defensive shift and advanced to a vacated third base on the misplay. A sacrifice fly from Saunders made it 2-1. Jeanmar Gomez turned in a fine outing for the Pirates in his first start off the disabled list. He allowed just three hits and an unearned run in five innings with five strikeouts and threw

SEATTLE -- Another key hit by Jordy Mercer gave the Pittsburgh Pirates their season-high sixth straight win. Mercer hit a go-ahead single with two outs in the ninth inning and the Pirates beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 on Wednesday. Mercer has come up big for the Pirates in several clutch situations. Hes batting .391 with runners in scoring position with a home run, six RBIs and three walks. "I guess I have a knack for coming up with big hits in big spots," Mercer said. The Pirates improved to 48-30 -- they are 18 games over .500 for the first time since 1992, their last winning season. With the victory, Pittsburgh wraps up a 7-2 road trip to Cincinnati, Anaheim and Seattle. "It was a good trip. Very good trip," manager Clint Hurdle said. Neil Walker hit a two-run homer off Felix Hernandez to put Pittsburgh ahead in the fourth. Seattle tied it in the sixth on Raul Ibanezs team-leading 18th home run, and fourth in four games. It was 2-all when Pedro Alvarez singled to lead off the ninth inning against reliever Charlie Furbush (1-4) and advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Neil Walker. After a groundout by Gaby Sanchez, Travis Snider was intentionally walked. Mercer followed with an RBI single off Yoervis Medina, and the Pirates added an insurance run when a wild pitch on a third strike from Medina allowed Snider to score and Starling Marte to reach first base. Mercer said he had a solid scouting report on Medina from the coaching staff and knew what to expect from the Mariners reliever. "I was just looking to see something over the plate and put a good swing on it," Mercer said. "I gained a little confidence from the previous at-bat before when I singled to right. Just let it get deep and drive it up the middle or the other way and it worked out." Mark Melancon earned his second save of the season. Mike Zunino delivered a pinch-hit single and Nick Franklin singled to put a pair of runners on with two outs in the ninth, but Kyle Seager grounded out. Vin Mazzaro (4-2) picked up the victory with two innings of scoreless relief. Hernandez bounced back to form after his worst start of the season. He blew a seven-run lead against the Los Angeles Angels in his last appearance, but struck out 11 against the Pirates. Hernandez gave up six hits and walked two. "Youve just got to battle him. Youve got to battle him and try and get his pitch count up and stay in the game so you can get him out before its the ninth inning," Hurdle said. "We were able to do that. Hes always going to be tough. He competes very, very well out there and the sequence and the stuff he has makes it a very difficult day at the plate." The Mariners squandered a chance to take the lead in the eighth. With the game even, Kendrys Morales doubled and the Pirates intentionally walked Ibanez to put a pair of runners on with one out. Mazzaro managed to escaped by striking out Justin Smoak and getting Michael Saunders to fly out. "Weve got to hit. Its time to hit," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "Youre not going to win games unless you hit. They got the two-out hit. We didnt. Game over. Thats the difference." Walker hit his sixth home run, connecting with two outs. Seattle managed to get a run back in the bottom half without a hit. Ibanez reached first after swinging at a third strike wild pitch that got away from catcher Russell Martin, then Smoak hit a grounder and Mercer mishandled the throw to second, the ball deflecting off the shortstops glove. Ibanez took advantage of the Pirates defensive shift and advanced to a vacated third base on the misplay. A sacrifice fly from Saunders made it 2-1. Jeanmar Gomez turned in a fine outing for the Pirates in his first start off the disabled list. He allowed just three hits and an unearned run in five innings with five strikeouts and threw the most pitches (81) of any outing this season. "He gave us the innings we needed and got to the part of the game were hoping to get to with the lead." Hurdle said. "He was effective again -- real nice job." Ibanez tagged Justin Wilson for his ninth home run in June. NOTES: Notes: The Pirates optioned RHP Duke Welker to Triple-A Indianapolis in order to activate Gomez from the 15-day disabled list. ... Alvarez extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Hes batting .390 with four doubles, five home runs and 13 RBIs over that span. ... Ibanez has just 12 hits against left-handed pitchers this season but six of the hits have been home runs. He is batting .214 with six home runs and 12 RBIs against lefties. ... Ibanez hit his ninth homer in June. Adidas Shoes Sale . Sgt. 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Wholesale Adidas Shoes .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. CANBERRA, Australia -- Meaalofa Teo is 9 years old and already making quite an impression on social media. And, most particularly, on his junior rugby league opponents.Video of Teo running over and through opposing players and scoring numerous tries has been viewed around the world the past few days since a recent tournament in Canberra.One segment of the video shows the lumbering 9-year-old sending one opponent flying with a strong arm while fending off an attempted tackle. Fans on the sidelines are heard to say Oh my goodness as Teo, wearing No. 17, knocks down player after player as he runs for another four-point try.His family lives in the Dandenong region, near Melbourne, in Victoria state, but made the 700-kilometer (430-mile) trip northeast to Canberra and left with a trophy following their sons one-man show.Karene Teo, Meaalofas father, told Nine televisions Wide World of Sports that his soon is actually a mild-mannered kid.ddddddddddddries like that are normal for him, he is a very good player but soft at heart. He is a very humble young boy, Karene Teo said.Meaalofa usually plays for Sunbury United, but changed to another team in the region, the Doveton Steelers, so he could play on the same team as his cousins for the Canberra tournament.Reaction to the story and video on the Nine Network website was mixed, with some questioning the boys age and others saying he should not be allowed to play because he was so much larger than others his age. 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