Liriano Shines as Pirates Down Cardinals on Opening Day

Francisco Liriano threw six shout out innings and got an RBI single as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 on Opening Day.

Francisco Liriano shined on the mound for the Pirates for his first start of the season. After a rough spring, Liriano showed glimpses of greatness on the mound today. He threw 6.0 shut out innings giving up three hits while walking five and striking out 10. Although he was caught up in a couple tight spots, he managed to keep the Cardinals off the board and keep the Pirates in the lead.

Liriano had his strikeout pitch working this afternoon especially early on. Between the second and third inning he accumulated five strikeouts in a row by striking out the side in the second and striking the first two batters out in the third. Liriano got batters to swing on many pitches that were outside of the strike zone.

With his 10 strikeouts on the day, Liriano became only the second active major league pitcher to strikeout 10 plus batters in multiple opening day starts, joining Felix Hernandez from the Seattle Mariners. Liriano lead the Pirates in strikeouts last season and is looking to do so again in 2016. When his slider is on, he is one of the nastiest pitchers in baseball. However, when he is having trouble locating it, it can be a long day for the Pirates.

Liriano also proved he can handle the bat. He drove in the first run of the major league season when he hit an RBI single to right field in the second inning that scored Gregory Polanco. Last season, Liriano had a decent average for a pitcher hitting .169 with one home run and seven RBI. While he will never win a silver slugger, it is nice to see him get the bat going early on this season.

The scoring continued as John Jaso followed Liriano's RBI single with one of his own as Jordy Mercer scored and the Pirates took a 2-0 lead. Jaso was the lead off hitter for the Pirates and finished the day going 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Jaso signed a two year deal with Pittsburgh over the off-season and will serve as the teams first baseman throughout the 2016 season.

We could see a platoon as the season goes on with Jaso and David Freese, but for the time being, with Jung Ho Kang on the disabled list, it will be Jaso starting full-time at the position. Jaso has always been known for his ability to get on base. Last season, he had an on-base percentage of .380. His ability to get on base is the reason he will be batting lead-off for the Pirates throughout the course of the 2016 season.

The Pirates tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth when Francisco Cirvelli lead off with a triple. Cirvelli scored on a sacrifice fly by Josh Harrison that extended the Pirates lead to 3-0. Harrison finished the day 0 for 2 with that RBI. Cirvelli, on the other hand, had a very successful day at the plate going 2 for 3 with a triple, a run scored, and a walk.

Cirvelli broke out for the Pirates last season setting a career high in both batting average and RBI. In his second year with Pittsburgh, Cirvelli looks to again lead this pitching staff and this team from behind the plate. Cirvelli has proven to be one of the best catchers in all of major league baseball, and looks to continue that trend in 2016.

The back-end of the bullpen was tested right away on opening day as Tony Watson pitched the seventh inning and Neftali Feliz pitched the eighth. Both pitchers threw 1-2-3 innings and were very effective on the mound. Watson struck out one in his inning and Feliz struck out two. Both Feliz and Watson will be instrumental to the Pirates success in 2016. If they can be effective, it gives manager Clint Hurdle the option to rest his closer if he needs to and still have a reliable person to replace him.

The Pirates capped their scoring in the eighth when Jordy Mercer hit a two-out RBI double to right center to score Gregory Polanco and give the Pirates a 4-0 lead. Mercer finished the day 1 for 3 with an RBI and a walk. Mercer had a decent spring training with the bat hitting .275 with one home run and two RBI. Mercer has traditionally been a slow starter, but he looks to turn things around in 2016 and become a productive hitter in the Pirates lineup.

Mark Melancon came into close the game and was a little shaky. He gave up one run on two hits and struck out one in his 1.0 inning of work. The Cardinals Matt Carpenter hit an RBI single to right field that scored Yadier Molina. Melancon had trouble locating pitches today and had to throw a lot of pitches. However, it is only game one and there is no reason to throw up the red flag on Melancon just yet. He set a club record in saves last year for the Pirates and looks to be just as effective this season.

Gregory Polanco and David Freese also had good days each going 2 for 3. Polanco scored two of the four Pirates runs today and was hitting the ball well. Freese hit two singles in his Pirates debut and made a plethora of great defensive plays to help the Pirates in the victory today. Freese has a track record of being a clutch hitter and it helped the Pirates in their game today.

For Pittsburgh, today was their third straight opening day win as they beat the Detroit Tigers last season 5-4 and the Chicago Cubs the year before that 1-0. The Pirates made the playoffs in each of those seasons and look to continue the trend in 2016. The Pirates have a good team and I have no doubt that they will continue that success this season.

The Pirates and Cardinals have an off day tomorrow and will return to action on Tuesday night. The Cardinals will send 24-year old right-hander Michael Wacha to the mound. Wacha finished last season with a record of 17-7 with a 3.38 ERA. The Pirates will counter with left-hander Jonathan Niese. Niese will be making his Pirates debut after coming over in the trade that sent Neil Walker to the New York Mets. First pitch is schedule for 7:05 p.m. at PNC Park.