If the National League wild card game follows the trend set by the American League wild card game, fans are in for fireworks. Kansas City and Oakland took their matchup to extra innings in order to determine the Royals the winners in the first playoff game. Now, the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates compete to earn their spot in the postseason, hoping to have a game that does not require dramatics to win.
The Pirates will put Edinson Volquez on the mound. The pitcher is tasked with getting Pittsburgh into the National League Division series for the second straight season. Volquez had his mechanics tweaked in the offseason after he departed the Los Angeles Dodgers and signed with Pittsburgh in free agency. He responded by going 13-7 with a 3.04 ERA in 32 starts. He was the clear top pitcher in a rotation that saw Francisco Liarano, Charlie Morton and Gerrit Cole hit the disabled list. In his last 11 starts, Volquez has gone 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA proving he is capable of being a consistent threat each time on the mound. He was the main reason the Pirates got into the Wild Card game in the first place.
Volquez will now go against a San Francisco Giants team that simply thrives in the postseason. No matter what happens in the regular season, the NL West team always excels in the postseason. They won two World Series titles this decade. They have won six elimination games in 2012 proving they can handle the heat of the playoffs. Madison Bumgarner will be tasked with keeping up the playoff success. He went 18-10 with a 2.98 ERA. He has one loss to the Pirates after giving up five runs in four innings back at the end of July. Opponents batted .107 against the 25-year-old while the Pirates hit just .210.
Bumgarner could struggle against the Pirates with Andrew McCutchen at the plate. The outfielder is hitting .216 against sliders, the type of pitch Bumgarner throws most often. He might have to switch up his tactics against the All-Star.
