Williams scoring 10 points in the quarter.Williams added

SAN DIEGO - Francisco Liriano struck out a season-high 13 and Pedro Alvarez hit his NL-leading 31st home run to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-1 victory against the San Diego Padres on Monday night. The Pirates, who had lost seven of nine coming in, maintained a one-game lead in the NL Central over St. Louis. The Padres struck out 17 times overall Monday night, giving them 59 in their last five games. Theyve lost nine of 13. Liriano (14-5) tied his career-high with his 14th victory. He helped give some relief to the Pirates bullpen, which was taxed when three of the previous six games went extra innings. Coming off a four-hit victory at St. Louis in his last start, Liriano held San Diego to four hits in seven innings while walking two. Lirianos previous season high was 11 strikeouts on June 1 against Cincinnati. His career high is 15. The Padres loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth before Liriano got Ronny Cedeno to hit into a force. The Padres had runners in scoring position only two other times against Liriano. Ronny Cedeno hit a leadoff single in the third and advanced on a balk before Liriano struck out the side. Denorfia doubled to left with one out in the fifth and advanced to third on Will Venables groundout before Liriano struck out rookie Jedd Gyorko. In his last four starts after a Bucs loss, including Monday night, Liriano has pitched 30 innings and allowed only two earned runs. Mark Melancon pitched the ninth for his eighth save in 10 chances. He allowed Nick Hundleys RBI double with two outs. Alvarez, who had been tied for the NL lead with Arizonas Paul Goldschmidt, homered on an 0-1 pitch from Andrew Cashner with two outs in the sixth to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead. It landed about six rows behind the Jack Daniels Old No. 7 party deck that sits atop the right-field wall. The Pirates scored two runs in the fourth on two singles and an error by right fielder Chris Denorfia. With Andrew McCutcheon aboard on a leadoff single, Alvarez grounded a single to right field, which rolled under the glove of a charging Denorfia and went all the way to the fence, allowing both runners to score. Cashner (8-8) lost his third straight start. He allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits in seven innings, struck out three and walked two. NOTES: Padres CF Cameron Maybin returned to San Diego to have his injured knee re-examined by club doctors. Maybin has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tucson before the club shut him down. He probably is done for the season. ... Pirates RHP A.J. Burnett (5-8, 3.18) is scheduled to start against the Padres on Tuesday night. Hes 1-5 with a 4.93 ERA in seven career starts against the Padres, with the one victory being a no-hitter on May 12, 2001, while with the Marlins. Burnett walked nine that night. ... In his last start on Aug. 15, Burnett allowed five runs in 4 1-3 innings and got a no-decision at St. Louis. Burnett has allowed 11 runs in his last two starts after throwing a complete-game victory Aug. 4 against the Rockies. ... The Padres will counter with Tyson Ross (3-5, 2.62) Tuesday night. ... LHP Wandy Rodriguez threw a bullpen session Monday. Rodriguez, who has been on the disabled list since June 11, retroactive to June 6, with tightness in his left forearm, said he still could "feel something" in his arm during the session. There is no timetable for his return. ... RHP Jason Grilli was scheduled to start throwing from a 120 feet Monday, manager Clint Hurdle said. Grilli has been on the DL since July 23 with a right forearm strain. ... RHP Ryan Reid was recalled Monday from Triple-A Indianapolis. This is Reids second stint with the Pirates. Dansby Swanson Jersey . 31-Feb. 2. While organizers havent decided if itll be red or green clay, they feel their choice of surface will give the Americans an advantage over Britain, which is expected to be led by defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray. Bobby Cox Jersey . Bilbaos first victory in four rounds lifted it four points clear of Real Sociedad and kept it in command of Spains last Champions League berth for next season. In contrast, Betis was left 11 points from safety after a dismal performance that at times bordered on self-destruction amid some questionable refereeing decisions. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/ . That Ginette Reno can sing. Deion Sanders Jersey . Saskatchewans Darian Durant is expected to miss the rest of the Roughriders season with a torn tendon in his right elbow. The 32-year-old, who will undergo surgery in the next couple days to repair the injury, was added to the teams six-game injury list Tuesday. Freddie Freeman Jersey . - The Raiders have released guard Mike Brisiel after two disappointing seasons in Oakland.CLEVELAND - Lou Williams scored a career-high 36 points and the Toronto Raptors rallied from a big early deficit to beat Cleveland 110-93 on Saturday night, handing the Cavaliers their fourth straight loss.The Raptors, who have won four in a row and are off to their best start in franchise history, trailed 26-8 less than 4 minutes into the game before showing why they have the best record in the Eastern Conference.Toronto led 56-54 at halftime and took control midway in the third quarter. The Raptors up by as many as 19 points in the fourth.Kevin Love scored 23 points and Kyrie Irving had 21 to lead Cleveland. LeBron James, who spent the final 6:20 on the bench, finished with 15 points with 10 assists.Following a lacklustre 91-78 loss in Washington on Friday, the talk in Clevelands locker room was about the team playing in the dark and the players having bad body language. The Cavaliers have a day off to think about their issues before they host Orlando on Monday.In the games final minutes, the loudest noise at Quicken Loans Arena came from several hundred fans who made the trip from Toronto and chanted, Lets Go Raptors.Kyle Lowry scored 23 points while DeMar DeRozan added 20 for Toronto, which led by 52 points in Fridays 124-82 win over Milwaukee.The Cavaliers scored the games first 12 ppoints and raced to a 19-5 lead, forcing the Raptors to call timeout twice in the first 6 minutes.dddddddddddd The margin reached 18 before Toronto began to cut into the lead, thanks mostly to Williams scoring 10 points in the quarter.Williams added six more points and Toronto trailed 39-38 early in the second. Kyle Lowrys free throw with a minute left tied the game.Williams 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer out Toronto up by two. Cleveland led 65-61 with 7 minutes remaining in the third, but DeRozan scored eight points, including a 3, while Lowry and Williams also hit 3s to help Toronto build a commanding lead.___TIP-INSRaptors: Forwards Tyler Hansbrough (sprained right shoulder) and James Johnson (sprained right ankle) will be re-evaluated Sunday in Toronto. Hansbrough sat out his second game in a row, while Johnson missed his third straight. ... Toronto is 8-1 at Air Canada Centre, the best home mark in the Eastern Conference.Cavaliers: C Anderson Varejao was whistled for holding C Jonas Valanciuns on the centre jump to start the game. ... Love had 10 points in the first quarter after totalling eight in 31 minutes Friday. . ... Cleveland doesnt play on the road again until Dec. 4 at New York.UP NEXTRaptors: Host Phoenix on Monday.Cavaliers: Host Orlando on Monday. ' ' '