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NEW YORK -- Its no secret: Bartolo Colon simply sticks with his fastball. James Paxton Yankees Jersey . He runs it, sinks it, spots it right on the corner or just above the hands. So the Pittsburgh Pirates went into Wednesdays game well aware their mound opponent was relying on that heater some 90 per cent of the time this season. Still, they couldnt do much with it. Colon carried a three-hitter into the eighth inning, and the New York Mets got home runs from David Wright and Lucas Duda in a 5-0 victory over the sloppy Pirates. "Its impressive to watch from third base," Wright said. "You look up at the scoreboard and its high 80s, low 90s (mph) fastball. He throws a lot of them, but he just knows exactly where its going and he just dissects hitters." Pitching four days after his 41st birthday, Colon (4-5) struck out a season-high nine -- seven looking -- in his second consecutive win. Wright added an RBI single during an eventful afternoon in which he also stole a base, made two throwing errors and robbed Andrew McCutchen of extra bases with a diving play near the line. New York salvaged the final two games of a 4-5 homestand after firing batting coach Dave Hudgens and replacing him with minor league hitting co-ordinator Lamar Johnson. "I didnt expect anybody to kind of hang their heads about it," Wright said. "Hopefully, the transition to LJ is going to be a smooth one. Hes off to a good start." The Mets improved to 13-17 at Citi Field, winning the series against Pittsburgh for their first back-to-back victories at home since a three-game streak from April 23-25. They open a season-high 11-game trip Thursday night with a five-game series in Philadelphia and play 25 of their next 33 on the road until July 4. "Weve played pretty good on the road, so were looking forward to it," Duda said. Colon reached 2,000 strikeouts when he caught ex-Met Ike Davis looking in the sixth. The burly right-hander saved the souvenir, tossing the ball to injured ace Matt Harvey in the dugout. "Just amazing how he works both sides of the plate," Wright said. "You just see, he freezes hitters." Colons previous turn Friday was washed out by rain after he yielded two runs in four innings against Arizona. In his last outing that counted, he went eight innings to beat Washington 5-2 on May 17. "He threw it where he wanted and we couldnt put anything together," Pittsburgh second baseman Neil Walker said. Colon was pulled this time after 121 pitches, his most in a decade, but Jeurys Familia needed only one to get out of the eighth. He got Davis to ground into an inning-ending double play with two on, then finished the six-hitter for his second major league save and first this season. "If they would have kept me in, I would have kept throwing," Colon said through a translator. "I dont get tired. I just want to keep going." Charlie Morton (1-7) was chased in the sixth inning and Pirates pitchers walked eight batters. Pittsburgh fell to 7-16 away from home with another poor day at the plate and in the field. "The defence hasnt been good," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Weve got work to do." Duda drew a leadoff walk in the second and scored after second-string catcher Chris Stewart was unable to handle a pair of wild pitches by Morton. Pirates starter Edinson Volquez and reliever Jeanmar Gomez combined for four wild pitches with Russell Martin behind the plate in Tuesday nights 4-2 loss. "Weve got to tighten some things up and play better," Hurdle said. "They had three trips around the bases in the last two days -- it was one hit." Wright had an RBI single in the third after an embarrassing defensive sequence for the Pirates handed Daniel Murphy a Little League triple. Murphy hit a grounder to third, and Pedro Alvarez threw high to first for an error. Murphy took off for second but the ball caromed hard off the dugout fence to Walker. He threw to second in time to get Murphy, but shortstop Jordy Mercer dropped the ball for another error that let Murphy scamper to third. Pittsburgh appealed that Murphy never touched second base, but he was called safe. "Sometimes he thinks hes invisible, and you have to remind him that, you know, people can see you," Wright said, drawing laughs. Wright opened the sixth with his fourth home run. Duda added a long, two-run shot off Bryan Morris in the eighth to seal the win for Colon. "Bartolos just a different animal," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "He just makes his pitch. He doesnt care how many hes thrown." NOTES: Hurdle said reliever Jason Grilli is very close to regaining the closer job. ... Gerrit Cole (4-3) pitches for the Pirates when they begin a four-game series Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. ... After the game, Mets C Juan Centeno was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas to clear roster space for C Travis dArnaud (concussion), who returned from a rehab stint with Double-A Binghamton and is expected to be activated from the disabled list Thursday. ... Familia singled in the eighth for his first big league hit. He became the sixth Mets pitcher to earn a save this season. Luis Severino Yankees Jersey . Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the game on TSN Habs at 7:30pm et/8:30pm at. Paul ONeill Yankees Jersey . Dragic was a game-time decision because of a sore right ankle that had kept him out of Wednesdays loss at Utah, but played all but the last 10 seconds of the second half in the first 40-point game for a Phoenix player since Amare Stoudemires 44 on March 19, 2010. https://www.cheapyankees.com/3451g-ryan-dull-jersey-yankees.html .com) - Charlie Davies netted a pair of goals, including the series-winner on Saturday, as the New England Revolution battled the New York Red Bulls to a 2-2 draw in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Championship at Gillette Stadium and advanced to MLS Cup final via a thrilling 4-3 aggregate victory.TORONTO - With a protective splint wrapped all the way around his injured left ring finger, Kyle Lowry practiced Sunday for the first time since sustaining the injury last week. "Its very sore, its very tender," Lowry said of the torn tendon in his finger, which will require him to wear the splint on his non-shooting hand for six weeks, still participating in practices and playing in games. "It is what it is. Ive got to just adjust to it." The Raptors guard left Wednesdays preseason game late in the fourth quarter after he felt his finger pop out while reaching for the ball. "Just not being able to completely use my finger," he said of the adjustment hell need to make as he prepares to open the regular season with the team on Oct. 30. "Its pretty much taped all the way to the top so Im limited to probably four fingers on that hand but I should be okay. Ill figure out how to shoot, score, pass and play defence with it." "Itll be a difficult adjustment but Im not going to complain about it, Im just going to fight through it and help the team as best as I can." Lowry, who is entering his second season in Toronto and the final year of his contract, acknowledged hell have to be more cautious reaching in with the injury but insists his style of play will remain the same. "I doubt its going to change my game because I dont know how to play any different," the starting point guard maintained. "So Im not really going to be concerned about it, Im just going to try to not worry about it and play through it." His coach echoed that sentiment. "I dont think hell be limited at all," Dwane Casey said. "Today he had no problems. He had the special [splint] on there and he was handling the ball, shooting the ball, playing with no problems whatsoever, so I dont think itll affect him." Chip on their Shoulders With the season approaching, Casey referenced an NBA preview article from The New York Times, one he and the team has taken issue with. "When the teams mascot tore an ACL in training camp, it was seen as a bad omen, which says a lot", the author wrote in the piece published on Saturday. "Thats total disrespect and hopefully our guys will use that as motivation," Casey protested. "Masai [Ujiri] saw that this morning and brought it in. It should give us motivation from that standpoint, but weve got to play the game." Although Casey wrestled with the exact wording of the slight at his team, its not the first time hes heard the American media underestimate or crack a joke at the expense of the Raptors franchise. A year ago, the Raptors coach and a number of his players took issue with the 33-win prediction made by former ESPN analyst John Hollinger. They went on to win 34 games. "I like that people are not respecting us," Casey said. "Weve got to have a chip on our shoulders, I have a chip on my shoulder, and if you dont you shouldnt be in uniform." Stone Makes Team, Still Not Satisfied Over the past couple weeks it became clear that guard Julyan Stone was the standoout in a three-player battle for the 15th and final spot on the teams regular season roster. Jorge Posada Jersey. On Saturday it was made official. "My family told me, I didnt know," Stone said Sunday after finding out the news the day prior. "I was just going on day-by-day." "My mom hit me with the smiley face," he continued, "but for her when she texts smile, she like writes the whole word smile out instead of [using a] smiley face, so I kind of got it from [that]." Stone has endeared himself to Raptors fans and the local media with his personality and quirky stories but his versatility and commitment to defence have kept him around. "He does a good of job of running the show, good things happen when hes out on the floor," Casey said of the versatile 6-foot-6 guard. "Hes a tough kid and he gives us a different defender at that point guard position that can guard the quick guys and guard the big guards so he gives you another tool in your tool box to work with. Hes a hungry kid." The Raptors waived forward Chris Wright and guard Carlos Morais, allowing Stone to stay on. With Lowry playing through injury and back-up point guards D.J. Augustin and Dwight Buycks failing to stand out in camp, Stone has an opportunity to play his way into a the rotation, something hes strived for from the minute he arrived in Toronto. "Everybodys happy with just being in the league [but] my journeys been different," Stone said. "If youre a competitive person youre not just fighting for the 15th spot. I didnt come in here just to fight for the 15th spot. That was never really on my mind." "It was a fight for a position to play," he continued. "So making the cut for me was just something I had to do but I didnt think about it that way. I came in here to play, I came in here to make a name [for myself], I came in here to be in the rotation, thats always been my mindset and that will continue to be my mindset." Believed to be something of a long shot upon receiving a non-guaranteed contract and invite to training camp, Stone has impressed the coaching staff and continues to overcome a variety of injuries that have plagued him over the past couple years. Stone averaged 1.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 26 games regular season games with the Denver Nuggets over the last two years, also appearing in four playoff contests. The 24-year-old guard was expected to sign a guaranteed deal with the Raptors earlier in the summer before lingering knee and hip injuries put the agreement on ice. Ujiri, who previously acquired Stone in Denver, had maintained that the guard would be given another opportunity to earn a spot on the roster if and when he proved to be healthy. "Masai did a good job of just telling me, I know what youre capable of now go show me, if you dont show me what I saw before you will be out of here. Ive got to respect [him] for that." Stone took a knee to his surgically repaired right hip on Wednesday but returned to practice on Sunday and should be ready to go when the season kicks off next week. ' ' '