PITTSBURGH -- A single strike from falling two games behind the Pittsburgh
Pirates in the race for the top spot in the National League wild-card race, the
Cincinnati Reds needed a break.
Cheap
Authentic Jerseys . Jordy Mercer provided one. The surging Reds
took care of the rest. A wild throw by the Pittsburgh shortstop with two outs in
the ninth inning opened the door for a three-run rally off Pirates closer Mark
Melancon that tied the game. Joey Vottos home run off Kyle Farnsworth an inning
later won it as the Reds pulled off an improbable 6-5 victory to move into a tie
with the Pirates. Both teams are two games behind St. Louis for the lead in the
NL Central. "Thats really uncommon, really rare, and for us to have done that in
a game like this, against this squad, against that pitcher, that makes it even
more rare and pretty impressive," Votto said. "Guys just strung together a bunch
of tough at-bats." Ones that came after Mercer couldnt quite handle a slow
grounder by Todd Frazier with one on and two outs in the ninth. Mercer charged
the ball but couldnt get a grip on it and it ended up in the stands behind first
base. "If I make a good throw right there, the game is over and all the stuff
that happened never happens," Mercer said. "It was tough. We played a great
game, everybody played a great game and to have it happen like that, its just a
bad throw." And the Pirates quickly unraveled. Zach Cozart singled after Mercers
error to put runners on the corners. Cincinnati rookie base-stealing specialist
Billy Hamilton pinch ran for Cozart and promptly swiped second then raced home
when Devin Mesoraco ended a nine-pitch duel with Melancon by sending a sharp
grounder that bounced off third baseman Pedro Alvarez and rolled onto the grass
in shallow left field. "I really just went up there and just thought about
battling ..." Mesoraco said. "That was it. That was my only goal, just go up
there, battle, battle, and hopefully leave one out over the plate that I could
put a half-decent swing on and hopefully find a hole." Melancon has been
dominant since taking over the closers role from Jason Grilli in July, but blew
his second save in three days. San Diego rallied for a 3-2 win on Wednesday.
This one, however, will almost certainly be more difficult to overcome. "Thats a
game we should have won and I think the Reds know that too," Melancon said. JJ
Hoover (5-5) earned the win for the Reds, who have won four straight. Aroldis
Chapman worked the 10th for his 38th save. Farnsworth (1-1) retired Brandon
Phillips to start the 10th but left fielder Starling Marte couldnt quite grab
Vottos shot down the line. "We hadnt come back in a long time, and we hadnt come
back for a long time on the road," Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said.
Pittsburgh began the week 74-2 when leading after eight innings, but has now
squandered ninth-inning leads twice in three nights. "Who said it was going to
be easy?" manager Clint Hurdle said. "Who said it was going to be easy? Weve
been very good winning as a team, losing as a team ... weve got to find a way to
finish things off." The Pirates appeared firmly in control through eight
innings. Francisco Liriano overwhelmed the Reds, allowing two runs on three
hits, walking three and striking out seven. The left-hander needed only 94
pitches to record 24 outs, but told Hurdle he was done when he entered the
dugout after striking out Brandon Phillips to end the eighth. "He was
fantastic," Hurdle said. "He said when he came off he laid it all out there."
Ryan Ludwick finished 3 for 5 for the Reds, while Frazier hit his 17th home run.
Jose Tabata and Neil Walker hit consecutive homers off Cincinnati starter Mat
Latos in the first and Pittsburgh appeared en route to giving itself some
breathing room as the franchise pursues its first playoff spot since 1992. PNC
Park, typically a ghost town this time of year as the Pirates play out the
string, was electric when Pittsburgh took the field. The 21st sellout of the
season included Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett and Pittsburgh Penguins coach
Dan Bylsma. NOTES: Hurdle was ejected in the eighth for arguing after star
Andrew McCutchen was hit by reliever Sam LeCure, who was given a warning by home
plate umpire Mark Carlson ... The series continues on Saturday when Pittsburghs
A.J. Burnett (8-11, 3.43 ERA) faces Home Bailey (11-10, 3.40). Bailey tossed his
first career no-hitter in his previous start at PNC Park last September.
Cheap
Super Bowl 50 Jerseys . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be
cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and
block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off.
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Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St.
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. -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the
defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play
continued to struggle. PARIS -- Top-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia maintained
her dominance over Daniela Hantuchova, thrashing the Slovak player 6-0, 6-1 to
reach the Open GDF Suez quarterfinals on Wednesday. The four-time Grand Slam
champion has beaten Hantuchova nine straight times, with the Slovaks only win
coming when they first played 10 years ago. "I had a tough first opponent who
can play extremely good tennis," Sharapova said. "I wanted to start the match
off well. It was extremely important to put that pressure on her from the
beginning. I think I did that really well today." Sharapova hit 10 aces, saved
all seven break points she faced, and broke Hantuchovas serve six times. She
awaits eighth-seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium or Yvonne Meusburger of Austria
in the next round.
Cheap NFL Jerseys China. Fourth-seeded
Angelique Kerber of Germany and Russias Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also reached
the last eight. Kerber beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 7-5,
while Pavlyuchenkova had a tougher time getting past seventh-seeded Carla Suarez
Navarro 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. In remaining first-round matches, there were two upsets
as and Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic beat No. 5 Simona Halep of Romania, 7-6
(1), 6-4, and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine ousted sixth-seeded Roberta Vinci 6-3,
0-6, 7-5; Also, Flipkens beat Mona Barthel 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; while Galina
Voskoboeva rallied to beat Stefanie Voegele 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (3) in nearly three
hours.
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