priority number one.How that might affect how deep a starter goes in the upcoming games might be looked at a little more close but still we feel its imperative to at least secure as much home field advantage a

NEW YORK -- Once Juan Lagares saved the game with his glove, he gladly let Mike Baxter win it with his bat. Lagares robbed Andrew McCutchen of a go-ahead hit with a leaping catch at the wall in the top of the ninth inning, then Baxters pinch-hit single in the bottom half sent the New York Mets over the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 Thursday night. "At home plate, I didnt do very well with the bat," Lagares said. "I tried to forget it and play defence." Baxter delivered his second winning pinch-hit in three days. His 10th-inning single Tuesday beat the Chicago White Sox. This time, Baxter batted for Lagares and won it. "Very enjoyable. Good feeling," Baxter said. Lagares was equally responsible for the victory. Before the game, Mets manager Terry Collins said the rookie centre fielder might win a game with his defence -- he was right, maybe sooner than he expected. Called up from Triple-A on April 23 because of his bat and mitt, Lagares preserved the ninth-inning tie with his gem. With a runner on first and two outs, McCutchen hit a loud shot into faraway right-centre field. Lagares glided back, perfectly timed his leap and plucked the ball at the top of the fence as he rammed into the padded wall. It was a fantastic play, yet he seemed so under control he made it look almost routine. "I got a good jump," he said. "I saw it all the way into the glove." Asked if he thought the ball wouldve cleared the wall, Lagares said it was close. Either way, it wouldve at least been a tiebreaking extra-base hit. "That was huge," Baxter said. "Lagares saves the game." McCutchen wasnt so surprised. "I thought he was going to catch it at the wall. I didnt think I got enough of it to get it out," he said. Marlon Byrd singled to start the Mets ninth off Jason Grilli (0-1). Andrew Brown sacrificed and Baxter followed by grounding a single up the middle, easily scoring Byrd. Its been quite a week for Baxter, who grew up in the shadow of Shea Stadium -- just a few minutes from where Citi Field now stands. Baxter is now 5 for 9 as a pinch-hitter this season. Not bad for someone who, before this week, mightve been known solely for making a sensational catch to preserve Johan Santanas no-hitter last year. Bobby Parnell (4-0) pitched the ninth. The Pirates have lost four of five. Pedro Alvarez hit a solo home run with one out in the eighth off Mets reliever LaTroy Hawkins that made it 2-all. Alvarez began the day batting .168 and in a 1-for-16 rut before a single, sacrifice fly and long drive for his sixth homer. Slumping Ike Davis put the Mets ahead 2-1 in the seventh after entering in the top half during a double switch. He took a terrible swing at a first-pitch slider, then hit the next pitch for an RBI double just beyond the reach of a sliding McCutchen deep in the right-centre field alley. Pittsburgh starter Jeff Locke left for a pinch-hitter in the seventh. He gave up three hits, all of them singles in the second inning. The Pirates tied it at 1 in the sixth. They loaded the bases with no outs when McCutchen and Garrett Jones singled and Russell Martin was hit by a pitch, finishing starter Dillon Gee. Reliever Brandon Lyon avoided major trouble, yielding only a sacrifice fly by Alvarez that made it 1-all. The Mets scored in the second on singles by John Buck and Justin Turner and a sacrifice fly by Byrd. The run ended a streak of 15 scoreless innings on the road for Locke, a span that included outings at Dodger Stadium, Philadelphia and St. Louis. NOTES: Baxter and Alvarez both played high school ball in New York City and went to Vanderbilt. ... Buck and Brown ended 0-for-14 slumps. Browns drought began last year with Colorado. Brown scored on Davis double. ... Martin had missed the previous two games because of a stiff neck. ... Pirates 2B Neil Walker (right hand cut) is starting a rehab assignment with Double-A Altoona. He can come off the disabled list Sunday. ... Pirates RHP Charlie Morton will throw a bullpen session Friday. Hes recovering from Tommy John surgery last June, and had shoulder stiffness last week in a Triple-A rehab outing.Reds Jerseys 2019 .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. Wholesale Reds Jerseys . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/ . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. 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Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off.BOSTON -- The Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox have something at stake this weekend in the final three regular-season games of David Ortizs career.For the Blue Jays, their playoff life is on the line as beginning Friday with Torontos Marco Estrada facing 22-game winner Rick Porcello.For the Red Sox, who clinched the American League East in New York on Wednesday night, theres the matter of home field advantage in the playoffs.The series is not as critical for the Red Sox as it is for the Blue Jays, but playing extra home games at Fenway Park, where Boston is 46-32 this season, would be a bonus they can still earn.Toronto dropped two of three to the Baltimore Orioles in Canada, putting the teams in a flat-footed tie for the two wild card spots. Detroit is 1 1/2 games behind while Seattle is two back.Boston is a tough place to play but our guys play pretty good there, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said after Thursday nights loss. Im not worried about our guys. Weve got our backs up against the wall but were a good spot. It wont be easy, its not supposed to be easy up here.Said Toronto right-hander Marcus Stroman, who took the loss Thursday: The team mentality has never changed, not once. Were fine. Were fine.The Red Sox, swept in the three-game series in New York, will honor Ortiz on Friday night and Sunday. They have a magic number of one for elimination (behind Texas) for the top spot in the AL, but come in a half-game ahead of the Cleveland Indians for what would be home-field advantage in that matchup.Boston owns the tiebreaker with Cleveland but does not with Texas.Its important. I think anyone who looks at home field advantage, its pivotal, Red Sox manager John Farrell said. Its something that were continuing to strive for but we needed to give some guuys a day off their feet given what weve come through, particularly the number of road games that weve played over the past six weeks.dddddddddddd We go back home. Were looking forward to finishing out against Toronto.Farrell rested several of his starters and removed Ortiz after two at-bats following the pregame Yankee Stadium ceremony in his honor. He will likely play his guys Friday night and see what happens from there.We know that theres going to be three days off next week in which to recharge some, Farrell said before Thursday nights game. Still the importance of winning and maintaining our daily approach is priority number one.How that might affect how deep a starter goes in the upcoming games might be looked at a little more close but still we feel its imperative to at least secure as much home field advantage as we can.Porcello comes into the game with a 22-4 record and a serious candidate for the Cy Young Award. He is 3-0 against the Blue Jays this season, but 7-7 with a 5.07 career ERA against the Jays.Two of their sluggers have hit him as Jose Bautista is 15-for-36 with three home runs and Edwin Encarnacion 13-for-37 with three homers. But Michael Saunders is 1-for-16, Melvin Upton Jr. 1-for-9, Troy Tulowitzki 3-for-15 and Russell Martin 3-for-20.Estrada (9-9), who has allowed only one earned run in 14 innings in his last two starts, is 2-2 against the Red Sox this season and 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA in his career.He has done a good job against some big Boston guns with Xander Bogaerts going 2-for-19, David Ortiz 3-for-19 (two homers) and Mookie Betts 2-for-13 against him. Dustin Pedroia is 7-for-19 and Hanley Ramirez 5-for-16. ' ' '