y at Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.---For more college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/ | Forum

ANAHEIM, Calif. Hydro Flask Black Friday . -- The Pittsburgh Pirates have been making a lot of noise this season and are tempting their long-suffering fans again with the possibility of a winning season for the first time since rookie Gerrit Cole was still in diapers. Francisco Liriano took a shutout into the seventh inning, and Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez and Gaby Sanchez homered, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night. "It was awesome just to be able to do that, and we had a lot of fun doing it," said McCutchen, who ended a homerless drought of 98 at-bats. "This is the way we should come out and play every day. We dont have to depend on just one or two guys. Everybodys coming through. To have a complete lineup like that from top to bottom is always fun." Liriano (6-3) allowed a run and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings, struck out six and walked three. The Angels run came in the seventh, when rookie J.B. Shuck hit a ground-rule double just inside the right field line and Mike Trout drove him in with a two-out single on the left-handers 104th and final pitch. Liriano has allowed fewer than three runs in seven of his nine starts after missing the first 35 games of the season because of broken bone in his non-throwing arm. The victory put the Bucs a season-best 15 games over .500 (45-30). After 75 games last season they were 40-35, but finished with a losing record for an unprecedented 20th straight year. Jerome Williams (5-3) gave up five runs -- four earned -- and eight hits over six innings in his eighth start of the season and first since June 12. The right-hander took over the rotation slot vacated by lefty Jason Vargas, who was placed on the disabled list Friday because of a blood clot under his pitching arm. "He made really good pitches in the first inning, and he really made some really good pitches throughout the game," catcher Chris Iannetta said. "But in that three-run inning he gave up the home run to Alvarez, and that was just a good piece of hitting. All of his mistakes were up in the zone and they capitalized on them." Alvarez has homered in three consecutive games. The Bucs added two more that inning on an RBI single by No. 9 hitter Jordy Mercer and a bases-loaded walk to Russell Martin. One of the runs was unearned, the result of a fielding error by third baseman Alberto Callaspo on a slow-hit grounder by Marte that kept the inning alive. "Actually, if Williams threw the whole game the way he did in the first inning, it would have been complicated for us," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Hes pitched extremely well for them, and this was probably not normal for what theyve seen from him this season. There were mistakes he made tonight and we were able to do something with those mistakes. A lot of balls were elevated." Travis Snider extended the margin to 4-0 in the fourth with an RBI single after a leadoff double by Neil Walker. McCutchen added his eighth homer in the fifth, and Sanchez capped the scoring in the eighth against Michael Kohn with a homer off the left field pole, his sixth this season and second in his last 44 games. After striking out four of his first five batters, Liriano found himself in a jam with runners at the corners in the third inning before retiring Albert Pujols on a grounder to second base. The three-time NL MVP is 1 for 15 against Liriano. "His fastball was 92, 95, and had good movement," Iannetta said. "He had a really tight slider tonight and a very good changeup. That was his equalizing pitch, and we swung through it a lot." Howie Kendrick, hitting at a .381 clip over his previous 35 games, legged out a double to right-centre with one out in the Angels fourth and was thrown out at the plate as left fielder Starling Marte charged Erick Aybars sharp single and made a one-hop peg to Martin. "I knew he was out right when they sent him home, because I know he has a cannon," McCutchen said. "When that ball was coming to him and I saw (third base coach Dino Ebel) waving, I was like, Hes out. Hes not a typical left fielder because he has the arm of a right fielder. So when he threw that ball, I knew he was toast." NOTES: Shuck started in RF in place of Josh Hamilton, who missed his second straight game with a sore right wrist. Hamilton is batting just .207. ... Hurdle, whose only season as the Texas Rangers hitting coach coincided with Hamiltons 2010 AL MVP campaign, had a chance to reconnect with Angels slumping right fielder during this series. "It was an extremely good visit," Hurdle said. "I think theres a lot of challenges, and hes in a challenging place. I reminded him of the strengths and the skills he does have, and also that he cant do it alone. Theres some other pretty talented people in that clubhouse and on that ballfield." ... Hurdle played in 18 games at Angel Stadium with the Kansas City Royals when it was still known as Anaheim Stadium, and was 10 for 46 lifetime. ... Liriano is 2-4 with a 5.82 ERA in eight career starts against the Angels. Swell Black Friday . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Cheap Hydro Flask . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.waterbottleblackfriday.com/ . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. MINNEAPOLIS -- After losing more games last season than any other team in the 121-year history of Minnesotas program, the Gophers have played like a totally different group.Thats because they are, for the most part.Amir Coffey scored all 19 of his points in the second half, after Akeem Springs made three 3-pointers over the final 5 minutes of the first half to finish with 11 points and help Minnesota pull away for an 85-71 victory over Arkansas on Tuesday night.They should be confident. Theyve worked hard, coach Richard Pitino said. Theyve stayed humble throughout a tough offseason, and theyve just been eager to get back to proving themselves on and off the court.Nate Mason had 13 points and seven assists, Eric Curry added 12 points and Reggie Lynch and Jordan Murphy each added 10 points for the Gophers (5-0), who won their first five games to start a season for the first time in three years. With transfers Springs and Lynch and freshmen Coffey and Curry, theres a new look and some new life to this team after a miserable 8-23 finish.What the team went through last year, I think that matured everyone, Springs said.Dusty Hannahs scored 20 points and Moses Kingsley had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Razorbacks (3-1), whose first road trip of the season was rough. They didnt make a 3-pointer until Hannahs hit one at the 4-minute mark and finished 1 for 8 after entering the game 24 for 54 from behind the arc (44.9 percent).Their 21 turnovers were their most since March 21, 2015, an NCAA tournament loss to North Carolina, and they had only six fast-break points after tallying 51 over the first three games. The Gophers had a 26-9 edge in points off turnovers.Weve just been being really sloppy, Hannahs said. It hasnt been like this is a random occurrence.The Gophers started slowly, but the Razorbacks missed nine of their first 10 shots from the floor and were outscored 25-6 over a stretch of more than 10 minutes. Springs swished two more 3-pointers after that run in the closing minutes of the first half, and the Gophers led by at least 14 points for the rest of the game. Swell Cyber Monday Sale. COFFEY BREAKThe freshman Coffey had 30 points on Friday against St. Johns and after a quiet first half got the crowd going with an array of fast-break dunks and slick layups plus a 3-pointer that gave the Gophers a 67-46 lead to match their largest of the game.Everybody knew he was struggling, so everybody kept going to him and encouraging him, Mason said. That shows the unselfishness for our team.CURRYING FAVORCurry, a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, who was recruited by the Razorbacks, went 8 for 8 from the free-throw line.HEY, WE PLAYED THEM TOOBoth Arkansas and Minnesota have already beaten Texas-Arlington, the team picked to win the Sun Belt Conference in a preseason coaches poll. The Gophers beat the Mavericks 84-67 on Nov. 14, and the Razorbacks edged UTA 71-67 on Friday.BIG PICTUREArkansas: A team picked to finish fifth in the preseason SEC media poll that tapped Kingsley as the player of the year, the Razorbacks must make some significant improvements to be competitive in a Dec. 17 game against No. 22 Texas. With an influx of junior-college transfers, chemistry is a work in progress.Theyre still learning how to play with one another, coach Mike Anderson said.Minnesota: After finishing as the third-worst team in the Big Ten in defense last season, with the second-highest percentage of 3-pointers allowed, the Gophers have been markedly better, beginning with the fundamentals of cutting off baseline drives and rotating over to help. Lynchs shot-blocking presence is a big boost too.Once youre getting stops, it makes the game a little bit easier for everyone, Springs said.UP NEXTArkansas returns home on Monday to host Mount St. Marys, the first of five straight home games.Minnesota hosts Southern Illinois on Friday, before the first road game on Monday at Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.---For more college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '