n Cape Town, was huge because it was my first in an England shirt but the second was big, too, as it was on my home ground with the side in a more difficult position.I didnt tell mys

PITTSBURGH -- Francisco Liriano showed up at PNC Park on Tuesday afternoon in a suit with his suitcase packed for a trip St. Shannon Sharpe Jersey . Louis. The message reverberated through the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse. After 21 years away from the playoffs, it was time for the best story in baseball to become something more than a novelty act. Liriano tossed seven dominant innings and the Pirates roared past Cincinnati 6-2 in the NL wild-card game Tuesday night then headed to St. Louis for the NL division series beginning Thursday. A.J. Burnett will start for the Pirates in Game 1 against Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright. "He had the expectancy to win," Pittsburgh centerfielder Andrew McCutchen said. "When he showed up with his suit on, that got me hyped up." St. Louis likely wont face Liriano until Game 3 at the earliest, though Lirianos teammates believe his performance set the tone for what they hope is an extended October stay. In front of a black-clad crowd savoring its first post-season game since 1992, Russell Martin hit two home runs, Marlon Byrd also connected and McCutchen reached base four times. "Were for real," McCutchen said. "Were definitely for real." You wont hear the Reds arguing after Liriano continued his mid-career renaissance. The left-hander scattered four hits, struck out five and walked one to win his first playoff game and serve notice the Pirates have no intention of going quietly after spending two decades at the bottom of the standings. "We didnt talk about one and done, we talked about one and run," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Win one and run to St. Louis." Cincinnati starter Johnny Cueto struggled in his third start since coming off the disabled list last month. Cueto gave up four runs in 3 1-3 innings and appeared rattled by a raucous ballpark that taunted him by chanting his name. "He couldnt get the ball where he wanted," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "Usually he can throw that ball through the eye of a needle. Tonight he was up." The 36-year-old Byrd, acquired by the Pirates in late August from the New York Mets, celebrated the first post-season at-bat of his 12-year career -- 1,250 games -- by sending Cuetos fastball into the seats to give the Pirates the lead in the second inning. The shot sent another jolt through an already electric crowd, which began singing "Cue-to, Cue-to" in unison when Martin stepped in. "This is 20 years of waiting. Youre seeing it all come out in one night," Martin said. "Hopefully we can keep this atmosphere till late October." The catcher followed with a drive into the bleachers in left field. The Reds never recovered, ending a 90-win season with a six-game losing streak. Three of those losses came at home against the Pirates in the final series of the season that determined the site of the win-or-die game. "Its unfortunately been a bit like deja vu," first baseman Joey Votto said. "Really disappointing." Baker backed Cueto before the game, saying his ace "thrives on this environment." Maybe, but the right-hander never looked comfortable at a place where he has been nearly unhittable. Cueto, who came in 8-2 at the ballpark by the Allegheny River, even lost his grip on the ball while standing on the mound as the crowd serenaded him. A moment later, he lost his grip on the game. Martins 405-foot shot to left-centre gave Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead and all the momentum Liriano would require. Signed on the cheap in the off-season after a mediocre 2012 split between the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox, Liriano has been reborn in Pittsburgh. He went 16-8 with a 3.02 ERA during the regular season, his devastating slider nearly unhittable against left-handers. The Reds proved no match. Votto went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Jay Bruce produced an RBI single in the fourth but Cincinnati never really threatened on a night baseball officially returned to Pittsburgh. "Its definitely a good feeling," Martin said, "but weve still got work to do." Shin-Soo Choo homered in the eighth, a drive to right field that was upheld by video review. It did little more than slightly delay a party 7,660 days in the making. Pittsburghs 94-win regular season reignited a relationship sullied by years of mismanagement and miserable play. When the gates opened two hours before the first pitch, fans -- most of them dressed in black at the urging of McCutchen, an MVP candidate -- sprinted to their seats in anticipation of the clubs first post-season game since Atlantas Sid Bream slid into home ahead of Barry Bonds throw in the bottom of the ninth in Game 7 of the 1992 National League championship series. The victory sent the Braves to the World Series and the Pirates into an abyss that took an entire generation to escape. The first step came with victory No. 82 on Sept. 9. The next came two weeks later when a win over the Chicago Cubs assured a wild-card spot. The most thrilling yet lifted the team with the 26th-highest payroll in the majors ($73.6 million) into a showdown with baseball royalty. The Reds, meanwhile, head into an off-season that could be eventful. Baker has led Cincinnati to the playoffs in three of the last four years but the Reds failed to advance each time. They fell to the San Francisco Giants in five games -- after leading 2-0 -- in the division series in 2012 and were swept in the same round by Philadelphia in 2010. This time, they didnt even make it that far. Cincinnati spent most of the season as the third team in a three-way race with the Pirates and the Cardinals for the NL Central title. Theyll end the year as the first one heading home. "Its very difficult to come down to one game, especially the way we played," Baker said. "We got outplayed big time." Cueto, who made three different trips to the disabled list this season with a strained