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CINCINNATI, Ohio—Cincinnati played small ball better than Pittsburgh on
Wednesday night, allowing the Reds to take another big step toward a division
championship. Eric Decker Jersey . Homer Bailey pitched
seven solid innings and Cincinnati came up with just enough offence to squeeze
out a 2-1 win for a three-game sweep of the Pirates. “I felt like it was a
battle all night,” Bailey said. The Reds (87-57) scored both of their runs on
outs while moving 30 games over .500 for the first time since they were 96-66 on
Oct. 3, 1999. They widened their lead in the NL Central over second-place St.
Louis to 11 1/2 games. Manager Dusty Baker doesnt want to stop there. “This was
our fifth try at 30,” he said. “We finally reached it. Now lets set the next
goal for 35.” Cincinnatis win and the Cardinals 3-2 loss at San Diego cut to
eight the Reds magic number for clinching the division. Any combination of Reds
wins and Cardinals losses adding up to eight clinches the title for Cincinnati.
Bailey (11-9) allowed six hits and one run with two walks and four strikeouts to
extend his career high in victories. Sam LeCure pitched a perfect eighth and
rookie J.J. Hoover allowed a two-out hit before striking out pinch-hitter
Jose Tabata to complete his first career save. “It was awesome,” said Hoover,
one of the relievers filling in as closer while Aroldis Chapman deals with a
tired shoulder. “It was a good adrenaline rush.” Hoover is a Pittsburgh-area
native, but he didnt attach any extra significance to reaching the milestone
against his hometown team. “It was fun, but I didnt look at it like that,” he
said. Pittsburgh starter A.J. Burnett suffered his first loss in four decisions
against the Reds this season, two in games started by Bailey. Burnett (15-7),
0-3 in five starts since beating Los Angeles on Aug. 16, allowed five hits and
two runs with two walks and eight strikeouts. “It was a well-pitched game on
Homers side,” Burnett said. “You have to tip your hat.” The score was tied 1-all
when Ryan Ludwick led off Cincinnatis sixth with a double down the left-field
line. He tagged and went to third on Jay Bruces fly ball to deep centre field
then tagged and scored on Scott Rolens sacrifice fly down the left-field line.
The Reds cashed in a bit of good fortune to take a 1-0 lead in the third inning.
Ryan Hanigan led off with a lined single to centre field and moved to second one
out later on Brandon Phillips bouncer up the middle. Both runners moved up on
Burnetts wild pitch, and Hanigan scored on Wilson Valdezs chopper to second.
Baker was impressed with some execution from his team that he wasnt seeing
earlier in the season. “Youve got to do those things if youre going to win close
ballgames,” he said. “(The Pirates) were doing it earlier this season. Its nice
to get the sweep and get one step closer.” The Pirates tied it in the fourth on
singles by Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones and Gaby Sanchez to lead off the
inning before leaving the bases loaded when Bailey struck out Burnett. They
missed another scoring opportunity in the sixth when Alex Presley tripled down
the right-field line with one out and was caught stealing home when Clint Barmes
couldnt get his bat on a suicide squeeze attempt. Baker and bench coach Chris
Speier smelled it and ordered a pitchout, which also turned into a disaster when
Baileys foot slipped on the mound and the high-and-away pitch suddenly was
low-and-away, but Ryan Hanigan still caught it in time to block the plate. “All
the credit goes to Dusty and Speier,” Bailey said. “Hanigan did a great job. He
ended up with chalk and dirt all over his face.” Barmes did what he could to get
his bat on the pitch. “It looked like it may have been way outside,” he said. “I
still almost got a piece of it.” Those are the kinds of plays that havent gone
the Pirates way during their now season-worst six-game losing streak, which has
left manager Clint Hurdle willing to look anywhere for a spark “We tried to
scratch out a run,” Hurdle said. “It was a good call by them.” Notes: 3B
Pedro Alvarez was scratched from Pittsburghs original starting lineup less than
an hour before the first pitch with what a spokesman called “right wrist
discomfort.” There was no definitive word before the game on when Alvarez
suffered the injury or how long he might be out. ... 2B Neil Walker took batting
practice Tuesday, but he still missed his 15th straight game with lower back
tightness on Wednesday. He had no baseball-related activities planned for
Wednesday or Thursday, manager Clint Hurdle said. “Well see how he is on
Friday,” Hurdle said. ... Thursdays day off is the last on Pittsburghs schedule.
