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PITTSBURGH -- Clint Hurdle grabbed the brim of his cap and ducked his head. When pressed about what pleased him the most about Pittsburghs 9-2 win over St. Louis on Monday, a romp that propelled the resilient Pirates within a half-game of the NL Central lead, the manager thought for a moment and sighed. "Getting a little picky arent we?" he asked with a smile. Hurdle isnt. Neither is his team as it tries to shrug off two decades of misery and mediocrity. Francisco Liriano allowed one run over seven dominant innings, Pedro Alvarez hit his NL-leading 27th home run and the Pirates kicked off a pivotal series by sending the Cardinals to their season-high fourth straight loss. Liriano (11-4) continued his midcareer renaissance by striking out eight and walking just two to win his fifth consecutive start. "Its been a good run for him being able to watch, and thats pretty much what Ive been doing," Pittsburgh centre fielder Andrew McCutchen said. "I dont get a lot of action when hes on the mound. It makes it a lot easier for the defence." Having some help from an underachieving offence helps. The Pirates came in hitting just .221 with runners in scoring position, the worst mark in baseball. Clint Barmes smacked two doubles and drove in two runs and McCutchen added two hits as Pittsburgh went 5 for 13 with runners on second or third to continue its mastery over St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook. The veteran right-hander fell to 1-8 against Pittsburgh in his otherwise solid resume. The Pirates touched Westbrook (7-5) for four runs in the first inning, capped by Alvarezs three-run homer into the first row of seats in right field. "It was a battle from pitch 1 -- and it showed early on," Westbrook said. "Its not really how you draw it up with a walk and a hit batsmen and a single and a homer. Put us in a bad spot against a good team and against a guy whos throwing the ball really well." Hurdle stressed the need to not place too much focus on a late-July series, pointing out two more months remain after the five-game set wraps up on Thursday. Maybe, but with the Pirates chasing their first playoff berth in 21 years and a chance to make inroads on the team with the best record in baseball, the game had an electricity typically reserved for early fall in cities far away from the one that hasnt fielded a winner since 1992. Lower-lever tickets were fetching $100 or more hours before the first pitch, and Liriano did not disappoint the largest Monday-night crowd (32,084) since the park opened. The left-hander, whose path to stardom veered off track after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2007, had little trouble with the most explosive offence in the majors. He retired the first 10 batters he faced and kept the best-hitting team in the National League on its heels while dropping his ERA to 2.16. "Frankie can answer," Hurdle said. "Hes been in big matchups before." So has Westbrook, who still hasnt figured out a way to handle the Pirates. He was touched for four runs in the first inning of his previous start at PNC Park in April. The game was eventually washed out. The weather couldnt save him this time. Neither could Westbrooks usually solid control. He issued three walks and hit three batters and never appeared comfortable. "Hes going to go out there and give us whatever hes got every time and for whatever reason this teams just given him a tough time and hes had a hard time in this stadium," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. Westbrook survived a bases-loaded jam in the second to stay close, but by then Liriano had all the support he would need. His only real mistake came in the sixth, when pinch-hitter Tony Cruz led off with a triple and scored on Carpenters single up the middle. A strikeout and a double play followed, and the Pirates broke it open in the seventh against relievers Marc Rzepczynski and Fernando Salas. Garrett Jones started it with Pittsburghs first sacrifice fly to the outfield since May 27 and Barmes clubbed a two-run double as the Pirates batted around. Even with its best offensive showing since the All-Star break, Hurdle isnt so sure the Pirates made a statement. "Were a confident team," he said. "I think were a team whose confidence isnt built on its last game. Its not shattered by a losing streak. You continue to push through and thats what weve done from Opening Day until now." NOTES: Pirates LF Starling Marte did not start after getting a planned day off in favour of Alex Presley, recalled from Triple-A on Monday after C Mike McKenry went onto the disabled list with a sprained knee. Marte entered in the seventh as a pinch hitter and singled. He is hitting just .131 (5 for 38) since July 20 ... The series continues with a doubleheader Tuesday. A.J. Burnett (4-7, 2.96 ERA) faces Lance Lynn (12-5, 3.98 ERA) in the opener with the Cardinals Tyler Lyons (2-3, 5.51) starting the second game. The Pirates will not name a starter for the second game until Tuesday morning. ... Lynn was originally supposed to start the second game, but Matheny moved him into the matchup against Burnett because he wanted a more experienced pitcher to take on Pittsburghs ace.Clearance NCAA Jerseys . