n-save situation. Liriano lacked the firepower of his past two starts, when he combined for 19 strikeouts. The left-hander struck out just two and walked three while tyin

SEATTLE -- For at least this season opener, there is much less hoopla focused on Washington coach Chris Petersen.This time, all the hype surrounds his team.Im not really worried about that at this point. Thats been going on forever, Petersen said of the attention. Our kids have worked hard, practiced hard. No matter how this game turns out, that just doesnt matter. Its going to be a hard-fought, tough game; theres just a lot of uncertainty. Its one game and one game at a time and one play at a time -- all that corny coaching stuff is true.No. 14 Washington opens the season on Saturday hosting Rutgers burdened with the label of being the it team in the Pac-12 this year that could jump into contention for a conference crown. Those projections dont come without justification -- the Huskies return one of the strongest defenses in the country, not to mention sophomore offensive standouts in quarterback Jake Browning and running back Myles Gaskin.The preseason ranking for Washington was its highest since 2002 and came after a rocky 7-6 season last year. The hype is something that Petersen despises and hes tried to temper throughout the Huskies fall camp.Saturday brings Washingtons first opportunity to try to justify those lofty expectations against a Rutgers team that has far more questions surrounding it than Petersen would like to see in an opening opponent.Had a long offseason to work on some things, but then you couple that with a brand-new staff across the board ... youre watching tapes of where they came from, but then they are going to have their own ideas that are tailored to their personnel, Petersen said. So thats probably the biggest challenge is, a team like this we wish we didnt have right out of the gate, had a little bit of tape.For Petersen, this opener is different from his previous two at Washington. Two years ago was his highly anticipated debut at Hawaii after he was finally lured away from Boise State. A year ago, Petersen was in the spotlight throughout the offseason as he prepared the Huskies to open the season back on the blue turf at Boise State that he helped make famous.Now, its his team that will face the most scrutiny.It certainly feels different than (Boise). Thats a good one to have behind us, Petersen said. But not really. I think theres a lot of, for everybody, the uncertainty of getting back into it, the intensity of game week and then the first game, making sure everyones calmed down. Those first games, theres a lot of emotion . and part of the trick is calming down and keeping it all in perspective so we can play and coach at a high level.Washington will be without wide receiver Brayden Lenius for the first three games of the season due to a suspension for violating team rules. Lenius had been slowed by injuries during fall camp but was noticeably absent from the depth chart released Monday. Lenius had 26 catches for 307 yards and three touchdowns last season as a sophomore.Well see where he goes from there after those first three games, Petersen said. DeAndre Hopkins Womens Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Arian Foster Womens Jersey . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. http://www.officialhoustontexanspro.com/Tytus-howard-texans-jersey/ . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. Lonnie Johnson Womens Jersey . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Max Scharping Texans Jersey . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom.PITTSBURGH -- Starling Martes precocious talent can sometimes get him in trouble at the plate. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder can be in such a hurry to get on base, his bat tends to get ahead of itself. A well-timed piece of advice helped him break out of a slump on Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants. Told by several teammates to wait a beat longer before swinging, Marte slapped a career-high four hits and scored four times as the Pirates pulled away for a 12-8 victory. "I think you know it goes back to pitch selection, seeing the ball up, trying to maintain discipline throughout the at-bat," manager Clint Hurdle said. Something Marte lacked at times during a recent swoon following his scorching start. Marte began the night in the midst of an 11 for 60 (.183) slump before pecking away at San Franciscos Barry Zito (4-5). The 24-year-old leadoff man hardly seemed bothered by a run-in with San Francisco reliever George Kontos on Tuesday night, when Kontos threw behind Marte at one point in apparent retaliation for Pittsburghs Tony Watson hitting Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro. "Whatever happened yesterday was yesterday," said Marte, who added two stolen bases to push his season total to 20. "I didnt think about it. Everybody wants to do their job. The pitchers have to do their job. Thats how I got focused today." Marte, Mercer and McCutchen combined to go 8 for 9 against Zito as the Pirates won for the fourth time in their past five games. Neil Walker and Alex Presley both homered for Pittsburgh, which set season highs for runs and hits (18). "It was a very good night for our offence to show up on a night it was challenging for everybody off the mound," Hurdle said. Francisco Liriano (5-2) survived six erratic innings to pick up the win. Joaquin Arias knocked in three runs for the Giants and Hunter Pence doubled twice but San Francisco continued to struggle on the road. The defending World Series champions have lost 12 of 16 away from home. Zito (4-5) allowed eight runs and 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings as his road ERA ballooned to 11.28. He is 4-1 with a 1.94 ERA at AT&T Park. "At home, Ive caught some breaks and kept stuff done in the zone and I havent on the road," Zito said. "Ive felt pretty good in some of these starts out on the road, but I just havent been able to get people out." A night after Pittsburgh lit up San Francisco in an 8-2 win in support of rookie pitcher Gerrit Cole, the Pirates kept it going. McCutchen hit a two-run double in the third as the Pirates ttook a 4-1 lead.dddddddddddd The Giants responded to briefly tie the game on a two-run double by Arias in the top of the fifth. It didnt stay knotted long. Marte and Mercer led off the bottom of the inning with consecutive singles. Marte scored on a fielders choice and Pedro Alvarez chased Zito for good with a double off the wall in right. Walker greeted reliever Jose Mijares with a two-run single and the Pirates were in control. "The top of the order was really special tonight, the runs, the hits," Hurdle said. "They just kept fueling us from the first inning through the eighth." Pittsburghs lead grew to 10-4 after Presleys pinch-hit homer and an RBI double by Gaby Sanchez, but the Giants hung in there on a night manager Bruce Bochy watched from the clubhouse. Bochy was suspended one game and reliever George Kontos was suspended three games and fined after Kontos threw at Marte then hit McCutchen in the rear on Tuesday. Kontos was sent down to Triple-A before the suspension was announced. Bench coach Ron Wotus stepped in for Bochy and pointed to the late surge as evidence the Giants are starting to get things going. "They prevailed but we at least kept battling and we had a nice little breakout on offence," Wotus said. San Francisco pulled within 11-8 after Buster Poseys two-run single off Watson in the eighth but Sanchez doubled in McCutchen in the bottom of the inning. Closer Jason Grilli worked a perfect ninth in a rare non-save situation. Liriano lacked the firepower of his past two starts, when he combined for 19 strikeouts. The left-hander struck out just two and walked three while tying his season high with four runs allowed. NOTES: Walkers fifth home run of the season was originally ruled a double but overturned when replay showed the ball struck a seat in the first row of left field stands ... Cole, who went 6 1-3 innings in his major league debut on Tuesday, will start again on Sunday when the Pirates host the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... San Francisco 2B Tony Abreu went 3 for 5 in his first start of the season. Abreu started in place of Scutaro, who is out indefinitely with ligament damage ... Bochy said injured 3B Pablo Sandoval had a "hop in his step" the day after being placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained tendon in his left foot. Sandoval was hitting .289 at the time of the injury ... Pittsburgh RHP Charlie Morton makes his first start since having Tommy John surgery a year ago on Thursday when he starts in the series finale. Matt Cain (4-3, 5.09) starts for the Giants. ' ' '