MLB Wild Card: Pittsburgh Pirates Vs. San Francisco Giants Game Time, TV/Radio & Preview
By Larry Snyder
For the second consecutive season, the Pittsburgh Pirates are hosting the winner-take-all National League Wild Card Game tonight as they take on the San Francisco Giants. Both teams finished the regular-season with 88-74 records.
The last time these two teams met on the diamond in the postseason was 1971 and some of the names on the lineup cards included Willie Mays and Willie McCovey for the Giants and Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell for the Bucs.
Tonight the Giants bring the longest postseason winning streak in franchise history to the North Shore as they have won seven straight playoff contests. Meanwhile, the Jolly Roger crew went 51-30 this season at home, which tied them with the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals for the best such record in the NL.
When: Wednesday, Oct. 1
First Pitch: 8:07 p.m. ET
Site: PNC Park
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
Regular Season Series: Pirates lead 4-2
Television Coverage: ESPN
Announcers: Dan Shulman, John Kruk and Buster Olney
National Radio Coverage: ESPN Radio
Announcers: Dave O’Brien and Aaron Boone
Pirates Radio Coverage: KDKA-FM 93.7 – The Fan; Pirates Radio Network
Announcers: Greg Brown, Tim Neverett, Bob Walk, Steve Blass and John Wehner
Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
Sirius XM Satellite Radio: Sirius Channel 183, XM Channel 89
Odds: Pirates +1.5 According To Bovada Online Sportsbook
Starting Pitchers: The Giants will send 25-year-old Madison Bumgarner to the mound this evening. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound left-hander went 18-10 during the regular season with a 2.98 ERA and striking out 219. He is 3-2 with a 3.79 ERA in his career in the postseason.
Pittsburgh will counter with 31-year-old Edinson Volquez. The 6-foot, 220-pound right-hander put up a 13-7 record over the summer of 2014 with 3.04 ERA and 140 strike outs. In his last 10 starts, he has a 5-0 record, a 1.36 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP.
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Giants To Watch: Second baseman Joe Panik, who upon his recall from Triple-A in July, hit .305 in 73 games and closed out the season with 13 hits in his last nine games…Outfielder Hunter Pence has 36 at-bats against Volquez and has struck out 16 times, but also has three home runs and nine RBIs…Third baseman Pablo Sandoval hit .279 with 16 home runs and 73 RBIs in 157 games…Catcher Buster Posey put up a .311 batting average, 22 home runs, and 89 RBIs in 147 games.
Giants Wild Card Game Roster: Bruce Bochy is going with 10 pitchers, three catchers, seven infielders and five outfielders.
Pitchers – Jeremy Affeld, Madison Bumgarner, Santiago Casilla, Tim Lincecum, Javier Lopez, Jean Machi, Jake Peavy, Yusmeiro Petit, Sergio Romo, and Hunter Strickland; Catchers – Buster Posey, Guillermo Quiroz and Andrew Susac; Infielders – Joaquin Arias, Brandon Betl, Grandon Crawford, Matt Duffy, Adam Duvall, Joe Panik, and Pablo Sandoval; Outfielders – Gregor Blanco, Gary Brown, Travis Ishikawa, Hunter Pence, and Juan Perez
Pirates To Watch: Josh Harrison finished the season with a .315 bating average with 13 home runs and 52 RBIs. He was second behind the Colorado Rockies’ Justin Morneau for the NL Batting Title…Starling Marte concluded the season with a 13-game hitting streak…Andrew McCutchen hit .378 with four homers and 13 RBIs in the month of September…Despite tweaking his hamstring, Russell Martin is expected to start tonight behind the plate. He led the majors in throwing out 37 would-be base stealers.
Pirates Wild Card Game Roster: Clint Hurdle has chosen to go with nine pitchers, three catchers, seven infielders and six outfielders.
Pitchers – Edinson Volquez, Vance Worley, Jeff Locke, John Holdzkom, Jared Hughes, Mark Melancon, Tony Watson, Justin Wilson, and Bobby LaFromboise; Catchers – Russell Martin, Chris Stewart and Tony Sanchez; Infielders – Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer, Gaby Sanchez, Clint Barmes, Brent Morel, Ike Davis, and Neil Walker; Outfielders – Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata, Travis Snider, Gregory Polanco, and Andrew Lambo.
The winner of tonight’s contest will take on the Washington Nationals, winners of the NL East with a record of 96-66, beginning on Friday, Oct. 3 with the starting time still to be announced.