erth took another hit as they dropped 5 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second NL wild card with their 10th loss in 12 games.When asked in his post-game press conferenc

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Alexis Peterson scored 28 points and No. 14 Syracuse opened the season on Friday with a 95-49 win over Rhode Island.The Orange, who return four starters from the team that lost to UConn in the NCAA championship game last spring, led 36-23 at the half and outscored the Rams 39-11 in the fourth quarter.Briana Day had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Gabby Cooper had 12 points and Brittney Sykes 11 points and 13 rebounds.Syracuse shot just 29 percent in the first half when 8 of 10 baskets were 3-pointers. The Orange finished 17 of 45 behind the arc, shooting 29 of 80 overall.Dina Motrechuk had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Rhode Island. Charise Wilson made just 1 of 12 shots but that was enough to put her into the 1,000-point club. She also had 10 assists and 10 rebounds -- but also had 10 turnovers.The Rams finished with 43 turnovers that led to 38 Syracuse points.Orange coach Quentin Hillsman needs 10 more wins to give him a school-record 230. 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Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. PITTSBURGH -- A rainy Saturday night was dreary for the Pittsburgh Pirates as they lost another game as well as more ground in the standings and possibly leadoff hitter Josh Harrison for an extended period.Joey Votto celebrated his 33rd birthday with four hits, including a home run, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the collapsing Pirates 8-7.Votto led off the ninth inning with his 23rd homer, a drive to right off Juan Nicasio that gave the Reds a two-run cushion. The 2010 NL MVP is hitting .427 in 51 games since the All-Star break and could become the first major leaguer to hit .400 in the second half since Ichiro Suzuki had a .429 average in 2004 with the Seattle Mariners.The Pirates flickering hopes of a fourth consecutive postseason berth took another hit as they dropped 5 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second NL wild card with their 10th loss in 12 games.When asked in his post-game press conference if he would call a meeting in an effort to spark his team, manager Clint Hurdle gave a terse answer.The one thing I do is when I talk to guys, I dont tell you I talk to them, he said.Francisco Cervelli hit a two-out RBI single in the ninth for Pittsburgh, but Tony Cingrani held on for his 17th save. With runners on first and second, Jordy Mercer bounced into a fielders choice for the final out.We always talk about add-on runs being so big, Reds manager Bryan Price said. That solo shot by (Votto) gave Tony some breathing room, which we needed.Harrison left in the sixth inning after injuring his right groin while legging out a two-run double that got the Pirates within one at 7-6. He is 17 for 42 (.405) with six doubles during a 10-game hit streak.Harrison began limping after rounding the first base on the ball hit into the right-center field gap. He was able to slide safety into second base then pounded the bag with his left fist in frustration before walking gingerly off the field.Hurdle said he had no update on Harrison.Brandon Phillips had three of Cincinnatis 15 hits, helping the Reds rally from an early 4-0 deficit for their second straight win following nine losses in 11 games. Tucker Barnhart drove in three runs.Phillips iss hitting .dddddddddddd365 (19 for 52) with four homers and 10 RBI in 14 games against the Pirates this season.The Reds jumped in front with three runs in the fifth against rookie reliever Trevor Williams (1-1). Scott Schebler had a bases-loaded walk before Barnhart made it 7-4 with a two-run double.Williams took the loss in his second major league appearance after allowing one unearned run in three innings on Wednesday in a win over St. Louis.It comes down to one pitch, Williams said. Unfortunately, I hung a slider a little bit (to Barnhart).Jung Ho Kangs two-run homer off rookie starter Robert Stephenson gave the Pirates a 4-0 lead in the third inning. Kang finished with two hits and three RBI.Josh Smith (3-1) got the win despite allowing two runs in 2 1/3 innings.Stephenson threw 43 pitches during a two-run first inning and made it through just three innings, getting tagged for four runs and five hits.Acquired in an Aug. 1 trade with Toronto and assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis, Drew Hutchison gave up four runs --- all scoring in the fourth inning --- and eight hits in four innings in his Pirates debut.I wasnt sharp in the first but I thought I did a good job and started to get going in the second and the third, Hutchison said. The fourth was just frustrating and disappointing.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: LF Starling Marte (back spasms) sat out for a fifth straight game and there is no timetable for his return.KUHL SET FOR RETURNPirates right-hander Chad Kuhl will return to the rotation Thursday night and start at Philadelphia. The rookie was originally supposed to start Saturday but the Pirates decided to give him a break after working 134 1/3 innings between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis this season.UP NEXTReds: LHP Brandon Finnegan (8-10, 4.17 ERA) will start Sunday in the finale of the four-game series. He is winless in his last three starts despite a 3.00 ERA in that span.Pirates: RHP Ryan Vogelsong (3-4, 4.07 ERA) has allowed a combined 10 runs in nine innings in his last two starts while going 0-1. ' ' '