The Pittsburgh Pirates take on the Cincinnati Reds in Friday's Free Game of the Day, brought to you by MLB.TV. It's the return of baseball after the 2013 All-Star Break and it couldn't start in better fashion as both squads are chasing the first place St. Louis Cardinals in the N.L. Central. First pitch is a little after 7:10 p.m. ET.
Click here to access MLB.TV's showing of the Pirates vs. Reds, free online. Look at the scores on the side and click on the small TV icon in the team's matchup box.
The Pirates will try to begin the second half of their season in grand fashion and they have the right guy taking the rubber Friday night. Francisco Liriano is having one heck of a season. His pitching this year is reminiscent of his performances with the Minnesota Twins. The Pirates took a calculated risk and for a million dollars, they have one of baseball's hottest pitchers.
In 12 starts this season, Liriano is 9-3 with a 2.00 ERA. He's pitched 76.2 innings with 80 strikeouts while only surrending three home runs. He's won four straight decisions and six of his last seven. Liriano has only allowed four runs in his last four starts. The bad news, however, is Liriano has yet to beat the Reds this season as two of his three loses this season have come to Cincinnati. Though to Liriano's credit, he hasn't pitched poorly, allowing three earned runs in 12 innings pitched.
Mike Leake, who is having the best season of his career, will oppose Liriano. In 18 starts, Leake is 8-4 with a 2.69 ERA in 117 innings pitch. Wonder why Liriano lost those two starts? Well, Leake showed Liriano up in both outings. The Pirates have only mustered a run in the last 13 innings Leake pitched.
The Reds bring the better offense as they rank higher than the Pirates in runs scored, home runs and batting average. The Pirates' forte has been pitching all season long. If Cincinnati can establish their offense in this series and knock the Pirates pitching around, they could move up in the standings. The Pirates are five games ahead of the Reds in the N.L. Central. If Cincy can sweep, the lead will shrink to only two games.