Releases » won for the first time in nearly a month

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - As the game went on, Gerrit Coles fastball got faster, and the San Francisco Giants couldnt catch up. Cole won for the first time in nearly a month, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat San Francisco 4-3 Wednesday for their second straight win over the Giants. Cole (3-2) beat Tim Lincecum for the second time in his 11-month major league career, allowing three runs and seven hits in eight innings with seven strikeouts and a walk. The No. 1 pick in the 2011 amateur draft, Cole had a fastball clocked at 95-96 mph to begin the game and was 97-98 over his final two innings. "Really solid, solid effort for him," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Pushing through the eighth inning, the middle of the order, was very impressive. Hes capable of a lot of things out there. You saw the velocity stay at a much higher level today throughout the game, and actually his velocity played bigger later than it did earlier." Fill-in closer Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for his second save in three chances. Centerfielder Andrew McCutchen made a diving catch of Brandon Crawfords soft liner to left-centre for the second out. Pittsburgh has won four of six after a 1-7 slide, taking two of three in the series. San Francisco had won 10 of 11 before the Pirates replay-aided walkoff win Tuesday. Pittsburgh scored all its runs over the first two innings Wednesday. "Were starting to click on all cylinders now," said Pirates catcher Chris Stewart, who had two hits. "The pitching is starting to come around, and were starting to get those hits in those big situations that we werent before". Ike Davis had three hits for the Pirates. Brandon Belt hit his ninth home run and drove in all three runs for San Francisco. Cole had been 0-2 in four starts since winning his first two outings. He pitched eight innings for the second time this season, throwing 107 pitches, one shy of his season high. Cole, who went 1 for 3 to maintain a .333 batting average, won his major league debut at home last June 11 against Lincecum, a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner. Lincecum (2-2) allowed four runs, eight hits and two walks in four innings. Opponents are hitting .329 against him. "I wasnt finishing my pitches, especially my secondary pitches," he said. "When I got ahead in the count, the secondary pitchers were just rolling up there and had no bite on them. Im the type of guy whos going to have to get guys to chase pitches, but I cant do that when Im leaving balls up in the strike zone that are so hittable." McCutchen had a run-scoring single in the first and came around on Starling Martes double. Travis Snider made it 4-1 with a two-run single in the second. Belt homered on the first pitch he saw with two outs in the first, then hit a two-run double with two outs in the fifth. But Belt was thrown out at third on the play, ending the threat. "That was a mistake," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. NOTES: 3B Pablo Sandoval was not in the starting lineup after sustaining what Bochy termed a sprain of his hand or thumb during the final play of Tuesday nights game. He pinch hit for Lincecum in the fifth and singled. ... Neil Walker had a second-inning single has has reached safely in all 15 home games hes played against San Francisco ... The Giants headed to Los Angeles for a four-game series against the Dodgers that starts Thursday. San Franciscos starter in the opener, RHP Ryan Vogelsong, has allowed one earned run over 13 innings in his past two starts. ... The Pirates host St. Louis this weekend in a series that includes the first ESPN Sunday night game in PNC Parks 14-year history. Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool Jersey . Louis Blues and back into top spot of the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings. The Sharks had been ranked No. Nathaniel Clyne Jersey . Ricciardo made it only halfway around the Jerez track before his RB10 rolled to a stop and began spouting smoke from the back. After team mechanics tended to the car, Ricciardo went back out for a mere two trips around the circuit before calling it quits. http://www.liverpoolgear.us/Authentic-Rafael-Camacho-Liverpool-Jersey/ . -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights. Dejan Lovren Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (4) – He had a strong game Sunday; was very good in tight with big saves on Crosby, Malkin and Neal in-crease. Joel Matip Liverpool Jersey . Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the game on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt and listen on TSN 690. The Canadiens have won three in a row and four of their last five games and recently put the finishing touches on a 3-1-0 road trip.(SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of teams that have gone in opposite directions in December will meet Wednesday, as the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Minnesota Wild in a New Years Eve battle at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets entered this month with a 6-15-2 record on the season, but Todd Richards club has greatly improved its fortunes by posting a 9-1-1 mark so far in December. Despite the surge, Columbus still finds itself nine points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Minnesota, meanwhile, sits five points removed from the Wests final wild card spot after recording a 4-4-3 mark since the start of December. The low point of the rough month came during a 0-2-3 losing streak, a skid the Wild was able to snap with Mondays road victory in Winnipeg. After dropping the home part of a home-and-home series with the Jets in Saturdays 4-3 overtime loss, the Wild answered with a close win two days later in Winnipeg. Ryan Carter, Justin Fontaine and Marco Scandella all scored in the second period to help Minnesota notch the 3-2 decision at MTS Centre. Darcy Kuemper. who missed the opener of the home-and-home due to an illness, was back between the pipes Monday and helped stopped the skid with a 28-save performance. The Wild picked up the victory despite allowing Winnipeg to score twice on three chances with the man advantage. Minnesota went 0-for-4 on the power play. Our guys did a great job staying with it. Im real happy with the way we played the game, the contributions from everybody, Wild head coach Mike Yeo said. The win pushed Minnesotas road record this season to 8-9-0. Yeos club is capping a brief two-game trip tonight before opening the 2015 calendar year by playinng four of five games on home ice.dddddddddddd The Blue Jackets are 2-1-1 at the start of a five-game homestand after beginning December on a seven-game winning streak. The club had an 8-0-1 point streak snapped with a 5-1 loss to Nashville on Dec. 22, but rebounded from that setback with a resounding win its first tilt following the Christmas break. Columbus emerged from the holiday hiatus on Saturday and recorded a 6-2 win over the Boston Bruins. Scott Hartnell led the offense by scoring twice in his return from injury, while Kevin Connauton added a goal and two assists. Hartnell came back after a five-game absence due to a broken finger and picked up his third multi-goal effort of the season and first since Nov. 8 against Tampa Bay. He scored his teams first two goals on Saturday. Nick Foligno, Matt Calvert and Jeremy Morin also lit the lamp for the Blue Jackets. Jack Johnson and Brandon Dubinsky each chipped in a pair of helpers to back a 26-save effort from Curtis McElhinney. He made some big saves ... especially at the start of the third period, Calvert said of McElhinney. McElhinney started Saturday in place of No. 1 netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, who was unable to suit up for the game due to an illness. However, Bobrovsky is expected to start tonight and owns a 3-1-0 record and 1.68 goals against average in four career games against the Wild. Saturdays win pushed the Blue Jackets home record to 8-9-2. Columbus will head out on the road after tonight, as it will begin a four-game swing Saturday in Arizona. Columbus has won three straight and five of the last seven meetings against the Wild. The clubs have split the last four encounters at Nationwide Arena. ' ' '