11:25 PM EST: That will do it from here. Stick with VAVEL USA as we keep you covered the whole way through the MLB Playoffs.
11:25 PM EST: The Giants dominated this game. They were simply better and Bumgarner silenced the Pittsburgh bats.
11:25 PM EST: Bumgarner's final line: 109 pitches, 9 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 10 SO.
End Game: IT'S OVER. GIANTS WIN TO MOVE ON TO THE DIVISON SERIES TO PLAY THE NATIONALS.
Bottom 9, 2 Out: Another breaking ball in the dirt gets a swinging strike out.
Bottom 9, 1 Out: Martin flies out to CF in what could be his last at-bat with the Pirates. The fans still in attendance give him a great ovation and Martin tips his helmet. He then proceeds to slam it off the bench when he gets to the dugout.
Mid 9: Too little, too late, but Melancon gets them in order. Bumgarner is coming out to try to finish off the complete game.
Top 9, 1 Out: The final line on Volquez: 5 IP, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 SO, 3 BB, 9.00 ERA. That is the same ERA for Holdzkom. Hughes gave up two runs in an inning for an ERA of 18.00.
Top 9, 1 Out: Mark Melancon comes in and gets an out on the first pitch.
End 8: McCutchen grounds out to shortstop.
Bottom 8, 2 Out: Mercer strikes out on another pitch in the dirt. He may have been the Pirates batter most baffled by Bumgarner. Bumgarner has nine strike outs now.
Bottom 8, 1 Out: The Pirates get their first runner to third base. Joaquin Arias, who came on this inning, with a bad throw. Harrison is awarded a base hit and Tabata moves to third.
Bottom 8, 1 Out: This about sums it up for Pirates fans.
Bottom 8, 1 Out: Tabata is aboard on a Crawford error.
Bottom 8, 1 Out: Brent Morel flies out to right as Pence reaches over the rail and shows the ball to the fans.
Mid 8: The Giants now out to the 8-0 lead. The drama has been gone for four innings, unlike last night.
Top 8, 2 Out: RBI SINGLE! Posey goes up through the middle. That ball was down in the zone, but he made it look easy.
Top 8, 2 Out: Panik gets his third hit of the game. Pitching coach Ray Searage is coming out to talk with Holdzkom.
Top 8, 2 Out: Blanco walks.
Top 8, 2 Out: Bumgarner goes down swinging and he is not happy. Meanwhile the people with the most expensive seats in the house have left.
Top 8, 1 Out: John Holdzkom comes in and gets a fly out to RF.
End 7: Why not? Some guy ran across the field tonight too.
End 7: Two pop outs to short end the inning.
Bottom 7, 1 Out: Marte is aboard with a single. The Pirates have not had a runner past second base all night.
Bottom 7, 1 Out: Beautiful play by Sandoval to catch the ball and flip gracefully over the rail by the Pirates dugout.
Bottom 7, 0 Out: Courtesy of MLB Fan Cave, Amy Crawford with brother Brandon and boyfriend Gerrit.
Mid 7: Hurdle has made some questionable decisions with the pitching today, but no one wins if they don't score. Bumgarner has been lights out.
Mid 7: Stretch time as Crawford grounds into the 4-6-3.
Top 7, 1 Out: The crowd is slowly starting to clear out at PNC Park. This is a case where the Giants have been the better team in every facet.
Top 7, 1 Out: Pitching Change: Bobby LaFramboise will take the mound for the Pirates.
Top 7, 1 Out: RBI SINGLE! Belt delivers again. A two-run single on the first pitch will end Hughes' night.
Top 7, 1 Out: Pence grounds out to second and Walker gets the force at home.
Top 7, 0 Out: Hughes loads the bases with a walk of Sandoval. Panda looks like a totally different batter. The guys in the Giants lineup that have been struggling completely changed their mentality for this one. They are not swinging costlessly. Bruce Bochy and the coaching staff did a good job of teaching patience, especially knowing Volquez can have control issues.
