In Event of NL Wild Card Game, Pittsburgh Pirates Have Key Choice to Make

The 2014 Major League Baseball season is reaching its end, and it looks as if the Pittsburgh Pirates are primed for another postseason run at the organization's first title since 1979.  

With just eight games remaining in the regular season, the Pirates lead the Milwaukee Brewers by three-and-a-half games for the second and final wild-card spot.  

If the season were to end today, the Pirates would be travelling to San Francisco to play the Giants in the National League Wild Card game.  

Whether or not the Pirates overtake the Giants, whom they trail by just one game, manager Clint Hurdle will have to make the crucial decision of which starting pitcher to put on the mound for the elimination game.  

Francisco Liriano, the ace of Pittsburgh's staff in 2013, has pitched brilliantly over his last five outings, going 3-0 while allowing just three earned runs in 33.0 innings pitched.  

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Liriano got off to a rocky start in 2014, going 1-6 with a 4.60 ERA through June.  

Since then, however, Liriano has turned his season around, improving his overall record to 6-10 while pitching to an ERA of 3.45.  

Given that Liriano has been the Pirates' No. 1 pitcher over the last two seasons, it would not be a surprise to see Hurdle give him the ball in the biggest game of the season.  

At the same time, however, it would not be a surprise if Edinson Volquez was given the nod to pitch in the one-game playoff, as he has been arguably the most consistent pitcher all season for the Pirates.  

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Volquez has pitched brilliantly all year, going 12-7 with a 3.15 ERA in 31 games pitched for Pittsburgh.  

Now, Liriano does have more experience pitching in big games, which may be a deciding factor for Hurdle come playoff time.  

In four postseason games pitched, Liriano is 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA.  He pitched well in the division series against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013, allowing two earned runs on three hits over 6.0 innings pitched en route to a no-decision.  

Volquez, on the other hand, pitched in his only postseason game in 2010 with the Cincinnati Reds, allowing four earned runs in just 1.2 innings pitched.  

Hurdle could also elect to go with Gerrit Cole, but that is unlikely. While Cole has become one of the best young pitchers in the National League over the last two seasons, he would probably be unable to pitch in the Wild Card game.  

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

If the rotation remains the same over the next week, Cole will make his final start of the regular season in Pittsburgh's final game September 28. The Wild Card game is scheduled for October 1, which would mean Cole would be on only two full days of rest.  

In going by the rotation's order, Jeff Locke would be the next pitcher in line to start October 1.  

Locke has pitched well over his last three starts, going 2-0 while allowing just three earned runs in 19.0 innings pitched. However, his inconsistency on the mound is something Hurdle will likely take into consideration when deciding on who will make the start.  

Gene Puskar/Associated Press

In his four starts prior to his current hot streak, Locke allowed 17 runs in 24.0 innings pitched. So, it would be hard to predict which side of Locke we would see in the playoffs.  

Liriano and Volquez are clearly the two pitchers most likely to pitch in the Wild Card game, but Hurdle could also elect to go with Vance Worley, who has pitched brilliantly for the Pirates in 2014.  

In 16 games pitched, Worley has gone 7-4 with a 3.18 ERA. He has made his case for a permanent rotation spot in 2015, but right now the Pirates are concerned with just one game.  

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Baseball truly is a game of mixing and matching for managers, and Hurdle will have to make one of the toughest decisions of his managerial career next week, providing the Pirates do hang on and clinch a wild card spot.

*Statistics Courtesy of Baseball-Reference.