ATLANTA - Perhaps the only bad news for the Pirates is they cant send Edinson Volquez back to the mound with the division title on the line in their final regular-season series. Rashad McCants Jersey .Volquez threw seven scoreless innings, Travis Snider and Neil Walker hit homers and Pittsburgh moved within one game of the NL Central lead with a 10-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night.Pittsburgh, only one game behind first-place St. Louis in the division, will close its regular season with a three-game series at Cincinnati. The Pirates clinched a playoff spot on Tuesday night.We want to keep doing what were doing, keep fighting, Volquez said.The Pirates won three of four from the reeling Braves. St. Louis, which did not play Thursday night, closes its regular season with a weekend series at Arizona.Volquez (13-7) set a season high with 10 strikeouts and gave up only four hits. He closed his regular season with 18 consecutive scoreless innings.After posting an ugly combined 5.71 ERA with the Padres and Dodgers in 2013, Volquez finished his 2014 regular season with a 3.04 mark. He was at his best down the stretch, posting a 1.08 ERA in September.Volquez allowed only five baserunners, including one walk.Anytime you get off the mound with that kind of efficiency and that kind of command, you know youre going to be in the ballgame, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.Added Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez: His command today was about as good as Ive seen him.Josh Harrison moved past Colorados Justin Morneau (.317) for the lead in the NL batting race. Harrison had three hits, pushing his average to .319, and scored two runs.Volquez added to his memorable night with an eighth-inning single that snapped his 0-for-45 drought since April 27. The Pirates had 16 hits, including three by Snider.Starling Marte hit a two-run double in the seventh and Andrew McCutchen drove in two runs with a single in the eighth. Gaby Sanchez had a pinch-hit, run-scoring single in the sixth.Snider has hit nine of his 13 homers on the road, including two in this series. His first-inning shot off David Hale (4-5) landed in the front row of the centerfield seats. Walker hit a two-run shot off Gus Schlosser in the eighth.The Braves fell to 5-17 in September. There was a sarcastic cheer from fans when Ramiro Penas fly ball to left field off Casey Sadler in the ninth drove in Jason Heyward as the Braves avoided their seventh shutout loss of the month.The Braves only hit through the first four innings was an infield single by Phil Gosselin in the fourth.Atlanta didnt hit a ball out of the infield until the fifth. Following an infield single by Andrelton Simmons, Pena singled to left field, but Volquez pitched out of the jam.Hale gave up two runs in 4 2/3 innings in his first start since June 28. He replaced Mike Minor, who was shut down for the remainder of the season on Tuesday with inflammation in his left shoulder.Luis Avilan, Atlantas second reliever, allowed four runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings. Schlosser gave up four runs in the eighth.The 10 runs were the most by the Pirates at Turner Field since the 2008 season opener.GATTIS RETURNSCatcher Evan Gattis was 0-for-2 in his first start for the Braves since Sept. 7. He had been held out with strep throat and a kidney stone and was replaced by Christian Bethancourt in the seventh.STREAKINGHarrison has a 13-game hitting streak, matching his career best. It is his third streak of 10 or more games this season.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: C Russell Martin started after leaving Wednesday nights game with tightness in his left hamstring.Braves: 3B Chris Johnson was held out after leaving Wednesday nights game with a lower back strain. He said he was sore from adjustments to his back.UP NEXTPirates: RHP Vance Worley will face Reds RHP Mike Leake on Friday night.Braves: The Braves close their season with a three-game series at Philadelphia. RHP Ervin Santana will try for his 15th win against Phillies RHP Jerome Williams on Friday night. Malik Sealy Jersey . Go to turbozone.ca to see more of his epic work and you can follow him on twitter (@Turbo_Zone). Gaurav Shastri - A tribute to the amazing fan base who