ERST LESEN! » suspended star Sindarius Thornwell,

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Pedro Alvarez hasnt changed anything in June, except those RBI numbers. Theyre way up there, just like the Pirates. Alvarez drove in all of Pittsburghs runs with a solo homer, bases-loaded double and a single on Thursday for a 5-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds and a split of their high-profile NL Central series. The Pirates remain a half-game behind second-place Cincinnati after the four-game set, keeping them virtually shoulder-to-shoulder as they chase the torrid St. Louis Cardinals. After blowing a one-run lead in the ninth and losing 2-1 in 13 innings on Wednesday night, Pittsburgh salvaged a game behind Alvarez and a bullpen running on fumes. "We needed a big day from a number of people today and Pedro was one of them," manager Clint Hurdle said. "There was no bigger swing than with the bases loaded, left-on-left. Beautiful." Alvarez had an RBI single and his 16th homer off Homer Bailey, who couldnt follow his no-hitter against Pittsburgh with a win. After Alfredo Simon (5-3) loaded the bases in the seventh, Alvarez doubled off left-hander Tony Cingrani to snap a 2-all tie. The five RBIs were a season high for a Pirate and one shy of Alvarezs career high. The third baseman has been Pittsburghs top run producer in June, leading the team with 48 RBIs overall. Its quite a change. Alvarez .180 in April and .225 in May before finding his form. He has six homers in June, second-most in the NL. "I just think its repetition and getting the opportunity to go out and try to gain as much experience as I can from every day out there," Alvarez said. Bryan Morris (4-2) contributed to the go-ahead rally with his first career single. He also pitched two innings, allowing one run. Left-hander Tony Watson pitched the last two innings for his second save in three chances. The Pirates lead the season series 6-4, holding their own early in the season despite a rotation thats sapped by injuries and a lineup that strikes out a lot and wastes chances. Under the circumstances, the way the series ended was satisfying. "We dont expect anything less," Morris said. "Its good to not lose any ground. Definitely would have loved to have three out of four in the series, but were not complaining about the split, especially after the hard game last night." Jay Bruce hit another solo homer, his third of the series and his fifth in seven games. His ninth-inning shot off Jason Grilli led the way to the draining 13-inning win on Wednesday night. The teams combined for seven homers in the series, all solo shots. Cincinnati hit four in a 4-1 win that opened it. Brandon Cumpton made his second major league start for Pittsburgh, giving up two runs -- one earned -- in five innings. Bailey faced the Pirates for the first time since his no-hitter at PNC Park last September and left after six innings with the score tied at 2. He gave up six hits, throwing 113 pitches. Bailey is 8-2 career against Pittsburgh. "Theyve definitely made strides over the past couple of years, but its early," Bailey said. "They have a good club but the past couple of years, theyve fallen into the pattern of fading, so well see. Its a long season." Alvarezs throwing error helped the Reds get an unearned run in the first. Shin-Shoo Choo reached on Alvarezs team-high 13th error, stole second and came around on Joey Vottos single. Another batter got hit, extending a prominent theme to the Ohio River rivals series this season. At least one batter has been plunked in each of the 10 games, with 19 hit overall. Pirate pitchers have hit 10, Reds pitchers 9, leaving some simmering unhappiness on both sides. Choo has been hit six times, Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen three times each, Brandon Phillips twice, and five others one time apiece. Fake Yeezys From China . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Fake Yeezy 451 . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. http://www.fakeyeezysforsale.com/fake-yeezy-boost-700/ . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. Fake Yeezy 350 Cleat .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. Fake Yeezy Powerphase . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. If you dropped UCLAs squad at a random pickup game on a Saturday, TJ Leaf might get picked last.He doesnt look like a baller. And he doesnt rise above the rim like some of his teammates or steer college basketballs new Showtime act on fast breaks. Thats Lonzo Balls job.Leafs only sin is playing efficient, productive basketball without the flair others on the UCLA roster boast.And thats why the potential lottery pick is also one of the games most overlooked players.Ball, arguably the front-runner for the Wooden Award, turns every player on the court into Ethan Hawke in Training Day, an overshadowed best supporting actor. Ball has a presence now. Hell always speak on the postgame dais. Win or lose, observers will scrutinize his statistics. College basketball fans want to know what hes thinking or plotting.Hes not a player. Hes the player right now.So within the games annals, Leafs contributions might get lost if this UCLA revival continues. He is, however, a critical element in Steve Alfords operation.He has made 48.8 percent of his jump shots, per hoop-math.com. The Bruins have made 45.6 percent of their shots inside the arc with Leaf on the floor, compared with 37.5 percent when hes on the bench, according to hooplens.com. Hes ranked 41st with a 134.2 offensive rating on KenPom.com. And Leaf was two assists shy of a triple-double in a win over UC Santa Barbara (25 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists) last week, a good day for the freshman.Hes certainly on the NBAs radar.Hes skilled, knows how to play and has a feel for the game, said one NBA scout. Plays with urgency. Limited athletic ability but good enough to rebound and finish. ... His stock is on the rise because of his overall production.Added another NBA scout: I think hes good. Should be a solid NBA player.With 16 minutes, 44 seconds to play in his teams win over Ohio State on Saturday, Leaf