lat, was pressed into service when projected starter Mat Latos discovered bone chips in his right (throwing) elbow. On the surface, it seemed like an upgrade. It wasnt. The Pirates made it 3-0 on sacrifice fly in the third by Pedro Alvarez and Cueto was pulled when Starling Marte doubled with one out in the fourth. Marte sprinted home on local boy Neil Walkers double off reliever Sean Marshall and Walker scored on a fielders choice by Byrd to make it 5-1. When Martin hit a drive to left off Logan Ondrusek in the seventh, the party seemingly unthinkable for a team that lost 105 games in 2010 began. Martins long ball marked only the second multihomer playoff game in team history. Bob Robertson hit three in Game 2 of the 1971 NLCS. NOTES: Martin is the first catcher to homer for three different teams in the post-season. He previously connected for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008 and the New York Yankees in 2012 ... Liriano is the first Pittsburgh left-hander to win a playoff game since John Candelaria in Game 3 of the 1979 World Series ... The Reds have lost four straight playoff games and 11 of their last 13 ... Pittsburgh is the first home team to win since the new wild-card format was introduced last season ... The Pirates went 10-9 this year against St. Louis. ... Byrd is the oldest player to homer in his first post-season at-bat, according to STATS. Andy Janovich Jersey .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. Dennis Smith Jersey . Bjoerndalen broke the record he shared with cross-country skiing great Bjoern Daehlie, also matching his fellow Norwegians record of eight gold medals. Bjoerndalen earlier won gold in Sochi in the mens sprint biathlon. http://www.broncosproauthentic.com/Black-Friday-Aj-Derby-Jersey/ . With just under five seconds remaining - the Raptors having clawed back from a 19-point deficit and pulled within one - DeRozan took the handoff from Chuck Hayes.Jonny Bairstow reveals which caped hero he would dress up as, plus reflects on Englands Headingley victory, his second Test ton and Leeds Rhinos struggles… Headingley was a great Test match for myself and the team - and I also had a lot of fun chuckling at the crowd!There were loads of people in fancy dress - I saw foxes, plus Zippy from Rainbow and much, much more, and it just goes to show how great a place Headingley is to play and watch cricket. Jonny says he fancies dressing up as Robin If I attended I would probably come as Ron Weasley from Harry Potter - I have the hair for it - but having been to university I am no stranger to fancy dress, while I have pretended to be Batmans sidekick Robin in the past.Liam Plunkett would probably be my Batman - thats who he turned up as at a Yorkshire end-of-season do and as he is a bit taller than me we would probably look the part.Im sure there will be plenty of fancy dress up at Durham, too, with it being Bank Holiday Weekend, and I expect there will be people wanting to outdo the Yorkshire folk in those stakes. Im sure the Durham fans will be disappointed that Ben Stokes is out injured and so are we - we know the qualities he possesses in all departments.Hes our fourth seamer, a destructive batsman at No 6, and is superb fielding either in the slips or in the outfield, so it will be a big loss.Stokesy, too, will be frustrated that he wont be out there - thats the sort of competitor he is - but as he has two kids Im sure he will be kept pretty busy!We wish him a really speedy recovery, and we know that whoever comes in will do a sterling job. Jonny Bairstow’s return to the England team came about in the fifth ODI against New Zealand last summer SpecialI now have two Test centuries to my name after my 140 at Headingley, and although they have come in completely different scenarios, both were very special.The first one, my 150 not out against South Africa in Cape Town, was huge because it was my first in an England shirt but the second was big, too, as it was on my home ground with the side in a more difficult position.I didnt tell myself too much when I came in at 83-5 - you dont want to change too much about the way you have been playing so I didnt consciously adapt anything. Bob Willis and The Verdict panel praise Jonny Bairstow’s hundred against Sri Lanka at Headingley and look at the strides he has made since his early Tests I was slightly nervous in the nineties - if youre not in that situation then I think theres something wrong with you - but thankfully I was able get over the line. Domata Peko Jersey. I enjoyed my partnership with Alex Hales - the runs he scored and the length of time he batted was imperative for us as we set a total that helped us win the game.Steven Finn played his part, too - his flick for four off sixth stump was an epic shot! He was delighted and we had a real laugh about it, but we quickly told him to get back in his box! Steven Finn, perhaps surprisingly, played some glorious shots at Headingley TurnaroundI didnt get to see much of Magic Weekend with the Test overlapping with it but it was obviously disappointing to see my side, Leeds, beaten by Wigan.Its been a real tough start for the team and they are currently bottom of the table, but they are a tough unit and have a brilliant fan base which will stand them in good stead.We must not forget that they won the Super League and Challenge Cup double last season and that over a long period of time the club has achieved a huge amount of success. Highlights from the Magic Weekend match between Leeds and Wigan The quality in the side is unbelievable and it will only take one or two games and for one or two things to go their way and then they will be on a roll - thats the nature of sport.Its like my golf game - Im hitting it really well at the minute but no doubt it wont be too long before it turns around and I am playing a few more shots than I would like!Watch live coverage of Englands second Test with Sri Lanka, from 10am, Friday, Sky Sports 2. Also See: WATCH: Players of First Test England fixtures/results Beefy backs Root, Broad Sri Lanka fixtures/results Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '