Dein erstes Forum » e doing the first three quarters," said Howard

PITTSBURGH -- Edinson Volquez couldnt seem to find the strike zone in the first inning of his start against the Philadelphia Phillies, throwing 11 of his 16 pitches for balls. After escaping the jam unscathed, he got some advice from pitching coach Ray Searage. The rest of the way went smoothly with Volquez allowing a run over seven innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Phillies 3-2 Saturday. "He slowed me down," Volquez said. "I was too fast to the plate and everything was late with my hands to get the ball where I wanted." The adjustment worked. "I could see the strike zone a little closer to me and I felt like I could put the ball where I wanted," Volquez said. Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer in the first and Volquez (7-6) had an RBI groundout with the bases loaded in the second inning as the Pirates moved a season-high five games over .500 at 46-41. The Pirates couldve added to the 3-0 lead but Gregory Polanco Starling Marte each flew out with men on second and third. Volquez allowed four hits and walked four. He struck out five in his third straight win. "He battled," manager Clint Hurdle said. "It was a very, I thought, gritty performance by him today because he spent a lot of time out of the stretch again." McCutchen followed up Fridays game, when he was a home run shy of the cycle, with the big hit off David Buchanan. McCutchen connected to right after Polanco led off the home first with a single. McCutchen said it was nice to begin his day with a home run after he ended Friday with a ball that smacked the wall about 10 feet lower than necessary to clear it. "I got a little better swing on it," McCutchen said. "(I) got out in front of it a little more so I was able to get hands through the zone and put a little more backspin on it." Hurdle was pleased his team jumped on top early, similar to the way the Pirates scored four runs in the first inning Friday. "Its always nice to get in front," he said. "It does give you a sense of momentum coming out of the chute." Philadelphia dropped a season-high 13 games below .500 at 37-50. "We havent been able to bounce back from being down early in the game," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Its been different when weve scored early. Its something were going to have to try and do, score earlier in games." Buchanan (4-5) found his stride after the second and kept the Pirates at bay until he was lifted in the sixth. Philadelphias starter was charged with three runs and six hits and an intentional walk. "The biggest thing for me today was not walking anybody," Buchanan said. "If you throw strikes and make them put it in play then good things usually happen." Marlon Byrd stranded five men on base in his first two at-bats. He flew out in the first to leave men on the corners, then struck on four pitches to end the third with the bases loaded. Byrd homered off Pirates closer Mark Melancon in the ninth but even an attempt at starting a rally wasnt enough to appease the right fielder after his earlier at-bats. "I have to do a better job producing in the first at-bat, too," Byrd said. "Bases loaded and I struck out. My job is to produce." Melancon retired to next three batters he faced for his 16th save. Tony Watson worked a perfect eighth. Cody Asche homered in the fourth for Philadelphia against Volquez. NOTES Asches home run in the fourth inning snapped a 16-inning scoreless streak for Volquez. . In their last 14 starts, Pittsburghs starting pitchers have combined to post a 2.32 ERA. . Pittsburgh SS Jordy Mercer doubled twice and is batting .714 (10 for 14) in his last five games. . Pirates LHP Jeff Locke (1-1, 3.46 ERA) faces Phillies RHP A.J. Burnett (5-7, 3.92 ERA) when Pittsburgh and Philadelphia conclude their three-game series Sunday. Pekka Rinne Jersey . The 28-year-old lefty made his MLB debut in 2013, making 10 starts and going 2-5 with 4.05 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Albers was named the Twins organizations minor league pitcher of the year for 2013. Pekka Rinne Predators Jersey . The Tiger-Cats announced on Friday the linebacker has signed a new contract with the team through the 2016 season. http://www.authenticpredatorspro.com/Yan...edators-jersey/. -- Arizona coach Sean Miller rose from his seat every time Roberto Nelson touched the ball and yelled "Shooter!" He could have been talking about his own team, too. Calle Jarnkrok Predators Jersey . Nick Holden scored two goals and had an assist and the Avalanche held off the Nashville Predators 5-4 Saturday night for their fourth straight victory. Kyle Turris Predators Jersey . Messis father, Jorge Horacio Messi, is apparently still under investigation for an alleged 4 million euros ($5.3 million) in unpaid taxes from Messis image rights from 2007-09. Messis public relations firm confirmed Spanish media reports that the state prosecutor has asked for Messi to be dropped from the