Top 7, 0 Out: The Pittsburgh Police/Security somehow allowed an elderly woman into the Giants dugout and now they show two people settled high on a truss of the Clemente Bridge.
Top 7, 0 Out: Posey smashes one off of Mercer's glove. First and second for the Giants.
Top 7, 0 Out: Panik reaches base on an opposite field single to put the lead off man on for the fourth time for the Giants.
End 6: McCutchen flies out. MadBum is dominant.
Bottom 6, 2 Out: Mercer grounds back to the mound. Harrison moves to second.
Bottom 6, 1 Out: The Pirates have their second hit on a Harrison single.
Bottom 6, 1 Out: Broken record now. Tabata strikes out.
Bottom 6, 0 Out: Jason Mackey, the Pittsburgh Penguins beat writer for the Tribune Review, reports that Marc-Andre Fleury ran right to the TV to check the score when their game in Detroit ended. Obviously he was not happy to see the score.
Mid 6: Blanco grounds out to end the inning.
Top 6, 2 Out: Bumgarner is called out on strikes after a check swing. Crawford may get the spotlight for the offense, but Bumgarner has controlled this game. He took the energy out of PNC Park. A lot of sentiment in the broadcast and on social media that this game is over and Bumgarner can finish this one out with game three of the NLDS in the back of his mind.
Top 6, 1 Out: Juan Perez pinch runs for Ishikawa.
Top 6, 1 Out: Double Switch: Jared Hughes takes over on the mound and will bat eighth. Jose Tabata replaces Snider in RF and will bat ninth.
Top 6, 1 Out: Ishikawa walks. Bumgarner up now with two on and Clint Hurdle comes to the plate for a double switch.
Top 6, 1 Out: The Brandons have all of the RBI for the Giants tonight. Crawford's grand slam was the first by a shortstop in postseason history. He will not add to it, however; he strikes out on a ball in the dirt.
Top 6, 0 Out: RBI SINGLE! Belt gets one through the right side and Pence scores after moving to second on a wild pitch.
Top 6, 0 Out: Pitching change. After the lead off walk, Justin Wilson enters the game. Wilson pitched 1.1 innings against the Giants this season. He gave up three earned runs and walked two.
Top 6, 0 Out: Martin is getting very animated behind the plate. He's thinking they should be getting more calls. Pence walks to lead off the inning.
End 5: Some fans in San Francisco are watching the game on the big screen at AT&T Park. This is the reaction to Crawford's long ball.
End 5: Snider chases for Bumgarner's seventh strike out.
Bottom 5, 2 Out: Sanchez flies out to Blanco. Pirates are not getting great contact.
Bottom 5, 1 Out: Two identical pitches thrown by Bumgarner. One was a strike and the other was a ball. Both were about six inches above the zone.
Bottom 5, 1 Out: Sixth strike out for Bumgarner. Walker goes up out of the zone.
Mid 5: The issue in Bumgarner's losses this season were run production. He has it tonight. They are 18-1 with Bumgarner on the mound when they score at least three runs.
Mid 5: Sandoval goes down swinging.
Top 5, 2 Out: Nicole, the wife of current Giants and former Pirates pitcher Ryan Vogelsong shared this picture.
Top 5, 2 Out: Posey flies out to McCutchen.
Top 5, 1 Out: The announced attendance at PNC Park is 40, 629, the largest baseball crowd in the history of the building.
Top 5, 1 Out: Panik grounds out to second.
Top 5, 0 Out: Bumgarner has five strike outs. He got Mercer to swin wildly at one that barely made the plate in the last half inning.
End 4: Crawford's sister is the girlfriend of Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole.
End 4: Uneventful after the Crawford grand slam. He joins Will Clark, Chuck Hiller and Posey as the only other Giants to hit one in the postseason.
End 4: Sorry we had a minor technical difficulty. Back at it.
Top 4, 1 Out: Ishikawa grounds out. That was another pitch left up by Volquez. That was a breaking ball that fell only about belt high on the inner half of the plate.
Top 4, 0 Out: GRAND SLAM! Crawford over the Clemente Wall.
