Pedro Alvarez goes three-for-four with five RBIs. Pedro had an RBI single in the top of the third to tie the game at one, he had a solo shot, his 16th, in the top of the sixth, to tie the game at 2. Then, in the top of the seventh with the bases loaded, Pedro hit a base clearing double to right. He now has 48 RBIs on the season. Four of his RBIs were with two outs. That’s clutch. Pirates beat Reds, 5-3, to move to 43-30, a 1/2 game back of the Reds (44-30) for second place, and 3.5 back of the Cards, who host the Cubs tonight. Pirates split a four-game series at Cincy. Lost 2-1 last night in 13. But a split is fine. Need to take care of them at home. They’ve been throwing at us a lot. Getting tired of it. May need to plunk them a couple of times.

Bucs go to Anaheim this weekend to play Albert Pojols, Josh Hamilton and the Angels. Looks like some late nights this weekend.Can’t wait. Pedro has been playing some great defense lately, though he had a throwing error today. But he’s made some spectacular plays at third this week. Now hitting .223. Progressing.

Mike Minor on the hill for the Bravos versus the Mets tonight at the Ted. Mike 8-2 with a 2.68 ERA. Mike has walked 18 and K’d 85 this season. Awesome numbers. Braves seven up on the Nationals. Pretty comfortable lead.

Rays at Yankees tonight in the Bronx. Rays’ Matt Moore vs Yanks’ Andy Pettitte. Always fun to watch these two teams go at it. Rays beat the Sox last night, 6-2. Had 15 hits. Got some hitting going again. Rays now 37-35 and in fourth place in the AL Big East.  Yanks right in front of them in third at 39-32. Need to make some noise in this four game set. Sox leading the division at 44-30. Rays just need to keep climbing and see where they stand at All-Star break. Pitching and hitting needs to be more consistent.

Luke at +4 @ Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands Course in Cromwell, Connecticut. Leader Charlie Hoffman shot 62 today and is at -9. Luke through 13 holes. He’s on five as he started on the back side. Jon Curran, another former VU player, shot 72 today; +2 for tourney. Excellent field in this tournament. U.S. Open champion Justin Rose playing along with Matt Kuchar, Keegan Bradley and Hunter Mahan, who is second at -8 after shooting a 63 today.

Brandt not playing this week, but will be in the field next week at the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. Pretty big tournament. Then B will play the next week (July 4-7) @ the Greenbriar Classic in West Virginia. He’ll take a week off then play in the Open Championship at Muirfield  in Scotland. That’ll be fun to watch. Then he’ll start playing a lot again starting with the RBC Canadian Open, the next week. July 25-28. Then, he’ll get his game in gear for the PGA Championship, Aug. 8-11, at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY. Brandt will get it going. I believe in him. Played very well at the Open Championship last year–he was leading after the second round. Hopefully, he’s physically in good shape. He’s got a lot of stellar golf ahead of him this season.

No commits this week, but there are a couple who could very well pop in the next week or maybe this weekend. Will keep you posted.

Game 7 in NBA tonight. Huge. Picked the Heat in seven.