stood on the left block, called for the ball, caught the pass, turned and scored on a hook shot in a seamless sequence straight from the Kevin McHale handbook. Nothing fancy about it.But it was an effective move.The?Lonzo Ball shadow, however, is wide. And if the most gifted collegiate passer since Chris Paul at Wake Forest continues to evolve, well hear even more about Ball and maybe less about his peers.But dont forget about Leaf.Pay attention to these overlooked players, too.Charlie Moore, California Golden Bears: Ranked 61st in the 2016 class by ESPN.com, the Chicagoan is averaging 17.1 PPG and shooting 80 percent from the free throw line and 45 percent from the 3-point line. Hes a tough defender (1.5 steals per game) who leads Cuonzo Martins most impressive defense at Cal (No. 8 in KenPom.coms adjusted defensive efficiency ratings). He picked off a pass and finished a smooth fast break in the first half of his teams win over Cal Poly on Saturday. Early in the second, Moore trailed on a fast break, found space in the corner where Grant Mullins found him for the 3-pointer. Hes versatile, and hes evolving. Hes a young talent, but hes also a building block for a program that will likely lose Ivan Rabb after this season. Hes also a young leader of a team that leaned on his production as Rabb and Jabari Bird dealt with injuries earlier this season.Ethan Happ, Wisconsin Badgers: Wisconsin, Purdue and Indiana seem destined for a three-way fight in the Big Ten race, which will start soon. To win the conference title, Greg Gard will need Bronson Koenig, Nigel Hayes and Happ to battle every night. He has maintained the momentum he accrued with his 24-point, 13-rebound effort in his teams win over Syracuse in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The 6-foot-10 sophomore keeps it simple. He uses his size and underrated strength to muscle into the post and get easy buckets. Nearly 90 percent of Happs shots have been attempted at the rim, per hoop-math.com. He has made 72.2 percent of them.Justin Patton, Creighton Bluejays: Greg McDermott has a team with the talent to reach heights that the squads his son Doug once led did not achieve. Marcus Foster anchors one of the nations stroongest backcourts.dddddddddddd He has veterans around him. Patton is 7 feet tall, but hes agile and fluid, which allows his guards to run a lot of pick-and-roll action with the big man and create matchup problems for any team that overcommits, which Oral Roberts did multiple times in its recent loss to Creighton. Patton has made 79.7 percent of his shots inside the arc, the fifth-best mark in America. Lineups that feature Patton allow just .91 points per possession on defense. Creighton has better athletes and more refined talents. By seasons end, however, Patton could mature into the most significant player on the Bluejays roster.Jordan Mathews, Gonzaga Bulldogs: Mathews deserved a spot on this list last season when he played next to Jaylen Brown, Ivan Rabb and Tyrone Wallace at Cal. Now, hes assisting a Gonzaga squad with as much potential as any team Mark Few has assembled in recent years. Hes not putting up SportsCenter-worthy numbers, but hes avoiding the mistakes and errors that could hurt his team. Yes, he has made just 25 percent of his shots inside the arc, but he has connected on 86 percent of his free throws and 39.7 percent of his 3-pointers. He has recorded nine assists and committed just two turnovers in the past five games. Hes the perfect veteran for this West Coast Conference powerhouse.Jordan McLaughlin, USC Trojans: After Andy Enfield led USC to the 2016 NCAA tournament, the schools first berth since 2011, everything seemed to crumble. Julian Jacobs and Nikola Jovanovic turned pro. Four other players transferred. But Enfield kept McLaughlin, who has improved from last season in every category but 3-point shooting (numbers through Sunday night), including offensive rating (125.4 on KenPom.com), assist rate (26.1 percent), free throws (77 percent) and shots inside the arc (66 percent). Enfield asked McLaughlin to lead after this offseasons turmoil. He has answered that call and helped a USC team that should enter Pac-12 play undefeated.Yante Maten, Georgia Bulldogs: The biggest issue right now for Matens hype is he plays for a Georgia squad that looks like a team that will again struggle to reach the NCAA tournament. Still, the 6-8 forward dropped 30 points and snatched 13 rebounds against Kansas. He had 24 points and four blocks against Marquette. According to hooplens.com, lineups that feature Maten average 1.12 points per possession. When hes off the floor, Georgia records just 0.96 PPP. Thats a dramatic decline that showcases Matens importance.Historic game organized by Frank Martin and Orlando Antigua for second consecutive seasonMartin and Antigua have faced challenges this season. Antigua leads a South Florida squad thats 5-4 and recently parted with the coachs brother and assistant after an NCAA investigation surrounding allegations of academic fraud. Martins South Carolina squad hasnt had the same fire since the coach suspended star Sindarius Thornwell, who was arrested in May.But their troubles were secondary to the significance of their matchup in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday. The game featured two of Division Is three Hispanic-American coaches (Miamis Jim Larranaga is the third). Both coaches have worked hard to enhance the pipeline and help other Hispanic coaches emerge and find a path in college basketball.And Saturdays game, much like last seasons matchup, is a pivotal component of that effort.20th anniversary of a perfect season at the free throw lineDuring the 1996-97 season, Division II star Paul Cluxton established an NCAA mark that might last forever. The Northern Kentucky standout made all 94 of his free throw attempts, an NCAA record at all levels. How hard is that? Oklahoma States Phil Forte made 42 of his first 43 free throws this season. Appalachian States Donald Sims missed just eight of his 170 free throw attempts during the 2009-10 season. But perfection? Seems impossible. Cluxton, however, shattered that idea two decades ago. ' ' '