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PITTSBURGH -- The ball left Travis Sniders bat and he took off with his head down. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder had imagined driving the ball into the Allegheny River since he joined the team last summer. In Sniders daydreams, the homer always went down the right field line, the shortest route out of PNC Park. Reality turned out to be even sweeter. And longer. Sniders 458-foot longball over the bushes in right-centre propelled the Pirates to a 7-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night. The two-run shot was Sniders first homer since last August, an eternity for a guy once considered a power-hitting prospect. Thats why he didnt look up. Snider thought he had homered earlier in the season and flipped his bat in celebration only to end up with a double. Not this time. He sprinted around the bases without so much as peeking from under his cap to see where the ball landed. "For me its not how far it goes," Snider said. "Its just about getting it over the fence. Its been a struggle, a long nine months or so." Snider finished 3 for 5 with three RBIs, including the 31st homer to end up in the river in the 12-year history of the ballpark. Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Garrett Jones and Russell Martin all had two hits as Pittsburgh won for the sixth time in seven games. Francisco Liriano (2-0) allowed one run on six hits over 5 2-3 innings, striking out seven and walking three. The veteran left-hander reached 96 mph with his fastball and overcame a sloppy first inning before settling down. "I just try to stay calm, not try to do too much, hit my spot and just focus on location," Liriano said. "Pitching is all about location. Im locating my fastball a lot better and my slider is working for me so far." Burgos gave up three runs in five innings but Milwaukees offence sputtered. The Brewers have lost 11 of 13. "I know were going to be fine," Milwaukee centre fielder Carlos Gomez said. "This is a problem that can be fixed because we have good players. Its tough now, though. Its embarrassing. We have a lot of expectations on this team and were not playing up to them." The Pirates sure are. Pittsburgh moved to 24-17 with the win, matching the franchises best start through the first quarter of the season in 21 years. The 1992 Pirates also began the season 24-17 and finished with 96 victories while capturing the NL East. Its also the last time Pittsburgh finished the season with a winning record. "Were in a good place right now," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. The romp capped a dramatic turnaround in one of baseballs most lopsided rivalries. Milwaukee has dominated the Pirates over the last six years, coming into the series 71-25 against Pittsburgh since 2007. Milwaukee won the opener on Monday before the Pirates responded with a 4-3 win on Tuesday in 12 innings. A 3-1 victory followed on Wednesday before Thursdays rout, the first time the Pirates have won three straight against the Brewers in the same series since Aug. 16-18, 2009. Liriano, who signed a two-year free agent contract in the off-season, sparkled in his home debut. The veteran left-hander missed the seasons first six weeks while recovering from a broken right arm. He sailed through his first start, an 11-2 win over the New York Mets last Saturday. Things were a little tighter this time around. The Brewers pushed a run across in the first on an RBI single by Jonathan Lucroy, an inning that could have been bigger if leadoff hitter Norichika Aoki hadnt been gunned down trying to steal second after a leadoff walk and McCutchen didnt rob Ryan Braun of extra bases with a leaping grab at the wall in centre. The veteran left-hander seemed to settle down immediately. He struck out four straight batters at one point and worked out of a trouble spot in the fifth when Jonathan Lucroy flied out to left with two on to preserve a 1-all game. Snider broke the tie in the bottom of the inning. Marte led off with an infield hit then Snider crushed an 85 mph fastball. "I threw a fastball up and down the middle of the plate and he put a good swing on it," Burgos said. Burgos gave up three runs on eight hits with a walk and three strikeouts, and he remains winless since winning his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs on April 20. Milwaukee had a chance in the sixth after Clint Barmes bobbled a potential double-play ball at shortstop. Reliever Justin Wilson came on with two outs and retired pinch-hitter Aramis Ramirez on a fly to left with two on to preserve the lead for Liriano. The Pirates broke it open in the sixth off reliever Alfredo Figaro, ripping off five straight hits to score four runs and give the bullpen plenty of cushion on a night closer Jason Grilli was not available after being given the day off by Hurdle. NOTES: Four-time All-Star reliever Francisco Rodriguez, called up from Triple-A Nashville early Thursday, struck out one batter during his perfect inning of work ... Pittsburgh RHP Charlie Morton, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, pitched four innings in a rehab start at Double-A Altoona on Thursday. Morton gave up two runs on two hits with one walk and one strikeout. His next start will come at Triple-A Indianapolis next week ... The Pirates open a three-game series with Houston on Friday. Jeanmar Gomez (2-0, 2.28 ERA) starts for the Pirates against Houstons Jordan Lyles (1-1, 8.36) ... Milwaukee travels to St. Louis Friday. Wily Peralta (3-3, 5.40) faces Jaime Garcia (4-2, 2.88). Nike Tanjun Shoes Outlet . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Cheap Authentic Nike Tanjun .Y. - Jerome Samson scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the St. http://www.niketanjunoutlet.com/ . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Discount Nike Tanjun Shoes . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Nike Tanjun Cheap Outlet . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. It reads like a volume of the Famous Five, except that all the adventures happen on the sports field. AB: The Autobiography is a romantic account of a boy with big dreams who becomes a man for whom so many of those come true.The story starts with what may be considered AB de Villiers finest moment as a cricketer, when he broke the record for the fastest hundred in an ODI, against West Indies in January 2015. We already know all the numbers: the fifty came off 16 balls, the century off 31, and the 16 sixes equalled the record for the most hit in an ODI, so perhaps the most startling fact is that de Villiers wanted David Miller to go in ahead of him after the openers posted 247 inside 39 overs.Selflessness has defined de Villiers career. He is often spoken about as the ultimate team man, and the reader gets a sense of how that came about when the story goes back to de Villiers childhood. As the youngest of three brothers, he was forced to carry drinks and field while his brothers did the real stuff. It taught him to be tough, although at the time it occasionally made him want to cry.De Villiers does not shy away from emotions in the book, most notably when he reveals his religious convictions. He recalls two incidents that brought him close to God - one as a schoolboy and one after South Africas 2008-09 victory over Australia. Both brought him to tears and the second one also changed him as a sportsman, he writes.By 2008, which merits its own chapter in the book, de Villiers had decided that it wasnt going to be enough for me to be just another run-of-the-mill international batsman with an average in the mid 30s, and promised myself I would become the best batsman in the world.To do that he needed to give up his partying lifestyle, which he admitted was at one stage getting out of hand, perfect his technique, and professionalise. In a nuts-and-bolts section titled Crossroads he details how he assembled a support team around himself, which included an agent, a financial adviser and a personal assistant. It reads like a how-to guide to becoming a modern sportsperson, and will be fascinating for those who hope to follow in de Villiers footsteps.The results of those efforts saw de Villiers play major roles in South Africa winning in England and Australia for the first time since readmission, in their unbeaten run on the road that started in 2006 and only ended in 2015, and in their rise to No. 1. He recalls matches, some in elaborate detail, and makes regular reference to how South Africas success was founded on the strength of the captain, Graeme Smith. We were privileged to play for such a captain, de Villiers writes.In that time, he also watched the game change from a purely national sport to a multi-formatted beast, and to a club game, and he gives the sense that he is uncomfortable with the shifting ethos. In one passage he reveals how the childlike joy he once had was dimmed by the cluttered schedulee and constant treadmill of life on the road.dddddddddddd.The type of international tour that had once seemed such an adventure for a tight-knit group of 16 players, who were bonded by embracing so many different experiences in so many different places, had been transformed into some kind of military operation where, almost every day, someone would pack their bags and take a taxi to the airport and someone else would arrive, bleary-eyed, carrying their suitcase into the hotel foyer. It was increasingly difficult to predict who would be sitting beside you at breakfast the next morning, he writes. Thats not to say de Villiers does not support the growth of T20 leagues. Quite the opposite. He writes glowingly about the IPL and predicts it will only become bigger. The Indian Premier League will surely continue to grow and develop, leading the evolution of the game in many respects and I hope to participate for a few more years.But he remains nostalgic about the traditions of cricket as a national sport, and his optimism about the future of Test cricket is reassuring. In my view, Test cricket will continue to be played for many decades to come, played in daylight hours, played with a red ball and played in white clothing. It will continue because it remains the preferred format of a strong group of spectators, whose numbers are not declining and whose passion is not diminishing. I count myself as a member of this audience and I will be watching Test cricket for many years after I stop playing.So too is his admission that his desire for an ICC trophy has not dimmed. De Villiers has a recurring dream in which he takes a catch at cover to win South Africa the World Cup final and he suggests he will keep playing if he thinks he can achieve that.That pretty much sums up the man as we know him: an eternal optimist, a member of a band of brothers, a patriot. He spends a chapter explaining his hopes for South Africa as a country and praising its resilient spirit, revealing how he came to write South Africas team song, which they belt out after every victory. He writes with an innocence about how much he thinks can go right.Controversy barely crops up, with oblique references to the 2007 World Cup, when South Africas players were accused of drinking too much and cramping. De Villiers flatly denies that was the case. The 2015 World Cup semi-final selection is touched on but he is careful not to apportion blame.The timing of this book - while de Villiers is still a cricketer on the circuit - perhaps limits how much he could say about issues that concern him. In any case, those things may always remain unsaid because ultimately de Villiers is like a Famous Fiver who never ages - on a life of endless holiday and adventure.AB: The Autobiography by AB de Villiers Pan Macmillan 328 pages, R350 Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '