PITTSBURGH -- Nobody plays more one-run games than the Pittsburgh Pirates. Xavier Ouellet Jersey . No wonder they are starting to look so comfortable when things get tight. Jordy Mercer doubled home Neil Walker with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Pirates to a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night. Pittsburgh improved to 23-17 in one-run games this season, including 16-8 at home. "We feel like were never out of anything, especially in this ballpark," Mercer said. "We just kind of feed off each other and string together some good at bats, and good things happen." Walker led off the inning with a single against Colorados Chad Bettis (0-2), moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored one batter later when Mercer hit a drive deep into the gap in left-centre. "Hes capable of driving in runs," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Mercer, who is batting .358 in July. "Hes getting more confidence every time he takes the field. Nights like tonight, when you can end it like that in a walk-off, just add to that." Jared Hughes (5-2) earned the win after escaping a two-on, one-out jam in the 11th by snagging a line drive from Charlie Blackmon and turning it into a double play. "I threw the pitch, it was going to where I wanted it to, and he did an excellent job of getting to it and hitting a line drive. I did not see it," Hughes said. "I feel like it just went right into my glove." Walker went 3 for 5 with two runs scored for the Pirates, who moved to within 2.5 games of first-place Milwaukee and St. Louis in the crowded NL Central. Carlos Gonzalez hit a two-run homer for the Rockies, who lost All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in the fourth inning to a left thigh cramp. Tulowitzki, who leads the majors in batting average (.340) and runs (71), hit a slow roller to shortstop in the fourth against Pittsburgh starter Charlie Morton and grabbed his leg while nearing first base. He walked gingerly to the dugout before being replaced by Josh Rutledge. "Nothing serious," Tulowitzki said. "Well see how I wake up (Sunday). The good news is I dont think I tore anything or did anything to where Im going to miss an extended period of time." Colorado starter Brett Anderson, acquired in a trade from Oakland last December following a humbling season in which he went from Opening Day starter to the bullpen, spent seven innings keeping the Pirates off balance with a dizzying array of breaking balls. The left-hander allowed one run and struck out eight with just one walk, his only flub being consecutive doubles by Walker and Gaby Sanchez in the fourth that put Pittsburgh in front. He retired the last 12 batters he faced and was in position to earn his first win since April 7, 2013, when Gonzalez took a curveball from Morton in the seventh and sent it streaking into the seats above the Roberto Clemente Wall in right field. "I think I threw more pitches tonight than I did in two-plus years," Anderson said. "I feel like I battled pretty well and gave us a chance." For the second straight night, however, Colorados bullpen faltered. Pittsburgh scored three times on Friday after Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa exited to pull out a 4-2 win. The Pirates put a similar rally together 24 hours later when Anderson left after 110 pitches. Two walks and a single off Adam Ottavino with one out in the eighth loaded the bases, and Walker laced a single to right against Tommy Kahnle to score Josh Harrison and tie the game. A perfect throw from Gonzalez in right nailed Andrew McCutchen at the plate and kept it even. The wayward curveball Morton surrendered to Gonzalez marred an otherwise steady outing for the resurgent right-hander. Morton gave up two runs and five hits, striking out three and walking one, a performance that raised his ERA at PNC Park this season to 2.18. NOTES: The Pirates held LF Starling Marte out of the lineup. Marte left Friday nights win in the eighth inning as a precaution after getting hit in the head with a fastball by Ottavino. ... Colorado 1B Justin Morneau sat out his second straight game with a stiff neck. Morneau hopes to play Sunday in the series finale. Morneau played 25 games for the Pirates at the end of the 2013 season, batting .260 while helping Pittsburgh to its first playoff berth in 21 years. ... Pittsburghs Jeff Locke (2-1, 2.89 ERA) faces Colorados Tyler Matzek (1-4, 4.97) on Sunday. Danny DeKeyser Jersey . Golden States second straight road win wasnt painless. David Lee scored a season-high 29 points -- 13 in the fourth quarter -- and Nate Robinson added 17 points, leading the Warriors to a 105-95 win Tuesday night over the road-worn Cleveland Cavaliers. Andreas Athanasiou Jersey . Weise left the arena with a splint on his wrist and underwent tests to determine whether the tendon is torn. Winger Travis Moen will also miss some time after suffering a concussion in Mondays contest. http://www.cheapredwingsjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-luke-witkowski-jersey . Gaborik was acquired in a trade with Columbus on Wednesday and skated on the top line with centre Anze Kopitar and right-winger Justin Williams. "We created some things," said Gaborik, who logged 16:38 of ice time.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Carolina Panthers have used another strong December push under fourth-year coach Ron Rivera to reclaim the NFC South division lead.Yes, the 6-8-1 Panthers.Despite going more than two months without a victory this season, Carolina enters Week 17 in first place and needing a win or tie Sunday at Atlanta to repeat as division champions after climbing back into the playoff hunt with a 3-0 December.Believe me, I always said it — were in it, Rivera said. Again, Im making no apologies for being in it.Strong finishes have become commonplace since Riveras arrival.The Panthers are 14-3 in December games since Rivera took over as coach in 2011. Only Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have a better record (15-2), according to STATS.Rivera attributes Carolinas strong finish to incorporating younger players into the lineup late in the season, and his players putting in extra work on the field after practice.A lot of our guys stay after to do the extra things, the little things, Rivera said. A lot of our young players do the little things. Probably the one thing I wish is we could be better in the month of October or late September, thats for sure.In the midst of a seven-game winless streak, the Panthers decided to begin playing younger — and in many cases, faster — players. They got rid of veteran wide receiver Jason Avant and cornerback Antoine Cason and benched safety Thomas DeCoud.The result is a team that looks different than the one that lined up opening day.The Panthers started a franchise-record seven rookies on Sunday against Cleveland.Philly Brown started alongside Kelvin Benjamin, giving the Panthers more speed at wide receiver. Guards Andrew Norwell and Trai Turner have helped shore up tthe offensive line. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys. .Defensively, the Panthers start two rookies in the secondary in cornerback Bene Benwikere and Tre Boston. Rookie outside linebacker Adarius Glanton got his first start Sunday in place of the injured A.J. Klein.You get seven rookies on the field playing meaningful minutes at meaningful times in the game, thats a big number, Rivera said. I thought theyve all handled it well.Offensive co-ordinator Mike Shula said Rivera placed an emphasis on winning in his first season in 2011.Rivera inherited a team that went 2-14 in the year before and the Panthers got off to a rocky 3-8 start.Instead of writing off the season, Rivera talked about building a foundation for the future.The Panthers, with nothing to play for, went 3-2 in December that season.That momentum seems to have carried over.The Panthers have won 10 of their past 11 December games, including a 17-13 victory at home against Cleveland on Sunday.We talked about getting used to winning in December, Shula said. Because that is what you are going to have to do to get in the post-season.Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly said the players never stopped believing they could win the division.We just had to tweak a couple things and by the time December rolled around, we were a team that was ready to roll, Kuechly said. We got hot at the right time. Weve just got to keep rolling now.NOTES: The Panthers have activated defensive end Frank Alexander from the reserve/exempt list and placed wide receiver DeAndre Presley on injured reserve with a concussion. Anderson missed 14 games while serving consecutive suspensions for violating the leagues substance-abuse policy.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '