(Sports Network) - Dominican lefty Wandy Rodriguez aims for a fourth win in his last five starts tonight when the Pittsburgh Pirates visit Great American Ball Park to open a three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates enter the series third in the National Leagues Central Division, trailing the first-place Reds by 11 games. Pittsburgh has playoff hope remaining in the wild card race, however, and trails the No. 2 slot - now held by the St. Louis Cardinals - by 2 1/2 games. A 33-year-old, Rodriguez was 7-9 in 21 starts with Houston to begin this season before a July trade to the Pirates. He lost his initial three appearances for the Pirates, but has since rebounded for three wins in four games - three starts - since Aug. 19. Hes tossed 13 straight scoreless innings in the last two starts while defeating St. Louis and Houston while allowing seven hits, walking four batters and striking out 10. Rodriguez last faced the Reds on Aug. 3 in Cincinnati in his second Pittsburgh start and lost a 3-0 decision after seven innings of seven-hit ball. In 27 career starts against them, hes 8-11 with a 4.39 earned run average. The Reds send righty Mat Latos to the mound for a rematch with Rodriguez, whom he faced in the Aug. 3 game and defeated after allowing four hits and striking out five in 7 1/3 scoreless innings. The 24-year-old Virginia native was in the midst of a three-start win streak with that victory, then for three no-decisions and a loss in a stretch that lasted from Aug. 8-24. Hes rebounded with consecutive defeats of Arizona and Philadelphia while allowing three runs on nine hits in 14 innings with five walks and 13 strikeouts. In five career starts against the Pirates, Latos is 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA. On Sunday in Pittsburgh, Alfonso Soriano crushed the go-ahead two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning and the Chicago Cubs knocked off the Pirates, 4-2, in the finale of a three-game series. Andrew McCutchen crushed a solo home run and Brock Holt went 3-for-5 with a run scored on a balk for the Pirates, who have lost seven of their last nine games. Jason Grilli (1-6) took the loss after allowing Sorianos homer in the eighth. In Cincinnati, Matt Dominguez hit a three-run homer to power the Houston Astros to a 5-1 win over the Reds in the rubber match of a three-game set. National League Cy Young candidate Johnny Cueto (17-8) fanned six for Cincinnati, but surrendered four runs on nine hits and a walk over four frames to drop back-to-back starts for the first time since the All-Star break for the Reds, who have lost five of their last eight games. Jay Bruce tallied two hits, including an RBI triple, in defeat. The teams split their first 12 games of 2012, a season after the Pirates won 10 of 15 meetings. Phils hope to keep slim playoff hopes alive in opener with Marlins (Sports Network) - Its unknown if the Philadelphia Phillies are fans of Journey, but the bands hit "Dont Stop Believin" could be the teams mantra for the remainder of the season. The Phillies pulled within six games of one of the final two wild card berths in the National League thanks to a weekend sweep of the Colorado Rockies, and will turn their attention to the Miami Marlins tonight in the opener of a three-game series from Citizens Bank Park. Sundays doubleheader was made necessary due to a rainout the night before and the five-time defending NL East champions pulled off the sweep with a 3-2 win and a 7-4 victory, respectively. John Mayberry drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth in the first game and Cole Hamels tossed seven innings of two-run ball. Chase Utley had three hits and a run scored in the nightcap, while Ty Wigginton homered for the Phillies, who have won four straight and 12 of their last 16 games. Jonathan Papelbon worked around a two-out double in the ninth to secure his 32nd save of the year. "Those guys are the bridge to me and we are being successful with a lot of young guys in the bullpen right now that have stepped it up," Papelbon said. Carlos Ruiz went 2-for-2 with an RBI in his return to the lineup and had been out since Aug. 2 with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He was activated off the disabled list Friday. "He said he felt fine," Phils manager Charlie Manuel said. "If you noticed, he was running OK, but he wasnt running good enough to score from second base and stuff. That could be tough for him. But well watch him." Kyle Kendrick will try to get back into the win column when he toes the rubber for Philadelphia tonight. Kendrick had won four straight outings from Aug. 14- Aug. 30, but lost at Cincinnati in last Tuesdays 2-1 setback. He allowed both runs in six innings and is 8-10 with a 3.96 earned run average in 32 games, 20 of which have been starts, this season. Kendrick, a right-hander, threw seven shutout innings at Miami on Aug. 14 and is 4-6 with a 4.50 ERA in 15 career games (11 starts) against the Marlins. Miami has won three of four games and took a three-game series at Washington over the weekend. In Sundays 8-0 win at Nationals Park, Giancarlo Stanton clubbed his 33rd home run of the season and Greg Dobbs recorded three hits. The main reason why the Marlins won the series was because of Ricky Nolasco, who fired a four-hit shutout, struck out six and issued one walk. "Weve had our ups and downs but I think weve done a good job of staying level-headed and doing what we have to do," said Nolasco. "Sometimes the outcomes dont go the way we want, but nobody has ever quit." It was Nolascos second shutout of the season and fourth of his career. It was also his ninth career complete game. Wade LeBlanc will try to follow up that performance when he takes the mound Monday night. LeBlanc is 2-3 in 20 games (6 starts) with a 2.72 earned run average and is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA in two career starts against the Phillies. The Marlins are 7-5 against Philadelphia this season and have won six of the previous eight matchups between the division foes. [url=http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/russell-wilson-jersey.html]http://www.... . Murray beat Karlovic 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (4) Thursday, with the Croat being foot-faulted on key points. "I dont know what to say, but it was a little bit outrageous," Karlovic said. "I mean, what is this? Is it Davis Cup or is it Wimbledon? After this match, the whole credibility of this tournament went down for me. [url=http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/]http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/... . The Winnipeg Jets forward has signed an agreement with Dinamo Minsk during the NHL lockout and will depart for Belarus on Saturday, according to agent Craig Oster of Newport Sports. [url=http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/marshawn-lynch-jersey.html]http://www.... . Padres manager Bud Black says left-hander Josh Spence and right-hander Brad Boxberger will be sent to Triple-A Tucson to make room on the roster. Kelly is San Diegos top-ranked prospect and one of the key parts in the 2010 trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez to Boston. [url=http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/12th-fan-jersey.html]http://www.authen... . The Heat played without NBA MVP LeBron James, who was out with "general soreness," according to coach Erik Spoelstra. Josh Harrelsons 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining put the Heat ahead for good at 102-99. [url=http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/richard-sherman-jersey.html]http://www... . The 23-year-old led Montreal last season with 65 points in 79 games and was second in goal-scoring with 33 goals, two fewer than Erik Cole.MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade has been battling knee soreness. LeBron James was hobbling after a falling into a courtside cameraman. Chris Bosh remains sidelined indefinitely with an abdominal strain. Mike Miller looks to be in agony whenever he moves. An extra day of rest doesnt sound like much, but it means plenty right now to the Miami Heat. Now halfway to their goal of an NBA championship, the Heat took a welcomed -- and needed -- day off Friday after closing out their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup with the Indiana Pacers. The East finals open Monday in Miami against either Philadelphia or Boston, teams that will settle their second-round series with a Game 7 on Saturday night. "We can use it," James said after the Heat ousted the Pacers with a Game 6 win in Indianapolis on Thursday. "Any team in the post-season, any extra day that you can get, it definitely helps us. So were going to take advantage of it." Its not like the Heat were planning to sit at home all day, since most players at this time of year tend to hit the training room on off days. Still, for the first time in a while, Friday provided a chance for the reigning East champs to relax a bit, especially after three hard-fought wins in five days allowed Miami to claw back from what was a soon-forgotten 2-1 series deficit to the Pacers. Wade and James combined to score 197 points in the final three games of the Indiana series, while the Pacers starters collectively managed 184. Other Heat players stepped up along the way -- Udonis Haslem with 14 points in Game 4, Shane Battier with 13 in Game 5, Miller with 12 in Game 6 -- but with Bosh sidelined, it was Wade and James who welcomed the challenge of having to handle much of the offensive responsibility. "I dont know if theyve been required to shoulder as much responsibility as theyve had to now, particularly now that Chris is out," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And were making no excuses. We have enough. But they have to give us more and thats what competition will do. You play against good competition in this league and it brings out the best in you -- you hope." Bosh told ESPN.com this week that he is improving, but stopped short of offering a date for his possible return. He was hurt midway through Game 1 of the Indiana series, meaning nearly two full weeks have passed since he was diagnosed with a strained lower abdominal muscle. The best-case scenario for recovery for someone with that type of injury is tyypically 2-3 weeks, though the Heat have never deviated from saying Bosh is out indefinitely.dddddddddddd "I appreciate extra rest," Wade said. "Im never going to cross my eye on that at all. I feel like its well-deserved. I think also it gives us an opportunity to get Chris more therapy, more treatment the days that were off and he moves that much closer to being able to rejoin this ballclub. I thought this was a very physical series ... so the rest will do us some (good)." The Pacers probably would suggest Wade couldnt get much better than he was in the last 10 quarters of their series. Wade was awful -- 2 for 13 shooting, five points, five turnovers -- in Game 3, an Indiana blowout that many thought put the Pacers in control of the series. He started Game 4 by missing seven of his first eight shots. And from there, the 2006 finals MVP was in 2006 finals MVP form again: Wade shot 39 for 57 the rest of the series, putting up 41 points and 10 rebounds in Thursdays clincher. Since 1992, according to STATS LLC, theres been 52 instances of someone having at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game. Of those, 50 came from players listed to be at least 6-foot-6. The other two are by Wade, perhaps generously listed at 6-foot-4. "Spectacular, from the beginning to the end," James said of Wades Game 6 effort. "He got in a rhythm early and just kept going." James missed a layup with 1:34 left in the first half on Thursday, his left leg crashing into a television cameraman sitting just beyond the baseline. He was shaken up and briefly tended to on the Heat bench, but played all but 28 seconds of the second half and insisted he was fine afterward. And Miller -- who has dealt with several injuries in his two Miami seasons -- makes running jokes about his health, not even acknowledging things hurt even though hes taken to sitting on the floor during games of late to help stretch his back. Miller had 10 points in the first five games of the series. His 12 on Thursday came on four 3-pointers, his specialty. "Its all about opportunity," Miller said. "Thats what this team has right now, opportunity." The way they all see it, the job is only half done. Miami has eight post-season wins. It takes 16 to win an NBA title. So even though some aches and pains are there, it doesnt change the goal. "Its a no-excuse season," Spoelstra said, a familiar refrain for him in recent weeks. "And this is a no-excuse team." ' ' '