PITTSBURGH -- Say what you will about the Pittsburgh Pirates questionable moves at the trade deadline or the poor numbers former National League Most Valuable Player Andrew McCutchen has had most of the season. Wholesale NHL Jerseys .Right now, things are looking up.Going into what could be a wild-card showdown against the Miami Marlins starting Friday at PNC Park, the Pirates are en fuego.Pittsburgh (62-56), which was off Thursday, just completed a 5-1 West Coast road trip -- including a three-game sweep in San Francisco. Since June 24, the Pirates 28-17 record is the best in baseball.They stand one game behind St. Louis for the second wild-card spot, and 1 1/2 games ahead of Miami (62-59) in that chase after the Marlins dropped a 5-4 decision at Cincinnati on Thursday night.Weve been a confident group all year. Road trips like this really bring a team together, Pittsburgh closer Tony Watson told MLB.com. Were playing great baseball right now. Playing well down the stretch has been key the last few years. ... This year is no different.McCutchens two-run homer Thursday, his 17th of the season, was huge in a 6-5 win over the Giants. Although he is batting .248 overall, McCutchens average in August is .317.Ive turned something, McCutchen told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. I dont know if its turning a page or a corner or something. Things are going well for us. Going well for me, too.Ive been getting pitches to hit, hitting them, having good at-bats, seeing the ball. They try to hit a location. Miss a location, Im able to make them pay.An unexpected bump in the Pirates good play recently is right-hander Gerrit Cole (7-8, 3.17 ERA), who is scheduled to start Friday. The presumed ace of the staff entering the season has dealt with some inconsistency and injuries.In his past two starts, Cole is 0-2, has failed to get through the sixth inning and has given up a combined nine runs on 15 hits. However, he could be aided by being at home, where he has a 2.94 ERA over his past nine starts.The Marlins are not as comfortable at PNC Park, where they are 16-31.On Friday, Miami will start right-hander Tom Koehler (9-8, 3.86 ERA), who is 0-4 with a 5.73 ERA in four career starts against the Pirates.However, Koehler has been arguably the Marlins best starter of late. In his past five starts, he is 3-0 with a 1.36 ERA.Its not like he doesnt have good stuff, Miami manager Don Mattingly told reporters earlier this month. His stuff is good.Hes got a good breaking ball that most guys dont really hit. He can change speeds and hes a little erratic. He can be effectively wild. You dont quite know what youre going to get with Tom. To me, thats part of his success.Success that hasnt been matched team-wide lately. Miami has lost three straight games, three series in a row and four of its past five series.The Pirates, meanwhile, have won four consecutive series and could put some distance between themselves and the Marlins in the wild-card scenario this weekend.Obviously, this is the time of year teams make or break themselves, Pittsburghs Matt Joyce told MLB.com. Its nice to see some guys turn the corner and keep fighting and keep pushing, because its very easy to just say, Were not in the race, and just kind of roll over. Its exciting, man. Its exciting to be a part of, and were having a lot of fun. NHL Jerseys China . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. https://www.chinanhljerseys.us/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox are at least open to the idea of a rebuild and are not interested in trading for short-term rental players to spark a struggling team, general manager Rick Hahn said.Hahn acknowledged the White Sox were mired in mediocrity with a 46-48 record heading into Thursday nights game against the Detroit Tigers. They had dropped six of seven and were seven games out of the second wild card -- and 10 behind AL Central leader Cleveland.With the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline approaching, Hahn said the White Sox have to stay open-minded. But they are ruling out adding short-term rental players who could only help the team this year.They are, however, at least willing to consider just about any other action, even a major rebuild. And Hahn said that includes chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.An overhaul would be a huge step for an organization that has tried to contend through trades and free agency in recent years. But with one playoff appearance since the 2005 championship season, Hahn acknowledged the plan hasnt paid off the way the White Sox envisioned.Were not where we want to be, Hahn said. Weve spent a fair amount of time focusing on the here-now for the last few years and it hasnt paid off as handsomelly as we hoped. NHL Jerseys Sale. So we have to stay open-minded.If they went the rebuild route, ace Chris Sale and fellow All-Star pitcher Jose Quintana would no doubt command high prices. But with team options, the White Sox have Sale under control through 2019 and Quintana through 2020.The notion of lets sell off everything because its not working might be a little extreme, especially if you expect to be able to put yourself in position to have a perennial quality product in the window of control for some of these guys, Hahn said.Hahn also offered updates on several injured players. He said pitcher Carlos Rodon (wrist) is progressing nicely and will make a minor-league rehab start before returning.Catcher Alex Avila (hamstring) suffered a setback in a rehab game with Triple-A Charlotte and likely wont be activated for another month.Right-hander Zach Putnam (right elbow) also had a setback and will likely need to have bone spurs removed from his elbow. Hahn said outfielder Austin Jackson, recovering from a torn meniscus in his left knee, will start ramping up non-impact activity in the coming days. ' ' '