Pirate Galaxy » ea following Fridays shootaround in Utah

PITTSBURGH -- Joey Votto is having one special finish to the season. So good even he isnt sure it can continue for much longer.Votto celebrated his 33rd birthday with four hits, including a home run, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the collapsing Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 on Saturday night.Votto led off the ninth inning with his 23rd homer, a drive to right off Juan Nicasio that gave the Reds a two-run cushion. The 2010 NL MVP is hitting .427 in 51 games since the All-Star break and could become the first major leaguer to hit .400 in the second half since Ichiro Suzuki had a .429 average in 2004 with the Seattle Mariners.Its pretty unlikely, Votto said. Well see. Just mathematically, its very unlikely to hit .400 for such a long period.Reds manager Bryan Price, who was the Mariners pitching coach in 2004, believes Votto can follow in Ichiros footsteps.Joey is such a great hitter, Price said. He can hit the ball out of the ballpark, hit the ball all over the field and has such great plate discipline that he gets on base at a .430 clip. Its special when you see this kind of production over this period of time.The Pirates flickering hopes of a fourth consecutive postseason berth took another hit as they dropped 5 1/2 games back of St. Louis for the second NL wild card with their 10th loss in 12 games.When asked if he would call a meeting in an effort to spark his team, manager Clint Hurdle gave a terse answer.The one thing I do is when I talk to guys, I dont tell you I talk to them, he said.Francisco Cervelli hit a two-out RBI single in the ninth for Pittsburgh, but Tony Cingrani held on for his 17th save. With runners on first and second, Jordy Mercer bounced into a fielders choice for the final out.Brandon Phillips had three of Cincinnatis 15 hits, helping the Reds rally from an early 4-0 deficit for their second straight win following nine losses in 11 games. Tucker Barnhart drove in three runs.Phillips is hitting .365 (19 for 52) with four homers and 10 RBI in 14 games against the Pirates this season.The Reds jumped in front with three runs in the fifth against rookie reliever Trevor Williams (1-1). Scott Schebler had a bases-loaded walk before Barnhart made it 7-4 with a two-run double.Jung Ho Kangs two-run homer off rookie starter Robert Stephenson gave the Pirates a 4-0 lead in the third inning. Kang finished with two hits and three RBI.Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison left in the sixth inning after injuring his right groin while legging out a two-run double that got the Pirates within one at 7-6. He is 17 for 42 (.405) with six doubles during a 10-game hit streak.Josh Smith (3-1) got the win despite allowing two runs in 2 1/3 innings.Stephenson threw 43 pitches during a two-run first inning and made it through just three innings, getting tagged for four runs and five hits.Acquired in an Aug. 1 trade with Toronto and assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis, Drew Hutchison gave up four runs and eight hits in four innings in his Pirates debut.I liked the way guys pushed through, Price said. Were down 4-0. Were struggling to win games. We have to take a struggling starter out after three innings. Then here come the Reds with four runs to tie it, three runs to take the lead then the bullpen bent a little but got the job done.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: LF Starling Marte (back spasms) sat out for a fifth straight game and there is no timetable for his return.KUHL SET FOR RETURNPirates right-hander Chad Kuhl will return to the rotation Thursday night and start at Philadelphia. The rookie was originally supposed to start Saturday but the Pirates decided to give him a break after working 134 1/3 innings between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis this season.UP NEXTReds: LHP Brandon Finnegan (8-10, 4.17 ERA) will start Sunday in the finale of the four-game series. He is winless in his last three starts despite a 3.00 ERA in that span.Pirates: RHP Ryan Vogelsong (3-4, 4.07 ERA) has allowed a combined 10 runs in nine innings in his last two starts while going 0-1. Larry Warford Jersey . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. Cheap Saints Jerseys China .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. http://www.cheapsaintsjerseyselite.com/?tag=cheap-dan-arnold-jersey . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Morten Andersen Jersey . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. J.T. Gray Jersey . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. SALT LAKE CITY -- Injured Dallas?star Dirk Nowitzki expects to play at some point in December, telling ESPN he might be a Christmas gift for the Mavericks.Nowitzki, the sixth-leading scorer in NBA history, has been limited to only five games this season due to persistent soreness in his strained right Achilles tendon. He has not played since a Nov. 25 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the Mavs officially saying he is out indefinitely.The thing is, I think when I came back it was a little too early and I had a little setback, said Nowitzki, who sat out eight consecutive games before playing in losses to the?LA Clippers?and Cavaliers and getting shut down again. Everybodys a little worried about starting it back up too early and then starting back where we were, so were taking it slow now. But its been getting better. Ive been increasing the workload, and it hasnt been sore.Hopefully, Ill be back in action anytime soon. Maybe Im a Christmas gift.Nowitzki feels like hes readdy to return to practice after going through a strenuous workout with injured guard J.ddddddddddddJ. Barea following Fridays shootaround in Utah. The workout included pick-and-rolls and full-court shooting drills.Barea, who has been out due to a strained right calf since Nov. 16, was also encouraged by the workout and said he expects to return to the Mavs rotation next week.Its feeling better every day, said Barea, who expects to be on a minutes restriction upon his return.One challenge for Nowitzki, meanwhile, is that the Mavs have precious little practice time during the season. He will get in a lot of his work during 3-on-3 games with the Mavs low-minute players.Barea said the Mavs will have one such session before Sundays home game against the Sacramento Kings.Hopefully, I can get out there pretty quick and have fun again, Nowitzki told ESPN. ' ' '