n, but Crawford didnt sound all that impressed with his

PITTSBURGH -- The first slump of Gregory Polancos major league career didnt last very long. Polanco hit a two-run homer and reached base three times, and the Pittsburgh Pirates won for the fifth time in six games, 5-1 over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night. The 22-year-old phenom entered his fourth week in the majors without a hit in 12 at-bats over his previous three starts, dropping his average 50 points to .288. But a night after singling in his first pinch-hit at-bat, Polanco doubled, walked and hit his third home run. "This game is all about adjustments," Polanco said. "You have to adjust quick. The faster you adjust, the better you do." Charlie Morton continued his effective pitching at home for Pittsburgh, which clinched its fourth consecutive series victory. Morton (5-9) limited Arizona to one run, five hits and three walks in six innings to lower his ERA at PNC Park to 2.13. Pittsburgh (44-40) has won nine of 11 and moved a season-best four games over .500. "We had a bad April. We dug a hole," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Weve been digging out. Thats all were doing right now, is digging out." Polanco has taken the opposite approach, reaching safely in 19 of 21 major league games. His line-drive shot to right off Chase Anderson in the second inning gave the Pirates a 3-0 lead. "Its fun to watch him," Hurdle said. "Hes got skills and he pays attention. The league has adjusted to him to some degree already and now hes starting to fire back a little bit." Paul Goldschmidt went 3 for 4 with a run for the Diamondbacks, who have lost three straight. Last-place Arizona had three errors. "We made some mistakes tonight, and it came back to haunt us," Goldschmidt said. "Thats uncharacteristic of this team and these guys; we take a lot of pride on our defence. . Tonight we didnt get it done." Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, who earlier in the day was named NL player of the month for June, did not play the field in the ninth inning. He fouled a ball off his left foot and winced in pain in the eighth, but continued his at-bat and singled. After the game, McCutchen said, "Im good to go . feel good," but would not commit to being able to start Thursdays game. Morton has worked into the sixth inning during all eight of his home starts this season and has allowed four earned runs over 33 2-3 innings in his past five starts at home. "When I got into a tight spot I made some good pitches," Morton said. "But I really didnt get ahead of guys. I think when I did get in a situation where some pitches had to be made, I made some pretty good pitches." Justin Wilson, Tony Watson and Mark Melancon each worked a scoreless inning for Pittsburgh. Run-scoring hits by Starling Marte and McCutchen in the eighth inning eliminated a save opportunity for Melancon. Russell Martin went 2 for 3 with a walk for the Pirates. Anderson (5-4) allowed 11 baserunners and did not get out of the fourth inning. "I wasnt able to establish the inside part of the plate tonight and just didnt do a good job of putting myself in good counts to be successful," Anderson said. "That games on me, for sure." NOTES: Reigning NL MVP McCutchen led the NL -- or tied for the lead -- in extra-base hits (20), home runs (8) and RBIs (25). . . A day after blowing his fourth save in 23 opportunities this season, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said Addison Reed would remain his closer. ... Pirates LHP Francisco Liriano, who has been on the DL since June 11 because of an oblique strain, threw a simulated game Wednesday. He indicated it went well but no specifics were offered about a return. ... RHP Vance Worley starts for Pittsburgh on Thursday against RHP Roberto Hernandez (3-7, 4.26). Wholesale China Jerseys . Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions. Stitched China Jerseys . The Pope greeted Klose at his general audience Wednesday and the pair had a long chat. Klose is German like the pope, although he was born in Poland. In Sundays derby, Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Klose, resulting in the Roma goalkeeper being sent off and a penalty that Hernanes converted. https://www.chinajerseysreview.com/ . Yoenis Cespedes proved he can play through a hurting right heel, giving Scott Kazmir and the As a spark with a pair of RBIs that helped spoil the Minnesota Twins home opener with an 8-3 victory on Monday. China Jerseys Outlet . James Erskine said Tuesday that Thorpe was "quite sick" in a Sydney hospital but dismissed media reports the swimmer might lose the use of his left arm. "Hes not in the intensive care," Erskine said. China Jerseys Online . The Canadians led for much of the game before Argentina forced overtime in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Canada weathered the storm after squandering a lead with a series of made shots. "Its a fantastic win for our country with 11 first-time Canadian national team members," said head coach Roy Rana.CHICAGO -- Corey Crawford started every single playoff game when the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last year. Detroit had Jimmy Howard in goal, Jonathan Quick was in net for Los Angeles, Boston had Tuukka Rask, and Crawford beat each one of them. Chicagos unassuming goaltender still had his doubters when this season began. Not so much right now. Crawford is among the NHLs playoff leaders with a .931 save percentage and 1.97 goals-against average, leading the Blackhawks to the Western Conference finals for the fourth time in six seasons. The breakout post-season comes after he set career highs for games and starts while going 32-16-10 during the regular season. "Its another step closer to our ultimate goal and were pretty excited about that right now," Crawford said moments after he helped finish off Minnesota in the second round. "Resilient bunch and we never give up or get down, never get too high. That was a pretty good finish for this one." With Chicago locked in a tight series with the improving Wild, Crawford stepped up at a pivotal moment for the Blackhawks title defence. He had 27 saves in Game 5, helping the Blackhawks rally for a 2-1 win and a 3-2 series lead. Then he made 34 more stops in a 2-1 win at Minnesota on Tuesday night, keeping his team in the game until Patrick Kane got free for the series-clinching goal in overtime. "He was big," Kane said. "Seems to be a trend in this building, kind of in the second periodd, that they outplay us.dddddddddddd Im sure he wasnt happiest with us with how we were playing in front of him. But he did what he does. Hes a great goaltender, and we feel hes the best in the league for that reason." It was Minnesotas first home loss of the post-season, but Crawford didnt sound all that impressed with his performance. "I rate it a as a win," he said. "Thats the only thing that counts." Crawford was just a spectator when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, beating Philadelphia in six games. He took over as Chicagos starting goaltender the following season and posted a career-high 33 wins. Crawford took his lumps when the Blackhawks lost in the first round of the NHL playoffs in 2011 and 2012. He put those years of difficult lessons to good use last summer, when he went 16-7 with a .932 save percentage and an NHL-best 1.84 GAA in Chicagos run to the title. Now hes back for more. Next up is a rematch with the Kings, who lost to the Blackhawks in the conference finals a year ago, or a showdown with the Anaheim Ducks, the Wests top seed. Anaheim held a 3-2 series lead going into Wednesday nights game at Los Angeles. "Every round gets harder," said the 29-year-old Crawford, who received a $36 million, six-year contract extension after last years title. "Two really strong teams that are playing right now, were going to have to face one of them. Have to get some rest and prepare to work harder for our opportunities." ' ' '