Giants ‘comfortable’ playing in first wild card game
PITTSBURGH 鈥� The National League Wild Card is the ultimate elimination game, a one-off playoff in which the winner moves on the loser has its season end.
That is what will be on the line when the Pirates host the San Francisco Giants at 8:07 tonight at PNC Park. The winner will move on to play the Washington Nationals in the National League Division Series beginning Friday.
The Pirates won the NL wild card last season, beating the Cincinnati Reds. The Giants, though, haven鈥檛 participated in the wild card round, which was added two years ago when Major League Baseball increased its postseason field from eight teams to 10.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what蘑菇视频 going to happen, but you鈥檙e going to see guys who are comfortable playing in this type of game,鈥� Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all about winning. I don鈥檛 think they鈥檒l be affected by any kind of element or environment.鈥�
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Giants right-hander Ryan Vogelsong played for the Pirates from 2001-06, a time when they were more likely to be eliminated from contention by Mother蘑菇视频 Day than to host a postseason game. So, it蘑菇视频 only natural that he feels a little strange being in town for the wild card game.
鈥淚 woke up this morning at the hotel, looked out the window and told (his wife) I couldn鈥檛 believe we were in Pittsburgh for a playoff game,鈥� Vogelsong said. 鈥淚t蘑菇视频 kind of weird.鈥�
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The Pirates and Giants have met only one other time in the postseason. That was in 1971 when Pittsburgh won what was then a best-of-five National League Championship Series in four games that feature seven Hall of Famers 鈥� the Pirates鈥� Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski and Willie Stargell and the Giants鈥� Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Gaylord Perry.