ERST LESEN! » He gave up six runs in four innings

LONDON -- Mesut Ozil scored his first ever hat trick as Arsenal took a big step toward qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 6-0 rout of Ludogorets at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.The 28-year-old German midfielder capped off an impressive display against the Bulgarian champions to earn the match ball with three goals in the space of 31 second-half minutes. Hes now scored six goals in 10 appearances for Arsenal this season.He looks like he gets the taste to score goals, said Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, who was celebrating his 100th European victory in charge of the Gunners. We want him to be a provider and a scorer and it looks like hes slowly moving to that better balance.The victory over Ludogorets -- Arsenals seventh in a row -- means that the team is top of Group A of the Champions League at the halfway mark with seven points from three games. Arsenal has a superior goal difference over Paris Saint-Germain, which also has seven points following its 3-0 victory over Swiss side Basel on Wednesday. Ludogorets languishes in bottom place with just one point. Basel also has one point.We were fast and dangerous, added Wenger, whose team is second behind Manchester City in the Premier League standings. We are confident and we must stay focused in every single game.In the early stages of the game, Ludogorets posed a threat to Arsenal from its swift counter-attacking, but Arsenal took the lead in the 13th minute through Alexis Sanchez. Put through on goal by a well-timed pass from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez advanced onto the Ludogorets goal before chipping goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov in style.Ludogorets had chances to level, notably in the 32nd, but Wandersons 15-yard (meter) shot struck the base of Arsenals post.But that was as close as the Bulgarian side got to getting back on level terms. In-form striker Theo Walcott doubled Arsenals lead in the 42nd with a curling shot from 20 yards (meters) that went beyond the reach of the diving Stoyanov.With eight goals in 10 appearances, Walcott has been impressive this season after the disappointment of missing out on the England squad for the European Championship. Wenger said Walcott has become much more resilient and is playing with more freedom.Oxlade-Chamberlain put the game beyond any doubt within a minute of the restart, calmly slotting the ball past Stoyanov from inside the area after a low cross from Kieran Gibbs was diverted into his path.Then it was all about Ozil. The midfielder made it 4-0 in the 56th with another calmly taken goal after a long ball through the middle of the Ludogorets defense by Santi Cazorla.Ozil got his second in the 83rd minute with a side-footed finish from eight yards (meters) out. He capped off his -- and Arsenals night -- with a left-footed volley four minutes later.Brilliant team performance, Ozil said in a tweet after the game. And very happy about my first ever hat trick!Arsenal will now look ahead to a potential group decider against PSG next month. Panthers Jerseys China . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale Custom Panthers Shirts . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca. http://www.customnhlpanthersjersey.com/ . 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. Authentic Custom Panthers Jersey . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Custom Panthers Jerseys . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. CINCINNATI -- The baseball rested on James Taillons folding chair. He wasnt sure, but he assumed it was the keepsake from his first career RBI, the best part of the rookies latest start.Taillon pitched five innings and singled to drive in a big league run for the first time, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cincinnati Reds 10-4 Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader.Andrew McCutchen drove in three runs for the Pirates, who opened the day with a 5 1/2-game gap and three teams to overcome in order to get a wild card berth. Cincinnati was eliminated from postseason contention.Taillon (4-4) gave up eight hits, including Adam Duvalls three-run homer. His RBI single to center in the fifth made it 7-3, although he didnt realize initially that it would drive in a run.Actually I was so caught up in trying to get to first base and not doing anything stupid, he said. The first major league RBI is pretty cool. I hope Im doing with all of the career `firsts now.The Pirates skipped Taillons previous turn in the rotation, trying to limit the rookies innings. He missed the 2014 and `15 seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery and an operation to repair a hernia.Pittsburgh sent nine batters to the plate in a 17-minute top of the first inning against Anthony DeSclafani (8-4), scoring four times with the help of three walks and the first of a six combined errors in the game. McCutchen singled home a pair of runs, and Francisco Cervelli had an RBI single.Sean Rodriguezs two-run homer made it 6-0 in the third inning. McCutchen added a sacrifice fly in the Pirates third straight big game on offense -- 34 runs total.Theyre just stringing at-bats together, manager Clint Hurdle said. We got some big innings today. Throughout the lineup, guys were doing things.DeSclafani missed the first two months of the season with a strained obliique and skipped his prior turn.dddddddddddd He gave up six runs in four innings, his shortest start in his last 15.It was just a bad game, DeSclafani said. It was my fault. I couldnt get any momentum going. I put us in hole early.The first pitch was delayed 62 minutes because of rain. The doubleheader, the first between the teams since a Reds sweep on Aug. 31, 2009, made up a May 10 postponement.STATSDuvalls career-high 92 RBI are the most by a Reds batter in a season since Jay Bruce had 109 in 2013. It was Duvalls first homer since Sept. 6. ... Reds pitchers walked 10 overall, tying their season high. ... Wade LeBlanc pitched the last three innings of the lopsided game for his second save of his career. The other came in the same situation during Seattles 14-5 win over the Mariners on July 23.GAME 2Trevor Williams (1-1) was scheduled to make his first major league start in the second game. Williams was the MVP at Triple-A Indianapolis. Hed be the 14th different starter for the Pirates this season, their most since 1996. Left-hander Brandon Finnegan (9-10) was scheduled to start for the Reds.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: Cervelli took a foul tip off the inside of his right leg in the eighth inning. After several painful minutes of recuperating, the catcher stayed in the game.Reds: SS Zack Cozart sat out a sixth straight game with a sore right knee.UP NEXTPirates: Ivan Nova (12-6) starts the final game of the series on Sunday. Hes 5-0 with a 2.41 ERA in eight starts since the Pirates acquired him in a trade with the Yankees.Reds: Dan Straily (12-8) will make his fifth start of the season against the Pirates. Hes 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA against Pittsburgh.---Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apjoekay ' ' '