toward the net, and then passed to Whitney. He pulled the pu

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Hitting was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Pirates weakness coming into the season yet they lead the major leagues in home runs through the first 16 games of the season. Andrew McCutchen hit his first homer of the season and drove in three runs, Pedro Alvarez had a three-run shot and pinch-hitter Josh Harrison broke a tie with a long ball in the seventh inning as the Pirates handed the Milwaukee Brewers their first road loss, 11-2 on Thursday night. The Pirates have hit 23 homers despite allowing first baseman Justin Morneau and right fielder Marlon Byrd to leave as free agents last winter. What encouraged manager Clint Hurdle the most was that three of the four homers on Thursday night were of the multi-run variety. "Its good to know you can strike quickly but we need to hit a few more with men on base like we did tonight rather than just solos," Hurdle said. Of course, the Pirates would have more multi-run homers if they could improve upon a .304 on-base percentage. "That has been priority No. 1 since the first day of spring training," Hurdle said. "We need to raise the on-base percentage." Harrisons two-run drive down the left field line off Rob Wooten (0-1) was the second of his career as a pinch hitter. It stared Pittsburghs nine-run outburst over the seventh and eighth innings that was capped by Alvarezs sixth of the year. Hurdle wanted Harrison to bunt Jordy Mercer up to second base after he led off the inning with a single. However, Harrison failed to sacrifice then made it up for it. "Thats why baseball is a crazy game," Harrison said. "One second, I didnt the job done and then the next second I put us ahead with a home run. "I dont hit a lot of home runs but I do know if you hit the ball down the left field line (at PNC Park) that you have a chance," he said. "I knew I hit it hard." McCutchen, last years NL MVP, hit a two-run homer in the first inning in his 57th at-bat. Gaby Sanchez also connected while Alvarez, Starling Marte, Russell Martin and Jordy Mercer each had two of the Pirates 12 hits. Edinson Volquez (1-0) gave up two runs in seven innings for his first win with the Pirates, scattering eight hits. "Its a great feeling to get that first W for the Pittsburgh Pirates," Volquez said. "Thats why they brought me here, to win games, so I feel like I did my job this time." Jonathan Lucroy and Scooter Gennett had two hits each for Milwaukee, which had won its first six road games. The Brewers have lost three of four since a nine-game winning streak. Wooten relieved starter Yovani Gallardo to start the seventh. Harrison connected when he was pinch-hitting for Volquez, who signed a one-year, $5-milion contract with the Pirates in December as a free agent. Gallardo allowed two runs and three in six innings with four walks and six strikeouts. However, Wooten allowed three runs while getting only one out and rookie left-hander Wei-Chung Wang was hammered for six runs in 2-3 of an inning as the Brewers bullpens ERA rose from a major league-best 1.33 to 3.16. After Harrisons homer put the Pirates ahead 4-2, McCutchen made it a three-run lead with a fielders choice grounder. "Thats by far the most disappointed Ive been in myself in professional baseball at any level," Wooten said. "I dont have the words to describe it. Its embarrassing." NOTES: Brewers 1B Lyle Overbay was placed on the paternity list after his wife gave birth to a boy on Thursday morning in Milwaukee and INF-OF Elian Herrera was recalled from Triple-A Nashville. ... Pirates OF Jose Tabata, who had a pinch-hit RIB double in the eighth, passed all concussion protocols Thursday morning, a day after leaving a game in Cincinnati in the fourth inning when he ran into the scoreboard while making a catch. .. Milwaukee RHP Kyle Lohse (2-1, 3.05) is scheduled to pitch Friday night against Pittsburgh RHP Charlie Morton (0-1, 3.32). Nike Tn Requin 2020 . Compared to what hes gone through in recent weeks, that seemed like a breeze. Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday at an NBA Cares event, Silver said hes thrilled that the leagues attention can be on the championship series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs -- and not, as it was for so much of the post-season, on the off-the-court matters involving the banishment of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchise. Air Max 200 Pas Cher Homme . 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DALLAS -- Everything went right for the Dallas Stars against the listless Minnesota Wild. Erik Cole and Ray Whitney scored power-play goals, and the Stars stopped a three-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory over the Wild on Tuesday night. Kari Lehtonen made 18 saves as Dallas (22-20-8) won for the second time in its last 11 games. It was his second shutout of the season and No. 24 for his career. Jordie Benn scored on a penalty shot, beating Darcy Kuemper at 11:22 of the third period. "I thought we played a great team game tonight," said Dallas captain Jamie Benn, Jordie Benns younger brother. Dallas was coming off a 4-1 loss at Nashville on Monday night, while the Wild played for the first time since a 3-2 overtime victory over the Stars on Saturday. Minnesota (27-20-5) dropped to 7-3 in 2014. Most of the first period was played in the Minnesota end. Dallas finished with 12 shots on goal to only three for the Wild. The Stars also had all three power plays in the first. "This game goes in the garbage," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "We didnt execute. We didnt defend. We were passengers. We were spectators through the whole game." "We won the opening faceoff and we spent 40 seconds in our own zone," Yeo said. "Thats a bad sign right there that we werent ready to execute. It just trickled on from there." Dallas scored at 13:18 of the first when Vernon Fiddler sent a wobbly drive from the top of the left faceoff circle over Kuemper for his first goal in 28 games. The Stars then added to their lead by scoring a power-play goal for the fifth consecutive game. Cole put the puck in the upper right corner from the left circle at 16:45, with Alex Goligoski earning his second assist of the game. "Its a tough game when youre chasing," Wild centre Kyle Brodziak said. "Being down 2-0 early on like we were, you feel like the rest of the game youre chasing the game. Its a tough league to be doing that. Good teams know how to shut you down. We couldnt get anythinng going.dddddddddddd" The final goal was on a third-period penalty shot by Benn. Not Jamie Benn, the teams second-leading scorer, but Jordie. The defenceman entered the game with two career goals. Jordie Benn skated in on Kuemper, got him to move to his left and slipped a backhand shot past him. Benn said he had taken a penalty shot once before in the minors. "I did that exact move, and it worked," he said. "Thats the only move I have, the only one Ive ever tried, and it worked again." Jamie Benn joked: "I pretty much taught him everything he knows." Stars coach Lindy Ruff had a different perspective. "I think thats a move Jordie should teach Jamie. Im serious," he said. "That was a solid pump fake." Whitney got on the board at 13:18 of the second period, lifting the Stars to a 3-0 lead just two seconds before a high-sticking penalty on Minnesotas Justin Fontaine ran out. Sergei Gonchar skated toward the net, and then passed to Whitney. He pulled the puck away from Kuemper, and then pushed it behind him. The shot crossed the goal line before a Wild defenceman could knock the puck away. It marked the Stars fourth game this season with two power-play goals. "The third goal was huge," Lehtonen said. "It settled things even more, and made it less stressful for me." Dallas outshot Minnesota 16-6 in the second period, and 36-18 for the game. NOTES: Cole scored two goals in this seasons first 25 games, but has 12 since the slow start - including three in his last five games. ... Dallas had 20 power-play goals in its first 45 games. The Stars have six in the last five games, and have improved from 29th to 27th in the NHL with a man advantage. ... Whitneys power-play goal was Dallas 10th at home this season, inching the Stars toward an 11-per cent success. They still rank last in the league on home power plays. ... Minnesota was 0 for 2 with a man advantage, extending its current drought to 0 for 14. ... Dallas is 4 of 7 on penalty shots this season. ' ' '