ATLANTA -- Gerrit Cole was so focused on recording 17 consecutive outs, he didnt glance at the out-of-town scoreboard. [url=https://www.cheapmariners.com/]Mariners Jerseys 2020[/url] . Cole insisted he didnt know his win over the Braves had clinched a playoff spot for Pittsburgh until he walked into

ATLANTA -- Gerrit Cole was so focused on recording 17 consecutive outs, he didnt glance at the out-of-town scoreboard. Mariners Jerseys 2020 . Cole insisted he didnt know his win over the Braves had clinched a playoff spot for Pittsburgh until he walked into the clubhouse and saw the lockers covered in plastic. The surging Pirates earned their second-straight trip to the playoffs with a 3-2 win over the free-falling Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night. Cole gave up two runs in the first two innings and then didnt allow another baserunner. The Pirates win combined with Milwaukees loss to Cincinnati assured Pittsburgh of no worse than an NL wild card. "I didnt have any idea until I came in here," Cole said. The Pirates wrapped up their berth exactly one year after clinching a place in the 2013 playoffs. "I think it establishes our presence in this league that were not going to go away," Cole said. The Pirates reacted to the final out on Tuesday with little emotion. Players exchanged high-fives in a line on the field before sharing hugs in front of their dugout. The emotions flowed with champagne and beer in the clubhouse. Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates MVP contender, wore big ski goggles as he held a bottle of champagne in one hand and lit a big victory cigar. McCutchen, who had two hits and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth, already had his focus on bigger goals. "To celebrate is fun, but weve still got to take care of business," he said. Starling Marte gave Pittsburgh the lead with a sixth-inning double that drove in McCutchen. The Pirates, who are still chasing St. Louis for the NL Central title, have won 11 of 13. "We didnt panic," McCutchen said. "Thats whats good about this team." Cole (11-5) trailed 2-0 after two innings but didnt allow another runner through seven innings. That allowed the Pirates to rally against Alex Wood (11-11). Travis Sniders 12th homer tied the game in the fifth. Cole allowed two runs and four hits with eight strikeouts. Jared Hughes pitched a scoreless eighth. Left-hander Tony Watson gave up a one-out single to Phil Gosselin in the ninth, but he got Freddie Freeman to hit into a game-ending double play to earn his second save. The Braves, who fired general manager Frank Wren on Monday, are 4-16 in September. Atlanta (76-81) has lost five straight to fall five games under .500 for the first time since May 9, 2010. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he admired the Pirates determined approach at the plate. "These guys, they stick their nose in there offensively and they dont give at-bats away. They put the ball in play and they get some results," Gonzalez said. Atlanta loaded the bases with no outs in the second but managed only one run when Andrelton Simmons grounded into a double play. Jason Heyward, who led off the inning with a walk, scored from third. The double play was the key to Coles turnaround. "There was something missing in the first couple of innings," Cole said. "Luckily, they made some good plays behind me. The double play was huge. We knew we were going to come back and score a few. "It was about outs, and we turned a great double play. Then we just got in a rhythm and just kept going." DROUGHT-BREAKER: The Braves scored a first-inning run for the first time since Aug. 27. Freemans double to the right-field wall drove in Gosselin. Freeman was thrown out trying to advance to third base. The run ended a streak of 23 scoreless innings by Pirates starting pitchers. THE CATCH: Simmons added to his already lengthy list of defensive highlights at shortstop in the third inning. He made a leaping grab of Josh Harrisons line drive before landing hard on his chest. He also banged his nose and face to the ground, but held onto the ball as Wood expressed astonishment on the mound. TRAINERS ROOM: Pirates: RHP Charlie Morton has been shut down. He hasnt pitched since he felt discomfort in his groin and midsection late in his five innings of work in a victory over Boston on Sept. 16. Braves: LHP Mike Minor has left shoulder inflammation and has been shut down for the remainder of the season. RHP David Hale will take Minors spot in the rotation on Thursday against the Pirates. UP NEXT: Pirates: LHP Jeff Locke (7-5) is scheduled to face the Braves for the first time this season on Wednesday night. Locke received two no-decisions against Atlanta last season. Braves: RHP Julio Teheran (13-13) will try to match his career high with his 14th win. Teheran was 14-8 for Atlanta in 2013. Seattle Mariners Pro Shop . - A Tuesday funeral is planned in Toronto for 20-year-old Saginaw Spirit forward Terry Trafford. Seattle Mariners Shirts . Onyshko, from Minnedosa, Man., will compete in artistic gymnastics while Hanet, from Kelowna, B.C., will compete in lawn bowling as a para-athlete. "It is exciting that our Canadian athletes are starting to arrive at the Games Village," said Chantal Petitclerc, Canadas Chef de Mission. