One of the factors I try to take out of the equation

[lebaobei123]

PHOENIX - The Pittsburgh Pirates didnt just rally, they routed the Arizona Diamondbacks. Josh Harrison — who struck out four times the previous night — tripled, doubled and scored twice and the Pirates erupted in the final two innings to beat the Diamondbacks 9-4 on Friday night. Pittsburgh scored the last nine runs, including eight in the eighth and ninth. It was the 27th comeback win for the Pirates. "Its just what we do," Harrison said. "We know were not done til the last out." Arizonas All-Star Paul Goldschmidt was hit in the left hand by a pitch from Ernesto Frieri in the ninth inning. The hand was covered with a bandage afterward and Goldschmidt said he hadnt gotten the X-ray results. Jordy Mercer had an RBI double, Michael Martinez and Russell Martin RBI singles and Travis Snider a two-run single in the Pirates tiebreaking five-run ninth. "Its backyard baseball," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "Its nothing spectacular. We just play." Tony Watson (8-1) pitched a scoreless eighth to get the win. Bo Schultz (0-1), recalled from Triple-A Reno on Tuesday, gave up all five in the ninth. While some of Goldschmidts teammates were suspicious he was hit on purpose, he didnt think so. "Guys have to try and get outs. What do you want them to do? Just throw it down the middle? They pitch inside as a team. We do it too. We want our pitchers to be able to pitch inside. You dont want to see anyone get hurt but sometimes it may or may not happen." Ender Inciartes three-run homer had helped Arizona take a 4-0 lead through five innings and Vidal Nuno appeared headed for his first victory in five starts since coming in the trade that sent Brandon McCarthy to the New York Yankees. However, the Pirates battered the Arizona bullpen with 10 hits in the last two innings. In the fifth, Arizona manager Kirk Gibson challenged a wild pitch call that ended up with Didi Gregorius on third, but with two outs. He won the challenge, the review determining that the batter Nuno was hit in the foot by the pitch. Two pitches later, with runners at first and second, Inciarte hit his second homer of the season, and his career, into the right field seats. After the game was over, the Diamondbacks, upset that Goldschmidt had been hit, got into an argument with Martin about it. The dugouts emptied but no one did more than talk. "I dont think anybody on their side was happy that Goldschmidt got hit," Hurdle said. "It wasnt any intent on Ernestos part. ... Nobody wants to hit a guy in that situation." TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: Right-hander Gerrit Cole, out since July 5 with shoulder fatigue, was scratched from his scheduled rehab start Saturday and will have a bullpen session instead. Outfielder Starling Marte, on the concussion list since July 23, will make a rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Indianapolis and could be back with the big league club within a week. Diamondbacks: A.J. Pollock, on the DL with a fractured right hand since June 1, had one at bat and played centre field in his first rehab game in the Arizona League. Infielder Cliff Pennington, out since June 2 with a sprained left thumb, is 8 for 29 (.421) in five rehab games with the Diamondbacks Arizona League squad. ON DECK The Pirates can gain at least a split of the series with a win Saturday night. Vance Worley (4-1, 2.54 ERA), coming off his first career shutout in a 5-0 win at Colorado, will try to stop the Pittsburgh skid. Rookie Chase Anderson (6-4, 3.34) goes for Arizona. He allowed one run on three hits in seven innings in his last outing, a no-decision at Cincinnati. In Arizonas four-run fifth, Pittsburgh had a hit batter, throwing error by catcher Russell Martin, a wild pitch that scored a run, a throwing error and a walk. NICE PLAY Brent Morel, in his fourth start at third base since coming up from Triple-A Indianapolis, made a diving stop of Jordan Pachecos grounder in the sixth. He got up and threw to first, where Gaby Sanchez stretched as far as he could to his right to make the catch for the out. RARE ABSENCE Goldschmidt was out of the starting ineup for only the second time in 109 games this season. He entered the game on a double-switch in the ninth. TRIPLE-A DIAMONDBACKS: Five of Arizonas starters opened the season in the minor leagues. With the trade deadline passed and the stretch run to the NHL season beginning, its time for Scott Cullens latest update to the NHL Awards races. On one hand, there are familiar names throughout, with previous Hart, Norris, Selke and Jack Adams winners named as best through three quarters of this season. However, as we get more games in the file, the leading candidates begin to separate from the rest of the class. Its not to say that others cant mount a strong finish to alter the outcomes, but as the season gets closer to the end, there isnt as much wiggle room. Anyway, here are my picks for awards through first three quarters of this season: HART TROPHY Winner: Sidney Crosby, C, PittsburghRunners-up: Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim; Alex Ovechkin, RW, WashingtonComment: Its no surprise that a healthy Crosby is in position to win the award as the leagues Most Valuable Player, because hes 14 points up in the scoring race and playing at the level to which weve become accustomed, when hes in the lineup. This year, he hasnt missed a game, and that is the biggest reason that Crosby at the forefront of the MVP discussion. Getzlaf is scoring at a career-best rate of 1.17 points per game, leading the team that sits on top of the standings. While his possession numbers are solid, Getzlafs line has been particularly fortunate in terms of shooting percentage, which leads to a dominant goal differential (57 for, 25 against) when Getzlaf is on the ice during 5-on-5 play. Its not the kind of thing that can be sustained long-term (as in year-over-year) but, this year, it puts him in contention for the Hart. I recognize there may not be a lot of observers that would consider Ovechkin among the most valuable in the league this year, yet I do despite his deficiencies. Hhes so far ahead of the rest of the league as a goal-scorer, that I cant ignore that contribution. Right now, Ovechkin is on pace for a 57-goal season. Second-place Phil Kessel is on pace for a 42-goal season. The last player to win the goal-scoring race by 15 goals or