t their hits and peels are a little off. "Were

PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates had a plan for Gerrit Cole when they drafted the hard-throwing right-hander with the top pick in the 2011 amateur draft. They hoped Cole would develop into one of the franchise cornerstones, and two years later he may already be there. The 23-year-old dominated the San Diego Padres on Thursday, striking out 12 to lead the Pirates to a 10-1 romp and stop a three-game losing streak. Pittsburgh moved a game in front of Cincinnati for the top wild card spot in the NL after Cole (9-7) pitched his third straight gem. "He continues to grow right in front of our eyes," manager Clint Hurdle said. Cole is 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA and 28 strikeouts in his last three starts, each following a Pittsburgh loss. Overwhelming the Padres with a fastball topping out in the high 90s and a curveball seeming to improve by the pitch, Cole prevented a sweep that would have put a dent in his teams pursuit of its first division title since 1992. "We just couldnt get to the fastball," San Diego manager Bud Black said. "I think we knew it was coming but he located some pitches, threw down and away well. He pitched in. He pitched up (and) mixed it up a little bit with the slider and the changeup." And for once, Cole received some help at the plate. Held to four runs and 11 hits in the first three games of the series, the Pirates pounced on starter Ian Kennedy (6-10) for six runs while putting together their biggest offensive outburst in nearly a month. Neil Walker had four hits, including his 11th homer of the season, and drove in three runs while Pedro Alvarez hit his NL-leading 34th homer for Pittsburgh. Jose Tabata added two hits and three RBIs as the Pirates regained some momentum heading into the biggest series in the 12-year history of PNC Park. "If you would have told us we were going to win one of four in this last series, Ill take the last one, thats for sure," Walker said. "Its certainly not the best feeling. This wasnt our best series playing a team people probably think we should beat, but thats baseball." And meaningful baseball at that, something not seen in September in Pittsburgh since Barry Bonds was hitting balls over the fence at Three Rivers Stadium in 1992. The Pirates ended 20 years of losing earlier this month and have their sights set on a playoff spot. Pittsburgh inched closer to extending its season beyond Sept. 29 by showcasing the resiliency thats become the teams trademark. The Pirates were in position to beat San Diego on Wednesday night when closer Mark Melancon surrendered two runs in the ninth to blow his third save of the season. Given 12 hours to get over it, they responded emphatically. Coles main weakness may be that he gets too fired up. His ERA in the first inning rose to 6.00 when Tommy Medicas two-out RBI single gave the Padres an early lead. It was the lone hiccup on a day he bolstered his case to earn a start in October if the Pirates make it that far. Pittsburgh can get there if it can find any sort of consistency at the plate. After gasping for three days, they rediscovered some pop against a team at the end of a wearying 10-game road trip. Making a spot start while leadoff hitter Starling Marte spent the day in the hospital helping his wife welcome their first child, Tabata scored on a fielders-choice grounder by Andrew McCutchen to tie it in the first. Three innings later, Alvarez crushed a belt-high Kennedy pitch and sent it nearly to the concourse behind the seats in centre for just his second home run in 22 games. The homer sent a jolt through Pittsburghs dugout. Tabata hit a two-run double with two outs, and Walker followed with a shot to right that climbed just over the top of the Clemente Wall for a 6-1 lead. Cole worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the fifth and completed his career day by striking out Nick Hundley swinging. The burly right-hander pumped his first in celebration as he walked off the mound. The Pirates hadnt won a game by more than two runs since knocking off Milwaukee 5-2 on Sept. 2. NOTES: Hurdle said he hasnt set a rotation for the final week of the season. If the Pirates dont make any changes, ace Francisco Liriano would be available to pitch the opening game of the post-season. Liriano (16-7, 2.29 ERA) will start Friday night against Cincinnatis Mat Latos (14-6, 3.14) ... Pittsburgh C Tony Sanchez had 2 of his teams 14 hits and made an acrobatic grab in the eighth when he hauled in a foul pop by Chris Denorfia, flipping into the Padres dugout in the process ... San Diego begins a three-game series at home on Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Robbie Erlin (2-3, 5.18 ERA) will face Edinson Volquez (9-11, 5.94). Jon Casey Jersey . And thats good news for Canada. Kelly, who plays No. 8 at the back of the scrum, is captain of the Canadian womens team. Dallas Stars Jerseys .com) - The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have finalized their agreed-upon trade that sends former National League MVP Jimmy Rollins to the West Coast for a pair of minor league pitching prospects. http://www.authenticstarspro.com/Stephen-johns-stars-jersey/. Millsap will miss Wednesday nights game against the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks say Millsap also will be held out on Thursday at Boston. Craig Hartsburg Jersey .C. -- Carter Ashton had a pair of goals and added an assist as the Toronto Marlies downed the Charlotte Checkers 5-2 on Saturday in the American Hockey League. Mike Modano Jersey . The Kings paraded the Stanley Cup through downtown Los Angeles on Monday to celebrate their second NHL title in three seasons.KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- A stolen deuce in the ninth end was the back-breaker for Saskatchewan Tuesday night at the Canadian mens curling championship, as Alberta claimed a share of the lead going into the home stretch. But Saskatchewan (4-2) skip Steve Laycock says they had no one to blame but themselves at the Tim Hortons Brier. "Odds were still stacked against us even tied up coming home," he said after losing 8-6. "The real problem was we had lots of chances in that ninth end to set up a two and just heavy on a few hit and rolls and taps and stuff." Until then it had been a horse race, although Laycock was clearly the underdog. "We expected a close game all the way," said Koe, who advanced to 6-1 along with John Morris of B.C. "I was a little surprised with that steal of two in nine." Perhaps he shouldnt be, since hes at the top of the list when it comes to shotmaking by skips at this event, although Brier rookie Greg Balsdon of Ontario sits just below him with the same overall percentage of 86. Balsdons numbers got a big boost Tuesday night Eddie Mackenzie from Prince Edward Island (3-4) didnt bother to throw his last rock in the eighth end as he dropped 8-3 to Ontario (4-2). Balsdon is still very much in the hunt but knows he has his toughest games ahead. "Weve got a tough stretch coming up," he said. "Weve got Johnny Mo (Morris), Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba our next four games. If we could even split those games and end up 6-4 going into the last draw I think wed take it." Jean-Michel Menard of Quebec (3-3) was down early, came back and forced an extra end, but still lost 10-8 to James Grattan of New Brunswick (2-5). Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories-Yukon (2-4) defeated winless Jamie Murphy of Nova Scotia 7-4. Laycock says theyd be satisfied just to know theyre in the playoffs, but theyre not giving up hope of finishing in the top group. "We know we can beat these teams when it comes crunch time, weve just got to play better than we did tonight.dddddddddddd" Koe says it would be nice to stay on top of the leader board instead of having to work his way into the final through the 3-4 game. "Im not too worried about who were tied with at the top as long as you keep going and start looking at who plays who and probably where youre at Thursday." Manitobas Jeff Stoughton was another favourite heading into the Brier and he recovered from a 9-7 loss in the morning Tuesday to steal one in the 10th and beat Nova Scotia 8-6 in the afternoon. But a clutch shot through a narrow port even had his own team covering their eyes. Nova Scotia skip Murphy was light on his last-rock draw attempt to force an extra end. The Manitoba skip agrees he and third John Mead havent been as sharp as they need to be. "Both John and I need to make better shots," Stoughton agreed. "Weve just got to clean up the little mistakes." He says their draw weight is good but their hits and peels are a little off. "Were really close and were working hard." Newfoundland and Labradors Brad Gushue retained at least faint hope of making the playoffs with an 8-5 win over Grattan. But after dropping a morning game 7-6 to Saskatchewan, the 2006 Olympic champion said there is no room left for more losses if they want to stay alive. "Yeah, that fourth loss this morning was a punch in your gut," said Gushue. "You know your backs against the wall and you cant afford to lose any more. And its not only winning for more in the round robin, its probably winning a tiebreaker, the 3-4 game, semifinal and final against some world-class teams." The odds are long and it may not be entirely up to him, he admits. "Ive seen 7-4 get in the playoffs, Ive seen 6-5 get in the playoffs. But most of the time it probably doesnt. So youre going to need some help." ' ' '