Dein erstes Forum » mer. Ben Pickman homered on reliever Harry Azadians fi

PITTSBURGH -- After a few days of secrecy surrounding Pittsburghs starter Tuesday when it hosts the San Diego Padres for the opening of a three-game series, the Pirates divulged that Chad Kuhl will be on the mound.Thats not a shock, considering Kuhl has been brought up from Triple-A Indianapolis before in such situations.This time, though, could be different. Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington indicated that Kuhl could stick around and become a regular part of the rotation, at least for a stretch of time.Huntington probably wasnt intentionally heaping pressure on the 23-year-old right-hander to pitch well Tuesday, but what will be his fifth big-league start sets up as awfully important for his immediate future.If he keeps that low- to mid-90s sinker at the bottom of the zone and gets them to beat the ball into the ground and throws enough good sliders and changeups to mix and match, hes going to be a successful major league pitcher, Huntington said Sunday of Kuhl. He did that on occasion, but more often than not, (his pitches) were elevated. Thats not how hes going to be a successful major league pitcher.(We want to see him make a) few minor adjustments, get him back to pounding the bottom of the zone, and hes got a chance to keep this spot in this rotation.Kuhl is 1-0 in his four starts, with a 4.19 ERA. In 19 innings, he has allowed nine runs on 19 hits, including two homers, with five walks and 13 strikeouts.The Pirates have worked and reworked their rotation, and the future seems to rest heavily with a crop of young pitchers.Pittsburgh shipped high-priced Francisco Liriano to Toronto at the trade deadline and sent Jonathan Niese, who had been relegated to the bullpen, back to the Mets. Juan Nicasio and Jeff Locke have been moved to the bullpen.Although he is an established starter, Gerrit Cole is just 25. Jameson Taillon, 24, who is scheduled to face the Padres on Thursday, has all but sewn up a spot in the rotation.The Pirates think highly of Tyler Glasnow, 22, who is on the DL with a shoulder injury. He is scheduled to throw a simulated game Tuesday before starting a rehab assignment.Steven Brault, 24, who has been called up for two spot starts, also is on the horizon.The two most veteran members of the staff are newly acquired Ivan Nova, 29, and Ryan Vogelsong, who at 39 is just rounding into form after missing more than two months because of facial fractures.Vogelsong is scheduled to face San Diego on Wednesday.We do have alternatives, but our anticipation is that Ryan will continue to give us a chance to win, Huntington said. As we feel hes able to do that, hell remain starting.The future, though, is with the youth.Ultimately, we need them to be them, Huntington said of the young members of the organization. Theres a reason we put (rookies) in position to get starts or get the ball out of the bullpen or get at-bats. Theyve shown us abilities.San Diego also has some young arms, and will send rookie right-hander Luis Perdomo, 23, out Tuesday against Kuhl.Perdomo (5-5) has a 6.67 ERA, but it is 4.07 over his past seven appearances. Last Tuesday, he threw a season-high 113 pitches against Milwaukee while allowing three runs on 10 hits (also a career high) over 6 2/3 innings, with four walks and six strikeouts.I wanted to go out there and have a good outing, Perdomo, speaking through an interpreter, told the San Diego Union Tribune. I was deep into my pitch count, but I definitely wanted to get through the seventh and wasnt able to get that last out.You have to be aggressive and you have to attack batters and you have to enjoy that challenge to get to the seventh and get deeper into the game.The Padres might get deeper into their staff in the coming days. San Diego and Pittsburgh each were off Monday, but the Padres are facing 16 days before their next open date.Padres manager Andy Green said he might temporarily go with a six-man rotation, with Clayton Richard, who signed with the club Saturday, as potentially the sixth man after being available out of the bullpen during the Pittsburgh series. Custom New York Yankees Jerseys . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. Breyvic Valera Jersey . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. https://www.cheapyankees.com/ . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Cory Gearrin Yankees Jersey . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. New York Yankees Gear . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game.SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Dalton Chandler came on in relief and struggled for Sammamish, Wash., in its Little League World Series opener. Then he stepped up to the plate and turned things around. "The hitting made me feel a little better. I was still a little nervous," Chandler said. Chandler allowed three runs before hitting a single, double and triple in four plate appearances, and Sammamish used four pitchers to beat Corpus Christi, Texas, 8-4 on Thursday to advance to the second round. Jack Carper had a home run among his three hits and Nathan Fitzgibbons drove in two runs for the Northwest champions, who moved on to a winners bracket game Sunday against Westport, Conn., which beat South Nashville, Tenn., 3-2 in the night game. Westport trailed 2-1 before rallying with a pair of runs in the fifth inning. "We got down but weve been in tough spots several times this year and the kids always find a way to battle back," Westport coach Tim Rogers said. "They know how to keep grinding." Sammamish jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning, and manager Rob Chandler -- Dalton Chandlers father -- had already planned to pull starter Jacob Dahlstrom after around 50 pitches. Dahlstrom wound up throwing 53 and departed with two Corpus Christi runners on base in the third inning before Dalton Chandler took the mound. "We had a game plan that hed go 50 (pitches) and wed try to preserve pitch counts," Rob Chandler said. Before Chandler recorded his first out, he walked two, allowed a base hit and threw a wild pitch. By then, Juan Sosa, Christian Servantes and Brandon DeLeon had scored to pull Corpus Christi to 5-4. Sosa scored on the wild pitch and Servantes followed when the ball was thrown errantly back toward home plate. Will Armbruester and Jack Matheson followed Chandler to the mound over the final three innings and limited Corpus Christi too two hits to preserve the victory.dddddddddddd Carper and Chandler scored in the top of the sixth to help Sammamish pull away. "Our kids are tough when it comes to the pressure side of things. Thats a big reason why were here," Rob Chandler said. Corpus Christi will face South Nashville on Saturday. In the international bracket, Tijuana, Mexico, beat Perth, Australia, 14-0 in a game that ended after four innings because of the 10-run rule, and Aguadulce, Panama, beat San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, 9-4. Tijuana will face Aguadulce on Sunday, while Perth will face San Lorenzo on Saturday. CONNECTICUT 3, TENNESSEE 2 Ricky Offenberg homered and Chad Knight had a run-scoring double during a fifth-inning rally that lifted Westport to the win. Knight gave Westport the lead after Offenberg tied it 2-2 with a leadoff homer. Ben Pickman homered on reliever Harry Azadians first pitch to give South Nashville a 2-1 lead, but Azadian retired the next five batters. Pickman and Knox Preston had a pair of hits apiece for South Nashville. MEXICO 14, AUSTRALIA 0 Brandon Meza struck out eight and knocked in three runs, and Brandon Montes added a three-run homer for the Mexican champions in the third inning. Perth was the first team from the continent to qualify for the LLWS after Australia became its own region for the first time this year. Chase Diggans had the first two hits in LLWS history for Australia, including a first-inning double. PANAMA 9, PUERTO RICO 4 Armando Lopez knocked in three runs, and Daniel Fernandez and Juan Crisp each hit a two-run homer for Panama. The Latin American champions took control with five runs in the bottom of the second. Lopez had a two-run triple and Fernandez hit the first home run of the LLWS. Puerto Rico scored four runs in the top of the fourth to pull to 6-4 before Crisp homered in the bottom half and Lopez added an RBI single in the fifth. ' ' '