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Francisco Liriano will be the first Pirates pitcher to start on opening day in consecutive seasons since Oliver Perez (2005-06).
— Stephen J. Nesbitt (@stephenjnesbitt) March 17, 2015
According to a tweet by Pirates beat-reporter Stephen Nesbitt the Pittsburgh Pirates have named Francisco Liriano their opening day starter for the 2015 season.
It will mark back-to-back years for Liriano as the opening day starter for the Bucks, who look to improve on consecutive postseason season appearances.
"We just want to put to rest that we've had nine different opening day pitchers in a row," Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle told the Post-Gazette. "We wanted to settle down and kick that one to the curb."
The 31-year-old left-hander is coming off two seasons in which he's combined for a 3.20 ERA and 338 strikeouts over 323 1/3 innings pitched with Pittsburgh. Liriano signed a three-year, $39 million contract and will get the nod to prove his worth right away. He’s coming off a preseason start where he went four innings.
"He pitched aggressively. Good velocity, good finish [to the delivery]," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told MLB.com. "He worked it to both sides of the plate. Spun the ball. A very good workday for him."
During the preseason, Liriano has redeveloped his slider that was virtually unhittable in 2013. He held lefty batters to a .131 batting average with that slider. Its proficiency diminished last season as lefties hit .270 off the same pitch.
"I don't think it's ever gone away -- when he's been healthy,” Hurdle told MLB.com. “Whenever he's been healthy, he's had all his pitches. I think there was a large volume of damage done [last season] when he wasn't healthy. But you might have to dig deeper into it."
Liriano battled a strained groin and a left oblique strain. It wasn’t his best season, though he still sported a 3.38 ERA.
"He set the bar so high when he was unhittable," Hurdle said. "He was so efficient [in 2013] that anything a little off that suffered by comparison."
