[laiyongcai92]

The Pittsburgh Pirates had to wait several weeks into the season to see just what they got with right-hander Joe Musgrove in an offseason trade with Houston.

It has been about a month since he came off the disabled list after a shoulder injury delayed his season debut Jack Crawford Jersey , and Musgrove has proved fiercely competitive and fiercely loyal.

Musgrove is 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA for Pittsburgh (35-35) going into his sixth start Sunday, against right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (1-1, 5.40) and the Cincinnati Reds (25-45) in a series finale at PNC Park.

With a 6-2 victory Saturday, the Pirates won their third straight, climbed back to .500 and ensured themselves of winning a series after dropping eight in a row.

The Reds have lost two straight after a three-game winning streak.

Not only is Musgrove averaging more than six innings per start, with 23 strikeouts in 25 innings and a 1.12 WHIP, but also has played with an edge.

“He’s a tough guy,” Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli said last month. “When he’s on the mound, he’s mean. He’s the kind of guy that you want to have on the mound all the time.”

In his most recent outing, a no-decision Monday in Arizona’s comeback 9-5 win, Musgrove was cruising with a 5-0 lead in the seventh inning when he hit Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Chris Owings in acknowledged retaliation.

An inning earlier, Diamondbacks right-hander Braden Shipley hit Pirates infielder Josh Harrison — who got plunked 23 times last year and spent time on the DL this season and last because of a broken hand after being hit by pitches — and Pittsburgh rookie Austin Meadows got knocked down by a pitch earlier.

“It’s nothing more than just protecting your teammates,” Musgrove said. “It’s baseball. That’s how the game is played. That’s how I was raised to play the game. You protect your teammates Rob Gronkowski Jersey , especially when a guy gets hit high up and in.”

The Pirates appreciated Musgrove’s loyalty, despite the fact that his retaliatory move might have sparked Arizona’s winning rally.

“That wasn’t the turning point of the game in my eyes,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “You can’t control what other people are going to think.

“The importance of teammates taking a stand for one another, I think that is part of the game. Everybody can construct their own narrative afterward. But I know (Harrison) has been hit a ton, been hit a lot. … Just plunking our guys, whether it’s accidental or not, is just not OK.”

Harrison said “it felt good” to have his new teammate stand up for him.

Musgrove has never faced the Reds.

DeSclafani has made six career starts against Pittsburgh, going 1-2 with a 3.41 ERA, but not since Sept. 17, 2016.

DeSclafani missed all of 2017 because of an elbow injury and, like Musgrove, opened this season on the DL because of an oblique strain.

Last Sunday, in his second start this season Tyus Bowser Jersey , DeSclafani picked up his first win since Sept. 28, 2016, 6-3 over St. Louis. He gave up two runs and 10 hits in five innings, with six strikeouts and two walks.

“I don’t think I was as good as I wanted to be,” DeSclafani said. “There’s definitely a lot of work from here on out. I was falling behind some guys and giving up too many hits.

“But it’s definitely something to build on.”

He has yet to get his setup pitch, his curveball, back to where it once was.

“Definitely still getting a feel for it. I only threw a few of them,” he said. “It’s definitely got to be incorporated. I need some kind of equalizer to (go along with) my fastball and slider. Once that comes around, it should make things a little bit easier.”

When Jon Halapio joined the New York Giants' practice squad in 2016, Brett Jones was one of the first guys to welcome him.

Jones had joined the Giants the previous year as a center in trying to make the jump from the CFL to the NFL, and he appreciated when some new teammates made him feel welcome.

Why not do the same for Halapio? The two 27-year-old offensive linemen became real good friends and helped each other become better players.

Halapio, a guard at Florida, taught Jones some trade secrets at the spot and Jones taught his buddy how to snap and play center.

A little less than two years later Randy Moss Jersey , Jones is fighting to keep the starting center job he manned the final 12 games of last season. And it's Halapio, who is the main competition.

Not only is he the competition, Halapio has been getting most of the first-team snaps in the lineup being put on the field by new coach Pat Shurmur.

Jones isn't worried. It's early in training camp and nothing is set. He also has no regrets about teaching the guy who might take his job.

"It's always been like that in my life," Jones said Monday. "If anybody ever gave me an opportunity I wanted to repay it to them. So that was my thing. Jon was on the practice squad and I was the backup center and if Jon was going to play I wanted to help him out and do what I could. That's what a good teammate does."

Learning to snap was part of the mentoring.

"He had asked me and I sort of gave him the basic training for it," said Jones, who was the CFL's most outstanding lineman in 2014 and missed his first season in the NFL the following year because of a training camp injury. "After practice we would stay and practice snapping. It sort of went from there."

Halapio took the long road to the NFL. He was drafted in the sixth round by New England in 2014. He was on the Broncos' practice squad that season and went to the Cardinals and Patriots training camps in 2015 and '16, respectively, getting cut each time.

The Giants signed him to the practice squad for most of 2016. He was cut in training camp the following season and re-signed to the practice squad. Injuries got him on the active roster in October and he played in 10 games with six starts at guard.

The move to center came this year.

"Everything was new so I had to learn a lot, not only the schemes, but the different techniques and calls," Halapio said. "I had to learn a lot."

The biggest differences are blocking from a balanced stance, having to make line calls and read coverages and sometimes making the shotgun snaps.

"The more you do it, the better you get Jalen Richard Jersey ," Halapio said. "In the offseason I snapped a bunch, and even now I keep snapping after practice so it's second nature."

Halapio admits fighting Jones for a job felt odd at first.

"It's just pure competition now," Halapio said. "Like coach says all the time, don't read into who's taking the first-team reps. Everyone is being evaluated. As far as me and Brett goes, we're friends. We help each other out in the film room, on the field, outside of football. Nothing is awkward between us. Yeah, it's just pure competition between us and everybody in the room."

The Giants have revamped their offensive line after last year's disastrous 3-13 season. Guard Justin Pugh and center Weston Richburg signed elsewhere as free agents. Guard John Jerry is now a backup fighting for a roster spot.

Patriots free agent Nate Solder was signed to take over at left tackle and 2015 first-rounder Ereck Flowers was moved to right tackle. Second-round draft pick Will Hernandez is the left guard and free agent Patrick Omameh is the right guard.

The center spot is uncertain.

A former center, Shurmur says he is watching the position closely. He wants his centers to be good communicators.

Halapio might be a little stronger than Jones, who probably understands the job better and had 30 NFL games under his belt at guard and center.

It should be an interesting decision for Shurmur.

Mikal Bridges Jersey

[JackKlark]

virus removal service avriq
new email setup service avriq
data backup recovery service avriq
wifi network troubleshoot service avriq
cctv camera service in delhi surveillancekart
AVRiQ
pc optimization avriq
virus removal avriq
latest News And breaking News
surveillance cctv installation services
Pestveda pest control services
Pestveda termite control service
surveillancekart cp Plus services