gue in safety Nick Gesualdi and perhaps the best punter in the F

CHICAGO -- Francisco Liriano wasnt quite sure where his pitches were going. The one thing he did control was his emotions. Liriano pitched two-hit ball over seven innings and the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 Friday for their major league-leading 10th shutout, matching Pittsburghs total for all of last season. It is, as manager Clint Hurdle said, a "remarkable number." And it stands out even more because the Pirates dont have a complete game. Liriano (4-2) walked five, his most since Sept. 1 last year, but struck out eight to help Pittsburgh stop a three-game losing streak. "I didnt feel, location-wise, I was that good," he said. "I was missing my spots a lot, and I walked too many guys. You know, just keep fighting til the end." Liriano walked two in the second and two in the fourth. But rather than get rattled, he worked his way out of trouble both times and came away with the win after a two-start losing streak. Mark Melancon pitched the eighth, and Jason Grilli finished the five-hitter for his major league-leading 23rd save in as many chances. After two-out singles by Ryan Sweeney and pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro, Grilli struck out Darwin Barney to preserve another shutout. "We had 10 (shutouts) all last year and actually we pitched a lot better last year than we did the first year I was here," Hurdle said. "It just speaks to the job the pitchers are doing here, No. 1 throwing strikes, keeping the ball down. Weve been able to get a little better at it every year, and this year, obviously, weve taken it to another level at this point in the season." Russell Martin had two hits, including an RBI double off Travis Wood (5-4) in the sixth, as the Pirates won for the second time in seven games. Jordy Mercer doubled twice. Pittsburgh continued to struggle at the plate after managing just one hit off Julio Teheran in a 5-0 loss at Atlanta on Wednesday. This time, the Pirates finished with seven hits. Wood gave up one run and four hits in six innings with two walks and six strikeouts, but couldnt quite match Liriano on the mound. "He kept us off balance, kept the ball down all day," Wood said. "He really worked us. Even though he had several walks, he was able to battle around that and pitch a good ballgame." He had the Cubs first hit, a one-out single in the fifth, after hitting his first career grand slam in a win over the Chicago White Sox last week. "Travis has been the same all year," Barney said. "Hes been consistent pounding the zone. He was a little bit more sporadic than he has been. But he still had good stuff. He keeps them off balance." Outscored 29-11 and shut out three times in their previous six games, the Pirates went ahead in the sixth. After escaping a bases-loaded jam in the second, Wood retired 11 straight before Mercers one-out double. Mercer advanced on Andrew McCutchens fly to right and scored on Martins double. "I just told myself I was going to be aggressive and not wait around," Martin said. "Hes throwing lots of strikes, and I picked a side of the plate." Travis Snider added an RBI grounder in the ninth against Carlos Villanueva after Martins walk and Pedro Alvarezs single. NOTES: Pirates LHP Wandy Rodriguez is to throw a bullpen session on Monday before the team decides whether he will go on the DL, although manager Clint Hurdle did say there was no "acute structural damage to the ligament" in Rodriguezs throwing arm. Rodriguez got only one out in Wednesdays loss at Atlanta before leaving with tightness in his left forearm. ... Sweeney, the Cubs CF, made a neat catch in the eighth when he raced to his right and dove to snag Starling Martes drive. ... Sveum said Rafael Dolis, on the 15-day DL with a mild strain in his right forearm, is "a lot better," and Shawn Camp (sprained right big toe) threw a bullpen session on Friday. Sveum also said no date has been set for Kyuji Fujikawa to have ligament-replacement surgery on his right elbow. ... A.J. Burnett (3-6, 3.22 ERA) starts Saturday for the Pirates, with Jeff Samardzija (3-6, 2.96 ERA) going for the Cubs. John Lackey Jersey . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Kris Bryant Jersey . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Carlos-Zambrano-Kids-Jersey/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Mike Montgomery Jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Ian Happ Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. CINCINNATI -- The baseball rested on James Taillons folding chair. He wasnt sure, but he assumed it was the keepsake from his first career RBI, the best part of the rookies latest start.Taillon pitched five innings and singled to drive in a big league run for the first time, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cincinnati Reds 10-4 Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader.Andrew McCutchen drove in three runs for the Pirates, who opened the day with a 5 1/2-game gap and three teams to overcome in order to get a wild card berth. Cincinnati was eliminated from postseason contention.Taillon (4-4) gave up eight hits, including Adam Duvalls three-run homer. His RBI single to center in the fifth made it 7-3, although he didnt realize initially that it would drive in a run.Actually I was so caught up in trying to get to first base and not doing anything stupid, he said. The first major league RBI is pretty cool. I hope Im doing with all of the career `firsts now.The Pirates skipped Taillons previous turn in the rotation, trying to limit the rookies innings. He missed the 2014 and `15 seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery and an operation to repair a hernia.Pittsburgh sent nine batters to the plate in a 17-minute top of the first inning against Anthony DeSclafani (8-4), scoring four times with the help of three walks and the first of a six combined errors in the game. McCutchen singled home a pair of runs, and Francisco Cervelli had an RBI single.Sean Rodriguezs two-run homer made it 6-0 in the third inning. McCutchen added a sacrifice fly in the Pirates third straight big game on offense -- 34 runs total.Theyre just stringing at-bats together, manager Clint Hurdle said. We got some big innings today. Throughout the lineup, guys were doing things.DeSclafani missed the first two months of the season with a strained obliique and skipped his prior turn.dddddddddddd He gave up six runs in four innings, his shortest start in his last 15.It was just a bad game, DeSclafani said. It was my fault. I couldnt get any momentum going. I put us in hole early.The first pitch was delayed 62 minutes because of rain. The doubleheader, the first between the teams since a Reds sweep on Aug. 31, 2009, made up a May 10 postponement.STATSDuvalls career-high 92 RBI are the most by a Reds batter in a season since Jay Bruce had 109 in 2013. It was Duvalls first homer since Sept. 6. ... Reds pitchers walked 10 overall, tying their season high. ... Wade LeBlanc pitched the last three innings of the lopsided game for his second save of his career. The other came in the same situation during Seattles 14-5 win over the Mariners on July 23.GAME 2Trevor Williams (1-1) was scheduled to make his first major league start in the second game. Williams was the MVP at Triple-A Indianapolis. Hed be the 14th different starter for the Pirates this season, their most since 1996. Left-hander Brandon Finnegan (9-10) was scheduled to start for the Reds.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: Cervelli took a foul tip off the inside of his right leg in the eighth inning. After several painful minutes of recuperating, the catcher stayed in the game.Reds: SS Zack Cozart sat out a sixth straight game with a sore right knee.UP NEXTPirates: Ivan Nova (12-6) starts the final game of the series on Sunday. Hes 5-0 with a 2.41 ERA in eight starts since the Pirates acquired him in a trade with the Yankees.Reds: Dan Straily (12-8) will make his fifth start of the season against the Pirates. Hes 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA against Pittsburgh.---Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apjoekay ' ' '