Ps 3 » harlotte its first lead of the half at 87-8

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Andrew McCutchen went 4 for 5 and finished a home run short of a cycle, and Jordy Mercer drove in a career-high four runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-2 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Mercer had two of Pittsburghs 13 hits, and each of the Pirates eight position players who started the game had at least one. Pittsburgh jumped on starter Roberto Hernandez in the first inning and scored four runs on five hits and sent nine men to the plate. All the runs scored with two outs against Hernandez, who threw 45 pitches in his inning. Gerrit Cole (7-4) made his second start since coming off the disabled list after he had right shoulder fatigue. Hernandez (3-8) settled down after the rough first and pitched 5 2-3 innings. He gave up five runs, 10 hits and four walks, and struck out three. Hernandez was pulled in the sixth after he walked Starling Marte with two outs. Marte got the Pirates first inning surge going with a one-out single, but he was thrown out at the plate by shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who fielded a hit by McCutchen in shallow left that bounced off the glove of third baseman Cody Asche. After Neil Walker walked, Russell Martin and Josh Harrison connected for RBI singles. Mercer drove in two runs with a single after Gaby Sanchez walked, giving the Pirates a 4-0 lead. They added a run in the fourth when Gregory Polanco singled and scored on McCutchens double to left. Cole threw just 80 pitches in five shutout innings and allowed only one hit innings. He walked one and struck out five before being removed from the game because of right lat soreness. Philadelphia got on the board in the sixth against reliever Stolmy Pimentel, who walked three of the four hitters he faced and didnt record an out. After Pimentel walked Ben Revere and Rollins, Chase Utley singled down the right field line to make it 5-1. Jared Hughes replaced Pimentel after a walk to Ryan Howard. Marlon Byrd hit into a double play that scored Rollins, before Hughes struck out Asche looking. The Pirates answered Philadelphias two runs with two in the seventh when Mercer doubled in Martin and Sanchez. McCutchen drove in his second run in the eighth with his second double, scoring Polanco from first after he led off with a walk. Justin Wilson, Tony Watson and Jeanmar Gomez each worked a perfect inning to finish off Pittsburghs win. NOTES: Philadelphia has lost only twice on Independence Day in 11 years, both times at PNC Park. The Phillies previous July 4 defeat was 8-5 in 2009. . The attendance of 38,977 was a Pirates record for a July 4 game. ... Pittsburgh RHP Edinson Volquez (6-6, 4.07 ERA) matches up with Philadelphia RHP David Buchanan (4-4, 4.86 ERA) on Saturday in the second game of the three-game series. Wholesale Air Jordan 11 From China . Thats what he did over the past 2 1/2 years with the Washington Wizards. Wittmans approach helped turn the Wizards from pushover to playoff winners. Air Jordan 11 Cheap Online . -- Kael Mouillierat scored three times and set up one more as the St. http://www.airjordan11wholesale.com/. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Buddy Robinson scored 43 seconds apart in the second period to lead the Binghamton Senators to a 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs in American Hockey League action Friday night at the Bell Centre. Wholesale Cheap Jordan 11 . - David Tomasek had two goals in regulation time and was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Belleville Bulls upset the Oshawa Generals 6-5 on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Jordan 11 Wholesale Free Shipping .C. -- Al Jefferson knows few people will be giving the Charlotte Bobcats a chance to upset the Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.ATLANTA - One team was motivated by the goal of dodging the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. The other teams goal was resting its starters. The result was predictable. Chris Douglas-Roberts dribbled into the lane and sank a short jumper as time expired, and the Charlotte Bobcats overcame a 15-point deficit in the final period to beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-93 on Monday night. Al Jefferson had 27 points and 15 rebounds for Charlotte, which remained one game behind Washington in the race for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Gary Neal had 17. "Great shot," said Jefferson of Douglas-Roberts game-winner. "Great play. Great finish. Great win." Added Jefferson, referring to his role in the play: "Great pick!" Jeffersons turnaround jumper gave the Bobcats a 93-91 lead before Lou Williams answered with a tying jumper for Atlanta with 2.6 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Douglas-Roberts penetrated and lobbed the soft jumper as the buzzer sounded. Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said Douglas-Roberts "made a great shot." Even so, the coach wasnt satisfied, especially with his teams defence. Charlotte has won seven of eight, but Clifford isnt satisfied his team is playing at the level he wants for the playoffs. "We didnt get the defence we needed out of the starters," Clifford said. "The big thing is to be playing well, which were not." The Hawks rested starters Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll the full game, and also held out starters Jeff Teague and Pero Antic the final quarter when the Bobcats made their charge. "Some of our young guys got great opportunities," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I think theres a lot to take from tonight." Mike Scott led Atlanta with 20 points. Shelvin Mack and Williams each had 13, and Teague 11. The Hawks spot as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference already was set, so Budenholzer was playing to protect his top players. "I think when youre in our situation, health and all of those things are a priority," Budenholzer said.dddddddddddd Added veteran Elton Brand: "We felt like we let it slip away, but guys got a lot of experience and that is important for us, too." By contrast, Charlotte still had much to play for. The reward for sixth is avoiding Miami in the first round. Washington beat Miami 114-93 on Monday night to protect its lead over Charlotte in the race for sixth and secure first in the conference for Indiana. The Hawks will face the Pacers in the first round. Douglas-Roberts had five points as part of the Bobcats productive bench. "We have a job to do," Douglas-Roberts said. "We did a great job of getting back into this game. Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour basically carried us up until that point. ... I feel like thats the least I can do to help these guys, the way they carried us the whole quarter." Atlanta led 50-44 at halftime and 80-65 entering the final period. The Bobcats opened the fourth period with a 19-4 run, capped by 14 consecutive points, to pull even at 84. Ridnour had all of his 10 points in the run, including the tying jumper with 6:07 remaining. Three free throws by Neal gave Charlotte its first lead of the half at 87-86. The Bobcats led 91-86 before Macks back-to-back baskets — a 3-pointer and short jumper — tied the game at 91. Kemba Walker had five points and seven assists in his returned for the Bobcats after missing two games with a sore right groin. NOTES: The Bobcats salvaged one win in the four-game season series. ... Former Turner Entertainment Networks president Steve Koonin was introduced in the day as the Hawks CEO and co-owner. Koonin will direct business operations and represent the owners in league meetings. ... Jefferson posted his eighth straight double-double. ... A young fan sitting on the front row and wearing a Hawks jersey was bowled over by Charlottes Anthony Tolliver. The boy appeared to be shaken up but quickly regrouped as he received high-fives and fist-bumps from Hawks players. During a timeout minutes later, he was presented player-sized athletic shoes which were too big to remain in his lap. ' ' '