The Pittsburgh Pirates are National League Wild Card champions after defeating the Cincinnati Reds,6-2, Tuesday night at PNC Park, in the first playoff game in 21 years for Pittsburgh.
Reds vs. Pirates, 2013 N.L. Wild Card Playoff: Pittsburgh advances with 6-2 victory
Hosting their first posteason game since 1992, the Pirates rose to the occasion on Tuesday night and will advance to play another divisional foe in the playoffs.
Russell Martin homered twice, two of three home runs for the Pirates in the game, to provide the offense for Pittsburgh, hosting its first playoff game since the 1992 NLCS. With the win, the Pirates will advance to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Division Series beginning Thursday evening in St. Louis.
Francisco Liriano was nothing short of phenomenal against the Reds' potent offense. He pitched seven frames, allowing a run on just four hits and a walk, and he struck out five.
The Reds tried to mount a comeback in the eighth inning, but couldn’t score after Shin-Soo Choo’s home run cut the lead to 6-2. Even Choo’s home run didn’t come easy, as it was under review after a fan touched it.
In addition to Martin's three hits, the Pirates got two hits apiece from Starling Marte, Neil Walker and Andrew McCutchen. The win was the fourth straight over the Reds in the last five days for the Pirates, who swept three games in Cincinnati over the final weekend of the regular season to earn home field advantage for Tuesday's contest.
Here is Martin celebrating with closer Jason Grilli after the final out of the game:
Game 1 of the NLDS between the Pirates and Cardinals begins at 5:07 p.m. ET on Thursday in St. Louis.
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