29-03-2019, 07:00 AM
The competition level will drop considerably for the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates when they open a three-game series Monday with a holiday matinee at PNC Park.In addition Travis Shaw Jersey , the stakes will remain fairly pedestrian between the two National League Central also-rans.Cincinnati (59-78) will be playing the final three games of 16 in a row within the division. The Reds are 4-9 so far in that stretch but got a boost from winning two of three against St. Louis over the weekend, including a 6-4, 10-inning win Sunday.Article continues below ...“This series we played better, and we got a W, we got a series (win),” Eugenio Suarez told Fox Sports Ohio after he hit a winning two-run homer, giving him 100 RBIs.Even with a sweep of this series, the last-place Reds would be hard-pressed to catch the fourth-place Pirates in the division but can continue to build for the future.“We’re trying to turn the page from a terrible August and see if we can play better baseball in September and take that into the offseason and into spring training — just get back to winning baseball,” Cincinnati manager Jim Riggleman said.“We want to win games. We don’t care who the opposition is or whether it’s against any of these three (previous) teams competing for playoff spots. We’re not out there trying to spoil their hopes; we just want to win games for ourselves.”There won’t be much the Reds could spoil for the Pirates anyway.Their carrot would seem to be finishing above .500.Pittsburgh (66-71) was 3-6 on a road trip against Milwaukee, St. Louis and Atlanta, and was 2-5 on a preceding homestand against Atlanta and the Chicago Cubs http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , making it five straight series against clubs holding a playoff spot.The Pirates are coming off a 5-1 loss Sunday to the Braves.In the series opener, Cincinnati right-hander Matt Harvey (6-7, 4.97 ERA) is scheduled to face Pittsburgh righty Trevor Williams (11-9, 3.30 ERA).Williams seemingly is vying for the title of Pirates ace, particularly with his performance since the All-Star break, going 4-2 with a 0.84 ERA in seven starts. Over his past eight starts, he has allowed four runs.Wednesday, Williams pitched six scoreless innings and struck out a career-high eight in Pittsburgh’s 2-0 win at St. Louis.Before his strong stretch, over nine starts he had a 7.02 ERA and competed six innings three times.“It’s fight or flight, really. I didn’t want that to define me this year,” said Williams Robin Yount Jersey , who leads Pittsburgh’s starters in ERA and with a 1.19 WHIP. “It was really taking that second half and making the most out of it, where I give our team the best chance to win every five days and execute my pitches and keep the guys in the ballgame.”Against Cincinnati, Williams is 2-1 with a 4.73 ERA in seven career appearances, four of them starts.Harvey is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in his past four starts.Wednesday against Milwaukee, he did not get a decision in a 13-12 extra-inning loss. Harvey struck out six and walked none in four innings but gave up five runs and 11 hits.In eight career starts against Pittsburgh, he is 2-6 with a 6.12 ERA. DENVER (AP) — Kenta Maeda felt something the veteran pitcher doesn’t always experience — a touch of nerves.Stepping into the shoes of All-Star closer Kenley Jansen happens to be stressful work. Even more so in the heat of a division chase.Clayton Kershaw threw six effective innings, Maeda finished the ninth in place of Jansen and the Los Angeles Dodgers crept closer to the NL West-leading Colorado Rockies with a 4-2 win on Friday night. Yasiel Puig homered and had an RBI single for the Dodgers, who climbed within a half-game of the Rockies as they began a pivotal three-game series. This is the latest into the season the Rockies have been alone in first place since 1995.“We need to play like we’re in the playoffs right now and close to the World Series,” Puig said.Kershaw (7-5) baffled the Rockies even if he didn’t have his best stuff. The left-hander allowed two runs and six hits as he improved to 22-7 in 39 career starts against Colorado, with a 3.21 ERA.Scott Alexander got two outs in the eighth and began the ninth in place of Jansen, who didn’t make the trip after a team cardiologist recommended he not pitch at altitude after suffering an irregular heartbeat episode in Denver last month.Alexander gave up a long single to Chris Iannetta and struck out Charlie Blackmon before turning it over to Maeda. He got two outs http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , including a strikeout of Nolan Arenado to end the game and earn his second save.“Still makes me a little nervous,” Maeda said of filling in as closer.Chris Rusin (2-3) took the loss for the Rockies, who had their five-game winning streak halted. They’re chasing after their first division title.“We just need to kick that to the side,” said starter Jon Gray, who went four innings, allowed two runs, walked five and struck out four. “We know what kind of ball club we are. We’re a lot better than we were today.”Reliever Dylan Floro threw one of the biggest pitches of the game when he struck out Trevor Story on a slider with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh. Story hit three homers Wednesday against San Francisco, including one that went an estimated 505 feet.A crowd of 41,547 saw a game that featured a little bit of everything, including Matt Holliday hitting his first regular season homer off Kershaw, Rockies manager Bud Black getting ejected for arguing a balk call in the fifth and http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , later that inning, a throwing error by Gold Glove third baseman Arenado which allowed the go-ahead run to score.Puig followed with a two-out, run-scoring single to give the Dodgers a 4-2 lead.TRAINER’S ROOMDodgers: RHP Ross Stripling (lower back inflammation) was reinstated from the disabled list. He got one out in the eighth.Rockies: LHP Mike Dunn is scheduled to have surgery on his pitching shoulder Sept. 19. He’s been sidelined since early July.GOING FOR THIRDKershaw pulled into second with a double in the sixth and thought about stretching it into a triple.“I was thinking about Coors Field and you don’t breathe as well and I don’t want to be tired,” Kershaw said.NO JANSENJansen has experienced an irregular heartbeat several times while the Dodgers were in Colorado. His most recent episode happened Aug. 9 during the start of a four-game series at Coors Field. He ended up having his heart shocked back into rhythm at a Denver hospital. He was placed on the disabled list a day later and began taking blood-thinning medication.Dodgers manager Dave Roberts plans to use a bullpen-by-committee approach this weekend.Jansen is slated to join the team in Cincinnati, the second of three stops on the Dodgers’ 10-game trip.HOLLIDAY’S HOMERHolliday homered off Kershaw during Game 2 of the Division Series on Oct. 8, 2009, while he was with St. Louis.UP NEXTDodgers rookie RHP Walker Buehler (6-2, 2.92) gets another taste of Coors Field on Saturday. He threw seven scoreless innings on Aug. 11 in a no-decision. The Rockies counter with LHP Kyle Freeland (13-7, 2.96), whose 2.27 home ERA season is among the league’s best.