Medien Diskussion » the field but off. The presence he brings, the fun he

PITTSBURGH -- A strike away from ending his teams longest losing streak in two years, Pittsburgh Pirates closer Tony Watson tried to get St. Louis pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter to chase a fastball up and away.Instead, Watsons fastball went right down the middle. Whatever chance the Pirates might have of reviving their playoff hopes may have gone along with it.Carpenter drilled a solo shot to tie the game with two outs in the ninth and Randal Grichuk and Jhonny Peralta followed with homers of their own as the Cardinals rallied for a 9-7 win.The Pirates have dropped eight straight and fell 5 1/2 games behind St. Louis in the race for the second wild card in the National League.To serve up four late, its hard to swallow, Watson said after blowing his third save since inheriting the closers role when Mark Melancon was sent to Washington at the trade deadline.Pittsburgh had scrambled back from an early 5-0 hole to move in front with a four-run fifth inning that included Jordy Mercers two-run double to left. The bullpen kept the Cardinals in check and Watson quickly retired the first two hitters in the ninth and had Carpenter -- who came in 2 for 17 against Watson -- down 0-2 before everything changed.Matt Carpenter is a really good hitter, faced him a number of times, Watson said. Thought I could get it. Couldnt locate the pitch ... middle up is a pretty high zone for every major league hitter.Things quickly unraveled from there. Yadier Molina doubled, Grichuk sent a long drive to the seats in left to put St. Louis in front and Peralta completed Watsons implosion by depositing a 2-0 offering into the right-field seats.Behind in the count 2-0, youre not getting ahead of hitters, Watson said. When hitters see that, balls start flying out of the park, in the gaps.Carpenters homer was the 15th by a St. Louis pinch-hitter this season, a major league record. Molina finished 4 for 5, including a first-inning grand slam. Mike Mayers (1-1) tossed a scoreless eighth for the win, and Seung-Hwan Oh worked around a solo homer to Jung Ho Kang in the ninth for his 16th save.Kang had two homers for Pittsburgh in his second game back from a stay on the disabled list but Watsons stumble extended the teams longest funk since a 10-game losing streak in 2011. An All-Star as a setup man in 2014, Watson has given up a career-high nine homers this season. The three he surrendered in the ninth matched his season total in 2015.Its all about location, No. 1, manager Clint Hurdle said. He was much more efficient location wise last year than he is right now. Weve got some guys that are not quite having the seasons theyve had in the past. Its part of the maturation process of being in the game.St. Louis raced to a quick 5-0 lead behind Molinas first grand slam since 2012 and Matt Adams 436-foot homer in the second that reached the Allegheny River on the bounce. Pittsburgh, however, scrapped back.John Jaso atoned for an earlier defensive miscue with an RBI single in the second and Kang homered in the fourth to make it 5-2. Matt Bowman entered for rookie Luke Weaver, pulled after four innings and 83 pitches, and quickly frittered the lead away. His wild throw to second on an attempted double play gave Pittsburgh life. Gregory Polanco followed with an RBI single, Andrew McCutchen scored when Brandon Moss couldnt handle Matt Joyces line drive and Mercer doubled to the left-field corner to give the Pirates just their second lead in a week.It didnt last.TRAINING ROOMCardinals: RF Stephen Piscotty was initially held out of the lineup to give his aching left wrist a breather. Piscotty took a pitch off the wrist on Monday. Postgame X-rays were negative and Piscotty doubled as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.Pirates: Pittsburgh held C Francisco Cervelli out of the lineup a day after he experienced discomfort in his left hand trying to block a pitch.UP NEXTCardinals: Mike Leake returns to the rotation after a stay on the disabled list while battling a case of the shingles. Leake is 9-5 with a 3.28 ERA in his career against Pittsburgh but is 1-2 with a 5.71 ERA this season.Pirates: Rookie Jameson Taillon will face the Cardinals for the first time in the series finale. The 24-year-old has a 2.80 ERA over his last 10 starts and pitched six innings of one-run ball last week against Milwaukee. Craig Conroy Jersey . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. Theoren Fleury Jersey . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night. http://www.flamessale.com/authentic-jarome-iginla-flames-jersey/ . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Mike Vernon Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Calgary Flames Jerseys . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals spent their off-day on Thursday at the White House as President Barack Obama honored the 2015 World Series champions.The celebration is over and it is back to work Friday night as the Royals entertain the American League West-leading Texas Rangers for a three-game series.But 2016 is not going well for the Royals, who are at .500 after 94 games and nine games behind the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians, who popped five home runs in winning 11-4 on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium.The Royals have lost 11 of 16 games in July and have not won back-to-back games since June 29-30.If they are to make it back to postseason, the Royals will need to reverse things quickly, which they did in 2014 when they ended a 29-year playoff drought by qualifying as a wild card and advancing to the World Series.They know its in them, Royals manager Ned Yost said. They dont need to go to the White House to be reaffirmed of that. They know what they have inside. They know what they have ahead of them. They know theyve been through it before. They know they have to go through it again.The Rangers, who won their division last year, are going through their own struggles. They were swept by the Los Angeles Angels and have lost 14 of 18. They also placed sluggers Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo on the disabled list Wednesday.Fielder could miss the remainder of the season with herniated discs in his neck. He returned to Texas to be checked out Friday by Dr. Drew Dossett. Fielder had surgery on May 27, 2014, for herniated discs and missed the rest of the season. He was selected the 2015 AL Comeback Player of the Year after hitting .305 with 23 home runs and 98 RBI.Choo has lower back inflammation and received an injection Wednesday. This is his third stint this season on the disabled list..dddddddddddd The previous were for a right calf strain and a left lateral strain.Fielder, who started 79 games as the designated hitter and nine at first base, was hitting .212 with eight home runs and 44 RBI. Choo had a .260 average with seven home runs and 17 RBI but had appeared in only 33 games.With Fielder out, Mitch Moreland will be getting more playing time.Its just one of those bad situations, Moreland told Texas Rangers.mlb.com. For him and for us, its a big loss, not only on the field but off. The presence he brings, the fun he brings. He always has a big smile on his face. Its something well miss. Somebody else has to step up. But Im not putting any added pressure into the situation.Outfielder Delino DeShields and infielder Hanser Alberto were recalled from Triple-A Round Rock to take their roster spots.The Rangers and Royals, who share the same spring training complex in Surprise, Ariz., will square off seven times in the next 10 games.Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish, who missed last season after Tommy John surgery and sat out five weeks this season with shoulder discomfort, will make his fifth start in the series opener and his second since coming off the disabled list.Darvish lost his Saturday start 3-1 to the Chicago Cubs, giving up two runs, two hits and four walks with nine strikeouts while throwing 90 pitches. He is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two career starts against Kansas City.Left-hander Danny Duffy will start for the Royals. Duffy, who began the season in the bullpen, is 5-1 with a 3.27 ERA and leads the club with 101 strikeouts. Since June 1, his 67 strikeouts top the AL.Duffy is 0-1 with a 7.24 ERA in his three previous appearances against the Rangers. ' ' '