NL Wild Card Game Preview: San Francisco Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

The win-or-go-home National League Wild Card Game takes place on Wednesday night as the San Francisco Giants travel across the country to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. These two teams were in the Wild Card spots for much of September, but the home field advantage switched to Pittsburgh's PNC Park in the last couple weeks of the season. The winner will move on to play the Washington Nationals in the National League Division Series.

Both teams like their chances and in many ways this is a toss up. Here is what to look for on Wednesday night.

Biggest Storyline

Is Russell Martin healthy? The Pirates catcher has missed the last couple games with a tight hamstring that he aggravated on a check swing last Friday. Martin had a great year offensively finishing with a .290 batting average and 20 doubles. His defense behind the plate is great, finishing the regular season with a 2.0 defensive wins against replacement. Martin also had key hits in last year's Wild Card game.

If Martin cannot go then Chris Stewart is next up. However, he was hit in the wrist by a backswing on Sunday, but was declared healthy on Tuesday. Stewart has been a good back up this year, but is easily a step down from Martin, especially in throwing out runners. Tony Sanchez is the third-string catcher. If Sanchez has to play it could negatively impact the lineup and Edinson Volquez.

Position By Position

Catcher

Regardless of who starts for the Pirates, the edge at catcher goes to the Giants. Buster Posey hit .393 in September with 18 RBI. He was 8-for-20 against Pittsburgh this season and is batting .556 against Volquez. Posey also has a better average on the road this season. Defensively, he is throwing runners out at a higher clip this season than his career average.

First Base

One might give the slight edge to Brandon Belt with his .464 slugging percentage in the month of September. He is also 8-for-18 against Volquez in his career. However, Gaby Sanchez is 3-for-9 with two walks against Madison Bumgarner. His .429 slugging against lefties is respectable. This one is tough to call, but edge to San Francisco.

Second Base

Neil Walker has been struggling but had his best power year in his career. He still managed 17 RBI in September, but he will be batting right handed on Wednesday. Only two of his 23 home runs came from the right side of the plate this season. Rookie Joe Panik has been good since the All-Star Game and hit .301 in September. This is a new stage though and the hometown boy Walker always performs better in Pittsburgh. The Pirates get the edge here.

Shortstop

This one is a push. The offensive and defensive numbers for Jordy Mercer and Brandon Crawford are very similar. Both have developed their defense this season. Mercer hits left handers very well and is often moved up in the batting order in that situation. Mercer is 3-for-7 against Bumgarner while Crawford is 3-for-20 against Volquez.

Third Base

Josh Harrison went from super utility player to an All-Star before taking over the third base bag. He has made some spectacular plays at third base and is very quick defensively. His offensive numbers were amazing with a .837 OPS. He is also 4-for-5 against Bumgarner.

Pablo Sandoval will be Harrison's counterpart, but he has been slumping at the plate. He had one home run in September and batted .218. However, his .971 fielding percentage is one of the best in his career. Still it is hard to ignore what Harrison has done and he gives the Pirates the edge.

Left Field

Starling Marte has been one of the best players in the National League in the second half of the season. This is despite being hit by a pitch 17 times on the year, which caused a lingering injury in his hand. He slashed .291/.356/.453, which were all career highs.

Travis Ishikawa, who started the year with the Pirates, will get the call in left field for San Francisco. On paper, this one is easy. It goes to the Pirates.

Center Field

Andrew McCutchen had better stats this season than last year when he won the MVP award. He batted .347 in September and had an average of .339 in night games this season. Gregor Blanco will get the call for the Giants, but McCutchen gets the edge against most.

Right Field

Hunter Pence is one of the most versatile players in baseball and also inspired one of the best memes this season. While #HunterPenceSigns has been trending in Pittsburgh for the last day or so, Pence remains a big threat to the Pirates. Pence has seen Volquez more than any other Pirates pitcher, but is batting only .194 against him.

Meanwhile, Travis Snider has taken the starting job for the Pirates and faired well of late. He has actually hit better against left handers this season. Regardless, Pence gets the edge here.

Pitchers

Bumgarner has a great road record, including going 5-3 after the All-Star Game. He has went at least six innings in ten straight outings. That streak goes back to a July 28th game against Pittsburgh where he went four innings giving up five earned runs. Bumgarner is the clear ace of the staff though as he finished 18-10 on the season.

Volquez gets the nod although he would have been the third choice for some fans. He had a great comeback year amassing 13 wins. His night record is 10-3 and he also has his lowest ERA as night falls. He went 5-0 in the last two months of the season and lost only one game since the All-Star Game. He has not faced the Giants this season.

Recent results make this one a push.

Managers

Bruce Bochy showed his ability to manage in the postseason at the end of 2010. He was not afraid to juggle pitchers to make it to the World Series and then won the title. Bochy now has two championships and has a great managerial career. He has won at least 86 games in the past six years.

Clint Hurdle looks like the perfect fit in Pittsburgh and will probably never have to buy another drink in town. He has been struggling with a hip injury that limits a bit of his animation, but he says the right things and has the right attitude. Some of his decisions to leave pitchers in the game can be head scratchers, but his strategy will be different in the Wild Card Game. Still, based on experience alone, Bochy gets the nod.

Intangibles

The Giants were 43-38 on the road, but the Pirates had the second-best home record in baseball this year. Their 51 wins at PNC Park were the most in the history of the stadium. They will have a "blackout" crowd that will be chanting everytime Bumgarner gets the ball. The Pirates won this game last year, but the postseason is still new to them. They also had a better September than the Giants. However, the last game of the season left a bad taste in their collective mouth. Just because this game is in Pittsburgh, the Pirates have a slight edge here.

Possible Lineups

There are some question marks with both lineups. Pence could get moved up to the lead off spot. That would move Blanco down to seventh or eighth. Pence led off each game in the July series between the two teams.

Mercer's normal spot is eighth, but his record against left handers moves him up to second. Snider would be moved down to seventh or eighth if Mercer goes to the two hole. If Martin is healthy he and Walker could flip flop. If Stewart starts, pencil him into the eighth spot.

Final Word

Bumgarner will not be rattled by the Pittsburgh crowd that has helped Volquez, who has given up only four runs in his last 34.2 innings at home. However, Volquez's fielding independent pitching numbers are much worse than his ERA. That provides uncertainty, so the Pirates will need to get to Bumgarner. They will have to do that early as he tends to get better as the game goes on.

This one is open for interpretation and should live up to the billing of being wild. The oddsmaker are even split with the moneyline virtually the same for both teams. Fans of the Giants and Pirates will be on the edge of their seat all night with a tight game expected.

Remember you can follow along with VAVEL as we host a live inline for this game Wednesday night.