Top 4, 0 Out: Volquez can't find his control. Have to think that Vance Worley may start warming up soon.
Top 4, 0 Out: Bases loaded for the Giants. Belt draws the walk.
Top 4, 0 Out: Martin fires down to first behind the runner, but Pence gets back in time.
Top 4, 0 Out: First two men aboard for the Giants. Pence bounces one through the hole on the left side.
Top 4, 0 Out: Sandoval is seeing the ball well and Volquez keeps missing. Base hit for the Panda.
Top 4, 0 Out: Sandoval hits one into the right field stands just foul.
Top 4, 0 Out: It seems as though an elderly fan got lost in the Giants dugout.
End 3: Just 28 pitches through three innings for Bumgarner.
End 3: This one is moving right along. Harrison chases one and Posey throws to first to complete the strike out.
Bottom 3, 2 Out: Volquez is basically an automatic out at the plate. He flies out to right.
Bottom 3, 1 Out: Snider hit left handers very well this season, although it was a limited sample size. He generally bats second, but Mercer's numbers move him up. Bumgarner doesn't care about the stats and gets Snider looking.
Mid 3: The official Twitter account of Major League Baseball did catch some people wearing gold in the black out.
Mid 3: Posey flies out to Snider.
Top 3, 2 Out: Panik hits one right up the middle for the Giants second hit. Posey coming up.
Top 3, 2 Out: Another chance for Walker. Blanco is 0-2.
Top 3, 1 Out: Bumgarner with a half-hearted swing. He is retired easily by Walker.
End 2: There is some kind of joke here about Panik, but feel costless to make it on your own.
End 2: Bumgarner gets through two easier than Volquez. Sanchez pops out to Panik. Pence ran into the back of the second baseman's legs, but it did not disrupt his concentration.
Bottom 2, 2 Out: Walker watches one that was right down the middle. Posey wanted the ball up and Bumgarner missed. Walker has been slumping of late and that at-bat did not look good.
Bottom 2, 1 Out: Marte hits the first pitch deep to center, but Blanco makes the catch just in front of the track.
Bottom 2, 0 Out: Martin leads off the inning with the first Pirates hit of the night. It was perfect placement rolling through the center of the diamond.
MLB NL Wild Card Giants - Pirates Live
Mid 2: The Giants leave two men on as Ishikawa strikes out to end the inning.
Top 2, 2 Out: Crawford hits one on a line but it is right to Snider.
Top 2, 1 Out: Volquez walks Belt. He got a little erratic during that at-bat, which is one of the knocks on Volquez. If the Giants score here, Harrison will be livid that he dropped that foul ball. Two on for Brandon Crawford.
Top 2, 1 Out: From the WTAE Action Cam on top of the U.S. Steel Building across the street:
Top 2, 1 Out: Harrison races down the left field line but almost over ran it. He juggles the Belt pop up moving the count to 0-1.
Top 2, 1 Out: Pence lines out to Mercer. Sandoval still on first.
Top 2, 0 Out: Sandoval gets the games first hit beating the shift up the middle.
Top 2, 0 Out: Rather than chanting at the opposing pitchers, the fans seem to be giving support with an "Eddie" chant.
End 1: Bumgarner gets through the first in eight pitches with seven of those being strikes. Volquez tossed eight with six being strikes. Scoreless heading to the top of the second.
End 1: McCutchen goes down swinging on a breaking ball in the dirt.
Bottom 1, 2 Out: Mercer hits a soft bouncer to his SS counterpart.
Bottom 1, 1 Out: Harrison hits one deep down the line in right, but Pence chases it down just before the wall.
Mid 1: Volquez runs his scoreless innings streak to 19 by setting the Giants down in order. Crowd chanted MVP to McCutchen as he came off the field after the catch.
Mid 1: Posey is first-pitch swinging and McCutchen makes a sliding catch to end the inning.
Top 1, 2 Out: Panik rolls out to Walker for a quick second out. Posey coming to the plate to a chorus of boos.
