PITTSBURGH -- Clint Hurdle grabbed the brim of his cap and ducked his head. When pressed about what pleased him the most about Pittsburghs 9-2 win over St. Louis on Monday, a romp that propelled the resilient Pirates within a half-game of the NL Central lead, the manager thought for a moment and sighed. "Getting a little picky arent we?" he asked with a smile. Hurdle isnt. Neither is his team as it tries to shrug off two decades of misery and mediocrity. Francisco Liriano allowed one run over seven dominant innings, Pedro Alvarez hit his NL-leading 27th home run and the Pirates kicked off a pivotal series by sending the Cardinals to their season-high fourth straight loss. Liriano (11-4) continued his midcareer renaissance by striking out eight and walking just two to win his fifth consecutive start. "Its been a good run for him being able to watch, and thats pretty much what Ive been doing," Pittsburgh centre fielder Andrew McCutchen said. "I dont get a lot of action when hes on the mound. It makes it a lot easier for the defence." Having some help from an underachieving offence helps. The Pirates came in hitting just .221 with runners in scoring position, the worst mark in baseball. Clint Barmes smacked two doubles and drove in two runs and McCutchen added two hits as Pittsburgh went 5 for 13 with runners on second or third to continue its mastery over St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook. The veteran right-hander fell to 1-8 against Pittsburgh in his otherwise solid resume. The Pirates touched Westbrook (7-5) for four runs in the first inning, capped by Alvarezs three-run homer into the first row of seats in right field. "It was a battle from pitch 1 -- and it showed early on," Westbrook said. "Its not really how you draw it up with a walk and a hit batsmen and a single and a homer. Put us in a bad spot against a good team and against a guy whos throwing the ball really well." Hurdle stressed the need to not place too much focus on a late-July series, pointing out two more months remain after the five-game set wraps up on Thursday. Maybe, but with the Pirates chasing their first playoff berth in 21 years and a chance to make inroads on the team with the best record in baseball, the game had an electricity typically reserved for early fall in cities far away from the one that hasnt fielded a winner since 1992. Lower-lever tickets were fetching $100 or more hours before the first pitch, and Liriano did not disappoint the largest Monday-night crowd (32,084) since the park opened. The left-hander, whose path to stardom veered off track after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2007, had little trouble with the most explosive offence in the majors. He retired the first 10 batters he faced and kept the best-hitting team in the National League on its heels while dropping his ERA to 2.16. "Frankie can answer," Hurdle said. "Hes been in big matchups before." So has Westbrook, who still hasnt figured out a way to handle the Pirates. He was touched for four runs in the first inning of his previous start at PNC Park in April. The game was eventually washed out. The weather couldnt save him this time. Neither could Westbrooks usually solid control. He issued three walks and hit three batters and never appeared comfortable. "Hes going to go out there and give us whatever hes got every time and for whatever reason this teams just given him a tough time and hes had a hard time in this stadium," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. Westbrook survived a bases-loaded jam in the second to stay close, but by then Liriano had all the support he would need. His only real mistake came in the sixth, when pinch-hitter Tony Cruz led off with a triple and scored on Carpenters single up the middle. A strikeout and a double play followed, and the Pirates broke it open in the seventh against relievers Marc Rzepczynski and Fernando Salas. Garrett Jones started it with Pittsburghs first sacrifice fly to the outfield since May 27 and Barmes clubbed a two-run double as the Pirates batted around. Even with its best offensive showing since the All-Star break, Hurdle isnt so sure the Pirates made a statement. "Were a confident team," he said. "I think were a team whose confidence isnt built on its last game. Its not shattered by a losing streak. You continue to push through and thats what weve done from Opening Day until now." NOTES: Pirates LF Starling Marte did not start after getting a planned day off in favour of Alex Presley, recalled from Triple-A on Monday after C Mike McKenry went onto the disabled list with a sprained knee. Marte entered in the seventh as a pinch hitter and singled. He is hitting just .131 (5 for 38) since July 20 ... The series continues with a doubleheader Tuesday. A.J. Burnett (4-7, 2.96 ERA) faces Lance Lynn (12-5, 3.98 ERA) in the opener with the Cardinals Tyler Lyons (2-3, 5.51) starting the second game. The Pirates will not name a starter for the second game until Tuesday morning. ... Lynn was originally supposed to start the second game, but Matheny moved him into the matchup against Burnett because he wanted a more experienced pitcher to take on Pittsburghs ace. Logan Forsythe Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Kirk Gibson Jersey . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. http://www.dodgersteamproshop.com/Dodgers-Justin-Turner-Kids-Jersey/ . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Chris Taylor Jersey .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. Matt Kemp Jersey . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. NEW YORK -- Matt Wieters has become the latest Baltimore Orioles player with an uncertain situation.The All-Star catcher went for X-rays after being hit by a pitch in his right foot during the Orioles 2-1 loss to the New York Yankees on Monday night.Wieters remained in the game after being struck in the first inning.Just sore, real sore, manager Buck Showalter said. Im waiting with a little anxiety on whats going to show, especially this X-ray here.The Orioles were already without star slugger Chris Davis, who was hospitalized the night before with an illness. He got an IV on Sunday and stayed at the hotel during Mondays game.Baltimore is also without outfielder Hyun Soo Kim, who has been out since the All-Star break with a strained right hamstring.The Orioles got five hits in their latest muted performance behind Kevin Gausman (1-7). Baltimore entered averaging five runs per game but just 3.40 in Gausmans starts, and he fell to 0-1 in three starts against New York this season despite a 1.31 ERA over 20 2/3 innings.Its pretty rare for us to only get one, Gausman said. I dont take it personal.Gausman pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and six hits while striking out six.I feel for him a lot, center fielder Adam Jones said. We just havent scored runs for him.Alex Rodriguez hit his 696th career homer and Ivan Nova grinded through six innings before the Yankees bullpen triad closed up shop for the second straight game.New York (46-46) pulled within 7 1/2 games of first-place Baltimore in the AL East. Its 2-2 on a 10-game homestand that could determine whether the Yankees are buyers or sellers at the Aug. 1 deadline.We definitely want to keep all the guys around and keep this together, Rodriguez said.Nova (7-5) needed 60 pitches to get through three but allowed just a solo homer to Jonathan Schoop. He handed a 2-1 lead over to New Yorks bullpen troika of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman.No Runs DMC, possibly in its final days with Miller and Chapman rumored to be on the trade block, covered the final three innings to extend its scoreless streak to 22 innings. The Yankees are 18-1 when all three reliievers pitch in the same game.ddddddddddddChapman got his 19th save. He threw five pitches of 104 mph or higher, reaching 105.1 on his sixth pitch to J.J. Hardy -- the fastest pitch in the majors since MLBs Statcast system began measuring in 2015.Hes just such an outlier, Miller said.Chapmans last pitch was 104.9. He got Ryan Flaherty out on a grounder with a runner on first -- the bouncing ball hit part of Flahertys shattered bat in the middle of the diamond before being easily handled.Nova had a 6.93 ERA in his past five starts but was coming off 10 days rest.He was running that two-seamer in on us, Jones said, but to our credit we hit a lot of balls hard.Rodriguez turned on a 2-0 fastball from Gausman for his ninth home run leading off the second.The 40-year-old Rodriguez was making his fourth straight start coming out of the All-Star break, going 1 for 10 in the first three games. Since his last homer on June 18, hed gone 10 for 50 with one double in 15 games.Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran said it looked like A-Rod got back his A-swing on the homer.New York got its other run via Brian McCanns sacrifice fly in the third.LOOKOUTRodriguez dived away of Gausmans 98 mph fastball headed for his head in the sixth -- the pitch drew boos from the Yankee Stadium crowd. Gausman struck out Rodriguez swinging at a splitter in the dirt on the next pitch.TRAINERS ROOMOrioles: Kim will play in a simulated game Tuesday and the Orioles hope to decide after that whether to place him on the disabled list. ... Reliever Darren ODay (right hamstring) will pitch in that simulated game.UP NEXTOrioles: RHP Vance Worley (2-0, 2.87) makes his first start since moving to the bullpen following two starts in April. He has a 2.23 ERA in 18 games as a reliever, and Baltimore is hoping that success translates and bolsters one of the worst rotations in the AL.Yankees: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (7-6, 5.11) returns to the rotation after making three appearances in the bullpen. He pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings as a reliever. 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