Die Macht » progress, Hurdle said. ... C Chris Ste

Struggling D.C. United hosts the Portland Timbers in a battle of two teams fighting for playoff spots Saturday at RFK Stadium.D.C. United (5-8-9) is winless in its last six league games and sits in eighth place on the Eastern Conference table with 24 points. The club has failed to maximize their current four-game homestand, settling for consecutive draws against Montreal and Philadelphia.D.C. United is two points behind sixth-place New England for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.No question we feel like we left some more points on the table these last two weeks, but were a win out of a playoff spot, and I told our guys theres so much good to this team, United coach Ben Olsen told the teams website. I think the upside and the quality that this team can produce is better than maybe any team that Ive coached here.The Timbers (8-8-8) have been unable to build momentum off of last years championship, but are sitting just above the red line in the Western Conference with 32 points. They werent among last years favorites when the postseason began, but were able to make a run to the title. Despite Portlands inconsistent play, Diego Valeri and company could still be a threat in the playoffs -- if they can get in.A win over the fading D.C. United would certainly help. But the Timbers have yet to post a win on the road this season.Difficult game, Portland coach Caleb Porter said of Saturdays road tilt. Theyre a lot better team than where theyre at. Its an important game for them, so we expect it to be really tight game. Obviously, we havent won on the road, but weve been very close. Weve gotten six results. So its not like weve bad on the road, weve just not found that breakthrough, that goal or been able manage that last 10 minutes to not concede.But weve played as well as we have in other years, he added. In the last two years, weve had 14 (road) wins and been one of the best teams in the league. And I think our performances have been in line with that. We just havent found that breakthrough. But Im confident we will Saturday.Cheap Under Armour Shoes . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Cheap Fake Jordan Shoes .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. http://www.fakejordancheap.com/wholesale-air-max-90-china.html . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Fake Jordan Shoes .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Vans Outlet Clearance .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals.SAN FRANCISCO -- The way things are going for the Pittsburgh Pirates these days, even when they dig themselves into a hole theres still hope.You start winning a few games, regardless of what the score is, if its early we know weve got a chance to make something happen, Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen said.The Pirates made something happen against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.McCutchen had two hits, including a two-run homer, pinch-hitter Matt Joyce had a key two-run single, and Pittsburgh rallied from a four-run deficit to complete a three-game sweep of the Giants with a 6-5 victory.Thats us, McCutchen added. Thats what we do.The Pirates won their fourth straight game and sixth in seven. They remain a game behind St. Louis, which beat Houston 8-2, in the race for the NL wild card.I think this last week or two has really been fun for us, Joyce said. You can definitely tell guys are playing with that intensity and you can tell theyre hungry.McCutchens homer, his 17th, capped a six-run rally in the fifth inning that chased Giants starter Matt Cain (4-8).Cain had allowed one hit and had faced just one batter over the minimum with a 4-0 lead going into his disastrous fifth inning, when the Pirates scored six runs on four walks, three hits and a hit batsman.His first pitch to McCutchen was an 89 mph fastball over the middle of the plate, and the Pirates center fielder pounced.Pirates starter Ivan Nova allowed four runs and six hits in four innings. He struck out five and allowed no walks. Nova, who won his first two starts since coming over in a deadline trade with the New York Yankees, was lifted for Joyce after Cain hit David Freese to start the fifth and then walked three straight batters.Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of his decision to pinch-hit Joyce wasnt a reflection on Novas performance.How do you know youre going to have another shot with the bases loaded? Hurdle asked. You take a shot when the bases are full and see what can play out.Nova is 2-0 with a 4.41 ERA in three starts with the Pirates. He hasnt allowed a walk in 16 1/3 innings with his new team. We like his stuff, Hurdle said. It was a tough day to be a National League pitcher. In the American League hes probably still pitching.Jeff Locke (9-7) pitched a scoreless fifth.Tony Watson survived a scoreless ninth after the Giants loaded the bases with no outs for his seventh save in eight tries since taking over Pittsburghs closers role.The Giiants, who on Tuesday fell out of first place in the NL West for the first time in 97 days, lost their fourth straight.dddddddddddd They fell to 9-21, the worst record in the majors since the All-Star break. They dropped 1 1/2 games behind the Dodgers, who beat Philadelphia on Wednesday night.Were taking some blows right now but its a tough club, its a resilient club, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.They came out and did some good things today. Were creating some good chances and opportunities.The Giants failed to capitalize when it counted most.After inducing Buster Posey to ground into a run-scoring double play, Watson got Brandon Crawford to fly out to shallow center and McCutchen made a game-ending running catch.Posey was 3 for 5 with an RBI double to lead the Giants. Crawford was 2 for 5 with a double, a triple and three RBI and Angel Pagan was 3 for 4 with a double as he extended his hitting streak to 15 games.BEST WESTERNThe Pirates are 25-8 on the road against the NL West over the last two seasons and are 22-11 against the division this season. This has been key for us the last couple of years, coming out here and taking care of business, McCutchen said.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: RHP Tyler Glasnow, on the DL since July 24 with right shoulder discomfort, threw a bullpen session on Tuesday and is showing progress, Hurdle said. ... C Chris Stewart, out since July 2 with knee discomfort, had his third scheduled rehab game with Double-A Altoona rained out on Tuesday.Giants: Bochy had Posey in the lineup for a day game after a night game after the All-Star catcher missed two consecutive games with lower back tightness. I dont want him going out there if theres any risk of making it worse, he says hes fine, Bochy said. ... 1B Brandon Belt dropped to the ground after fouling a pitch off his right knee in the fifth inning but stayed in the game.UP NEXTPirates: RHP Gerrit Cole will pitch the series opener against the Marlins on Friday. Cole is 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA in three starts since pitching his first career complete game against Seattle on July 27.Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner will pitch the series opener with the Mets on Thursday. The All-Star threw seven shutout innings against Baltimore in his most recent outing to snap a streak of five winless starts in which he was 0-3 and the Giants were 0-5. ' ' '