Pirates, Cubs set rosters for NL wild-card game

The Pittsburgh Pirates hope Francisco Liriano won't have to pitch until Friday.

Still, the Pirates placed Liriano on the 25-man roster for Wednesday night's wild-card game against the Chicago Cubs should starter Gerrit Cole falter or the contest go deep into extra innings.

The Pirates went with 16 position players and nine pitchers for the elimination game between the teams with the second- and third-best record in the majors.

Pittsburgh placed rookie outfielder Keon Broxton on the roster and made Elias Diaz the third catcher behind Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart.

The Cubs includedJon Lesteron their wild-card roster as insurance should they need it during the one-game playoff against the Pirates.

Cy Young Award candidate Jake Arrieta will start against the Pirates. Lester, who won a pair of World Series rings with the Boston Red Sox in 2007 and 2013, is on the roster in case Arrieta has a short start or the game extends into extra innings.

The Cubs placed 10 pitchers and 15 position players on their 25-man roster. The winner advances to the NL Division Series against St. Louis starting Friday.

Rosters can be reset for each postseason series.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.