stand outside during games at "Jurassic Park" and an unbelievable shot of Paul Pierce fearing a Raptor. Wholesale Timberwolves Jerseys . The Blue Jackets play Thursday night at New Jersey in their first game after the NHLs Olympic hiatus. A native of Trencin, Slovakia, Gaborik has represented his country at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics but was unable to play in Sochi because of his injury. https://www.cheaptimberwolves.com/490j-randy-foye-jersey-timberwolves.html .The third-seeded Murray, who won here in 2009, will face seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa next on the indoor hard court.With the NHL regular season right around the corner, TSN.ca profiles each team leading up to puck drop. Next up is the Toronto Maple Leafs a€“ whose biggest summer moves werent made on the ice, but behind the bench and in the front office. Catch up on their off-season moves and the issues they face this season, as well as their analytical breakdown by TSNs Scott Cullen. Division: Atlantic GM: Dave Nonis Head Coach: Randy Carlyle 2013-14: 38-36-8 (6th in Atlantic) Playoffs: Did not qualify Goals For: 222 (14th) Goals Against: 252 (26th) PP: 19.8% (6th) PK: 78.4% (28th) That Was Then: The Leafs started the season positively enough, battling throughout the fall in a tight Atlantic alongside new divisional rivals Detroit and Tampa, as well as long-time foes Boston and Montreal. Phil Kessel was producing at a monster clip, posting 57 points through January and the team looked to have sorted out its need for better goaltending with Jonathan Bernier. The team rolled through October on Kessels play as well as the grit and leadership provided by Dave Bolland. Even after Bollands season was derailed by an ankle injury, the Leafs continued to make it work, getting second-line production out of Mason Raymond. The team rode a pair of hot streaks, including a six-game point streak that ended with a dramatic shootout victory in the Winter Classic over the Red Wings and securing points in 13 of 15 games entering the Olympic break. Sitting second in the Atlantic Division on Mar. 14, the Leafs looked poised to make the playoffs for the second straight season. They took two out of three games on a difficult Western road trip and looked poised for home ice in the first round of the playoffs. But it was at that exact moment that the wheels came off. Losing Bernier to a lower-body injury thrust Reimer into the starters role for the next five games and the team failed to register a single point over that stretch. By the time Bernier was back in the crease on Mar. 25, the Leafs had just a one-point grasp on a playoff spot but even the netminders return couldnt turn the tide. The team ran its pointless streak to eight, finishing the season on a 2-12 run that sent it hurtling all the way down to eighth overall on the draft board. Scott Cullens Analytics Maple Leafs 2013-14 Stats by Quarter Games GPG GAA SH% SV% SAF% PTS% 1-20 2.75 2.30 8.0 .949 42.1% .625 21-41 2.57 3.29 8.3 .930 42.9% .488 42-62 3.19 3.48 9.7 .916 43.0% .643 63-82 2.30 3.25 7.1 .923 40.1% .300 NHL AVG 2.67 2.67 7.8 .922 50.0% .562 Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points. Analysis: Games 1-20: Spectacular goaltending from Jonathan Bernier made it easy for the Leafs to overlook terrible possession numbers. Games 21-41: Goaltending still strong, but not strong enough to overcome sad possession stats. Games 42-62: As goaltending faltered, with Bernier out, a scoring surge kept the Leafs in the hunt. Games 63-82: Possession numbers dropped even further, scoring dried up and the odds caught up with the Leafs. Key 2014 Additions: LW David Booth, RW Matt Frattin, C Leo Komarov, C Petri Kontiola, D Roman Polak, D Stephane Robidas, C Mike Santorelli, C Daniel Winnik Key 2014 Subtractions: C Dave Bolland, RW Jerry DAmigo, D Tim Gleason, D Carl Gunnarsson, LW Nikolai Kulemin, G Drew MacIntyre, C Jay McClement, D Paul Ranger, LW Mason Raymond This Is Now: Newly-hired team president Brendan Shanahan kept head coach Randy Carlyle and Dave Nonis in their posts, but the working environment around them was overhauled. Assistant coaches Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon were replaced with Steve Spott and Peter Horachek, while assistant