PITTSBURGH -- Edinson Volquez couldnt seem to find the strike zone in the first inning of his start against the Philadelphia Phillies, throwing 11 of his 16 pitches for balls. After escaping the jam unscathed, he got some advice from pitching coach Ray Searage. The rest of the way went smoothly with Volquez allowing a run over seven innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Phillies 3-2 Saturday. "He slowed me down," Volquez said. "I was too fast to the plate and everything was late with my hands to get the ball where I wanted." The adjustment worked. "I could see the strike zone a little closer to me and I felt like I could put the ball where I wanted," Volquez said. Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer in the first and Volquez (7-6) had an RBI groundout with the bases loaded in the second inning as the Pirates moved a season-high five games over .500 at 46-41. The Pirates couldve added to the 3-0 lead but Gregory Polanco Starling Marte each flew out with men on second and third. Volquez allowed four hits and walked four. He struck out five in his third straight win. "He battled," manager Clint Hurdle said. "It was a very, I thought, gritty performance by him today because he spent a lot of time out of the stretch again." McCutchen followed up Fridays game, when he was a home run shy of the cycle, with the big hit off David Buchanan. McCutchen connected to right after Polanco led off the home first with a single. McCutchen said it was nice to begin his day with a home run after he ended Friday with a ball that smacked the wall about 10 feet lower than necessary to clear it. "I got a little better swing on it," McCutchen said. "(I) got out in front of it a little more so I was able to get hands through the zone and put a little more backspin on it." Hurdle was pleased his team jumped on top early, similar to the way the Pirates scored four runs in the first inning Friday. "Its always nice to get in front," he said. "It does give you a sense of momentum coming out of the chute." Philadelphia dropped a season-high 13 games below .500 at 37-50. "We havent been able to bounce back from being down early in the game," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Its been different when weve scored early. Its something were going to have to try and do, score earlier in games." Buchanan (4-5) found his stride after the second and kept the Pirates at bay until he was lifted in the sixth. Philadelphias starter was charged with three runs and six hits and an intentional walk. "The biggest thing for me today was not walking anybody," Buchanan said. "If you throw strikes and make them put it in play then good things usually happen." Marlon Byrd stranded five men on base in his first two at-bats. He flew out in the first to leave men on the corners, then struck on four pitches to end the third with the bases loaded. Byrd homered off Pirates closer Mark Melancon in the ninth but even an attempt at starting a rally wasnt enough to appease the right fielder after his earlier at-bats. "I have to do a better job producing in the first at-bat, too," Byrd said. "Bases loaded and I struck out. My job is to produce." Melancon retired to next three batters he faced for his 16th save. Tony Watson worked a perfect eighth. Cody Asche homered in the fourth for Philadelphia against Volquez. NOTES Asches home run in the fourth inning snapped a 16-inning scoreless streak for Volquez. . In their last 14 starts, Pittsburghs starting pitchers have combined to post a 2.32 ERA. . Pittsburgh SS Jordy Mercer doubled twice and is batting .714 (10 for 14) in his last five games. . Pirates LHP Jeff Locke (1-1, 3.46 ERA) faces Phillies RHP A.J. Burnett (5-7, 3.92 ERA) when Pittsburgh and Philadelphia conclude their three-game series Sunday. Discount MLB Jerseys . The 2014 edition will be the ninth meeting between the Caps and Vikes in a tradition that dates back to 2005. "Since the original Whitecaps, the club has enjoyed fantastic support from fans in Victoria and all across Vancouver Island," said Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi. MLB Jerseys China . In mens doubles, Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock reached the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Croatian Mate Pavic and Andre Sa of Brazil. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/ . The Detroit Tigers slugger fell short in his bid to become the first player to win the Triple Crown in successive seasons. Cheap MLB Jerseys From China . The deals were announced on Friday. Beckham will receive $4.175 million in base salary, while De Aza will receive $4.25 million. Beckham hit .267 with five home runs and 24 RBIs over 103 games last season, his fifth with the White Sox. Wholesale Baseball Jerseys . Not sure yet. #livetweetingthegreatuntangle — Strombone (@strombone1) April 17, 2014 Stage three, coping: I feel like I could use a cigarette or something.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Calgary Flames are spoilers once again. With losses in three straight and seven of their last 10 games, the Nashville Predators have seriously damaged their already slim playoff chances. The Predators hope to boost their fading postseason hopes when they visit the Flames for Fridays clash at the Saddledome. Calgary is one of only two teams behind the Predators in the Western Conference standings. With only 12 games left in its regular-season schedule, Nashville is 11 points behind Phoenix for the last wild card berth in the West. The Flames, who trail Nashville by five points in the standings, can win the season series against the Preds on Friday. Nashville earned a 4-2 home win on Jan. 14, but Calgary responded 10 days later with a 5-4 shootout victory at the Saddledome. Nashville has won six of nine in the series overall, but the Flames have claimed three straight and five of the last six encounters in Calgary. Although the Flames are headed for a fifth straight year out of the playoffs, the club has played solid hockey of late, picking up their third win in four games with Tuesdays home victory over Buffalo. Mike Cammalleri and Paul Byron scored in the third period to help the Flames earn the 3-1 decision, while Calgarys Joni Ortio, in his eighth NHL start, outdueled Buffalos Nathan Lieuwen. Ortio gave up one goal on four shots in the first period -- Drew Staffords wraparound after a Calgary turnover behind the net -- and only needed to record 13 saves for the win. Joe Colborne scored the other goal for the Flames in the second period. "The boys regrouped between the first and second and we skated so much better. We saw our team working and making great plays," Flames head coach Bob Hartley said. The win pushed Calgarys record on home ice this season to 16-16-3. The Flames will visit Edmonton on Saturday before returning to the Saddledome for a thrree-game homestand against San Jose, Anaheim and the New York Rangers.dddddddddddd With an average of 2.34 goals per game, the Predators offence has been a sore spot for the club all season long. The problem has been magnified of late, as Nashville has been held to one goal or less in seven of its past 10 games. The Preds have notched a total of two goals during their current three-game slide and the club was shut out Wednesday night in Vancouver, dropping a 2-0 decision against the Canucks. That setback came one day after Nashville opened a four-game road trip with a 5-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the bottom team in the Western Conference. Rookie goaltender Eddie Lack of the Canucks made 30 saves to frustrate the Predators on Wednesday. Nashville failed to score despite having four power- play opportunities, including two in the third period. Carter Hutton turned aside 20-of-22 shots for the Predators to take a tough- luck loss. "Weve got to get some goals for our goaltender," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "Carter Hutton had a good game for us. We need some production from our forwards. Weve got virtually zero. If our defense arent scoring, were not scoring it seems like." Nashville lost forward Paul Gaustad to an upper-body injury on Wednesday and he expects to miss tonights contest. Gaustad has nine goals and seven assists in 70 games this season. The Preds recalled Calle Jarnkrok from the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL and the forward is set to make his NHL debut on Friday. Jarnkrok was acquired from Detroit before the trade deadline in the deal that sent David Legwand to the Red Wings. The 22-year-old Swede has compiled 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 62 total AHL games with Milwaukee and the Grand Rapids Griffins this season. Nashville, which will complete its current swing this Sunday in Chicago, is 14-14-6 as the road team this season. ' ' '