PITTSBURGH -- Neil Walker wasnt expecting to have a big offensive game Friday night, especially with Michael Wacha pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals. The last time Wacha started at PNC Park was in the Game 4 of last years National League Division Series and he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in beating the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yet the hot-hitting Walker had three hits, including a go-ahead three-run home run in the seventh inning, and drove in four runs to help the Pirates beat the Cardinals 6-4. "Wacha is so good, as we found out last year," said Walker, who has reached base in 22 of his last 40 plate appearances. "He throws hard and youve got to shorten up your swing and put the ball in play. Thats the best way to approach him because youre usually not going to do too much against him." While Walkers first two hits were against Wacha, his seventh homer came off Carlos Martinez (0-2) and rallied the Pirates from a 4-3 deficit for their third straight victory. Jordy Mercer and pinch-hitter Gaby Sanchez led off the inning with singles and were bunted up a base by Jose Tabata before Walker hit a drive into the right-field stands. "Martinez is as tough as Wacha, but he hung a slider and I was able to put a good swing on it," Walker said. "I was surprised. The guy has such great stuff that youre not thinking that youre going to hit a home run in that situation. It was huge." Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said it didnt appear that Martinez got the home run pitch "where he wanted it." Mercer had three of the Pirates 12 hits, while Ike Davis, who hit a two-run double in the first inning to open the scoring, and Tabata had two hits apiece. Pittsburgh beat St. Louis for the 10th time in 13 games at home. Mercers performance was a welcome development for the Pirates and their shortstop, who is hitting just .187. "Ive been putting in a lot of time in the batting cage, trying to figure things out and its nice to have some results because I feel confident now when I step in the batters box," Mercer said. "Confidence is such a big part of hitting." St. Louis had gone ahead earlier in the seventh on Jhonny Peraltas solo home run, his eighth. Allen Craigs three-run home run, his fourth, accounted for the Cardinals other runs. Peralta and Craig had two hits apiece in the Cardinals second loss in five games. Justin Wilson (1-0) struck out the only batter he faced, Matt Adams, to end the top of the seventh. Mark Melancon, filling as the closer for injured Jason Grilli, pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save. Both starting pitchers worked five innings and had uneven performances. Pittsburghs Francisco Liriano allowed three runs, five hits and four walks while striking out five, while Wacha gave up three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. Liriano has gone a career-long 11 regular-season starts without a win since beating the Texas Rangers last Sept. 10. Wacha is winless in his last five starts. NOTES: The game was delayed 25 minutes in the top of the fourth inning because of rain. . Pirates OF Travis Sniders appeal of his two-game suspension for his actions in an April 20 brawl were upheld and he began serving his penalty Friday night. . The Cardinals recalled OF Joey Butler from Triple-A Memphis and optioned OF Randal Grichuk to the same club. . Pittsburgh recalled INF Brent Morel from Triple-A Indianapolis. They had optioned RHP Phil Irwin to Indianapolis on Thursday. . Grilli threw from the top of the mound Friday for the first time since April 21 when the closer went on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. . Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (4-1, 3.51) will start Saturday night against RHP Edinson Volquez (1-3, 4.19).
Liberty London sWell Bottle . On a hot, sweaty day, the Hall of Famer looked cool and comfortable.
Swell Bottles Uk Sale . The Los Angeles Clippers showed them just how ugly that life could be. Jared Dudley scored a season-high 21 points, Chris Paul added 16 points and 17 assists, and the Clippers jumped all over the Bulls in Roses absence for a 121-82 victory Sunday.
http://www.swellbottleuk.com/ . With the union re-formed, negotiations with owners will resume Friday on the remaining issues that would be in the collective bargaining agreement, according to a person familiar with the plans.
Swell Marble Bottle Uk . Tyutin has missed the last nine games with an ankle injury which occurred while playing for Russia at the Olympics. The top-two defenceman has four goals and 20 assists, 30 penalty minutes and a plus-6 rating in 53 games with Columbus this season.