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Cheap Football NCAA Jerseys . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/ . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. NCAA Jerseys Outlet .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. Cheap Basketball College Jerseys . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July.Part 1The water jump is really similar to a layup in basketball. Think of the last two to three steps before a layup in basketball. Youre jumping off with some power when you are finally going into the air. Your body has to be in control to be able to make the basket and you have to be very aware of what every piece of your body is doing. You need power, you need control, you need to be smooth, you have to be present and then leap.Part 2As long as the spikes are on the barrier, youre good. The scary situation is when you overshoot the barrier a little bit and just your heel catches it. The heel doesnt have any of the metal spikes sticking out, so all of that grip really comes from the four or five metal spikes on the forefoot of your spike plate.Part 3Ive found that whether I hit the barrier on the front side or on top or the farside of it, as long as my spikes are touching it, I can adapt. Typically I shoot to probably hit the top of it, but I think as long as my heel isnt the first thing to touch it then Im in business. Then Im ok.Part 4Im lucky that I can jump off the barrier with either leg. Typically an athlete has a leg that they prefer, but from the very first time I tried it, both legs came naturally to me. Thats a good quality to have just because of the traffic approaching a barrier. If you have a leg that is favored sometimes it can be a little bit difficult to guarantee that that leg will be the one that you jump off of. So I switch both legs and dont have a leg that I prefer, and I couldnt even tell you which leg I land on more than the other.Part 5When Im trying to protect myself in the air from the carnage happening in the water jump, sometimes Ive had to change my trajectory mid-air. I see someone has fallen in front of me and I have to use my foot in to press off the barrier a little bit more to one side of my foot to try and change my angle off the barrier to avoid the person who is down in the water in front of me. So sometimes its pushing off a little bit more on one angle, pushing off a little bit more on the inside of my foot or pushing off a little bit more on the outside to change the launch angle off the barrier. And other times its just making sure that your elbows are out, making sure no one is going to crash in on you.ddddddddddddPart 6I dont know my launch angle. Ive never sat down and really studied with video analysis and looked over the perfect launch angle. Its important to have power coming off of it, so athletes stay pretty compressed and pretty low and some athletes fly pretty high. I think each athlete has their sweet spot, and I cant even really articulate what mine is -- it just feels very normal to me.Part 7Beginner steeplechasers are often a little intimidated and they come off the water jump and they land with two feet which completely stops any forward momentum built from propelling off the jump. Thats what I would say is the biggest mistake that beginners do -- and they know its a mistake and they arent trying to land with two feet. So definitely try to land on one foot in stride.Part 8The ideal way to land the water jump is to land with one foot first and then another foot to be able to kind of run out of the water. I think a lot of people who land two feet lose so much time. So make sure youre able to land with one foot and then the other in a running motion.Part 9When not fatigued, its possible in practice to clear the water jump, but in a race scenario its nearly impossible and not very practical to clear the water jump. For fun in practice Ive probably done it once or twice and it takes a lot of effort, so its not practical for a race.Part 10Dont be intimidated by the water jump: Its what makes the steeplechase interesting. Really approach it with excitement and energy and try to be as smooth and as controlled as possible in the approach, in the air, in the landing. Thats really important. I think a lot of people overthink technical aspects of it and sometimes people might practice with specific markers or specific metrics in mind. But I think whats important is to find a rhythm that feels right with your body. Prev NextThe water jump plays a huge role in the race -- mainly because thats where a lot of the chaos happens. Thats when people trip and fall and big moves are made.Emma Coburn ' ' '