PITTSBURGH (AP) — wing three days off. He doesn’t think it’s a coincidence.“I was able to kind of reflect a little bit Denny McLain Jersey ,” Bell said. “Take a step back, watch some baseball, get some work done in the cages and get back to the basics.”The switch-hitting first baseman combined with Ivan Nova, who got his first victory in a month, to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 5-1 Saturday for their fifth consecutive win.In a game played in a steady drizzle, Bell connected off Brett Graves leading off the sixth for his 10th home run, down from 26 last year when he finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. Before his home run Friday, Bell had not driven in a run since Aug. 11.Manager Clint Hurdle did not play Bell on Tuesday or Wednesday against Cincinnati, and the Pirates were off Thursday.“Just like everybody else, we’ve had a sit down and talked about finishing strong, putting some staples on this season and building some momentum toward next year,” Hurdle said.Nova (8-9) gave up three hits in six innings, struck out nine and walked three. He had lost three straight starts since beating San Francisco on Aug. 9 and had missed his previous turn for an undisclosed reason.“I was doing my workouts while I was away,” Nova said. “I’m a professional athlete and I was taking care of my business to make sure I was still ready to pitch.”Nova improved his career record against the Marlins to 4-0.“He’s handcuffed us pretty much every time we’ve seen him over the last couple of years,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said.Pittsburgh at 71-71 reached .500 for the first time since before play on Aug. 21.“Winning matters every day but http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-daniel-norris-jersey , yeah, I think we would all like to finish the season strong,” Hurdle said.Wei-Yin Chen (6-10) allowed three runs and five hits in four innings, dropping to 1-7 with a 9.13 ERA in 11 road starts. He is 5-3 with a 1.77 ERA in 12 home outings.Chen said he did not a good feel for the ball in the wet conditions.“It’s the command. Maybe it’s the weather, it’s the rain, but as a player, that’s what you have to overcome,” Chen said. “That’s not a reason you can say, ‘because it’s the rain.’ As a player, you have to be able to pitch in the rain.”Jose Osuna doubled leading off the second and scored on Kevin Newman’s single. The Pirates took a 3-0 lead in the fourth when Jacob Stallings had a two-out RBI single and center fielder Lewis Brinson allowed the ball to bounce past him for an error that let Jose Osuna score from first.Starling Marte hit an RBI double in the seventh off Elieser Hernandez.Miguel Rojas scored on Nick Kingham’s wild pitch in the eighth for already eliminated Miami, who dropped to 56-68.TRAINER’S ROOMMarlins: Mattingly said the team hopes RHP Dan Straily (strained left oblique) will make his next scheduled start. Straily left in the fifth inning Friday. … SS JT Riddle (sore left wrist) missed his fifth straight game but took indoor batting practice.Pirates: RF Gregory Polanco (bone bruise in left knee) will miss the remainder of the season. He was forced from Friday’s game in the sixth inning following an awkward slide into second base on a double.UP NEXTMarlins: RHP Jeff Brigham (0-1, 9.00 ERA) will make his second start Sunday after giving up three runs in three innings against Toronto in his major league debut Sept. 2.Pirates: RHP Trevor Williams (12-9, 3.15) is 6-2 with a 0.66 ERA in his last nine starts, allowing just four runs in 54 2/3 innings. CHICAGO (AP) — After striking out three times, Daniel Palka finally connected when it counted.Palka led off the ninth inning with a home run http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-kirk-gibson-jersey , Carlos Rodon matched a career high by throwing eight innings of scoreless four-hit ball and the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 1-0 on Friday night.Palka launched a 1-2 pitch from Neil Ramirez (0-2) six rows up into the left field seats for his 18th homer to end Chicago’s three-game losing streak. His game-ending shot came on a high fastball after Palka was called out on strikes twice and fanned once.“When your night’s going like that, I feel like it’s just a lack of focus when it happens,” Palka said. “You’ve just got to lock it back in and keep on rolling.”It didn’t hurt that Ramirez grooved a 96 mph pitch.“They were getting me on some bad pitches to hit down, whether it was heaters or breaking balls early in the game,” Palka said “I just wanted something up in the zone.”Jace Fry (1-2), the White Sox’s third reliever, got the last two outs for his first major league victory.Rodon and Cleveland rookie Shane Bieber tossed crisp scoreless ball deep into the game. Each was relieved after 106 pitches.Rodon was sharp for a sixth straight start and has a 1.27 ERA in the span. The left-hander struck out five and walked two — both in the first and the only time Rodon allowed two baserunners in an inning — before being replaced by Xavier Cedeno to start the ninth.The hardest-hit balls off Rodon were doubles by Francisco Lindor in the third and Jose Ramirez in the sixth.“I feel pretty good,” Rodon said. “I might not have all my stuff, but it’s working.”And the 25-year-old lefty says he’s strong and pain-free after missing the first two months of the season following arthroscopic left shoulder surgery last September.“Just the confidence is there,” Rodon said “There’s no doubt in your mind when you go out and I step on the mound that I’m healthy and I’m coming to compete.”Bieber matched Rodon through 6 2/3 innings, yielding only three hits — including two doubles — while striking out eight and walking two in this first career start against the White Sox. The 23-year-old right-hander was replaced with two outs in the seventh by Oliver Perez.“It’s been nice, just another outing try to build off on,” Bieber said “There is a lot of room for improvement always, just to kind of feel my feet under me and try to build momentum has been nice.The White Sox managed two baserunners only once against Bieber, in the second with two outs.“He’s been so good in his career early on and in the minor leagues Willie Horton Jersey ,” manager Terry Francona said. “He really hasn’t gotten up over 100 (pitches) very often. So today’s another step for him.”Yoan Moncada lined a double to the right-center wall to lead off the fifth, but didn’t advance as Bieber struck out Ryan LaMarre and Nicky Delmonico before getting Yolmer Sanchez to fly out.The White Sox used three relievers as they escaped a Cleveland threat in the ninth.Cedeno walked Melky Cabrera to lead off, then Juan Minaya got Brandon Guyer to ground into a force at second. Yonder Alonso greeted Jace Fry with a single, but Fry struck out Jan Gomes and got Jason Kipnis to pop out.AL Central Leading Cleveland is 35-17 against division opponents.TRAINER’S ROOM:Indians: DH Edwin Encarnacion left the game in the third with left biceps discomfort and was replaced by Cabrera. He’ll be examined on Saturday. .. Francona had no update on OF Leonys Martin, who was placed on the 10-disabled list on Thursday with an unspecified illness that’s not baseball-related. Francona, however, hinted Martin’s condition could be serious. “What I would say, if you are into saying prayers and things like that, keep him in your thoughts,” Francona said. “He’s at the (Cleveland) Clinic and getting good care.” … RHP Josh Tomlin (strained right hamstring) and RHP Nick Goody (right elbow inflammation) threw bullpen sessions in Cleveland on Friday. Tomlin is expected to throw a rehab start at Triple-A Columbus on Monday and Goody will head to the Arizona League for a rehab assignment.White Sox: Manager Rick Renteria said the team will know in the next couple of day if INF/OF Leury Garcia (left hamstring strain) will need a rehab stint. Garcia was injured on Sunday at Tampa Bay.UP NEXT: Indians RHP Trevor Bauer (11-6, 2.25) takes the mound against White Sox RHP James Shields (4-13, 4.50) on Saturday night. Bauer has won his last three starts, and is 4-0 in his last seven with a 1.76 ERA.
