Off Topic » John Morris (Third), E.J. Harnde

LOS ANGELES -- Clutch hitting from Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez helped the Pittsburgh Pirates finally win a series in Dodger Stadium after a seven-year drought. McCutchen hit his first home run in over a month, doubled twice and scored two runs to help the Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Sunday and take three of four from the defending NL West champions. "Its good that we were able to get three out of four against a really good team here in L.A.," McCutchen said. "We havent done that in a long time, so its a step in the right direction, definitely." Alvarez drove in three runs against Zack Greinke and Josh Harrison homered against Chris Perez, helping the Pirates win for the eighth time in 12 games. The last time they captured a series at Chavez Ravine was in September 2006, when they took two of three under then manager Jim Tracy. "Weve been out here a lot and not done a whole lot. So it was a big thing for us -- because we flat-out believe we can play," skipper Clint Hurdle said. "We needed to knock this off our to-do list, and we were able to. We knew what we were facing here, and we outpitched them for three of the four days. We played three really clean ballgames. We have confidence and we have enough edge and grit, and I think it showed up this weekend." Edinson Volquez (3-4) allowed two runs and five hits over five innings, striking out six and walking one. "Youve got to stay focused on what youre doing, especially against those guys because they have a good lineup," Volquez said. "You cant make a lot of mistakes against them, especially with Greinke because hes one of the best pitchers in the National League. Tonight I had better fastball command than I did in New York, so I was able to throw more strikes and keep the fastball down." Jason Grilli, the fifth Pirates pitcher, got three outs for his eighth save and third of the series after giving up a pair of two-out walks and an RBI single by pinch-hitter Scott Van Slyke. It was the Dodgers only hit after Justin Turners solo homer with one out in the fourth. Greinke (8-2) gave up a season-worst four runs and five hits in seven innings and struck out seven. "Hes an ultra-competitor. And to beat him, youve got to out-compete him," Hurdle said. "We laid off some tight pitches, we worked some counts, got his pitch count up, then we hit some pitches we were able to handle and got the barrel on them. But that was the plan coming in. I mean, you give him strike one and he can cut you up three different ways. So we just tried to be as aggressive as he was. We were looking for fastballs early, and his location played into it." Alvarez opened the scoring in the first with a two-run single after Greinke gave up a two-out double to McCutchen and walks to Ike Davis and Russell Martin. "McCutchen did a lot against us," manager Don Mattingly said. "Obviously the kid at third base (Alvarez) had a couple of big hits too, and had some good at-bats. Zack had been fairly successful against him." McCutchen, whose 21 homers, 84 RBIs and .317 average last season helped the Pirates end a 20-year playoff drought, made it 3-1 in the third with his fifth homer and first since April 23. The RBI was the first for the reigning NL MVP after a drought of nine games and 33 at-bats since his run-scoring single against Washingtons Blake Treinen on May 22. "I havent been hitting the ball the way I knew I could be, so tonight was a good start for myself," said McCutchen, who came in 4 for 21 against Greinke with two RBIs. "Just being ready to hit was the biggest key, and getting pitches to hit. Ive been a little late, probably because my timings been off on off-speed pitches. So tonight I got myself in a hitting position and was ready to fire. And when I got a good pitch to hit I was able to put the barrel on it." Harrison, who was 7 for 17 in the series, hit his fourth homer in the seventh for the Pirates final run. NOTES: Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig had two hits and has reached base in 33 straight games, the longest active streak in the majors. ... RHP Bryan Morris, who gave up Hanley Ramirezs second homer of the game in Saturdays 12-2 Pirates loss, was traded to the Miami Marlins for the 39th overall pick in Thursdays draft. RHP Casey Sadler was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis, where he was 6-1 with a 2.66 ERA in eight starts. Matt Gay Jersey . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys China . On Monday night, many fans in this city placed the blame squarely on the captain for his role in the James Neal overtime winner against the Pittsburgh Penguins. http://www.cheapbuccaneersjerseysauthent...y-nelson-jersey. He was 90. The team announced Monday that Adams had died, saying he "passed away peacefully from natural causes." The son of a prominent oil executive, Adams built his own energy fortune and founded the Houston Oilers. Sean Bunting Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins (5) – He was locked in all night, made huge stops on Benoit Pouliot, Raphael Diaz, Ryan Mcdonagh, Carl Hagelin, Rick Nash (twice) but none better than the three saves on Mats Zuccarello. Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys China . According to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, the deal will pay Schenn $2.25 million in the first year and $2.75 million in the second year. In 82 games with the Flyers in 2013-14, Schenn scored 20 goals and added 21 assists.Banff, Alta. - Jeff Stoughton and his All-Star rink swept their way to $17,500 in prize money and secured a spot in Sundays Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game Presented by Pintys Final following a semifinal victory over Brad Gushue Saturday afternoon at The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in Banff, Alta. The highly-anticipated Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game Presented by Pintys final airs Sunday at 1pm et/10am pt live on TSN. With $57,000 up for grabs in the final, Stoughton will face off against the winner of Saturday nights semifinal #2 at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt live on TSN, as Brad Jacobs – 2013 Brier champion and Team Canadas representative at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games – takes on Vancouver 2010 gold medallist and all-time TSN curling skins leading money earner Kevin Martin. In front of a packed house at The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre, Stoughton played alongside an All-Star team featuring Dave Nedohin (Third), Brent Laing (Second), and Ryan Harnden (Lead). Gushues All-Star team included John Morris (Third), E.J. Harnden (Second), and Ben Hebert (Lead). Gushue took the lead earlyy in the draw, winning the first skin in the second end following a carry-over and the second skin in the third end for a total of $3,500.dddddddddddd Stoughton evened it up with a win in the fifth end following a carry-over to tie the game at $3,500. Following two carry-overs the game was on the line in the seventh end, with Stoughton securing the victory and a spot in Sundays final. With the game already decided, Stoughton would go on to win the final skin of the afternoon with an eighth end steal. In total, Stoughton won three skins and takes home $17,500 in prize money. After Saturdays draw, Stoughtons career TSN skins game winnings now total $55,500. Gushue won a total of $3,500 in prize money to increase his career TSN skins game earnings to $9,500. The Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game Presented by Pintys is the premier special event on the curling calendar. The events sponsors include title sponsor Travelers, presenting sponsor Pintys,