The Pittsburgh Pirates could have held out their young ace Gerrit Cole for a potential one game Wild Card showdown with the San Francisco Giants. Instead they dispatched him on Sunday with an outside chance to win the National League Central. So it is that the Pirates announced Edinson Volquez as their starter for this week’s Wild Card game.
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This was the move that the Pirates were expected to make, and manager Clint Hurdle officially announced Volquez as the starter on Monday. Per Travis Sawchik on triblive.com:
"Volquez has thrown 18 consecutive scoreless innings. Francisco Liriano or Gerrit Cole are thought to be the Pirates’ top starting pitching options, but the Pirates did not have the luxury of holding Liriano back, and the club elected to pitch Cole on Sunday with slim division title hopes still alive. Liriano could be available if Volquez struggles."
As far as third options are concerned, Volquez is a good one. In 31 starts this season he went 13-7 with a 3.04 ERA and logged an impressive 192.2 innings. He will take the mound on a big stage on Wednesday night opposite Madison Bumgarner of the Giants.
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