Projekte » ready to make a statement against Barao

PITTSBURGH -- Pedro Alvarez homered and drove in three runs and Edinson Volquez pitched six shutout innings Sunday to propel the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-2 victory over the New York Mets. Ike Davis had a two-run single against his former team in a three-run first off Bartolo Colon. Alvarez added an RBI double off Colon (8-6) in the inning. Volquez (6-6) worked in and out of trouble, giving up eight hits and a walk. He struck out a season-high seven as the Pirates took three of four from the Mets. New York had plenty of chances to score off Volquez, stranding 11 on base, including seven in scoring position. The Mets had men on base in every inning except the eighth. The Mets scored twice in the ninth against Jared Hughes on Chris Youngs groundout to shortstop and Ruben Tejadas RBI single. Mark Melancon relieved Hughes with two outs and gave up a hit to Daniel Murphy, but Melancon got Curtis Granderson to fly out to right field for his 15th save of the season. Granderson went 0 for 5 and was hitless in 17 at-bats in the series. Josh Harrison led off the fourth with a double to right-centre field. Alvarez then crushed an 88 mph, 1-2 pitch from Colon for his 13th long ball this season, extending Pittsburghs advantage to 5-0. Colon pitched 7 1-3 scoreless innings in his previous start against the Pirates on May 28 at Citi Field but was unable to replicate that success at PNC Park. He finished after six innings and yielded five runs on seven hits and a walk. Left-handers Justin Wilson and Tony Watson each worked a scoreless inning in relief of Volquez. NOTES Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen was out of the lineup Sunday for a scheduled off day. ... Marte (finger) returned to the starting lineup and took McCutchens spot in centre field. . Mets 3B David Wright (bruised left rotator cuff) is scheduled to be reevaluated Monday, and manager Terry Collins said the disabled list is a possibility if insufficient improvement is shown in the shoulder. . RHP Zack Wheeler (3-8, 4.45 ERA) opposes LHP Alex Wood (6-6, 3.07 ERA) as the Mets open a three-game series in Atlanta on Monday. The Pirates are off Monday before LHP Jeff Locke (1-1, 3.74 ERA) will start Tuesday against LHP Wade Miley (3-6, 4.78 ERA) when the Arizona Diamondbacks visit Pittsburgh for three games. Houston Astros Gear . Alexander was released last week by the Edmonton Eskimos, where he spent the past three seasons at safety. He had 121 defensive tackles, five special teams tackles and seven interceptions in 51 regular-season and three playoff games. Denis Menke Jersey . -- The anointed starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders is strengthening his hold on the position this training camp instead of losing it. https://www.cheapastros.com/2483o-george...sey-astros.html. Not only that, when Julian de Guzman first stepped on the pitch for Deportivo de la Coruna he became the very first Canadian to play in Spains top tier. Wade Miley Astros Jersey . Kalish got his first hit since Sept. 11, 2012, when he rapped an RBI triple in the first inning Sunday in the Chicago Cubs 8-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Jim Bouton Astros Jersey . Phoenix got injured centre Emeka Okafor and a top-12-protected first-round draft pick in 2014 -- giving the rebuilding Suns potentially four choices in the opening round. The Suns also sent guards Kendall Marshall, Shannon Brown and Malcolm Lee to Washington so the deal will work financially.Mitch Gagnon knew it was only a matter of time before the UFC paired him with a top-ranked fighter. Following an initial setback against Bryan Caraway during his promotional debut in 2012, the Sudbury, Ont. bantamweight has been on an absolute tear. Over the past two-plus years, Gagnons aggressive grappling has led him to consecutive victories over Walel Watson, Dustin Kimura, Tim Gorman and Roman Salazar. His first-round destruction of Kimura also earned him Submission of the Night honours at UFC 165 in Toronto last year. Though Gagnon is confident he can hang with the 135-pound divisions elite, he admitted to being surprised when UFC officials offered him a crack at Renan Barao. Obviously I think its the perfect time, but did I think (Barao) would be offered to me? No, Gagnon told UFC.ca during a phone interview. I was just ranked (in the top 15) after the fight (with Salazar). I really thought