PITTSBURGH -- Mat Latos spent Sunday morning trying to quell a queasy stomach. wholesale nfl jerseys . All the Cincinnati right-hander really needed was a little bit of defensive help and an overpowering fastball. Feeling lightheaded and chugging Gatorade, Latos fought off the bug and a shaky first inning to strike out a career-high 11 and lead the Reds to a 5-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. "Sometimes when guys dont feel quite right, a lot of times they throw their best games," Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. "You settle down, youre concentrating, you try not to overthrow because you dont have the strength to do so." Baker joked that he kept calling Latos "Michael Jordan" in the dugout between innings and Latos kept reassuring his manager he was OK. Latos (2-2) certainly appeared to be fine while giving up two hits over six innings. So did the three relievers who upped Cincinnatis strikeout total to 17, tying a club record for a nine-inning game. The biggest of the 17 whiffs came in the first as Latos tightroped out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam. Third baseman Todd Frazier got the first out with a spectacular diving grab on a liner by Casey McGehee, a smash hit so hard Latos started looking in left field for the ball only to see Frazier lift up his glove. "Luckily I got it in the glove," Frazier said. "It almost snuck out at the end. I was holding it up there, trying to let him know. I knew Matty would do his thing. Whatever you can do to help is great, and he can help himself." Latos then caught Nate McLouth looking with a 94 mph fastball to escape. The Pirates didnt get a runner to third during Latos final five innings. "We had a chance to take the game in a different direction in the first inning and we did not," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. Drew Stubbs had three hits, including a two-run homer, and scored three times for the Reds. Frazier added his first home run of the season as Cincinnati continued its strong play in series finales. The Reds are 8-1 on getaway days, including 5-0 on Sundays. Charlie Morton (1-3) struggled to keep his sinker down and gave up five runs, four earned, on seven hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked two. It was a far cry from the dominance Morton showed against the Reds last year, when he shut them out twice. Hes still finding his way after off-season hip surgery and admitted he appears to have lost a feel for his signature pitch. "Im not saying Im in overhaul, but Ive got to tweak something to get my bread and butter back," Morton said. "That sinker is what I am." Latos is more of a fireballer, though hes struggled this spring after being acquired in an off-season trade with San Diego. The 24-year-old dropped his first two decisions before bouncing back to pitch seven shutout innings against San Francisco on April 24, only to slip against the light-hitting Astros last week, giving up a career-worst 10 hits. Command has been an issue, and so has the lack of a strikeout pitch for one of baseballs top young arms. Latos came in with 18 strikeouts in 28 2-3 innings. It took one game to get his groove back. Latos struck out four straight at one point, and his only mistakes over his final five innings were a pair of harmless singles. "He told me (after the game) that he wasnt feeling good," Frazier said. "It didnt look like it on the mound. Good for him. Hopefully he feels like that every time he pitches." Pittsburgh rode stellar pitching and defence to scratch out a taut 3-2 victory on Saturday but had issues in both departments less than 24 hours later. The Pirates committed a pair of errors -- including a botched pickoff attempt by Morton that led to the games first run -- and left nine runners on base. Morton couldnt get his trademark sinker to sink and the Reds took full advantage. Frazier drilled a shot into the bleachers in the second for his first home run since Sept. 2, and Stubbs pushed Cincinnatis lead to 4-0 in the fourth when his fly ball sailed just over the wall in right-centre. Hurdle asked for a review but the call was upheld. Staked to a sizable lead, Latos worked quickly. Relying heavily on a fastball that consistently clocked in the mid-90s, he rolled along and capped his day by getting Clint Barmes to miss badly at a slider to end the sixth. NOTES: Pittsburgh All-Star centre fielder Andrew McCutchen was given the day off. McCutchen is battling the flu and Hurdle said: "Hes not in a good place physically." ... Latos previous career best was 10 strikeouts, which he did three times. ... The Reds begin a three-game series in Milwaukee on Monday. Bronson Arroyo (1-1, 3.03 ERA) starts against Yovani Gallardo (1-3, 5.79). Pittsburgh is off Monday and continues a nine-game homestand Tuesday against Washington. A.J. Burnett (1-2, 8.04 ERA) starts for the Pirates against Edwin Jackson (1-1, 3.69). ... Cincinnati infielder Miguel Cairo went 0 for 4 in a rehab appearance with Class-A Dayton on Saturday. His return from a strained left hamstring is still uncertain. cheap nfl jerseys .J. -- Before his team took the ice to face the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday, New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk spoke to head coach Peter DeBoer about the possibility of taking a penalty shot. cheap jerseys from china . Miamis two-year reign was over. And Bosh almost sounded relieved. The Heat got rolled in the NBA Finals by San Antonio, losing in five games, the last three of them lopsided, and for the first time since 2011 there would be no championship parade in Miami. (Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will aim for a third straight victory when they welcome the Montreal Canadiens for this afternoons battle at CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins enter tonight with 86 points, leaving them four behind Philadelphia for the Atlantic Division lead and two points ahead of Tampa Bay for the Eastern Conferences fourth seed. Pittsburgh has recorded at least a point in five straight contests, going 3-0-2 over that stretch. Today, the Pens can post their first three-game winning streak since rattling off five straight victories from Jan. 22-Feb. 4. Todays meeting marks the finale of the regular-season series between the Penguins and Montreal. The Canadiens won the first two encounters this year, but Pittsburgh recorded a 5-2 road victory over the Habs when the clubs last met in Montreal on Jan. 12. That loss ended a three-game series winning streak for Montreal, which has taken four of its last seven games in the Steel City. The Canadiens will try to gain some ground on Pittsburgh in the East standings today, as Montreal is currently seeded sixth in the conference and is five points behind the Penguins. Pittsburgh ended a two-game slide with last Saturdays overtime win in Boston and followed with Tuesdays home win over Buffalo. Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 stops to help the Penguins take the 3-1 decision over the Sabres. Zbynek Michalek, Mark Letestu and James Neal each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who had lost six out of seven games before posting back-to-back wins. Todays test marks the first for Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma since he signed a three-year extension with Pittsburgh on Wednesday. jerseys from china. Bylsma, who led the Pens to a Stanley Cup title in 2009, is now signed through the 2013-14 season. The Pens, who are 21-11-2 as the host this season, are playing the middle test of a three-game homestand today and will close the residency tomorrow afternoon against Edmonton. Fleury and backup goaltender Brent Johnson will likely split the starts this weekend. Montreal had a five-game winning streak halted in its last trip to the ice, getting dealt a 4-1 setback Thursday in St. Louis. Jaroslav Halak was nearly flawless in his first game against his former team, making 27 saves to lead the Blues to the victory. Halak, who was an integral part of the Canadiens run to the Eastern Conference finals last spring, was dealt to St. Louis in June for two players. He stopped all 10 shots he faced in the third period to preserve the win. Jeff Halpern notched the lone goal for the emotionally drained Canadiens, who returned the ice for the first time since a brutal hit by Bruins captain Zdeno Chara on forward Max Pacioretty sent him to hospital with a severe concussion and vertebra fracture in his neck on Tuesday. Carey Price, who the Canadiens kept in favor of Halak, yielded three goals on 26 shots in the loss. The important thing is we regroup and go out there again, Montreal forward Brian Gionta said. We have to provide a little more spark than that. Thursdays loss also snapped a four-game road winning streak for the Habs, who are 16-16-1 as the guest this season. The Canadiens played their last game without defenseman Brent Sopel, who is questionable for todays tilt with an upper-body injury. cheap jerseys ' ' '