Top 1, 1 Out: Blanco flies out to deep right center but McCutchen is there to record the out after five pitches. Volquez elevated some pitches already.
Top 1, 0 Out: The National League Wild Card Game is underway from PNC Park as Gregor Blanco of the San Francisco Giants takes the first pitch from Edison Volquez of the Pittsburgh Pirates at 8:09 PM EST.
8:00 PM EST: In case you were wondering what the official bases looked like for tonight the Giants official account just tweeted this out.
7:58 PM EST: We are approaching first pitch as Tekulve tries to get the crowd going.
7:50 PM EST: The loudest boos from the PNC Park crowd during the Giants introduction went to Travis Ishikawa, who started the season in a platoon at first base with the Pirates. Hunter Pence was a close second.
7:41 PM EST: Kent Tekulve will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch tonight. Tekulve spent parts of 12 seasons with Pittsburgh and was part of the "We Are Family" teams that won the last World Series for the Pirates. Tekulve found out last December that he needed a heart transplant but still worked Pirates broadcasts at the beginning of the year. He received his transplant in September.
7:38 PM EST: Player introductions are about to beginning.
7:35 PM EST: Some of you will find the Pirates "Zoltan" celebration annoying tonight while others have bought into it. It comes from the movie "Dude, Where's My Car?" that the Pirates watched one day in the Atlanta clubhouse when they couldn't find anything else on the television. Neil Walker admitted in a 2012 interview that it is "terrible and stupid" but it is about team bonding.
7:30 PM EST: PNC Park is often considered one of the best parks in baseball. It holds a little over 38,000, but has sold extra standing-room only tickets for tonight. A ball that lands in the Allegheny River on the fly would have to go at least 456 feet down the right field line. For this game they have reinstalled something they call Skull Island, a food and drink destination that features a rotating menu and high end liquor.
7:25 PM EST: The Pirates took the season series 4-2 with 17 extra-base hits. Given the completely different mentality it takes for a Wild Card Game, those stats can be taken with a grain of salt.
7:20 PM EST: The last time the Giants were in the postseason it ended with a title. A lot of those players are still on the roster and they easily have the experience afvantage. After you've had your feel of Thirty Seconds to Mars, relive the 2012 World Series.
7:10 PM EST: ESPN tends to favor the use of Thirty Seconds to Mars for many of its postseason and playoff broadcasts. If you need a music break, the song they are featuring tonight is "Do or Die." The band tends to go for inspirational in its videos, so this is a bit of a longform video from Jared Leto.
7:05 PM EST: The Smith Brothers Agency across from PNC Park shared this photo.
7:05 PM EST: The Giants say it is not a complete black out at PNC Park.
7:03 PM EST: About an hour away from first pitch! Stay with us for full coverage of the NL Wild Card Game!
7:02 PM EST: The Giants need to get on the board first. They are 65-18 when scoring the first run, but only 22-56 when they fall behind first.
7:01 PM EST: From the Giants twitter account:
7:00 PM EST: While the focus is on the game, a big topic of discussion in Pittsburgh is the contractual status of Russell Martin. Columnist Dejan Kovacevic just spoke with owner Bob Nutting that said the team will offer an extension that is "beyond rational."
6:59PM EST: The Pirates and Giants have met one other time in the postseason. The Pirates took the National League Championship Series 3-1 in 1971 on the way to winning the World Series. Bob Robertson hit three home runs in game two of the series. The Pirates beat Gaylord Perry in game four thanks to a three-run shot by Al Oliver.
6:58 PM EST: Bumgarner is not an automatic out when he grabs a bat. He had four home runs on the year and batted .258. His 15 RBI were the best since Mike Hampton in 2001.
6:57 PM EST: A big part of the game that has not been touched on much will be defense. Both teams rely on good defense to keep them in games despite good offensive number in September. The Pirates do use advanced statistics to put on shifts more than the Giants. The team that can stay error-costless and get lucky a few times beating the shift should come out on top.
