Belt, his season has been wrecked by one injury after another but he seems to have finally shaken off the rust from post-concussion symptoms. A healthy, hitting Belt gives the Giants not only another threat in the middle of the order but a longer, more dangerous lineup as a whole. They’ll need that tonight.
Will Russell Martin play and be effective?
A balky hamstring bothered Martin enough to keep him out of the Pirates’ last game of the year when they still had a chance to win their division. He’s said he’ll play tonight, but will the hamstring both behind and at the plate? The Giants don’t have a whole lot of speed to test him with, but they do have a few guys who can steal a base if given the chance. It’ll be interesting to see if the Giants take shots at him early on the base paths. Martin is an important part of Pittsburgh’s lineup and handles their pitching staff extremely well. It’ll be a big blow to them if he’s less than 100% and can’t play up to his standards.
Will Hunter Pence deliver more than just a speech?
Pence has earned the nickname “The Reverend” because of the fiery speeches he’s known to give, but speeches aren’t going to get hits and drive in runs tonight. Pence has been flat-out terrible over the past month to the tune of .165/.240/.231 after carrying the Giants’ offense for much of the summer. Slumps go out the window once the postseason starts, as evidenced by Brandon Moss’s two home runs last night, and the Giants hope that holds true for Pence. They simply need more from their right fielder at the plate if they hope to advance to face Washington.
Which bullpen will make the difference?
Both teams have effective bullpens, with the Pirates probably holding a slight edge at closer while the Giants may have the advantage in overall depth. Neither team wants to get into their ‘pens early, but what happens in the late innings will probably decide who advances and who goes hime. Will the Pirates use Mark Melancon to get more than three outs? Will the Giants use rookie fireballer Hunter Strickland in a high-leverage situation? Will Tim Lincecum somehow make an impact (if he’s even on the roster)? Bruce Bochy and Clint Hurdle have their work cut out for them.
