Abmeldungen » Durant hit two 3-pointers and Jackson had another durin

ST. LOUIS -- Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Edinson Volquez was expecting some pearls of wisdom from pitching coach Ray Searage before Thursday nights start at St. Louis. "He came up to me and I figured we were going to go over their lineup, do some scouting," Volquez said. "But all he said was, Go out there and win." Volquez compiled with those simple instructions, tossing a complete game six-hitter to win his fourth straight start in a 9-1 victory. Neil Walker, Josh Harrison, Russell Martin and Andrew McCutchen all drove in two runs for Pittsburgh, which avoided being swept in the four-game series. Volquez (8-6) has a 0.90 ERA in winning four consecutive starts for the first time in his career. He struck out five and walked two in recording the second complete-game win of his career. He allowed just one hit as a member of the San Diego Padres in beating Houston 1-0 on July 19, 2012. "He used his breaking ball effectively and he got outs when he needed them," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Its about throwing strikes and changing speeds. It was a real good effort." Volquez seemed to get better as the game went along. He needed a season-high 114 pitches to give the Pirates their first complete game of the season. "He had command of all of his pitches," St. Louis infielder Matt Carpenter said. "We just werent able to get anything going." Volquez allowed the leadoff batter to reach base in each of the first four innings. He then gave up just two hits over the final five. "When he gets past the fifth, he smells the finish," Hurdle said. Shelby Miller (7-8) allowed four runs in five innings. He walked four and struck out one. Walker extended his hitting streak to a season-high 12 games with a two-run double in the fifth that extended the Pirates lead to 4-1. McCutchen started the three-run uprising with a run-scoring single that broke a 1-all tie. McCutchen drove in a run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly. Harrison added a two-run double in the inning that made it 6-1. Martin homered off Jason Motte in the ninth. Martin drove in his 500th career run in the first inning. The Pirates had been held to six runs in losing the first three games of the series. They were a combined 2 for 25 with runners in scoring position in those losses. On Thursday, they came up with several key hits in a 4-for-11 effort with runners in scoring position. "We took advantage of some mistakes and some opportunities and we were able to play our game," Walker said. The Cardinals were playing without All-Star catcher Yadier Molina, who tore a ligament in his right thumb in Wednesdays 5-2 win. Molina will undergo surgery on Friday and is expected to miss 8 to 12 weeks. "I think it was a tough night for our club in general," manager Mike Mathney said. "We just didnt look right from the beginning." St. Louis tied it in the third on a sacrifice fly by Carpenter. Kolten Wong began the inning with a single. Miller lost his third straight decision. "I didnt do a good job of getting ahead in the count," Miller said. "I ended up walking guys and they took advantage of the situation." NOTES: St. Louis OF Allen Craig, mired in an 0-for-13 skid did not play Thursday. ...The Cardinals open a three-game series in Milwaukee on Friday. Joe Kelly (1-1, 0.59) will face Yovani Gallardo (5-5, 3.45) in the first game. Kelly is making his first appearance since straining his left hamstring on April 16. ... Pittsburgh will travel to Cincinnati for a three-game series beginning Friday. LHP Jeff Locke (2-1, 3.08) will face Mat Latos (2-1, 2.41) in the opener. ... St. Louis C Tony Cruz, who is replacing Molina, allowed a passed ball in the sixth that brought in a run. ...There are now just three teams without a complete game this season -- Kansas City, Colorado and the Chicago Cubs. 