PITTSBURGH, Pa. Fake Nike NFL Jerseys . - The Pittsburgh Pirates believe theyre building something special. The San Francisco Giants provided a reminder that much work remains to be done before a contender becomes a champion.Geared up for another run at Buctober, Pittsburghs post-season journey lasted all of 3 hours, 12 minutes, just long enough for Madison Bumgarner and the Giants to overpower the Pirates for an 8-0 victory in the NL wild-card game Wednesday night.Bumgarner tossed a four-hitter while striking out 10, and Brandon Crawford hit the first grand slam by a shortstop in post-season history as the Giants put an abrupt end to Pittsburghs second straight post-season appearance.We got outplayed tonight, second baseman Neil Walker said. Bumgarner went out there, he did what he wanted to do. He put up the strike zone and he made it tough on us. When they got up early on us we were trying to scratch and claw our way back, and he was good from the first pitch until the last pitch.The ones in between, too.Pittsburgh was unable to duplicate last years victory over Cincinnati in the wild-card game that followed a 21-year playoff drought. Playing before raucous crowds at PNC Park, the Pirates pushed St. Louis to a decisive Game 5 before losing their NLDS.This year, Pittsburgh went 17-9 in September while taking the Cardinals to the final day of the season in an attempt to win the NL Central.The chase included a decision to start budding ace Gerrit Cole in the regular-season finale in the hopes of catching the Cardinals and avoiding the wild-card game. Cole struck out 12 in a brilliant performance but the Pirates lost, putting Pittsburghs hopes for extending its season on Edinson Volquezs excitable shoulders.The former All-Star a€” in the midst of a mid-career renaissance after winning a team-high 13 games a€” navigated three innings in the biggest start of his career before it all unraveled in the fourth, when a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs.Crawford followed with a drive that kept carrying all the way to the seats above the 21-foot high Roberto Clemente wall to quiet the largest crowd in the 13-year history of PNC Park.I tried to bounce it down, back foot, and the ball just kept going, Volquez said. Bad spot.Bumgarner did the rest as San Francisco won its eighth consecutive post-season game and seventh in a row when facing elimination.Overpowering one of the NLs best lineups, Bumgarner walked one and threw 79 of 109 pitches for strikes in his latest stellar October performance. The big left-hander, who allowed only four singles, has thrown 15 scoreless innings in two World Series starts.Brandon Belt drove in three runs as San Francisco added on. That was more than enough for Bumgarner, who mixed his fastball with a slider the Pirates couldnt seem to figure out.Pittsburgh, fourth in the majors in extra-base hits this season, rarely hit the ball hard.A professional, well-pitched game by him, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. We tried to counter-punch, we just couldnt muster up anything.Bumgarner was helped by his defence, too. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval a€” all 245 pounds of him a€” flipped over the railing in front of the Pittsburgh dugout to track down a foul popup off the bat of Russell Martin.Sandoval landed on his feet, a perfect symbol of San Franciscos seemingly endless resiliency this time of year. Back in the playoffs after winning the World Series in 2010 and 2012, the Giants are looking to continue their every-other-year success.We thrive in these situations, Crawford said. I dont know what it is. We just keep fighting no matter what the circumstance.Its a path the Pirates insist theyre on after winning 94 games last season and backing it up by going 88-74 this year despite a series of obstacles, including extended stays on the disabled list for Cole and Francisco Liriano, and an offence that didnt start to click until utility man Josh Harrison found a spot in the everyday lineup in mid-May.Not to take away from this year, we know it was a good season, Harrison said. But these losses right here hurt. Its not anything anybody would ever get used to. At the end of the day we still know that we are fortunate enough to be in this situation. There were a lot of teams that were eliminated on Sunday. And we had a chance to win tonight and play more.Instead the Pirates could only watch as San Francisco piled on against Pittsburghs normally reliable bullpen. A sizable portion of the crowd a€” most of the fans dressed in black a€” remained until the bitter end. There was a standing ovation after the final out even as the Giants poured onto the field in celebration.An important off-season lies ahead as Pittsburgh tries to re-sign catcher Russell Martin and figures out how to address potential holes in the rotation with Volquez and Liriano becoming free agents.Owner Bob Nutting says the normally frugal Pirates will do what they can to keep Martin and build around a nucleus that includes Harrison, Cole and Andrew McCutchen. If last falls success was a breakthrough following 20 years of misery, this falls failure revealed the gap between the Pirates and a championship team is narrowing, but not quite closed.Its not like were 90-plus wins saying weve got work to do, McCutchen said. We were in the wild card again and there are things we need to improve. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . 1. AMIR JOHNSON: Nice to see him back in the lineup Tuesday night in Washington DC. Played with great energy and purpose. Its amazing when a guy gets those few precious days to recover what it does to the bounce in their step and overall game/confidence. