Thauvin in the sixth minute.Diminutive

PITTSBURGH -- Matt Garza can feel himself getting stronger. The evidence is on the radar gun and in his command. At the moment, its just not in the results.The veteran Milwaukee starter gave up five runs, four earned, in five innings of a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night. Garza (1-4) has dropped four straight starts while his ERA has ballooned to 5.94. Not exactly what he had in mind when he worked his way back from a strained right lat that sidelined him for more than two months to start the season.I feel horrible because Im not a five (innings) and done guy, Garza said. I can go deep. I like to keep pitching.Garzas major mistake came in the first inning, when he issued consecutive one-out walks to Gregory Polanco and Andrew McCutchen then watched Matt Joyce hit a three-run homer to the seats in right field that gave the Pirates a quick 3-0 lead.They say this game is a game of inches, Garza said. It broke right two inches (and was a) homer. If it breaks left two inches, he jams himself and pops it up.Garza thinks the miscue overshadowed an otherwise OK performance.Ive been doing it the whole year, searching for my arm strength, searching for my breaking stuff, Garza said. Tonight, I had it all. I had the curveball, I had a good slider, I had a good changeup, I just waited too long to use it.Jonathan Villar hit his seventh home run of the season for the Brewers. Hernan Perez added two hits for Milwaukee, which fell to 17-31 away from Miller Park, the second-worst road mark in the National League.A night after working nine walks and lighting up the Pirates for nine runs in a relatively easy win, the Brewers didnt earn one free pass and struck out 14 times, 13 against Pittsburgh starter Francisco Liriano (6-9). Liriano gave up three runs in 6 2/3 innings and didnt issue a walk for only the second time in 19 starts this season.I thought Liriano had his plus stuff tonight, Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. Getting three runs off him, I thought we did a good job. I thought he had great stuff tonight, he really did. Thats the best weve seen him in a while, for sure.Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his 28th save.IN A PINCHJoyce finished with four RBI. Not bad for a player who didnt know he was playing until outfielder Starling Marte came down with flu-like symptoms a half-hour before the first pitch.Hes kind of like a fireman, hes ready to go, Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said.Joyce did his best to cram for Garza -- a former teammate when both played in Tampa Bay -- but felt a bit rushed heading into the on-deck circle with two on and one out in the first. He took a couple of extra deep breaths to calm down and smacked a pitch from Garza into the seats in right field to put the Pirates up 3-0.When they ring the bell, youve got to go, Joyce said.Polanco finished with two hits for the Pirates. McCutchen went 2 for 3 to snap out of a 1-for-16 funk.TRAINERS ROOMBrewers: Pitching prospect Adrian Houser underwent Tommy John surgery on his right arm Thursday and will miss at least the next 12 months as he recovers. The 23-year-old, acquired as part of a deal with Houston that sent Mike Fiers and Carlos Gomez to the Astros, appeared in two games last September for the Brewers and was 3-7 with a 5.25 ERA in 13 starts for Double-A Biloxi this season.Pirates: Reliever Ryan Vogelsong voluntarily removed himself from a rehab start with Triple-A Indianapolis after four innings of work on Wednesday night due to neck tightness. Vogelsong, who turns 39 on Friday, is recovering from facial fractures after getting hit by a pitch against Colorado on May 23. He is eligible to come off the 60-day DL on Saturday.UP NEXT:Brewers: Open a 10-game homestand on Friday with a three-game set against the Chicago Cubs. Jimmy Nelson (6-7, 3.39 ERA) is coming off his first win in over a month after tossing seven shutout innings against Cincinnati last Saturday.Pirates: Host cross-state rival Philadelphia for a weekend series beginning Friday. Gerrit Cole (5-5, 3.11 ERA) will make his second start since returning from a stint on the disabled list with a right triceps strain. Cole allowed five runs in four innings in a loss to Washington last Saturday. Custom Anthony Davis Jersey . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Pelicans Jerseys China . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. http://www.custompelicansjersey.com/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Custom Pelicans T-shirts .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Custom Pelicans Jerseys . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. PARIS -- French league leader Monaco continued its rampant scoring form as Radamel Falcao netted a hat trick in a 4-0 win away to Bordeaux on Saturday.The win moved the Principality side to the top of the league on goal difference, with an emphatic emphasis on goals: 53 so far.It is the second highest tally in French football after 17 league matches since RC Paris netted 55 in 1959.Monaco has already scored 23 more than Nice and defending champion Paris Saint-Germain, who play each other on Sunday.Falcao is thriving after two complicated seasons on loan in the English Premier League at Manchester United and Chelsea, where his form and scoring touch deserted him as he tried to recover from a career-threating knee injury.Considered among the most feared marksmen in European football before his injury in January 2014, the Colombian striker is cutting loose as he makes up for lost time. His fifth goal in two games took him to 10 in 13 league matches so far, even though four of those appearances have been as a substitute.He is combining superbly with unheralded striker Valere Germain, who set up his first two and whose elusive runs open up space for him to exploit.Falcao made it 2-0 in the fourth minute, bundling in Germains cross. He finished clinically as Germain picked him out from the right in the 50th, and slotted in a penalty midway through the second half after midfielder Bernardo Silva was fouled.It seemed like coach Leonardo Jardim was having mercy on Bordeaux when he took Falcao off with 20 minutes left, especially as the home side was down to 10 men after midfielder Adam Ounas was sent off for a crude foul on fullback Djibril Sidibe.Nice neeeds only a draw in Paris on Sunday to reclaim top spot from Monaco.ddddddddddddBut a win for Nice would move it three points clear and seven ahead of PSG, which heads into their showdown in poor form.The pressure is rising on coach Unai Emery, whose tactics were called into question following a 3-0 loss away to Montpellier last weekend and a tepid 2-2 home draw with Bulgarian side Ludogorets in the Champions League on Tuesday.DIJON 1, MARSEILLE 2Marseilles wait for a new homegrown star could finally be over after Maxime Lopez scored his first goal for the club.The 19-year-old central midfielder poked in a cross from winger Florian Thauvin in the sixth minute.Diminutive in stature, the 1.67-meter Lopez has the excellent technical skills required for a playmaker and reads the game well.The last homegrown midfielder to break through Marseilles ranks and impose himself was Samir Nasri, who left the club in the summer of 2008 to join Arsenal, and then did well at Manchester City.Midfielder Mehdi Abeid equalized for Dijon but top-scorer Bafetimbi Gomis netted a late winner for his eighth of the season.Marseille won consecutive league games for the first time this season and climbed up to eighth spot.OTHER MATCHESA hat trick from forward Ola Toivonen helped Toulouse to beat last-place Lorient 3-2 and move up to seventh place. Lille downed Montpellier 2-1 to climb up to mid-table, Nancy beat Angers 2-0 at home, and Corsican side Bastia won against Metz 2-0. The game between Nantes and Caen was called off because of thick fog. ' ' '