Pirates 1 - 0 Braves
Final
  for this game

Pirates hope to add to Braves' woes

Sep 22, 2014 - 3:01 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Francisco Liriano and the Pittsburgh Pirates try to move a little closer to a second straight playoff berth on Monday evening when they begin a four-game series with the Atlanta Braves.

Pittsburgh took two of three from Milwaukee over the weekend to extend their lead over the Brewers to 4 1/2 games for a wild card berth and the Pirates also are only 2 1/2 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the National League Central.

Pittsburgh, which has won 13 of its last 16 games, made the postseason last year for the first time since 1992, the final of three straight NL East titles.

The Pirates are concluding the regular season with seven straight on the road as they will visit the Cincinnati Reds following this series. They'll look for Liriano to get their road trip off to a winning start.

That has been Liriano's speciality as of late, with the left-hander going 3-0 with a 0.82 earned run average over his last five starts. He has given up just three runs and 19 hits in that span while striking out 36 in 33 innings.

Liriano won his third start in a row on Wednesday, holding Boston to a run on three hits over six innings, surviving five walks. That moved the 30-year-old to 6-10 with a 3.45 earned run average on the season.

Liriano has split a pair of starts versus the Braves over his career, including a rough setback to them on Aug. 19 before he began his current unbeaten streak. He was drilled for nine runs -- seven earned -- on 10 hits and three walks over four innings of that 11-3 defeat.

Aaron Harang got the win in that game for the Braves, yielding three runs over 8 1/3 innings, but has lost four of his last five starts since to fall to .500 on the season. The veteran righty is 11-11 with a 3.68 ERA following Tuesday's loss to Washington and is 16-7 in his career versus the Pirates with a 4.15 ERA.

Harang pitched well enough to beat the Nationals last week, giving up just two runs and striking out eight over seven innings. However, he got no run support in the 3-0 loss.

That outing wasn't anything new for Atlanta's offense, which has plated two runs or fewer in 15 of the last 25 games. That is the main reason that the Braves went from NL East contenders to out of playoff contention, officially eliminated from the postseason race with Sunday's 10-2 loss to the New York Mets, coupled with Pittsburgh's win.

Atlanta was swept in that three-game set by the Mets, outscored 19-4, and has lost eight of its past nine.

"We know we haven't played well, it's no secret. We had a long shot, but now we have no shot," Braves outfielder Justin Upton said.

The Braves have won five of their past six versus the Pirates, winning two of three in Pittsburgh from Aug. 18-20.






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