GMs Dave Poulin and Claude Loiselle were gone in favour of fresh-faced analytics expert Kyle Dubas. On the ice, the team shelled out upwards of $5 million to have Tim Gleason not play for them and made some interesting, medium-cost additions to the bottom end of their forward ranks and defence corps. Roman Polak and a healthy Stephane Robidas should add some sandpaper on the blue line, while Leo Komarov and Matt Frattin rejoin the Leafs to compete with no less than a dozen players vying for a regular shift on the bottom two lines. Theres alsoo a vacancy in the top six that could go to either the well-compensated David Clarkson or free agent project David Booth, who the Leafs are hoping to mold the same way they did with Raymond. Keita Bates-Diop Jersey. James Reimer has even signed a two-year contract, although the Manitoba-native will likely find his name in the rumour mill again over the duration of that deal. TSN Toronto reporter Jonas Siegels Five Key Storylines heading into training camp: 1. Jobs competition in the forward group; lots of bodies, lots of jobs up for grabs. With the additions of Leo Komarov, Petri Kontiola, Mike Santorelli,David Booth and Daniel Winnik, there are more NHL-calibre forwards than positions available. Who will step up and claim those spots in training camp? 2. Who replaces Carl Gunnarsson on the top pair with Dion Phaneuf? Is it time for Jake Gardiner to move into a more prominent role on an everyday basis or is he too inconsistent? In his second season, is Morgan Rielly ready to step up or is it too soon? 3. Can Randy Carlyle turn around all that hurt the Leafs last season en route to the collapse (team defence, possession)? The nucleus of last years team returns but the coaching staff has a new look, including a renewed focus on analytics. A fast start would go a long way to silencing the critics. 4. Who wins the third line centre gig? With the addition of Santorelli from Vancouver and Kontiola from Finland as well as the return of Peter Holland, it should be fun to watch the competition in training camp. There are meaningful minutes to be had for the winning candidate. 5. Can William Nylander crack the Leafs as a teenager this fall? Some felt Morgan Rielly should have been sent back to junior last season but it turned out to be the right decision to keep him as his game improved throughout the season. Do they go to the 18-year-old well yet again? Will Nylander get enough ice-time at the NHL level to enhance his progress? DEPTH CHART Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing James van Riemsdyk Tyler Bozak Phil Kessel Leo Komarov Nazem Kadri Joffrey Lupul David Booth Peter Holland David Clarkson Daniel Winnik Mike Santorelli Matt Frattin Carter Ashton Petri Kontiola Colton William Nylander Josh Leivo Defence Left Right Dion Phaneuf Stephane Robidas Jake Gardiner Cody Franson Morgan Rielly Roman Polak Andrew MacWilliam Petter Granberg Stuart Percy Korbinian Holzer Matt Finn Tom Nilsson Goaltenders Jonathan Bernier James Reimer Garret Sparks Craigs List A list of the Maple Leafs top prospects as ranked by TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button. A-Level Prospects No. Name Pos. 2013-14 Club 1 William Nylander C Modo (SWE) 2 Matt Finn D Guelph (OHL) 3 Frederik Gauthier C Gatineau (QMJHL) B-Level Prospects No. Name Pos. 2013-14 Club 4 Petter Granberg D Toronto (AHL) 5 Connor Brown RW Erie (OHL) 6 Andreas Johnson RW Frolunda (SWE) 7 Viktor Loov D Modo (SWE) 8 Carter Verhaeghe C Niagara (OHL) 9 Stuart Percy D Toronto (AHL) 10 Josh Leivo RW Toronto (AHL) Fantasy - Cullens Player to Watch - Morgan Rielly It may be a touch soon to tout the production of a 20-year-old defenceman entering his second NHL season, but if the Leafs are willing to give Rielly some freedom, he could put up some solid numbers. As a rookie, Rielly had 27 points in 73 games, including 15 in his last 34 games, and his ability to carry the puck out of trouble and into the offensive zone is what sets him apart on the Toronto blue line. If Rielly gets paired with a reliable veteran and is turned loose to help generate scoring opportunities, he has a chance to be relevant for fantasy purposes now, with plenty of upside for the future. ' ' '  |
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