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner.MILWAUKEE -- Dwight Howard was disappointed by the Rockets inconsistent effort, even if it was good enough to beat the Bucks. Howard scored 27 points, including three crucial free throws in the closing seconds, and James Harden scored 10 of his 22 points in the decisive third quarter to help Houston hold off a short-handed but scrappy Milwaukee team for its fifth straight win, 101-95 Saturday night. "We didnt attack like we needed to the whole game," Howard said. "There were spurts when we attacked the basket, but there were times when settled for the 3. We have to always be in attack mode." The Rockets let the Bucks get close once in the third and then again down the stretch. "They dug into the lead a little bit," Rockets head coach Kevin McHale said. "Im just glad we got that win. That wasnt one of our best games. We had a lot of possessions offensively where we didnt move the ball." Jeremy Lin added 18 as the Rockets tied their longest winning streak of the season, a mark set in late November. "Were too up and down right now," Lin said. "We go up 12 and then we are only up six. It would be nice for us to build leads and really dominate from start to finish." Howard grabbed 13 rebounds for his 33rd double-double of the season, the third highest in the NBA this season. Nate Wolters, who scored a career-high 19, sparked the Bucks with seven points during a 16-7 run to open the second half and that pulled them to 63-61. "Defensively, they kind of got what they wanted there for a while," McHale said of the Bucks effort. "But we had some good runs inside the game that got us some separation." The Rockets quickly answered with baskets by Patrick Beverley and Terence Jones, and then Harden added seven points to prevent Milwaukee from getting any closer using an 18-8 run to end the third and take an 81-69 lead into the fourth. Brandon Knight scored 23 points and Khris Middleton 20, including three free throws aftter being fouled behind the arc with 46. Seattle Mariners Store. 6 seconds remaining as Milwaukee came back to trail 98-95. Howard made three of four free throws for Houstons final points and seal the win. "I thought for the most part, we hung in there," Bucks head coach Larry Drew said. "The first half we really were just trying to make it work after we lost Larry Sanders." The Bucks were already down to four reserves before an inadvertent elbow from Harden knocked Sanders out of the game with 7:37 left in the first quarter. The two were fighting for a rebound under the Bucks basket. Sanders fell to the floor for a few moments before walking off. He did not return due to blurred vision. After the game, Bucks coach Larry Drew didnt have any additional news on Sanders. John Henson thought that Sanders got hit in the eye and probably would just have a black eye. With the loss of Sanders, the Rockets had an easier time in the low post and outscored the Bucks 58 to 48 in the paint. Luke Ridnour (back), Ekpe Udoh (ankle), Ersan Ilyasova (back), O.J. Mayo (illness/conditioning) and Caron Butler (ankle) missed the game for Milwaukee. Lin came off the bench to score 11 points in the first half as Houston shot 53.5 per cent and took a 56-45 lead at the half. Harden added 11 points and then helped Howard get his 11th just before the half ended on a slick alley-oop. Howard had just converted a three-point play when Harden lofted a pass that the Rockets centre dunked for a 15-point lead. NOTES: Houston improved to 15-3 against the Eastern Conference, including five straight against the East. ... Rockets C Omer Asik returned after missing the last 31 games with a right thigh/knee injury, but F Greg Smith sore right knee kept him back in Houston. Hes played in only 11 games so far this season. ... Howard is 17 of 18 in career games against the Bucks. ... The Rockets are 12-0 when Howard has scored at least 20 points in the last six weeks, compared to 2-6 when he doesnt. ' ' '