Twenty-one years is a long time. Right now, no one knows just how long and agonizing 21 years is more than the Pittsburg Pirates. On Tuesday night, the Pirates played in their first MLB Post-season game since 1992. The Cincinnati Reds was the team unlucky enough to play this Pittsburg team with so much motivation and momentum behind them.
With such an exciting game, there can’t be just one star, there were multiple. However, the player who’s at bat started the show for the Pirates and their 40,000 fans was catcher Russell Martin. In the bottom of the second inning, Martin walked up to the plate with fans in the background chanting the opposing pitcher’s last name, “Cueto! Cueto! Cueto!” Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto took his time, rubbing the baseball at the back of the mound when it seemed he was shaken. Cueto accidentally flipped the ball out of his hand into the infield, Martin stepped out and flashed a look at his dugout, and then the fans only got louder, “CUETO! CUETO! CUETO!” What happened next? A long homer by Russell Martin, which put the Bucs up 2-0. At that point the Pirates had claimed their spot to move on to the NLDS.
After the game both Johnny Cueto and his manager, Dusty Baker, would say that the crowd did not affect him and his pitching. I think all of Pittsburg would say otherwise. Cueto was taken out of the game after 3 1/3 innings and giving up for runs and eight hits. The loudness of the ballpark may not have affected Johnny Cueto, but it definitely stood out to the Pirates. Marlon Byrd, who has played on several teams including the Yankees and Phillies, said he had never played for a crowd like the one Tuesday night.
Some of the other star players in the spotlight of the game included Andrew McCutchen, Francisco Liriano, Marlon Byrd, and Pittsburg native Neil Walker. McCutchen reached base in each of his four at-bats with two hits and two walks. Liriano had a solid start with seven innings, yielding only four hits. Byrd hit a home run in the first postseason at bat of his career. Hometown hero, Neil Walker, was hyped up on the energy in PNC Park producing two hits of his own.
After such a historic night, the Pirates will move on to the NLDS to play division rival St. Louis Cardinals.