nder of the season following surgery on his right shoulder. | Forum
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Jan 31 '19
ST. Josh Allen Bills Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Pedro Alvarezs first homer in almost three weeks helped the Pittsburgh Pirates improve to .500 for just the second time in more than two months. The slumping 2013 co-NL home run champion backed Edinson Volquezs pitching with a three-run shot, keying an 8-1 victory over the sputtering Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night. "It always helps, obviously, when I can contribute to a team victory," said Alvarez, whos hitting .232 with 12 homers and 38 RBIs. "Ive always said sometimes results arent indicative of how you may feel at the plate, and I feel like Im a good place," the slugger added. "Im just going to continue to work." Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 5, drove in two runs and stole two bases for the Pirates in a homecoming of sorts for last years NL MVP, who grew up in nearby Fort Meade and had never played before at Tropicana Field. He also scored twice in Pittsburghs first appearance in St. Petersburg since 2003. Alvarez, who hadnt homered since June 3, went deep off Alex Cobb (2-6) during a four-run fourth inning that also featured the first of McCutchens two RBI singles. The first-pitch, 419-foot drive over the wall in centre field snapped a season-high 16-game stretch without a homer -- Alvarezs longest since a 22-game drought that began in September 2012 and extended into last season. "A lot of times people have been taking their chances with Pedro, and hes an important part of our offence," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "We need him to fire, we need him to drive in runs and that was very good to see. Three-run homers always play well." Volquez (5-6) allowed five hits in a season-high eight innings. James Loney drove in Tampa Bays only run with a two-out, first-inning single, and the Pirates supported their starting pitcher by turning three double plays. "I got a lot of help," Volquez said. The Pirates climbed to .500 (38-38) for just the second time since April 17, when they were 8-8. They have won four of five following a three-game skid and are a NL-best 26-18 since May 6. Tampa Bay has dropped 19 of its past 27 and is saddled with the worst record in the major leagues at 31-47. "I feel like with every loss its an opportunity missed," Cobb said, adding if the Rays are going to turn their season around theyve got to get on a roll soon. McCutchen, who is batting .366 in June, boosted his average in 11 interleague games to .425 with nine walks, four doubles and seven RBIs. His run-scoring single off Cobb moved him ahead of Brian Giles for the Pirates career record for RBIs in interleague action with 52. He added another in the ninth off Kirby Yates. Alvarez, meanwhile, is hitting .317 with two home runs and eight RBIs against AL teams this season. Cobb, making his seventh start since spending five weeks on the disabled list with a left oblique strain, allowed six runs and six hits in five innings. Volquez won for the third time in his last five starts. The right-hander walked two, struck out one and didnt allow a hit after the fourth inning. Three of Tampa Bays six hits were infield singles, including Kevin Kiermaiers second-inning bunt. Jeanmar Gomez pitched the ninth for the Pirates, yielding a two-out single to Loney. NOTES: Pirates OF Starling Marte was back in the lineup after missing two games tending to a personal matter at home in the Dominican Republic. ... Pittsburgh RHP Gerrit Cole (right shoulder fatigue) threw 83 pitches over six innings in a simulated game and could rejoin the rotation this weekend. ... Pirates 2B Neil Walker (appendectomy) is expected to be reinstated from the DL Tuesday. ... The Rays havent announced if RHP Jeremy Hellickson (elbow) will need one more minor league start before returning. .. Tampa Bay 1B-OF Jerry Sands has a wrist injury, which Rays manager Joe Maddon said could require surgery. Marshall Newhouse Jersey . Ted Ligety, Mikaela Shiffrin, Bode Miller and Tim Jitloff underlined the squads enormous potential on the Rettenbach glacier in Austria. Star Lotulelei Jersey .A. Happs hold on a spot in the Blue Jays starting rotation is in question. MINNEAPOLIS -- Shawn Marion was getting to the rim at will, knocking down 3-pointers and playing tough defence. Even if the Minnesota Timberwolves think his defence was a little too tough on the last shot of the game, there was no disputing that "The Matrix" was back for Dallas on Monday night. Marion scored 32 points, hit two huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and swatted away Kevin Loves 21-foot jumper at the buzzer to help the Mavericks outlast the Timberwolves in a 100-98 victory. The Mavs led by 19 late in the first half and seven with 3 minutes to play, but the Wolves had the ball down two in the closing seconds. Love got the ball in the corner and rose up for a 3-pointer, but Marion swooped in and swatted it away as Love looked for a foul. None was called. "Heh, heh. It was not a foul," Marion said. The Timberwolves disagreed. "He got fouled," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "I wonder what that would have been if (Dirk) Nowitzki, LeBron James, all the top players in the league -- a guy reaches on a last-second shot like that, instead of challenging it. Maybe they dont understand that Kevin is one of the top five players in this league. You make that call. But they didnt." Love, who had 36 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, stood watching the scoreboard in disbelief, and the Mavericks walked off the court winners against the Wolves for the first time in three tries this season. "Im the type of person that if you see a foul, an obvious foul, you call it," Love said. "And I thought that was pretty, pretty obvious. ... You look at the replay and it was obvious he got arm." Nowitzki had 16 points for the Mavericks, who led by 19 late in the first half before the Wolves came back. But this win was all Marion. He topped 30 points in a game for the first time since the 2008-09 season, and made 14 of 19 shots to go with six rebounds and three assists. "Im all about winning games, man," Marion said. "Whatever it takes." After the Timberwolves were down 19 at halftime, Love shot 6 of 8 in the third qquarter and the Wolves outscored Dallas 38-21 to tie the game heading into the fourth. Phillip Gaines Bills Jerseys. Adelman, however, might have stuck with a struggling J.J. Barea too long in the final period. Rather than going back to Ricky Rubio during a timeout with just more than 5:30 to play, Adelman kept Barea, who had five turnovers in 17 minutes, on the floor. Thats when Marion hit two of his four 3s for a 97-90 lead with 3:04 to play. "Shawn was the key to the game, no question about it," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "If were giving out game balls, itd be two game balls in a row for him. Activity was great. Played both ends of the floor. Didnt run one play for him. He just produced." Nowitzki finished the run with a baseline jumper, the original "Stretch 4" finding a way to best the newest version in Love. The Wolves had beaten the Mavericks soundly in the first two meetings of the season, so Dallas came in with some extra motivation. And the Wolves woeful defence did little to deter the Mavericks. Dallas shot 60 per cent in the first half and scored 34 of its 62 points in the paint, with Love, Nikola Pekovic and the rest of the Wolves defence just letting the Mavericks parade to the rim. Marion scored 21 points and hit 10 of his 12 shots -- most from within 5 feet -- in the first half. Nowitzki threw down a rare dunk to get his teammates off the bench and give the Mavs a 60-41 lead late in the second quarter. The loss followed a pattern for the Wolves, who were trying to climb over .500 for the fifth time in December. They were 0-4 in their previous four tries, having shot 39 per cent while allowing their opponents to shoot 52 per cent. Pekovic had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Rubio had four points, 13 assists, nine rebounds and three steals for Minnesota. NOTES: Brandan Wright had 14 points off the bench for Dallas. ... Injured Wolves Fs Chase Budinger (knee) and Ronny Turiaf (elbow) played 3-on-3 at the morning shootaround. There is still no timetable for their return. ... Rubio picked up his 1,000th career assist in the first quarter. 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