Tonight at 7:10 p.m. ET, the Pittsburgh Pirates (85-71) and Atlanta Braves (76-80) battle in the second contest of a four-game series live from Turner Field in Atlanta. The game can be live streamed for free here. Pittsburgh fans can hear all of the action on KDKA 93.7 while Atlanta fans can do the same on 680 WCNN.
Pittsburgh continues a seven-game road trip to close out the regular-season while Atlanta continues a 10-game homestand it is 1-6 on thus far. The Pirates defeated the Braves 1-0 Monday night to open up the set.
Pittsburgh, which holds the top wild-card spot in the National League, can clinch a playoff berth with a win and a Milwaukee Brewers loss. Atlanta's season has spiraled, causing it to miss the playoffs and leading to the departure of general manager Frank Wren, who was fired on Monday.
Gerrit Cole (10-5, 3.85 ERA) toes the rubber for the Pirates while the Braves counter with Alex Wood, who is 11-10 this season with a 2.78 ERA.
The Pirates have played three straight 1-0 games and were on the winning side of two of them.
"We always talk about scoring one more run than the other team," manager Clint Hurdle said via USA Today, "and the last three games we did it twice."
Centerfielder Andrew McCutchen has emerged as an MVP candidate again this season for Pittsburgh and he hit a solo homer to lift the team Monday night.
McCutchen leads the NL in on-base percentage (.404), is second in slugging percentage (.537) and OPS (.941) and third in batting average (.310) and total bases (284). McCutchen also leads the Pirates with 24 homers and 76 RBI.
Outfielder Josh Harrison has also been huge for the Bucs as he ranks second in the NL with a .318 batting average and fourth with a .498 slugging percentage.
With the Braves in search of a new GM, Bobby Cox is happy to help with the search for a new leader.
"I'm just glad to be a part of it, and I'm going to do anything I can with my ideas to help John Schuerholz and John Hart come to some conclusion about the team," Cox said per MLB.com.
While it's been a forgetful year for Atlanta, outfielder Justin Upton and first baseman Freddie Freeman have been bright spots on the team.
Upton is third in the league with 97 RBI and tied for fourth with 27 homers while Freeman is second in the NL with 41 doubles, third with 87 walks and fourth with a .387 on-base percentage.
The Pirates hope to clinch a playoff berth while the Braves are relegated to the role of playing spoiler when these teams go head-to-head tonight at Turner Field in Atlanta.
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