investigation that began in June 2013. DALLAS -- Monta Ellis is turning into quite a consolation prize after Dallas missed out on Dwight Howard. Ellis had a season-high 37 points and two key assists late, Dirk Nowitzki led a fourth-quarter rally with 14 of his 35 points, and the Mavericks spoiled Howards best offensive night in Houston with a 123-120 victory over the Rockets on Wednesday night. The Mavericks settled for a pair of guards in Ellis and Jose Calderon after Howard chose the Rockets in free agency during the summer. Nowitzki wanted Howard as much as anyone else, but has raved about Ellis all season. "Were really just playing off of him," said Nowitzki, who also had a season high in scoring. "Hes been aggressive, hes been shooting the ball well, but whats been great is that he has been making plays for others. Hes making all of us better." Howard, playing in front of Dallas fans for the first time since his big decision, made his first 11 shots and scored a season-high 33 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds after receiving some mild pregame boos. The Mavericks, who improved to 6-0 at home, trailed by 18 late in the third quarter but were down just one in the final minute when Ellis drove and zipped a pass to Shawn Marion in the corner for the go-ahead 3-pointer with 47 seconds left. Houstons James Harden had a chance to tie it with 9 seconds left but missed the second of two free throws, keeping Dallas lead at 121-120. Calderon made two free throws after a Houston foul, and Harden shot an airball on a 3-point try in the final seconds. The Rockets had 101 points after three quarters -- 50 of them in the paint -- but set the tone for the fourth by starting it with four straight 3-pointers, all misses. "In the fourth quarter, we went away from what we were doing the first three quarters," said Howard, who had four alley-oop dunks in the first half. "Weve just got to read how teams are playing us. Its growing pains. We have a very young team. Weve got to realize what we can do as a team." Howard, who was 12 of 16 from the field and even made nine of 13 free throws, hit one of two from the line for a 119-114 lead before Nowitzki hit a jumper, then blocked a shot by Howard on the other end. Ellis assisted on a dunk by Marion, and after Chandler Parsons missed a layup, Ellis found Marion for the go-ahead shot. Ellis finished with eight assists. "We stayed together as a team," Ellis said. "We got the defensive stops when we needed and came down andd made shots on the other end.dddddddddddd" Nowitzki passed Reggie Miller for 15th on the NBA scoring list, with the 35-year-old in his 16th season going ahead of Miller on a free throw after a technical foul for defensive 3 seconds called against Howard. Nowitzki now has 25,298 points. Miller, the second-most prolific 3-point shooter behind Ray Allen, scored 25,279 points in 18 seasons with Indiana from 1987-2005. Brooklyns Kevin Garnett is 14th at 25,340 points after scoring four in a 95-91 loss to Charlotte on Wednesday night. "We never could get a handle on them," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We just couldnt get them stopped the whole game. Dirk and Ellis got what they wanted." The Rockets led by 18 late in the third quarter before the Mavericks rallied in the fourth by shooting 74 per cent and outscoring Houston 36-19. After Dallas got to 104-101, Houston went back up by nine on consecutive 3-pointers from Patrick Beverley and Harden, who had 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting. The lead was still nine when Calderon and Nowitzki hit 3-pointers around a bucket by Harden, setting up the wild finish. "It would have been easy to drop our heads and stop playing, but these guys arent going to do that," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. Parsons had 21 points and a game-high 11 assists, but he attempted just two shots in the second half after scoring 18 and hitting three of four from 3-point range before halftime. "Its just annoying and frustrating to know we should have won the game," Parsons said. "We had a big lead and then we played completely different in one half than we did in the first half." Samuel Dalembert, the defensive-minded centre Dallas signed after Howard chose Houston, was powerless to stop him most of the night before finally getting a block on a layup try that was just Howards second miss. Dalembert led the Mavericks with 10 rebounds and four of their five blocks. A night after shooting 72 per cent in the first half of a blowout win over Boston, Houston was at 68 per cent at the break against Dallas and had 36 points in the paint -- 16 of those on dunks -- in taking a 68-61 lead. NOTES: Nowitzki got a technical foul in the first half for complaining about a foul on a drive by Harden, who missed the free throw. ... The Rockets shot 75 per cent in a 40-point first quarter. Harden, Parsons, Terrence Jones and Omar Casspi combined to go 5 of 6 from 3-point range as Houston took a 40-29 lead. ' ' '