(AP) -- Pitching has been vital to the Pittsburgh Pirates' recent surge, but improvement from the offense may be more important to beating Chicago Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija for the first time.
Francisco Liriano will try to keep the Pirates cruising on the mound as they attempt to finally solve Samardzija on Wednesday night.
Pittsburgh is 9-2 over its last 11 games thanks in large part to a 2.34 ERA while limiting opponents to a .223 average.
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