The Pittsburgh Pirates (38-26) are looking to capitalize on the success of Francisco Liriano (4-2) in their matchup Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park. The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET and will air live on ROOT Sports and mlb.com with a paid subscription.
Liriano has a stellar 1.75 ERA and is coming off a winning performance against the Chicago Cubs. Liriano continues an amazing streak of allowing just one or zero runs in all but one start this season. He has also contributed by striking out 47 over 36 innings.
"For the most part, his best pitches have been offspeed," catcher Russell Martin told MLB's official website. "But he's used the fastball in normally breaking-ball situations. He's been pitching backwards, and it's been effective. Because hitters want to hit the fastball for the most part, anyway, and when you've got 94 (mph) they've got to honor that. So being able to throw offspeed pitches for strikes has worked for him."
Despite a season-worst five walks, Liriano remained dominant against Chicago. He allowed zero earned runs over seven full innings pitched and caught the attention of opposing manager Dale Sveum.
"He's done this to everybody," Sveum said. "When he's right and he has his velocity, he's basically in the CC Sabathia-type category where he has great velocity but really doesn't throw his fastball that much. He's got great command of his changeup and slider. He's one of those guys where it's very, very difficult if he's on with his offspeed stuff -- it's going to be a tough day."
Barry Zito (4-4) will take the hill for San Francisco. Zito allowed four runs in six innings pitched during a 4-0 losing effort to Toronto. He has struggled on the road, where he holds a 0-3 record with a 10.19 ERA.
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