The Pirates are scheduled to finish with 20 games in 20 days. Peyton Manning Elite Jersey . The Canucks,
who lead the division by 14 points over Colorado, have won three straight and
have recorded at least a point in eight straight outings (6-0-2). Vancouver has
suffered just two regulation losses during the 2012 calendar year, posting a
10-2-3 mark since the beginning of January. Steve Atwater Jersey . The Giants made the
move before opening an interleague series in Seattle on Friday. They also
purchased the contract of Justin Christian from Triple-A Fresno and put him in
the starting lineup at designated hitter against the Mariners. http://www.shopthebroncos.com/von-miller-jersey
. The new ownership group includes OMalleys sons, Kevin and Brian OMalley, and
nephews Peter and Tom Seidler, as well as San Diego businessman Ron Fowler, who
has been designated as the teams control person. Demaryius Thomas Jersey . The lightning
struck midfielder Gilvan near midfield in the in the 63rd minute of the Novo
Horizonte-Atletico Goianiense match in the Goias state championship on
Wednesday. Knowshon Moreno Jersey . The Lachenaie,
Que.-native led for almost two-thirds of the race, but fell behind for good
after his second pit stop.Each week, The CFL on TSN panel will break down three
hot button topics from around the Canadian Football League.  This week they
discussed Winnipegs biggest concerns, JC Sherritts hit on Alex Brink, and Kevin
Glenns most costly late-game mistake. After starting 0-3, what should the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers be most concerned about?a) Buck Pierces health b) The
defence losing its swagger c) the run game stuck in neutral d) the group needing
an attitude adjustment Milt Stegall: Its the defence. They have the swag, they
just dont have the “Grr” anymore. They relied on that defence for everything
last year. And until that defence gets up to par where they were last year, they
wont win any games. Matt Dunigan: Im going with attitude adjustment. I saw it
last year: this team, since starting out 7-1, theyre 4-11, and I think it all
starts with attitude. They need more of a team concept, not an “I” or “me”
concept, which I continually see week after week. Chris Schultz: If Im going to
take just one, Im going to take Buck Pierces health. He has to get healthy; he
is the best quarterback that they have. But I also agree with Milt about the
defence. Was JC Sherritts hit that knocked Alex Brink from the game legal?
Dunigan: Yes it was, barely. Sherritt is a tackling machine; he came from his
drop position and he sees Brink break out of the pocket. And Brink is going
down, but he wasnt down yet when Sherritt got him. Peyton Manning Youth Jersey. Legal hit but
very violent hit. Stegall: I thought it was illegal. I thought once the
quarterback starts his sliding motion, isnt the defender supposed to let up?
Schultz: I say yes, barely, because I remember the hit by Johnny Sears last
year. He came in and had a collision (with then-Argos QB Steven Jyles) and it
was a helmet-to-helmet hit; it was completely different. The one here with
Sherritt was shoulder first. Which late-game mistake by Kevin Glenn was the
worst?a) the interception b) the time clockmanagement c) the pass to Nik Lewis
as time expired Schultz: The time clock situation, because thats premeditated,
its planned out. The interceptions, they happen. I thought the time clock
management was a disaster. Dunigan: Absolutely, Im going with poor clock
management too. Glenn stared down Jerald Brown on the interception – that was a
mistake too, but he had time and a situation where he could rectify that. Hes an
11-year veteran and he has to be able to handle that situation better than he
did. Stegall: The clock management was bad but if he doesnt throw an
interception, theyre never in that predicament. I think on that last drive, you
try to run the ball and you punt the ball. You force Montreal to go through a
long field and the fact Montreal didnt have to do that, the clock management
meant nothing without the interception. ’ ’ ’