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MONDAY,OCTOBER 7,2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Pirates win, take 2-1 series lead over Cardinals
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pittsburgh Pirates pinch runner Josh Harrison (5) scores from second behind St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina on a single by Pedro Alvarez in the eighth inning of Game 3 of a National League division baseball series on Sunday, Oct. 6, in Pittsburgh. The Pirates won 5-3, taking a two games to one lead in the best-of-five series.
PITTSBURGH — Pinch-runner Josh Harrison stood on second base in the bottom of the eighth inning and pointed to Pittsburgh Pirates third base coach Nick Leyva.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
"I told him to get that arm ready, because I'm coming," Harrison said. Moments later, Harrison was streaking across home plate to give the Pirates the lead. Minutes after that, the Jolly Roger that's been a fixture on the Pittsburgh skyline all summer climbed up the flagpole again.
Harrison scored on Pedro Alvarez's tiebreaking single Sunday, sending the Pirates to a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals that staked Pittsburgh to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five NL division series. Russell Martin followed with a sharp RBI single against reliever Kevin Siegrist, who took over after Carlos Martinez (0-1) faltered.
The go-ahead single was the latest big hit by Alvarez. He homered in the first two games against St. Louis and is 4 for 10 with four RBIs in the series.
Alvarez also kept the Pirates' famous flag flying high in October. "Raise the Jolly Roger!" is the rallying cry for this wild-card team, now one victory from its first postseason series win since Willie Stargell, Dave Parker and the "We Are Family" gang won it all in 1979.
"We're continuing to surprise a lot of people, I believe. We're continuing to show people that we're not done, that we're not just happy to be in the postseason," star center fielder Andrew McCutchen said. "We're fighting to win a World Series."
Heady territory for a franchise that had endured a record 20 consecutive years of losing coming into this season. Six months later, the Pirates are on the cusp of knocking out baseball royalty.
Mark Melancon (1-0) picked up the win despite allowing Carlos
Beltran's tying home run in the top of the eighth. Jason Grilli worked the ninth for a save.
Beltran finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs. His 16th playoff home run moved him past Babe Ruth for eighth place in postseason history.
Charlie Morton is set to start for Pittsburgh in Game 4 on Monday after rookie Michael Wacha.
"It's a must-win tomorrow for us," Beltran said. "Hopefully we can come here tomorrow, take care of business, win and go play the last game at home."
Beltran's shot temporarily silenced a rocking crowd at PNC Park. It also set the stage for another dramatic win by the Pirates.
McCutchen led off the eighth with his second hit, a double to left. But the NL MVP candidate unWISEly tried to advance on Justin Morneau's grounder to shortstop and was an easy out at third.
Harrison ran for Morneau and moved up when Marlon Byrd walked. St. Louis manager Mike Matheny turned to a lefty in Siegrist to face the left-handed Alvarez. The Pittsburgh slugger tied for the NL lead with 36 homers during the regular season, but hit just .180 against lefties.
"I just knew it was going to be a tough matchup," Alvarez said. "I've seen him a couple of times before. I haven't had much success. He's a pitcher with good stuff — great stuff. He threw me a couple of fastballs out over the plate."
One too many, as it turned out,
and Alvarez singled between first
and second. Martin then fouled off
a squeeze bunt before lining a hit
to left that gave Grilli more than
enough cushion.
or less.
After blowouts by each club in St. Louis, there wasn't much room to breathe in front of a frenzied, black-clad crowd looking for a repeat of Pittsburgh's giddy 6-2 romp over Cincinnati in the wild-card game last Tuesday.
Martin's sacrifice fly off reliever
Seth Maness in the sixth gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead and turned the game over to Pittsburgh's "Shark Tank" bullpen, one of the keys to the franchise's first winning season and playoff berth in a generation. Tony Watson worked around a one-out single in the seventh before giving way to Melancon.
The Cardinals must win two straight to advance to the NL championship series for the third straight year.
