League Cup. Winning trophies brings you a mentality which yo

PHILADELPHIA -- Theres been no slowing down Andrew McCutchen or the Pittsburgh Pirates lately. The reigning NL MVP hit the first inside-the-park homer of his career and the Pirates protected their lead in the wild-card race, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 Wednesday night. Russell Martin also homered in the fifth inning, and the Pirates bullpen helped secure the teams sixth victory in seven games. McCutchen tied the score when he scored standing up after his drive off the wall in straightaway centre field. "With (McCutchens) speed," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said, "it was an easy finish for him." The star slugger said he knew he had an inside-the-park homer when the ball first struck the wall. "Its brick, so anything coming that hard is going to come off it and go that way," he said. "I knew when it hit the wall that I had a good chance." The last-place Phillies have had a difficult time trying to contain McCutchen, who is 18 for 36 in his last 10 games against Pittsburghs in-state rivals. Two batters after McCutchens electrifying homer, Martin gave the Pirates the lead for good with a more-traditional long ball. He sent his ninth homer of the season a few rows deep into the centre-field seats, putting Pittsburgh ahead 4-3. Pittsburgh starter Vance Worley (7-4), who pitched two seasons for the Phillies, won in his return to Philadelphia since being traded in 2012. The Pirates bullpen, which entered with the NLs fifth-best ERA, kept Philadelphia hitless for four innings. Bobby LaFromboise, John Holdzkom and Tony Watson pitched clean innings, and Mark Melancon did the same in the ninth to convert his 28th save in 32 opportunities. Hurdle said Worley had "inconsistent command," forcing him to rely on his bullpen to pick him up. Worley agreed with his managers assessment. "Stuff was sloppy and did the opposite of what I wanted the ball to do," he said. "It seemed like my four-seam (fastball) was sinking, and my sinker was cutting, and my curveballs were nowhere in the zone. And if I threw my cutter right it was 5 feet short. I just had to keep battling and trust what I had and trust my defence behind me." Cody Asche doubled and scored two runs for the Phillies, who have lost three of four. Phillies starter Jerome Williams (3-1) helped Philadelphia more from the batters box than from the pitchers mound. The right-handers two-run single in the fourth doubled his career RBI total to four and gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead. Williams hit was the last of the night for Philadelphia. In the fifth, McCutchen and Martin, who finished with three RBIs, homered off Williams to erase Pittsburghs deficit. TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: 3B Pedro Alvarez has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in the fourth metatarsal of his left foot, for which the typical recovery time is four to six weeks. Alvarez has appeared in only one game since Aug. 26, when he first sustained the injury. Phillies: LF Domonic Brown exited in the sixth with a bruised left shoulder. ... LHP Cliff Lee had his left elbow examined by three physicians, including the teams, in recent weeks. He will remain on his present rehab plan and will not throw until November, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. ... SS Jimmy Rollins, who sustained a left hamstring strain Monday, has no timeline for a return, Amaro said. UP NEXT Pirates: LHP Francisco Liriano (4-10, 3.74 ERA) takes the mound for the rubber match Thursday. He earned a win Saturday, his first in his past seven starts. Phillies: RHP A.J. Burnett (8-15, 4.29) gets the ball Thursday night. He has gone at least six innings in each of his last six starts, a streak that dates to Aug. 8. ON A ROLL Pirates LF Starling Marte used a sixth-inning single to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, during which he is 16 for 40. He also doubled in the eighth and finished 2 for 4. Hunter Renfroe Jersey . -- C.J. Cron hit an RBI single on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues, doubled his second time up and hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth inning to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. Trevor Hoffman Jersey . Basketball fans around the globe will be watching as Kobe Bryant makes his season debut - 240 days after tearing his left Achilles - against Toronto, a team he has used as his own personal punching bag. http://www.padresrookiestore.com/Padres-Freddy-Galvis-Kids-Jersey/ . "Last year we were in a ton of situations, late-game situations we couldnt pull out. Wed kind of fold under the pressure, get frustrated or let a big shot frustrate us," guard DeMar DeRozan said. Wil Myers Jersey . James Harden wasnt worried and told his coach as much. "He was fired up but I told him: Its OK. Were going to be all right," Harden said. And they were. Houston scored 17 straight points after that timeout, led by 10 from Harden, to take the lead and roll to an easy 129-106 win. Tyson Ross Jersey . Louis Cardinals. He was 48. The commissioners office said Bell died in his home state of Ohio. Bell had not been feeling well over the weekend and had been scheduled to see doctors later Monday at the Cleveland Clinic.Liverpool legend Phil Thompson believes that silverware is more important to the club than securing Champions League football ahead of Wednesdays Europa League final. The winner of Europes second-tier tournament will qualify for the group stages of the Champions League next season, adding to the importance of the Basel showdown between the Reds, who finished eighth in the Premier League, and La Ligas 7th-placed side, Sevilla.But Thommo, who won three European Cups during his distinguished Anfield career, insists securing silverware is still the most important factor for both the club and the players. Speaking to Sky Sports, Thompson said: If you ask me, winning a trophy is always the most important. People talk about finishing fourth like its winning a trophy but its not. Liverpool have seen off Dortmund and Villarreal to reach the final I think its massive for these players playing in another final. Winning trophies brings you a mentality which you cant put a price on.This is Liverpool Football Club and prestige of competing in finals, especially European ones, is huge, thats why players want to play for this club.Obviously a lot of people in England see it as second rate but in Europe its huge. I remember in 2001 when we won our three trophies and all the foreign players and Gerard Houllier saw the UEFA Cup as the most important one over the FA Cup and League Cup. Winning trophies brings you a mentality which you cant put a price on. Phil Thompson However, Thommo has warned Liverpool fans not to get too carried away if they do return to Europes top competition as Klopp comes to the end of his first season in charge.He added: It puts us back up there competting with the best but it doesnt suddenly make us contenders to win the Champions League.dddddddddddd. Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool dont need luck to beat Sevilla in the Europa League final Finishing seventh in the Premier League isnt good enough. Its a stepping stone in the right direction but its consistency that this team need in order to compete for the league.What people have still got to remember is this is Brendan Rodgers squad so Klopp still has to do a fair bit of tinkering to get a the right players for his style of play to really be effective. Thommo predicts... Find out what Thommo is predicting for the Europa League final here. Also See: Gerrard hopes for springboard Souness: Reds to win in style Liverpool v Sevilla preview Route to the final ' ' '