more was Brett Hull, in 1991-1992, when Hull scored 70 and Kevin Stevens scored 54. (Incidentally, in 1990-1991, Hull scored 86 goals, 35 more than a trio of players -- Theo Fleury, Cam Neely and Steve Yzerman -- tied for second.) Its just not that often that the leagues top goal-scorer is that far ahead of the field and, this year, Ovechkin is. Additionally, while he does plenty of damage on the power play, Ovechkin also leads the league with 26 even-strength goals, so its not all one-timers from the faceoff dot with the man advantage. Looking beyond those three, Kessel, Joe Pavelski and Jonathan Toews are among others who could warrant consideration. NORRIS TROPHYWinner: Duncan Keith, ChicagoRunners-up: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa; Victor Hedman, Tampa BayComment: This season hasnt been all that different from Duncan Keiths 2010 Norris Trophy-winning campaign. Hes played his typically-strong two-way game, though he is down more than three minutes per game compared to his peak playing time, and has added more offence this season, scoring at the second-best rate of his carerr (0.79 points per game). There are some that decry the play of the Senators Erik Karlsson, because hes not a hard-hitting block of granite on the blueline and thats their vision of a defenceman, but Karlsson is a game-changer. Hes a rare defenceman that can drive his teams offence and his negative plus-minus is more a function of relatively bad luck on percentages (both shooting and save) when hes on the ice. After Keith and Karlsson, there are a number of worthy candidates, with my preferred choice being Victor Hedman, who has been great, while adding an offensive component that is far ahead of his previously established levels. Im not sure that Team Sweden is on board with this vote, but thats their prerogative. Some familiar names -- Shea Weber, P.K. Subban and Alex Pietrangelo -- are also viable candidates, close enough that a really strong finish could alter the outcome. VEZINA TROPHYWinner: Ben Bishop, Tampa BayRunners-up: Tuukka Rask, Boston; Semyon Varlamov, ColoradoComment: As a 27-year-old who had played 45 career games coming into this season, Bishop has been a major surprise, a rock for a LLightning team that has maintained its playoff position despite missing Steven Stamkos for a couple of months.dddddddddddd. Rask has pretty much always been a top puck-stopper, with a .929 save percentage over the past three seasons, and hes played a career-high 46 games this year, handling a number one workload over a full season for, really, the first time in his career. It hasnt been a smooth and steady road to the top for Varlamov, who has rebounded from a career-low .903 save percentage last season to post a career-best .925 save percentage this season. That might be a matter of arbitrary end-points, with Varlamovs real performance level somewhere between those two extremes but, for this season, his numbers warrant award consideration. If not Varlamov, Carey Price and Jonathan Bernier have both had strong seasons, strong enough that an impressive finish could push them into the discussion. CALDER TROPHYWinner: Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Runners-up: Tyler Johnson, C, Tampa Bay; Olli Maatta, Pittsburgh Comment: Having set the record for the longest point streak by an 18-year-old rookie, MacKinnon is already looking like the kind of game-breaking skilled forward that teams hope to get with the No. 1 pick in the draft. Nothing like having a great pedigree and living up to it. MacKinnons closest challenger may be Johnson, an undrafted, 5-foot-9, 23-year-old who has simply scored wherever hes played and when Stamkos got hurt, Johnson took on more responsibility and continued to play at a high level. Its not easy for a teenage defenceman to step into the NHL and consistently play with poise, but dont tell that to Maatta, who has been a revelation for the Penguins. Injuries on the Pittsburgh blueline have forced the Penguins to use Maatta more than might have been initially anticipated, but hes risen to the challenge. Bruins power play quarterback Torey Krug and Johnsons left winger, Ondrej Palat, are other contenders. SELKE AWARDWinner: Patrice Bergeron, BostonRunners-up: David Backes, St. Louis; Jonathan Toews, ChicagoComment: This isnt an easy award to hand out, though there are some consistent performers that tend to be in consideration year after year. Heres a list of centres that face a decent level of competition yet still have strong possession stats. In addition to Bergeron, Backes and Toews, who have been at the top of my lists for past couple seasons at least, Anze Kopitar, Gabriel Landeskog and Alexander Steen are first-rate two-way performers that warrant attention. JACK ADAMS AWARDWinner: Bruce Boudreau, Anaheim Runners-up: Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis; Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay. Comment: It can be difficult to gauge exactly what a coachs role is in a teams performance, so there is some guess work involved here. One of the factors I try to take out of the equation, or at least minimize in importance, is goaltending, because great goaltending can mask all manner of shortcomings. Anyway, Im not sure that Bruce Boudreau has done anything revolutionary with the Ducks that allows them to score on such a high percentage of their shots, but getting strong contributions from so many throughout the lineup has to be considered in some way a reflection of Boudreaus approach. Oh, yeah, the Ducks are also first place in the standings, so he has that working for him too. The St. Louis Blues play such a relentless, grinding game that Im inclined to credit a coach that can keep his team playing that style so effectively. Enter, Ken Hitchcock. Admittedly, Jon Cooper has the benefit of outstanding goaltending, thanks to Ben Bishop, but his team has survived without Steven Stamkos and has done so with a lineup full of young, inexperienced players playing significant roles. For that, Cooper gets my nomination. There are many other qualified candidates. Patrick Roys Avalanche are exceeding expectations, Mike Yeo and Mike Babcock have managed to get through significant injuries and Claude Julien keeps the Bruins rolling with a steady spproach; all of these coaches deserve credit for their work behind the bench this season. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. China Jerseys ' ' '