Dein erstes Forum » streak.They played harder than we did, San An

LOS ANGELES -- Clutch hitting from Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez helped the Pittsburgh Pirates finally win a series in Dodger Stadium after a seven-year drought. McCutchen hit his first home run in over a month, doubled twice and scored two runs to help the Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Sunday and take three of four from the defending NL West champions. "Its good that we were able to get three out of four against a really good team here in L.A.," McCutchen said. "We havent done that in a long time, so its a step in the right direction, definitely." Alvarez drove in three runs against Zack Greinke and Josh Harrison homered against Chris Perez, helping the Pirates win for the eighth time in 12 games. The last time they captured a series at Chavez Ravine was in September 2006, when they took two of three under then manager Jim Tracy. "Weve been out here a lot and not done a whole lot. So it was a big thing for us -- because we flat-out believe we can play," skipper Clint Hurdle said. "We needed to knock this off our to-do list, and we were able to. We knew what we were facing here, and we outpitched them for three of the four days. We played three really clean ballgames. We have confidence and we have enough edge and grit, and I think it showed up this weekend." Edinson Volquez (3-4) allowed two runs and five hits over five innings, striking out six and walking one. "Youve got to stay focused on what youre doing, especially against those guys because they have a good lineup," Volquez said. "You cant make a lot of mistakes against them, especially with Greinke because hes one of the best pitchers in the National League. Tonight I had better fastball command than I did in New York, so I was able to throw more strikes and keep the fastball down." Jason Grilli, the fifth Pirates pitcher, got three outs for his eighth save and third of the series after giving up a pair of two-out walks and an RBI single by pinch-hitter Scott Van Slyke. It was the Dodgers only hit after Justin Turners solo homer with one out in the fourth. Greinke (8-2) gave up a season-worst four runs and five hits in seven innings and struck out seven. "Hes an ultra-competitor. And to beat him, youve got to out-compete him," Hurdle said. "We laid off some tight pitches, we worked some counts, got his pitch count up, then we hit some pitches we were able to handle and got the barrel on them. But that was the plan coming in. I mean, you give him strike one and he can cut you up three different ways. So we just tried to be as aggressive as he was. We were looking for fastballs early, and his location played into it." Alvarez opened the scoring in the first with a two-run single after Greinke gave up a two-out double to McCutchen and walks to Ike Davis and Russell Martin. "McCutchen did a lot against us," manager Don Mattingly said. "Obviously the kid at third base (Alvarez) had a couple of big hits too, and had some good at-bats. Zack had been fairly successful against him." McCutchen, whose 21 homers, 84 RBIs and .317 average last season helped the Pirates end a 20-year playoff drought, made it 3-1 in the third with his fifth homer and first since April 23. The RBI was the first for the reigning NL MVP after a drought of nine games and 33 at-bats since his run-scoring single against Washingtons Blake Treinen on May 22. "I havent been hitting the ball the way I knew I could be, so tonight was a good start for myself," said McCutchen, who came in 4 for 21 against Greinke with two RBIs. "Just being ready to hit was the biggest key, and getting pitches to hit. Ive been a little late, probably because my timings been off on off-speed pitches. So tonight I got myself in a hitting position and was ready to fire. And when I got a good pitch to hit I was able to put the barrel on it." Harrison, who was 7 for 17 in the series, hit his fourth homer in the seventh for the Pirates final run. NOTES: Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig had two hits and has reached base in 33 straight games, the longest active streak in the majors. ... RHP Bryan Morris, who gave up Hanley Ramirezs second homer of the game in Saturdays 12-2 Pirates loss, was traded to the Miami Marlins for the 39th overall pick in Thursdays draft. RHP Casey Sadler was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis, where he was 6-1 with a 2.66 ERA in eight starts. Cheap Jerseys .com) - The New York Islanders will try to solve their issues against Central Division opponents when they visit the Minnesota Wild for Tuesdays battle at Xcel Energy Center. Cheap NHL Jerseys Adidas .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova. http://www.nflauthenticchinawholesalejerseys.com/. For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. Authentic NFL Jerseys China .com) - Troy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal with just 12. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale . The Cottagers last victory came in a 2-1 home win over West Ham when Rene Meulensteen was still in charge. Since then, a miserable run of seven defeats and two draws has seen the club part with the Dutch coach and replace him with German Felix Magath.SAN ANTONIO - A disappointing loss left the Los Angeles Clippers angry, so they took out their frustration on the defending NBA champions.Blake Griffin had 31 points and 13 rebounds, and the Clippers rolled to a 105-85 victory over San Antonio on Saturday night, snapping the Spurs six-game home winning streak.They played harder than we did, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. They played smarter. They executed what they wanted to do at both ends of the court better. It was a butt-kicking. I dont know how else you all want me to describe it.Its a feeling the Clippers know well after losing 108-103 to New Orleans on Friday night.We were sick about that loss last night, so I just think it was just a mindset with everybody (to come out energized), Griffin said.San Antonio had won four straight over Los Angeles, but this time the Spurs were unable to match the Clippers quick pace.The teams combined to take 14 shots in the first 3 minutes. The frenetic tempo better suited Los Angeles, which raced to an 11-4 lead that led Popovich to call a timeout.We had great focus, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. Our pace was fantastic. I thought that was the key offensively. Then everybody contributed. Our bench was phenomenal.Chris Paul had 20 points and Spencer Hawes scored 11. DeAndre Jordan added eight points and 19 rebounds while limiting All-Star reserve Tim Duncan to four points, which matched his season low.San Antonios Big Three of Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined for 18 points.Griffin scored 19 in the first half on 8-for-15 shooting, sprinting the length of the floor for a series of layups, pull-up jumpers and one dunk.San Antonio had five turnovers in the first quarter and went 2 for 12 on 3-pointers, missing six straight.Theyre a great offensive team, but they did miss some shots, Rivers said. I just thought we ran them off a lot of shots and made them take in-between shots. They had open looks, but a lot of them may have been shots they didnt want to have.Griffin had 10 points in the third quarter, including a pair of free throws with 43.9 seconds remaining that gave the Clippers an 84-65 advantage.The Spurs were 4 for 7 on 3s in the third quarter but only had a pair of 2-ppoint field goals in the period, both coming in the final 2 minutes.ddddddddddddKawhi Leonard scored 24 points for the Spurs. Danny Green added 16, including five 3-pointers.San Antonio went 10 for 30 on 3s and was outrebounded 56-36.If (Popovich) thinks it is (a lack of competitiveness), then it is and it worries me, Ginobili said. I thought we just executed poorly. We were distracted. We werent on the same page in every possession. Sometimes you play and you think youre doing one thing, and then you dont. The coaches are the ones who see it the best way.___TIP-INSClippers: Paul and Ginobili got entangled with 4:37 remaining in the third quarter as Ginobili was racing downcourt after stripping the ball from the Clippers point guard. Paul held Ginobili after grabbing him from behind, but no flagrant foul was called despite howls from the sellout crowd. ... Los Angeles leads the NBA in offensive efficiency, averaging 110.9 points per 100 possessions entering the game.Spurs: Duncans selection as a reserve for the Western Conference marks the 36th time in the past 39 years that the Spurs have had an All-Star representative. Its the most by any team in the league during that span, one ahead of the Lakers. ... With Wednesdays win over Charlotte, Parker became the fastest player to 700 career victories. He did so in 973 games, which was seven fewer than Scottie Pippen. ... G Marco Belinelli (strained left groin) participated in all but the final 10 minutes of San Antonios practice Friday, but did not play. He has missed 11 straight games and 18 overall due to the injury.FIFTY-FIFTYJordan was 3 for 5 from the field, marking the 33rd straight game he has shot 50 per cent or better. Its the leagues longest streak since James Donaldson had 35 in a row for the Clippers in 1985.OUCHBoris Diaws 3-point attempt at the halftime buzzer sailed over the backboard, hitting Popovich squarely in the back of the head as he was halfway down the walkway. The Spurs coach hurried off the court ahead of his team, but never stopped walking even after being hit by the shot that was launched from the opposite 3-point line.UP NEXTClippers: Visit Brooklyn on Monday.Spurs: Host Orlando on Wednesday. ' ' '