St. Louis @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 4, 2013 ) Pittsburgh 7, St. Louis 1

The Pittsburgh Pirates wrested home-field advantage from the St. Louis Cardinals and will look to get a leg up in the National League Division series when they host Game 3 of the best-of-five series Sunday afternoon. The Pirates earned a split in St. Louis and have the luxury of turning to ace Francisco Liriano, who won all three starts against the Cardinals this season in dominant fashion. Liriano also has not lost at home since June 1.

St. Louis followed up a crisp 9-1 victory in Game 1 with a ragged performance in Friday's 7-1 defeat, prompting center fielder Jon Jay to call Sunday's game a "must-win." The Cardinals have not fared well in Pittsburgh this season, losing seven of 10 while batting .227 with zero home runs. Third baseman David Freese dismissed any past history, saying, “People talk about momentum. It all starts over the following day.”

TV: 4:37 p.m. ET, TBS

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Joe Kelly (10-5, 2.69 ERA) vs. Pirates LH Francisco Liriano (16-8, 3.02)

Kelly was inserted into the rotation in early July and won his first eight decisions en route to going 10-2 as a starter. Although he went 2-2 in his last four starts of the season, Kelly beat the Pirates three times in the last two months, allowing a total of two runs over 18 innings. He was 5-1 with a 1.08 in seven road starts, including two victories at Pittsburgh.

Liriano was nearly unbeatable at PNC Park, logging an 8-1 record and 1.47 ERA in 11 home starts - and the loss was a 2-0 defeat in which he struck out 11. He was overpowering in his three turns against the Cardinals, giving up only two runs and 10 hits in 24 innings for a microscopic 0.75 ERA. Liriano also beat Cincinnati in the wild card round with seven innings of one-run, four-hit ball.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pirates C Russell Martin is 3-for-4 with a homer against Kelly.

2. Cardinals LF Matt Holliday is 3-for-8 this season against Liriano, who held St. Louis to a .127 batting average.

3. Pirates 3B Pedro Alvarez became the first player in franchise history to homer in the first two games of a postseason series.

PREDICTION: Pirates 3, Cardinals 2