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Colorado came up big against Chicago last spring, and repeated that performance Tuesday night. Varlamov stopped 36 shots and Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche in a 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks.OKLAHOMA CITY -- There will be times the Oklahoma City Thunder will miss Russell Westbrook as he rehabs from another knee surgery, but Sunday certainly wasnt one of those nights. Kevin Durant had 33 points, 13 rebounds and five assists and the Thunder won their second straight game without Westbrook, beating the Houston Rockets 117-86. Jeremy Lamb added a career-high 22 points (on 8 of 10 shooting) and five assists for Oklahoma City, which has the NBAs best record at 25-5. The Thunder have won 12 of their last 13 and 20 of their last 22 games. Reggie Jackson, starting in Westbrooks place, had 16 points and eight assists as the Thunder never trailed and led by as many as 32 points against a team they beat in six games in the first round of last seasons playoffs. Durant said the experience of playing without Westbrook for the final four games of that series and the rest of the playoffs prepared the Thunder for what they must face now. "Its still tough not having him here, but we know what we have to do now," Durant said. "We learned from our mistakes last time. Hopefully we just keep getting better and when he comes back its kind of a seamless transition for us." Oklahoma City shot 57 per cent from the field (47 of 82) in dealing the Rockets their worst loss of the season. The Thunder held James Harden to eight points on 2-of-9 shooting, while Dwight Howard, often stymied by Oklahoma City centre Kendrick Perkins, had nine points on 4-of-13 shooting and nine rebounds. "That team is a very, very high-powered offence," Durant said. "Theyre so quick up the floor. We just wanted to let them see bodies and just play hard. . Weve got to do a better job (defensively) but tonight was a step in the right direction." Aaron Brooks had 17 points and Chandler Parsons scored 15 for Houston, which was playing its fourth game in five days. The Rockets, who had a three-game winning streak snapped, missed their first 12 shots and shot 36.5 per cent from the field (31 of 85). Houston coach Kevin McHale wouldnt use fatigue as an excuse for the Rockets performance. "Youre playing basketball," McHale said, shaking his head. "Youre not logging tall timbers, believe me. Four games in five nights ... next question. "We couldnt stop them. We couldnt run. We had nothing." Oklahoma City is 3-2 this season without Westbrook. The All--Star point guard underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Friday, his third surgery since last April, when he tore his meniscus after Houston guard Patrick Beverley banged knees with him as Westbrook tried to call a timeout in Game 2 of last seasons playoff series.dddddddddddd. The Thunder have said Westbrooks latest surgery will sideline him until after the All-Star break. Oklahoma City won 89-85 at Charlotte on Friday night in their first game since that surgery, as Durant had 34 points and 12 rebounds. "The teams going to pick it up," Jackson said. "Were going to do things collectively. Were going to find a way to play, but we all know our limitations. We all know what were good at. . We dont know, necessarily, where well get it from each and every night, but were just trying to go ahead and find our shots and continue to take them." Oklahoma City jumped to a 13-0 lead as the Rockets failed to score until Howard hit a 3-foot jump hook with 5:27 left in the first quarter. The Thunder extended their lead to 22-5 on a driving layup by Thabo Sefolosha and were up 26-14 at the end of the quarter. The Thunders lead stayed in double digits most of the second quarter and Oklahoma City led 56-44 at halftime. Parsons opened the second half with a corner 3-pointer to pull the Rockets within nine points, but Durant hit two 3-pointers and Jackson had another during a 15-0 run to give Oklahoma City its biggest lead to that point at 71-47. Houston came no closer than 17 points the rest of the way. "We just had a tough time making shots tonight," Howard said. "That happens. Weve got to come out better. Weve got to find a way to get ourselves going. Thats it." Houston also struggled at the free throw line, hitting just 17 of 31 attempts (54.8 per cent). Sefolosha scored 13 points, one off his season high, for Oklahoma City. Omri Casspi added 15 points for the Rockets. Notes: Harden, a former fan favourite with the Thunder before being traded to Houston before last season, received a strong mix of boos and cheers during pregame introductions. Right before the tipoff, Harden walked over to the Thunder bench to greet some of his former teammates and coaches ... Houstons 14-point first quarter was a season low and the Rockets second-lowest quarter of the season . Brooks hit a halfcourt shot at the end of the third quarter, which pulled the Rockets within 90-70. ' ' '