CHICAGO -- The Pittsburgh Pirates are in the thick of the playoff race in the National League, so Saturday is another big day for manager Clint Hurdles club. [url=http://www.cheapraidersjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-dave-cas per-jersey]Authentic Dave Casper Jersey[/url] . Fridays series opener a

CHICAGO -- The Pittsburgh Pirates are in the thick of the playoff race in the National League, so Saturday is another big day for manager Clint Hurdles club. Authentic Dave Casper Jersey . Fridays series opener against the Chicago Cubs was suspended by rain with the game tied at 3 in the seventh inning. The teams will pick up right where they left off before their regularly scheduled matchup Saturday afternoon. The Pirates brought a four-game losing streak to Wrigley Field and began the day third in the NL Central, 5 1/2 back of the streaking Cardinals and 1 1/2 games out in the wild-card race. Completing two games in one day provides a chance for Pittsburgh to make up ground no matter what the other NL contenders do. The Pirates and Cubs waited through a 37-minute rain delay in the fifth, but more storms rolled through the area with Jordy Mercer at the plate in the top of the seventh. With more rain in the forecast, the game was called after a delay of 1 hour, 52 minutes. "The field took a lot of water. It would take quite a bit of time to prep the field (and) there would be a very small window of clear weather to play," Hurdle said. "We might not even have the potential of playing multiple innings, and theres another larger storm thats supposed to come and last longer." Josh Harrison had three hits for Pittsburgh, including two doubles, at the time of the suspension. Jose Tabata had two hits and drove in a run. Cubs left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada left with one out in the fourth due to mild cramping in his left calf. He hit consecutive batters with pitches in the third and was charged with three runs, two earned, on three hits and one walk. The gametime temperature was 88 degrees on a muggy afternoon, and Wada said he thought the heat bothered him. "This was something that I experienced in Japan in the past as well, so I just felt like it just kind of came up again," he said through a translator. Pittsburgh right-hander Vance Worley returned after the first delay, but departed with two outs in the fifth. He allowed three runs, two earned, and five hits. "You cant control the weather," Worley said. "I went back out there and the ball was coming out better than the rest of the game. I got a little erratic at times, but I kept the ball in the park and they put a couple of balls in play." Wada was in line for the loss before Chris Valaikas two-out RBI single in the fifth. The Cubs then had runners on second and third, but Justin Wilson retired pinch-hitter Mike Olt on a bouncer to second for the final out of the inning. "I thought Justin did a great job leaving the two runners out there," Hurdle said. Harrison doubled and scored on a two-out throwing error by third baseman Luis Valbuena in the first. But Harrison returned the favour in the third, throwing Valaikas two-out grounder over the head of first baseman Gaby Sanchez for an error that allowed Valbuena to come home. The Cubs made another costly defensive mistake in the fourth when Arismendy Alcantara broke in on Tabatas drive to centre and it sailed over his head for an RBI double. Harrison added another run-scoring double with two outs, giving Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead. TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: OF Travis Snider (left hamstring) and INF Pedro Alvarez (left foot) arent ready to play just yet, Hurdle said. ... RHP Charlie Morton, placed on the disabled list last month with a sports hernia in his right hip, was scheduled to throw a bullpen Friday and then a simulated game Tuesday in Philadelphia. UP NEXT Two left-handers take the mound when Pittsburghs Francisco Liriano (3-10, 3.91 ERA) faces Felix Doubront (1-0, 1.29) on Saturday afternoon. Liriano is looking for his first win since July 29 at San Francisco, while Doubront is seeking his second straight victory after he pitched seven solid innings in his first appearance with the Cubs at St. Louis last Saturday. Authentic Fred Biletnikoff Jersey . After all, the No. 8 seed is chasing far loftier goals. Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., defeated American Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Wimbledons second round on Thursday. Authentic Shareece Wright Jersey . -- Henry Josey watched helplessly from the sideline last fall, rehabbing from a serious knee injury, while Missouri was getting pushed around in its first SEC season. http://www.cheapraidersjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-jack-tatum-jersey . Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stood tall with 41 saves between the pipes, but it was defenceman Ryan McDonagh who got the first star of the game as he had a goal and an assist and now has two goals and four assists for six points in two games. ST. JOHNS, N.L. -- Michael Hutchinson has been the difference-maker for the St. Johns IceCaps throughout the American Hockey League Eastern Conference final. Tuesdays Game 6 was no different. Hutchinson made 34 saves as St. Johns advanced to the Calder Cup final with a 5-0 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. "Hutchinson is playing really well right now and he played a strong game tonight," IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge said. "He has done nothing but show he is a goaltender who is knocking on the door of the National Hockey League since we got him." The modest netminder credited his team with the shutout performance, saying the players in front of him played a great defensive game. "Fortunately the guys blocked a lot of shots, cleared rebounds and tied up sticks," Hutchinson said. "They really let me see the puck, and when I was able to see the puck I held onto it. It was a great team effort." Hutchinson added that winning the elimination game feels "unbelievable." "This is what you go for all season, to play for a championship," he said. "To get here is an unbelievable feeling, and to win on home ice makes it that much more special." McCambridge said the IceCaps were hoping the team would eliminatee the Penguins on the road, but he was happy with the Game 6 win. Authentic George Blanda Jersey. "Everybody was disappointed that we were unable to close out the series in five (games) but you have to be realistic," he said. "Youre in the conference finals and its hard to close out (in five games), its rare. We said that if we were able to take two out of three in the oppositions building against a very good team, wed be happy with it." Eric ODell, Blair Riley, Adam Lowry, Jason Jaffray and Zach Redmond scored for St. Johns. The IceCaps opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 17:53 of the first period. ODell tipped a shot from Brenden Kichton in over the blocker of Penguins goalie Peter Mannino. Lowry doubled the IceCaps lead 3:24 into the second period, tapping in a Josh Morrissey feed that found the forward in front of the net. Riley tipped a point shot five-hole to extend the IceCaps lead to three at the 2:23 mark of the third period. Redmond scored a fourth for St. Johns with a wrist shot from the point while Jaffray screened Mannino at 5:21. Jaffray added an empty-net goal with 47.5 seconds left. Mannino made 25 saves for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. St. Johns will play the Texas Stars, who beat the Toronto Marlies in Game 7 Tuesday, for the AHL championship. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Braves Jerseys Cheap Orioles Jerseys Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Indians Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Cheap Astros Jerseys Cheap Royals Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Marlins Jerseys ' ' '