Cheap Swell . Funny, they looked like longtime friends during Pittsburghs 5-1 demolition of Dallas on Tuesday night. Quick to the puck and even quicker to the net, the Penguins top line overwhelmed the suddenly struggling Stars as Pittsburgh bounced back from a dismal weekend sweep at the hands of Philadelphia by jumping on Dallas early.PLANCHER-LES-MINES, France -- Italys Vincenzo Nibali stamped his dominance on the Tour de France by winning Stage 10 in the Vosges mountains on Monday -- shortly after his biggest rival for the title, two-time champion Alberto Contador, crashed out with a fractured shin after a high-speed spill. Nibali, the Astana team leader, also regained the overall race lead from Frances Tony Gallopin -- who had taken the leaders yellow jersey off him a day earlier -- in the 161.5-kilometre trek from the eastern city of Mulhouse to a super-steep uphill finish at La Planche des Belles Filles. With a final burst of speed in the last two kilometres, Nibali overtook breakaway rider Joaquim Rodriguez. The Spaniard, heaving hard as Nibali overtook him, caught back up briefly but then the Italian accelerated brutally with 700 metres to go. By the end, Nibali crossed 15 seconds ahead of Frances Thibault Pinot in second and Spains Alejandro Valverde in third, a further five seconds behind. The Italian recovers the yellow jersey that he wore for seven days after he won the Tours second stage in the hills of Yorkshire in northern England. "My legs felt good. I knew the last three kilometres were the toughest, and thats when I accelerated," said Nibali, sucking his thumb in a tribute to his young daughter as he finished. "I thought Rodriguez would follow but he seemed to have trouble." With Contador out, Nibali is now the favourite to win his first Tour. He has won the Italian Giro and the Spanish Vuelta -- cyclings other "Grand Tours" along with the French race. Overall, he leads Richie Porte of Australia by nearly 2 minutes, 23 seconds, and Valverde, who is third, 2:47 back. A string of crash injuries has meant that the Tour will have a first-time winner this year. The departure of Contador, a 31-year-old Spaniard with Tinkoff-Saxo Bank, follows that of defending champion Chris Froome of Britain who crashed out in the fifth stage. Before the race began, they were considered the top two favourites. Andy Schleck, the 2010 Tour winner, dropped out before Stage 4 following a crash injury a day earlier, though the Luxembourg rider said before the race that he wasnt in good enough shape to contend this year. According to his spokesman, Contador said he wasnt exactly sure what caused the crash -- which happened while he was speeding downhill at over 70 kph about halfway through the stage. Contador began the stage in ninth place overall -- 4 minutes, 8 seconds back of Gallopin. "He explained to me just a few minutes ago that he (hit) a stone or a hole in the road or something -- and he crashed," CContador spokesman Jacinto Vidarte told The Associated Press by phone during the stage.dddddddddddd "He couldnt do anything about it." TV images showed thick streams of blood pouring from Contadors right knee after the crash, his hip was scraped up, and the back of his jersey torn. Team director Bjarne Riis rushed over and bandaged the knee. Philippe Mauduit, a team sporting director, said initial X-rays showed that a Contador had a fractured shin. Contador then sat back down on the grass bank and changed his left shoe as riders weaved through the narrow gap between him and his bicycle. After several minutes, he got back in the saddle of a new bike, and three teammates who had dropped back escorted him to try to make up lost time as the peloton pulled away up the Col du Platzerwaswel mountain pass. The Spaniard rode for about another half-hour, clearly in pain, and finally stopped, got off, wiped his eyes and climbed into a team car. Nibali said he was riding next to Contador, and almost went down himself. "I feared that the Tour might be over for me too," the Italian said. "There were a lot of risks today, and Im really sorry for Alberto Contador. I was right behind him and luckily I was able to avoid him. It was on a descent. The road wasnt in great condition. "I dont know what happened, but it was just incredible," said Nibali. "He fell right in front of me and was rolling on the floor. We must have been going about 60 kilometres per hour." There were crashes elsewhere. Italian rider Michele Scarponi -- Nibalis Astana teammate -- sustained a heavy crash coming down from the penultimate climb up to Col des Chevreres. He misjudged a turn and thudded into a protective crash barrier, flipping over his bike and colliding with an adult spectator who was standing up. Scarponi was able to continue riding. British rider Geraint Thomas also crashed near the end and continued riding with blood pouring out of his left elbow. The stage featured four steep Category 1 climbs. The last section of the final ascent up to Belles Filles featured a punishing 20 per cent gradient which, as expected, shook up the pack and gave a clearer indication of contenders for overall victory of the three-week race on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 27. The race has its first rest day on Tuesday before resuming with a slightly hilly 187.5-kilometre route from Besancon to Oyonnax in eastern France on Wednesday. Stage 11 will feature four moderate climbs toward the end. ------ Eds: AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire in Plancher-les-Mines, France, contributed to this report. ' ' '
Ith Michael Wacha Pitching For The St. Louis Cardinal
Aug 9 2019, 05:45 AM
