Thomas Godoj Thread » as a heavy underdog in the contest, but his penchan

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Andrew McCutchen went 4 for 5 and finished a home run short of a cycle, and Jordy Mercer drove in a career-high four runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-2 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Mercer had two of Pittsburghs 13 hits, and each of the Pirates eight position players who started the game had at least one. Pittsburgh jumped on starter Roberto Hernandez in the first inning and scored four runs on five hits and sent nine men to the plate. All the runs scored with two outs against Hernandez, who threw 45 pitches in his inning. Gerrit Cole (7-4) made his second start since coming off the disabled list after he had right shoulder fatigue. Hernandez (3-8) settled down after the rough first and pitched 5 2-3 innings. He gave up five runs, 10 hits and four walks, and struck out three. Hernandez was pulled in the sixth after he walked Starling Marte with two outs. Marte got the Pirates first inning surge going with a one-out single, but he was thrown out at the plate by shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who fielded a hit by McCutchen in shallow left that bounced off the glove of third baseman Cody Asche. After Neil Walker walked, Russell Martin and Josh Harrison connected for RBI singles. Mercer drove in two runs with a single after Gaby Sanchez walked, giving the Pirates a 4-0 lead. They added a run in the fourth when Gregory Polanco singled and scored on McCutchens double to left. Cole threw just 80 pitches in five shutout innings and allowed only one hit innings. He walked one and struck out five before being removed from the game because of right lat soreness. Philadelphia got on the board in the sixth against reliever Stolmy Pimentel, who walked three of the four hitters he faced and didnt record an out. After Pimentel walked Ben Revere and Rollins, Chase Utley singled down the right field line to make it 5-1. Jared Hughes replaced Pimentel after a walk to Ryan Howard. Marlon Byrd hit into a double play that scored Rollins, before Hughes struck out Asche looking. The Pirates answered Philadelphias two runs with two in the seventh when Mercer doubled in Martin and Sanchez. McCutchen drove in his second run in the eighth with his second double, scoring Polanco from first after he led off with a walk. Justin Wilson, Tony Watson and Jeanmar Gomez each worked a perfect inning to finish off Pittsburghs win. NOTES: Philadelphia has lost only twice on Independence Day in 11 years, both times at PNC Park. The Phillies previous July 4 defeat was 8-5 in 2009. . The attendance of 38,977 was a Pirates record for a July 4 game. ... Pittsburgh RHP Edinson Volquez (6-6, 4.07 ERA) matches up with Philadelphia RHP David Buchanan (4-4, 4.86 ERA) on Saturday in the second game of the three-game series. Tim Tebow Jersey .J. Ellis have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year contract. Yoenis Cespedes Mets Jersey .com) - The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics both entered Wednesday nights game riding lengthy losing streaks. http://www.metssale.com/mets-jacob-degrom-jersey/.com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Michael Conforto Mets Jersey . Mark Teahen scored the go-ahead run in the home seventh on an error by Scott Sizemore, who had knotted the game with a solo homer in the previous half- inning. Paul Konerko then hit an RBI single which proved to be the winning run. Adeiny Hechavarria Mets Jersey . The 26-year-old Redditch, England, native played three of his past four seasons under Rennie with the Carolina RailHawks of the North American Soccer League. SAO PAOLO, Brazil -- Fabio Maldonado valiantly accepted a heavyweight fight with Stipe Miocic to help save the main event at "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3," but he wasnt able to last longer than 35 seconds with his larger opponent. A big right hand for Miocic led to the quick finish in the headlining bout of Saturdays event, which took place at Sao Paulos Ibirapuera Gymnasium. Miocic (12-1) had been expected to face former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos, but injury scrapped that matchup and Maldonado stepped in as a replacement opponent. Maldonado (21-7) was a heavy underdog in the contest, but his penchant for putting on legendary battles led some to believe he had a chance of least making the bout entertaining. Instead, Miocic avoided some early offence and countered with a right to the temple that sent Maldonado to the floor. He followed with a series of hammerfists, and the fight was waved off in just 35 seconds. "I was real nervous," Miocic said. "That guys a tank. He keeps coming forward and doesnt stop. Hes got the heart of a lion, and I just needed to get my shots in. I got an open break and I landed a good punch. I think it was my night. I didnt want him to play possum with me, and I just waited for an opportunity, and I got it." In the heavyweight final, Antonio Carlos Jr. (4-0) used a dominant grappling game to outpoint fellow finalist Vitor Miranda (9-4). Miranda tried to use his kickboxing skills to punish his opponent on the feet, and he chopped at Carloss legs throughout the 15-minute affair. But it was Carlos who simply overwhelmed his opponent by repeatedly bringing him to the floor over and over and preventing him from moving back to his feet. Mirandas submission defence was impressive, but he was never able to mount any real counter attack and Carlos was awarded the victory with scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Perhaps most impressive in the result is that Carlos has been competing in professional MMA for less than one full year and his natural weight class is actually at 185 pounds, where hell likely move for his next outing. "I am the TUF champion, and I couldnt be happier," said Carlos. "I had never fought three rounds, but I think I needed this to grow as a fighter." Meanwhile in the middleweight final, Warlley Alves (7-0) looked absolutely dominant in a third-round submission win over fellow finalist Marcio Alexandre Jr. (12-1). Alves was the aggressor from the start, flooring Alexandre with a big right hand in the opening seconds of thee fight.dddddddddddd To his credit, the resilient Alexandre climbed back to his feet and looked to return fire, but Alves sheer aggression kept him in control of the fight the entire time. Big shots on the feet and big takedowns to the floor left Alves clearly ahead after two rounds, but he didnt settle for cruising to a decision win. Instead Alves blasted Alexandre with a big shot on the feet and then pounced with a guillotine choke, putting his opponent to sleep 25 seconds into the third and final round. "It was an honor to fight with a full, packed Ibirapuera screaming my name," said Alves. "I am sure I will get where I want and hope to put on a show in my upcoming fights." In a welterweight matchup, Sao Paulo native Demian Maia (19-6) picked up a dominating decision win over promotional newcomer Alexander Yakovlev (21-5-1). Submission ace Maia actually struck first with his boxing skills, flooring Yakovlev in the opening round with a left hand. But it was his grappling that earned Maia the win after a gutsy Yakovlev scrambled back to his feet. In all three rounds, Maia was able to take the action to the floor and advance to mount, pinning Yakovlev to the mat and forcing him to fight from his back. To his credit, Yakovlev always tried to buck and roll and escape to his feet, but Maia kept himself in a dominant position for much of the fight and was awarded an easy-to-score decision win, 30-27 on all three judges cards. "I really needed this win because in the UFC, every win is important," Maia said. "He defended really well, but I was able impose my game both standing and on the ground. " In the nights first main-card matchup, featherweight Robbie Peralta (18-4) earned a hard-fought and oddly-scored split-decision win over Rony Jason (14-5). Jason dominated the early action, landing a massive spinning elbow in the first round that could easily have ended the fight. But Peralta fought through it and seemed to gain confidence as the bout wore on. As Jasons offence slowed, Peralta came alive, but he was never able to completely dominate the action. With every flurry fired, Jason would find at least a single answer. In the end, Peraltas volume was rewarded with a split-decision win, but Jasons gutsy effort earned him points with the judges, resulting in a bizarre array of scores with 29-28, 27-30 and 30-27. "He is a tough guy, and I knew it was going to be a battle, going back and forth," Peralta said after the win. "I am just glad I came out on top." ' ' '