landed below the belt, forcing the referee to

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Pittsburgh Pirates have been making a lot of noise this season and are tempting their long-suffering fans again with the possibility of a winning season for the first time since rookie Gerrit Cole was still in diapers. Francisco Liriano took a shutout into the seventh inning, and Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez and Gaby Sanchez homered, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night. "It was awesome just to be able to do that, and we had a lot of fun doing it," said McCutchen, who ended a homerless drought of 98 at-bats. "This is the way we should come out and play every day. We dont have to depend on just one or two guys. Everybodys coming through. To have a complete lineup like that from top to bottom is always fun." Liriano (6-3) allowed a run and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings, struck out six and walked three. The Angels run came in the seventh, when rookie J.B. Shuck hit a ground-rule double just inside the right field line and Mike Trout drove him in with a two-out single on the left-handers 104th and final pitch. Liriano has allowed fewer than three runs in seven of his nine starts after missing the first 35 games of the season because of broken bone in his non-throwing arm. The victory put the Bucs a season-best 15 games over .500 (45-30). After 75 games last season they were 40-35, but finished with a losing record for an unprecedented 20th straight year. Jerome Williams (5-3) gave up five runs -- four earned -- and eight hits over six innings in his eighth start of the season and first since June 12. The right-hander took over the rotation slot vacated by lefty Jason Vargas, who was placed on the disabled list Friday because of a blood clot under his pitching arm. "He made really good pitches in the first inning, and he really made some really good pitches throughout the game," catcher Chris Iannetta said. "But in that three-run inning he gave up the home run to Alvarez, and that was just a good piece of hitting. All of his mistakes were up in the zone and they capitalized on them." Alvarez has homered in three consecutive games. The Bucs added two more that inning on an RBI single by No. 9 hitter Jordy Mercer and a bases-loaded walk to Russell Martin. One of the runs was unearned, the result of a fielding error by third baseman Alberto Callaspo on a slow-hit grounder by Marte that kept the inning alive. "Actually, if Williams threw the whole game the way he did in the first inning, it would have been complicated for us," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Hes pitched extremely well for them, and this was probably not normal for what theyve seen from him this season. There were mistakes he made tonight and we were able to do something with those mistakes. A lot of balls were elevated." Travis Snider extended the margin to 4-0 in the fourth with an RBI single after a leadoff double by Neil Walker. McCutchen added his eighth homer in the fifth, and Sanchez capped the scoring in the eighth against Michael Kohn with a homer off the left field pole, his sixth this season and second in his last 44 games. After striking out four of his first five batters, Liriano found himself in a jam with runners at the corners in the third inning before retiring Albert Pujols on a grounder to second base. The three-time NL MVP is 1 for 15 against Liriano. "His fastball was 92, 95, and had good movement," Iannetta said. "He had a really tight slider tonight and a very good changeup. That was his equalizing pitch, and we swung through it a lot." Howie Kendrick, hitting at a .381 clip over his previous 35 games, legged out a double to right-centre with one out in the Angels fourth and was thrown out at the plate as left fielder Starling Marte charged Erick Aybars sharp single and made a one-hop peg to Martin. "I knew he was out right when they sent him home, because I know he has a cannon," McCutchen said. "When that ball was coming to him and I saw (third base coach Dino Ebel) waving, I was like, Hes out. Hes not a typical left fielder because he has the arm of a right fielder. So when he threw that ball, I knew he was toast." NOTES: Shuck started in RF in place of Josh Hamilton, who missed his second straight game with a sore right wrist. Hamilton is batting just .207. ... Hurdle, whose only season as the Texas Rangers hitting coach coincided with Hamiltons 2010 AL MVP campaign, had a chance to reconnect with Angels slumping right fielder during this series. "It was an extremely good visit," Hurdle said. "I think theres a lot of challenges, and hes in a challenging place. I reminded him of the strengths and the skills he does have, and also that he cant do it alone. Theres some other pretty talented people in that clubhouse and on that ballfield." ... Hurdle played in 18 games at Angel Stadium with the Kansas City Royals when it was still known as Anaheim Stadium, and was 10 for 46 lifetime. ... Liriano is 2-4 with a 5.82 ERA in eight career starts against the Angels. Cheap Adidas Nmd Australia . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Adidas Nmd Cheap Australia . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. http://www.cheapnmdaustralia.com/ . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. Adidas Nmd Australia Sale . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. Adidas Nmd Sale Australia . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. Defending light heavyweight titleholder Adonis Superman Stevenson and challenger Thomas Top Dog Williams Jr. staged a brief but scintillating slugfest from the opening round and didnt let up until the fourth, when Stevenson knocked out Williams to retain his title Friday night in the headliner of a Premier Boxing Champions card at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada.Stevensons (28-1, 23 KOs) knockout came at 2:54 of the fourth round, and he made his seventh successful title defense.He wanted to put on some pressure, so I put some on as well, said Stevenson, who fought for the first time since scoring a third-round knockout of club fighter Tommy Karpency in September in Toronto. Two men who know how to fight. We gave a good show, and thats what people want to see.The fight nearly ended in the first, when Stevenson connected with a hard left to the side of Williams head that floored him with approximately 30 seconds left in the round. Williams (20-2, 14 KOs) gamely beat referee Michael Griffins count and survived until the bell.Williams, from Fort Washington, Maryland, displayed courage by going toe-to-toe with one of boxings hardest punchers. He staged a spirited rally in the second round, working his way inside by ducking low and catching Stevenson with flush punches. The champion was rocked back on his heels several times, drawing gasps from the crowd.It still looked like anybodys fight in the third, when the two continued to trade vicious punches. Stevenson drilled Willliams with a head-snapping uppercut, only to have Williams roar back with hard blows of his own.ddddddddddddStevenson, 10 years Williams senior at age 38, launched a concentrated body attack in the fourth, but one of his punches landed below the belt, forcing the referee to call a timeout while Williams recovered.Undaunted by a potential penalty if he hit low again, Stevenson continued to sink blows into Williams body. Then, with the weakened challenger almost doubled over, Stevenson landed a final crushing left to the head that put Williams on the canvas again and ended the fight.It was a firefight, Stevenson said. It was a fight with two guys who could punch and it was spectacular. It was my daughters birthday and I gave her a great gift.In the chief supporting bout, undefeated Eleider Alvarez won a unanimous 10-round decision over Robert Berridge in a humdrum cruiserweight bout.Alvarez (20-0, 10 KOs), a Colombian fighting out of Montreal, battered New Zealands Berridge (27-5-1, 21 KOs), who suffered a swollen right eye and bloody mouth, but stayed on his feet throughout the bout.I am happy with the win, but I would have liked a knockout, Alvarez said. He was tough, but he did not hurt me at all and I thought that I hurt him. I am ready for my next challenge, which will hopefully be a world title fight.The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '