past Bruce for a tiebreaking double in the eighth

CINCINNATI - Travis Snider felt for Jay Bruce. He also was happy to see the ball go to the wall.Sniders scorching liner got past Bruce for a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-1 on Friday night to keep the pressure on NL Central-leading St. Louis.Every once in a while, you hit one on the screws, and it has that knuckleball effect, said Snider, who started in right for the Pirates. Its a tough play for an outfielder. As an outfielder, youre going to see balls like that. Ive hit a few.The Pirates have won five of six and 17 of 21 overall. They have already clinched a wild card and remained one game back of the Cardinals, who won 7-6 at Arizona in 10 innings.Josh Harrison was aboard after a two-out single against Pedro Villareal (0-2) when Snider followed with a drive to right that Bruce overran, giving the Pirates a 2-1 lead. Andrew McCutchen then doubled into the gap in left-centre.Like a lot of times this year, I just whiffed, Bruce said. He hit it hard, and its not the first ball that knuckled, but as I planted to redirect, I slipped.Jared Hughes (7-5) got the final two outs of the seventh for the win. Tony Watson pitched the eighth, and Mark Melancon finished for his 33rd save.Mike Leake struck out eight in seven solid innings in his last start of the season for Cincinnati. The right-hander allowed one run a€” Gaby Sanchezs homer on the first pitch of the fifth a€” and three hits with two walks.Leake also helped himself in the fifth. He doubled with two out and then ran through third base coach Steve Smiths stop sign on Kristopher Negrons single to centre, beating McCutchens throw with a slide that made it 1-1.Leake is not sneaking up on anybody in the league, Reds manager Bryan Price said. Hes always ready to compete.Sanchezs drive to left-centre field was his seventh homer of the season and first since August 14.Pirates starter Vance Worley surrendered nine hits in 6 1-3 innings. He struck out four and walked none while throwing 74 pitches.HOT HARRISONHarrison extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games. The Cincinnati native set his previous career high of 13 earlier this season.ON A ROLLThe Pirates are a season-high 16 games over .500 at 88-72.DOUBLE DOWNMcCutchens double was his 38th, tying the career high he set last season, and the 200th of his career.STREAKING LEAKELeakes double was his career-high fifth of the season and his run was his career-high ninth.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: Manager Clint Hurdles lineup was delayed while he awaited an update on the condition of first baseman Ike Davis. He has flu-like symptoms that are more than flu-like, Hurdle said. Davis did not play.Reds: LHP Aroldis Chapman was day to day after he had trouble getting loose while logging his 35th save on Thursday, Price said.ON DECKPirates: LHP Francisco Liriano tries Saturday for his first career win in nine regular-season starts against Cincinnati. He is 0-5.Reds: RHP Alfredo Simon tries to improve to 3-1 in four starts against Pittsburgh this season. Cody Ford Womens Jersey . He even addressed his group of relievers Sunday morning. Dustin McGowan made those worries a nonfactor, at least for a day. McGowan pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, Colby Rasmus hit a grand slam and Melky Cabrera added a two-run homer as the Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2. TreDavious White Bills Jersey .28 mph. Logano will start on the front row next to Penske Ford teammate Brad Keselowski, who came in second Friday at 193.099. The Penske drivers swept the top two spots for the second straight race, reversing their qualifying finish in Phoenix a week ago. http://www.shoptheofficialbills.com/Elite-OJ-Simpson-Bills-Jersey/ . Called on from the college ranks to replace Andy Reid, Kelly implemented a whole new atmosphere in the City of Brotherly Love and now has the Eagles in the playoffs for the first time since 2010. Thurman Thomas Bills Jersey . Heather, the first Gaiter to win the award, set a Canadian Inter-university Sport record with 3,132 passing yards in eight league games, an average of 391.5 yards per game. That beat the mark of 3,047 set only one week earlier by Westerns Will Finch, a Hec Crighton finalist. Custom Buffalo Bills Jerseys . According to USA Today the Finns have tapped forwards Jarkko Immonen and Sakari Salminen to replace injured forwards Mikko Koivu and Valtteri Filppula at the Sochi Games.OTTAWA -- Marc Cohon never tires of singing the praises of the Ottawa Redblacks ownership group. The CFL commissioner spoke to media prior to the start of the Redblacks home opener at the newly refurbished Lansdowne Park, now known as TD Place. Fridays game signifies the return of CFL football in the nations capital for the first time in nine years, but this time Cohon is convinced football is back for good. "We always believed in our ownership group and we had great support at the city council," said Cohon. "I think those two groups working together got us to this point today. It took longer, obviously there were some skeptics and some roadblocks along the way, but look at this -- you have one of the best facilities in North America I believe and when the whole project is done its going to be a great social environment. "You have what looks like a competitive team, corporate support, youve got 17,000 season ticket holders and the ownership group that Ive talked about being the dream team. Its a recipe for success." Cohon had always been a vocal supporter for the return of football in Ottawa and its clear Fridays game is a personal celebration. "Youve heard my quote before and Ill say it again, we had a hole in the heart of the CFFL," said Cohon.dddddddddddd "I think what this ultimately means for us is we have more people watching our game à this means the CFL is growing and expanding and in a big market like Ontario its important for us to be in one of its largest cities." The 48-year-old commissioners commitment to football in Ottawa has even earned him personal recognition as he admitted to being recognized by fans and given thanks for helping with the Redblacks. When asked about Ottawa hosting a Grey Cup Cohon couldnt help but laugh, but did say there was an agreement in place for the Redblacks to host a Grey Cup within the teams first four years of playing. Many would love to see the Redblacks host in 2017 to coincide with Canadas 150th anniversary, although Cohon was noncommittal. With the Redblacks now established, many expect expansion to be the focus for the nine-team league, but Cohon says attention needs to be given on getting the Toronto Argonauts out of Rogers Centre and hopefully securing a home at BMO Field. In addition, Cohon may have to deal with further delays to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats new stadium. Overall Cohon believes the league is in good standing. TV numbers are good and he expects them to improve as the season progresses. ' ' '