6:56 PM EST: The Pirates hit worse against left-handed pitchers this year. They managed only 23 home runs in 1,204 at-bats. Walker will be turned around at the plate tonight and hit from the right side where he hit only two of his 23 bombs from this season. The key could be Snider at the bottom of the lineup, who has hit better against left-handed hurlers. Snider slashed .381/.435/.619 in limited at-bats against lefties, but it is still worth noting.
6:55 PM EST: Giants lineup versus Volquez: Blanco 5-for-19, 3 BB. Posey 5-for-9, 2 BB. Sandoval 6-for-13. Pence 7-for-36, 3 HR, 5 BB. Belt 8-for-18, HR. Crawford 3-for-20. Ishikawa 1-for-4, BB. Panik has not faced him.
6:54 PM EST: Pirates lineup versus Bumgarner: Harrison 4-for 5, 1HR. Mercer 3-for-7. McCutchen 2-for-10, 2 BB. Martin 3-for-7, BB. Walker 3-for-9. G. Sanchez 3-for-9. Snider and Marte have not faced him.
6:53 PM EST: The Giants lineup is about as expected. 1. Gregor Blanco-8, 2. Joe Panik-4, 3. Buster Posey-2, 4. Pablo Sandoval-6, 5. Hunter Pence-9, 6. Brandon Belt-3, 7. Brandon Crawford-5, 8. Travis Ishikawa-7, 9. Bumgarner-1.
6:52 PM EST: The Pirates lineup is out and they tried to stack the top of the order with guys that hits left handers well. 1. Josh Harrison-5, 2. Jordy Mercer-6, 3. Andrew McCutchen-8, 4. Martin-2, 5. Starling Marte-7, 6. Neil Walker-4, 7. Gaby Sanchez-3, 8. Travis Snider-9, 9. Volquez-1
6:51 PM EST: The Giants counter with their ace, Madison Bumgarner. He went 18-10 on the season and had an impressive record on the road. Bumgarner finished with a 2.98 ERA and four complete games. There is little difference with Bumgarner's FIP and he has a good strike out to walk ratio. He should get a good number of Ks tonight. Bumgarner did face the Pirates one time this season and was knocked out after giving up five earned runs over four innings.
6:50 PM EST: The Pirates starting pitcher, Edison Volquez, was announced as one of three finalists for the NL Comeback Player of the Year award in the Players Choice voting. He finished the year 13-7 with a 3.04 ERA. His lowest ERA from 2010-13 was 4.14 and he led the majors in earned runs last year. Volquez is 7-1 since July and had an ERA of 1.08 in September. His advanced metrics numbers are not as strong with a fielding independent pitching (FIP) mark of 4.15 for the year. That stat measures a pitcher's ability to prevent home runs, walks and hit batters while being able to get strike outs. The Pirates hope that the advanced stats do not tell the story for tonight.
6:49 PM EST: The grounds crew at PNC Park starting their game day preparations around 2:30 pm.
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6:48 PM EST: One of the biggest question marks heading into the game was the availability of Russell Martin. After manager Clint Hurdle's press conference yesterday, he told the media that he expected to go. “It’s pretty important baseball,” Martin said. “Not that the other games weren’t. But this is for all the marbles. I can definitely go.” Backup Chris Stewart was hit on the wrist with a backswing on Sunday while Martin has been battling a tight hamstring. The Pirates are carrying a third catcher, Tony Sanchez, on tonight's roster.
6:47 PM EST: The teams released their rosters earlier today. The Giants went with 10 pitchers, three catchers, seven infielders and five outfielders. The Pirates will carry nine pitchers, three catchers, seven infielders and six outfielders.
6:46 PM EST: The schedule for tonight (times in eastern): The Hall of Fame Club at PNC Park opens at 4:30 P.M. with the Riverwalk following at 5:30 P.M. Gates will open at 6:00 P.M. Player introductions start at 7:37 P.M. and the first pitch from Pirates great Kent Tekulve is at 7:57 P.M.
6:45 PM EST: Welcome to VAVEL USA's live coverage of the National League Wild Card Game between the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates from PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.