"We've been in this situation," Beltran said. "Last year, I think we were in this situation a lot. So I think we're fine, man. We want to come here tomorrow, we want to
win and hopefully take this series home."
Pirates starter Francisco Liriano dominated the Cardinals during the regular season, going 3-0 with an 0.75 ERA in three starts against the NL's highest-scoring team.
NFL
San Francisco uses stifling defense to blow out Houston
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco 49ers turned a prime-time showdown into an all-out pick party at The Stick.
Irramaine Brock perfectly read Matt Schaub's first pass of the night, jumped in front for an interception and ran 18 yards for a touchdown just 90 seconds into the game, setting the tone for a stellar defensive performance in a 34-3 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday night.
Things only got better for Brock and San Francisco, and worse for Houston's beleaguered quarterback. Schaub threw three interceptions in all before being replaced in the fourth.
Colin Kaepermick tossed a 64-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis and Frank Gore ran for 81 yards
and a score in his second straight impressive prime-time game. The 49ers (3-2) are right back in the NFC West race with Seattle after the Seahawks (4-1) lost at Indianapolis. Each team has beaten the Texans (2-3) and lost to the Colts, and Seattle still must visit San Francisco on Dec. 8.
Anthony Dixon added a 2-yard touchdown run for the NFC champions, while Brock had a second interception and nearly a third.
Kaepernick went 6 for 15 with 113 yards as the 49ers won their second straight in emphatic fashion following the first two-game losing streak under third-year coach Jim Harbaugh.
Kaepernick completed four of his first six passes, then threw seven straight incompletions before connecting with Bruce Miller early in the fourth quarter and then
Davis' TD.
After being outscored 56-10 in the back-to-back losses against Seattle and Indianapolis, the 49ers have overwhelmed their opponents 69-14 over the last two games.
Brock's ball-hawking defense was
a big reason in this one.
He ran his initial interception back 18 yards for his first career pick six, then gained 13 yards on his second pick midway through the second quarter. That set up Dixon's
first play."
second TD of the year.
"He made huge plays," Harbaugh said. "It was great to see Tramaine do that. He was in perfect position, playing coverage perfectly on the
Brock nearly had a third late in the first half but was called for defensive pass interference, and rookie safety Eric Reid dropped a would-be interception right at him late in the third.
"He made huge plays. It was great to see Tramaine do that."
JIM HARBAUGH 49ers head coach
Even fringe defensive lineman Tony Jerod-Eddie — an injury replacement for Ray McDonald — got in on the interception fun in the third quarter. Schaub's
monthlong stretch continued when he threw his first pass of the game for a pick-6, giving the beleaguered Texans quarterback an interception returned for a TD in four straight
Schaubs nightmare,
games.
On the next drive, Randy Bullock hooked a 45-yard field goal try wide left — and the 49ers capitalized afterward again with Gore's touchdown late in the first quarter.
Bullock produced the Texans' lone points with a 41-yard field goal in the third.
Missing three key defenders for the second straight game, San Francisco's opportunistic D didn't flinch and kept the penalties in check after early season problems with flags.
All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis sat out a second straight game with a groin injury that also kept him out at St. Louis on Sept. 26, and the Niners also missed linebacker Aldon Smith again as he undergoes treatment for substance abuse. Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha is still nursing a knee injury.
Gore followed up his 153-yard
performance in a 35-11 road rout of the Rams with another solid night
he runs with another solid night. Schaub wound up 19 of 35 for 173 yards and a sack in the Texans' third straight loss, which came on the heels of a 23-20 overtime loss at home to San Francisco archrival Seattle last week. Houston has its first three-game skid since the end of 2011.
Fans in Texas were already furious and burning his jersey — and there's a sign on one freeway calling for Schaub's ouster. This certainly won't help matters as supporters call for backup T.J. Yates.
In a stadium set to be imploded after the season, Schaub himself imploded. He could be seen muttering to himself with a shell-shocked expression walking off the field as coach Gary Kuiak buried his face in his hands.