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(Photo Credit: AP / Charles Rex Arbogast)
Pittsburgh has waited 21 years for a game like this to occur and they made sure their voices were heard as they rattled Johnny Cueto, leading to an early lead which enough for Francisco Liriano, who threw another gem against the Reds in a 6 – 2 NL Wild Card victory on Tuesday night.
The momentum started to swing in the top of the second when Marlon Byrd, who was making his first postseason plate appearance, homered to left sending the already loud crowd at PNC into a frenzy.
“I felt like I was walking on air as I was rounding the bases,” said Byrd.
Pedro Alvarez followed with a deep fly to center causing the 40,487 in attendance to start chanting Cue-to, Cue-to. It immediately made a difference as Cueto, who was preparing to throw to Russell Martin, dropped the ball off the mound. He tried to regain his composure, but served up a meatball that was lifted over the left field fence to a deafening that literally caused the stands to shake. It was an amazing atmosphere as the Blackout crowd played a big role in the win.
“They came ready,” said A.J. Burnett. “They definitely made it and it made it very, very enjoyable for us. Thank you, fans. Thank you.”
That atmosphere helped Martin out as he hit two solo shots in the game.
“The crowd was unbelievable,” said Martin. “They were shouting Cueto for a little bit, then he dropped the ball on the mound the next pitch and threw a fastball high and I hit a home run. I don’t know what was going on in my mind, in his head at that point. Definitely felt like the crowd had an impact on his psyche a little bit. Kind of lost rhythm for a bit.”
It wouldn’t get any better for Cueto in the third when he allowed a lead-off single to Andrew McCutchen, who went 2-for-3 with a run scored. He advanced to third when a Byrd chopper couldn’t be handled by Zack Cozart. Alvarez followed with a sac fly to make it 3 – 0.
The big blow happened for the Bucs in the fourth when Starling Marte hit a one out book rule double to left. That would chase Cueto for reliever, Sean Marshall. Neil Walker followed with a RBI double that barely missed going over the fence. Marshall then intentionally walked Cutch and unintentionally walked Justin Morneau to load the bases. Byrd then hit a routine double play ball to Brandon Phillips, who bobbled the play and was able to only get one out allowing Walker to score to extend the lead.
On the other side of the diamond, Francisco Liriano was the same man the Reds faced in Pittsburgh during the last homestand as he was perfect through three innings. He did encounter trouble in the fourth when he hit Shin-Soo Choo to lead off the inning. Ryan Ludwick followed with a single setting up first and second with no out and the heart of the lineup approaching.
Liriano then toughened up to strikeout Joey Votto and get Phillips to pop out to first. Jay Bruce would single in Choo, but it would be the only run given up as Liriano struck out Todd Frazier to end the inning.
“I believe that was one of those circumstances that happened in the game when momentum changed uniforms,” said manager, Clint Hurdle. “They looked like they got some, they were out there. They had the guys they’ve been counting on all year to go out. We had the guy on the mound we were counting on. He was able to make pitches in nice sequences and stop that right there.”
It would be the only run allowed by Liriano as he would allow four hits while striking out five. Tony Watson pitched the eighth and allowed a solo homer to Choo and Jason Grilli would be the Grilled Cheese of old with a 1 – 2 – 3 ninth to close out the Reds.
“This is a sports town,” said Neil Walker. “This used to be a baseball town. I wasn’t surprised that people were as into it as they were. They just haven’t had the opportunity yet, so this is really special for the city of Pittsburgh and nobody knows that more than me.”
Final Score: Pirates 6, Reds 2
Starters Lines
Cueto: 3 1/3 IN, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 HR. 60 Pitches (39 Strikes)
Liriano: 7 IN, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K’s, 1 HP. 90 Strikes (64 Pitches)
The Pirates will now move on to the NLDS where they will face the NL Central Champion, St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday evening.
