Russell Martin has a lot to do with his ability to keep having fun playing this October. The veteran catcher hit two homers in the Pirates’ 6-2 victory over the Reds in the National League Wild Card Game on Tuesday night, moving the Bucs on to the NL Division Series against the Cardinals

Following the Pirates’ 6-2 win over the Reds in the National League Wild Card Game, the conversation seemed to be less about the game and more about the atmosphere, namely the fans who packed PNC Park and barely took a moment to breathe as they chanted and cheered and cajoled the opponents through all nine innings of this dramatic win.

This October lasted only one day, and one game. Steamrolled in every way by the Pirates during a 6-2 defeat in the do-or-die National League Wild Card Game on Tuesday night at PNC Park, the 90-win Reds are one and done, their season is completed again sooner than expected.

For Marlon Byrd, it was well worth the wait. The veteran outfielder had played in 1,250 regular-season Major League games without a playoff appearance. Byrd made his postseason debut Tuesday night one to remember.

With a foot in the door to Major League Baseball’s postseason, the Pirates kicked it in Tuesday night with a rollicking 6-2 win over the Reds in the National League Wild Card Game.

Johnny Cueto on the mound for the Cincinnati Reds, and 40,487 Pittsburghians were taunting him, mocking him, subjecting him to the sound of a baseball town reborn. With that sound raining down upon Cueto in the second inning, the ball slipped out of Cueto’s hand and the game essentially slipped out of Cincinnati’s grasp.

The waiting was replaced Tuesday night by celebration. And the celebration was vibrant, loud, justified and genuine. The devoted fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates were forced to wait 21 years between postseason appearances. When the drought ended Tuesday night, Pittsburgh fans were rewarded with jubilation, a night of joyful noise and a 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Wild Card Game.

Pittsburgh forged a sellout, its team earned a convincing victory and Tuesday night’s National League Wild Card Game opened the 2013 Major League Baseball postseason with a resounding boom on the decibel scale.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle answered questions after his team’s NL Wild Card Game victory over the Reds.

Judging from the scene both outside and inside PNC Park, it seems that Pittsburghers took every ounce of their 21 years of pent-up playoff angst and released it in the hours leading up to the NL Wild Card Game. The energy could be felt from foul pole to foul pole, all the way up to the upper deck and down into the dugouts.

While drenched in champagne in the wake of Sunday’s 5-1 win over the Twins, Indians manager Terry Francona announced that rookie Danny Salazar will take the ball for the Tribe in Wednesday’s American League Wild Card Game in Cleveland.

Often perceived as the “other guy” in the Rays’ highly-touted rotation, Alex Cobb ended the season as the best pitcher on the staff, and on Wednesday night, he’ll start in the American League Wild Card Game against the Indians at Progressive Field.

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Indians have already survived so much this season to get to this point. Now we’ll see who survives one more game.

The Rangers are bracing for another painful winter. They won 91 games this season, fifth most in club history, but they are not going to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

Monday night, the idea of facing the Indians hadn’t exactly scratched the surface of the Rays’ conscience as they partied in the visiting clubhouse at Rangers Ballpark after a 5-2 victory.

David Price’s complete-game effort and Evan Longoria’s three hits led the way in the Rays’ 5-2 win over the Rangers in the American League tiebreaker game on Monday night at Rangers Ballpark.

The Rays should have scored another run in the seventh inning at Rangers Ballpark on Monday night, when left-field umpire Bruce Dreckman ruled that Leonys Martin caught a ball replays showed he trapped.