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. Odell Beckham Jr Browns Jersey . Iwakuma pitched seven strong innings to stay unbeaten in road games since last July, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. Bernie Kosar Jersey .C. United on Wednesday night. Forward Bright Dike scored the games only goal in the 85th minute on a foggy night in Bradenton, Fla. http://www.brownsauthenticproshop.com/Yo...wns-Jersey/.com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Myles Garrett Jersey . - The New York Rangers have momentum, a unified locker room and Henrik Lundqvist. Antonio Callaway Browns Jersey .Impact president Joey Saputo confirmed Thursday that he is part of a group of investors whose offer to buy the 105-year-old Italian club was accepted by the teams board of directors. ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. They booked a flight for the wide receiver on Tuesday -- when free agency began -- and courted him the next day at team headquarters. The pitch included a chat with team vice chairman Bill Ford, just three days after the death of his father, team owner William Clay Ford. Tate, who was the top receiver last season for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, liked what he heard and saw and agreed to join the Lions as NFL free agency reached its second day Wednesday. He got a five-year deal worth $31 million with $13.25 million guaranteed, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. "Theres a ton of upside to this organization," Tate said. "And one thing that really stood out to me is that Mr. Ford found some time to meet with me. I know hes been going through a lot lately with family issues. So for him to find time in his busy schedule to meet with me and to have a conversation, that meant a lot. I felt like I was wanted here." Tate said the Seahawks made him an offer to stay, and that the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars also expressed interest. He insisted it wasnt tempting to find out if the Jets or Jaguars would offer him more than the Lions did, but acknowledged it was tempting to ask the Seahawks to make another offer. "I had a great four years in Seattle," he said. "Im going to miss that place to death. Great city, great people, great fans. But for me, it just made more sense to come here." First-year Lions coach Jim Caldwell said landing Tate was a big deal for the team, which has been looking to complement All-Pro receiver Calvin Johnson. "We were looking, from an offensive standpoint, to find a guy who could go on the other side and be our No. 2 and play opposite to Calvin and give us some work inside and out,&qquot; Caldwell said.dddddddddddd "Golden Tate is going to be that individual." Tate led the Seahawks with 64 catches and 898 yards receiving last season, both career highs. The former Notre Dame star also scored five touchdowns last season, giving him 15 in his four-year career. He is expecting to flourish with quarterback Matthew Stafford throwing to him in one-on-one coverage while defences assign two or three receivers to slow down Johnson. Stafford threw almost 40 passes a game last season and Russell Wilson threw an average of 25 for the Seahawks. "Im leaving a run-heavy offence to a pass-happy offence and thats exciting," Tate said. "And, I can get to play with one of the best to ever play the game." The Lions also signed running back Joique Bell and confirmed they had hosted centre Phil Costa. They are expecting to visit with fullback Henry Hynoski on Thursday. Costa was cut by the Dallas Cowboys last week. He played sparingly the past two years after starting all 16 games in 2011, his second NFL season. The New York Giants started Hynoski in 17 of 30 games, including 11 in 2012, over the previous three seasons. Bell was paired with Reggie Bush, giving Detroit a formidable backfield. He had a team-high eight touchdowns rushing last season and was second to Bush with 166 carries for 650 yards rushing for the Lions last year. Bell had a total of 105 receptions for 1,032 yards the last two years. The undrafted free agent from Wayne State in Detroit played in half of the games as a rookie in 2010 with the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles. The Benton Harbor, Mich., native found a home with the Lions, who signed him off New Orleans practice squad late in the 2011 season after he bounced around with the Saints, Eagles, Colts and Bills. He has also become rich, getting a $9.3 million, three-year deal. "Its never been about the money, but I dont work for free," Bell said with a smile. ' ' '