I would have had to fight a top-10 or top-five guy to get near the top. Do I think its the perfect time for me? Yeah, I believe Im putting everything together well and feel its my time. Gagnon gets the opportunity to stake his claim for a title shot when he meets Barao in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway in Barueri, Brazil Dec. 20. It goes without saying a victory over the former UFC bantamweight champion would be a career changer for Gagnon. Not only would it etch his name as a serious contender by taking out one of the most dangerous fighters in the division, a win would also open doors to both bigger fights and paydays. Gagnon knows whats at stake, but said he cant afford to obsess over the perks of beating Barao. Ive been really focusing on the training camp and the game plan, Gagnon stated. Im not really focusing on the future all that much. I have a job to do and Im concentrating on that. I dont want to look past anything. I really want to focus on one thing — and thats beating Renan Barao. I feel like everything will then open up afterwards. (A victory) would bring me to the upper echelon and get me those big fights. Im fighting a former champion whos still ranked No. 1 in the world. I dont know where it puts me. I have no idea, but Id definitely be up there. Thats where I feel like I belong. Though theres a lot riding on the bout for Gagnon, its also pivotal for Barao, as it marks his first outing since dropping the bantamweight title against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 175 in May. In many ways, Dillashaw laid out the blueprint for beating the Nova Uniao fighter. A hard-hitting power striker, Barao has found success catching opponents who have stood directly in front of him. Using sharp angles and footwork, Dillashaw picked him apart en route to a late TKO victory.dddddddddddd Though the Team Alpha Male fighter exposed holes in Baraos game, Gagnon said his own style is too different from Dillashaws to duplicate the same strategy. An aggressive pressure fighter, Gagnon said he plans to break Barao both mentally and physically. Thats not my style, Gagnon said of Dillashaws performance. Do I feel like getting on the line is where Im going to catch Barao? Yeah, I think so. Thats where Barao likes to stay. Hes a very stationary fighter. He plants his feet and throws with 100 per cent power every time. Definitely, one of the things youve got to do with Barao is you always have to make him think, always make him react and make him move around. (Im going to) put the pressure on him. Baraos good at dictating the pace and fighting his fight. If you put the pressure on him and make him exert more energy, thats when he gets in trouble and gets frustrated. For Barao, theres more than a potential title shot on the line when he faces Gagnon. Its also an opportunity for him to earn a measure of redemption following an ill-fated weight-cut attempt ahead of UFC 177 in August. The Brazilian was set to face Dillashaw in a rematch on the card, but was hospitalized after fainting and hitting his head on a bathtub. He was then pulled from the event and replaced by UFC newcomer Joe Soto, who went on to lose via fifth-round TKO in a gutsy performance. As a result of the incident, Barao will no doubt look to take his frustrations out on Gagnon. For some fighters, the prospect of stepping into the octagon with a fired-up Barao would be enough for them to reconsider their entire approach to training. But Gagnon is confident in both his methods and coaching staff. The Canadian submission artist said hes sticking to the routine that has brought him success throughout his career. As far as a whole camp, I havent really changed anything, Gagnon said. Obviously Ive had my coaches training me specifically for Barao. I feel like my team, we have a winning strategy at my camp. I dont want to start doing more or over-thinking things. Ive been successful at what Ive been doing. Im going to keep doing it and improving as a mixed martial artist. With his training tapering off, Gagnon said he is ready to make a statement against Barao. If you look at Baraos past 10 fights, you can see he tends to do (the same) stuff even as he progresses as a fighter, Gagnon said. He sticks to stuff that he does and thats what Im going to capitalize on. Thats why I think Im going to win the fight. I plan on stopping Barao and making it an interesting fight. I plan on shocking the world. ' ' '