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . -- Slugger Jose Abreu, All-Star left-hander Chris Sale and closer Matt Lindstrom are on the disabled list. https://www.chinajerseysnfl.us/ . The Leafs were back on the ice Wednesday following an 10-day break. It apparently wasnt long enough, as Team Canadas 2-1 win over Latvia didnt conclude before the Leafs began practice. "I was thinking we might get a little delay, but it was nice to get out there," said Tyler Bozak of watching Wednesdays game.BOSTON - Hassan Whiteside was hardly shocked when Miami coach Erik Spoelstra designed a play for him late in the third quarter of a tight game.He was surprised when Spoelstra kept doing it, though.Whiteside scored half of his 20 points during a dominant stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters and Miami Heat held off the Boston Celtics 83-73 on Sunday to snap a two-game slide.He drew up a play and I scored on it, he just kept drawing them up, said Whiteside, who went 10-for-17 from the field. I really think he started believing I can make plays down there.Whiteside also had nine rebounds and blocked three shots, while Chris Bosh added 18 points and Tyler Johnson had 13, helping overcome the absences of Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng.Wade missed his second game in a row with a strained right hamstring, while Deng sat out his third straight with a strained calf. Wade, who injured himself in Tuesdays loss to Milwaukee, is averaging 21.4 points and 5.4 assists per game.Whiteside is more than making up for their absence, though, and Spoelstra isnt his only supporter.The 25-year-old has most of Miami in a frenzy following a wild week that included a triple-double and franchise-record 12 blocks last Sunday, and 24 rebounds on Friday.Its quite the story for the former castoff who signed with the Heat in November after playing in both Lebanon and China last year.He continues to surprise me, Bosh said. Hes a talented young fellow. We want to continue to push him and encourage him to play and do well.Avery Bradley and Tyler Zeller led the Celtics with 17 points apiece, and Brandon Bass had 15. It was Bostons third straight loss and fourth in its last five.Weve got to do a better job of finding our pulse at the defensive end regardless of whether the ball is going in the basket or not, Boston coach Brad Stevens said. When you miss the number of shots that we missed, I thought we let that affect how much we talked defensively. I could hear the silence and thats a bad thing.Both teams were coming off their worst shooting performances of the season. Miami was held to a season-low 33.0 per cent in a loss to Dallas, while Boston shot 35.6 per cent in a setback to Houston.Neither fared much better Sunday, with Boston shooting 37 per cent and Miami 41.6, but Whitesides 10-for-17 performance fueled the Heats third win in their last seven games.The suddenly surging 7-foot sensation was relatively quiet for the first two-and-a-half quarters before he began resembling the centre who came in averaging 15.3 points and 17.7 rebounds over his previous threee games, including a triple-double line of 14 points, 13 rebounds and a franchise-record 12 blocks last Sunday. Nike NFL Jerseys China. After Boston erased a 12-point halftime deficit, tying it at 55 with less than three minutes to play in the third, Whiteside had his way with the young Celtics.He scored Miamis final four points of the third and opened the fourth by scoring six straight points, including a pair of long jumpers that restored the Heats eight-point cushion.I hadnt seen him do that yet, Bosh said. I dont think hes seen him do that yet. It was a nice move.Spoelstra didnt seem to mind his big mans decision to shoot from the perimeter.If hes wide open and theyre disrespecting him and it comes within the flow of what we do, Im fine with that, he said.TIP-INSHeat: First-round pick Shabazz Napier, a Roxbury, Mass. native and four-year player at the University of Connecticut, scored five points in his return to Boston. . The Heat won the teams only other meeting this season, 100-84 in Miami on Dec. 21, 2014. . G Mario Chalmers played in his 486th game for the Heat, tying him with Keith Askins for fourth place on the teams all-time list.Celtics: F Tayshaun Prince, who scored 13 points in 21 minutes on Friday, didnt play against Miami. Prince was acquired from Memphis in mid-January. . The Celtics plan on departing for Tuesdays game in New York at 10:30 p.m. Sunday, weather permitting, to allow the team to watch the Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.INJURY UPDATESpoelstra said that Deng participated in pre-game workouts and is making progress, yet has not been medically cleared to return. He still feels just a little bit of something, Spoelstra said. You look around the league right now with strains, it could turn a lot worse if you dont take care of it fully. Youve got to be 100 per cent ready.TRAFFIC JAMBoston F Jared Sullinger, the only Celtics player to have started every game this season, got caught in traffic and arrived five minutes late to the teams walkthrough Sunday. He was replaced by Zeller in the starting lineup, but Stevens said it wasnt a big deal.POPPELGANGER?Stevens marveled at New England Patriots coach Bill Belichicks accomplishments, comparing him to San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, who has led the Spurs to five NBA titles. I think hes one of the guys that people across sports look up to, Stevens said of Belichick. Basketball people look at Belichick like people across other sports look at Pop.UP NEXTHeat: At Detroit on Tuesday night.Celtics: At New York on Tuesday night. ' ' '  |
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