SAN DIEGO - The Pirates West Coast road trip has been filled with sunshine and smiles. Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez hit two-run homers to back Gerrit Coles solid outing and Pittsburgh beat the San Diego Padres 4-1 on Tuesday night. The Piartes have won the first two games of this three-game series after three of four in Los Angeles. The trip in New York, where the Pirates lost two of three to the Mets. "We didnt play our best ball in New York and we had to move on from there," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "We got some traction, got some starts we needed and the bullpen is working very efficiently and the offence continues to show up." Cole (6-3) limited the Padres to one run and four hits while striking out six in 5 2-3 innings as the Pirates went to 6-1 in his last seven starts. Pittsburgh won its third straight game and 10th in its last 14. Jason Grilli pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his ninth save. Jesse Hahn (0-1) lasted 2 2-3 innings in his major league debut for San Diego. He allowed four runs on six hits, including the homers by Alvarez and Walker, striking out five with two walks. "It was just good to be out there," Hahn said. "Its what I worked for and its good to get the first one out of the way." The Padres lost for the third consecutive time and sunk a season-high seven games under .500. Cole breezed through the first five innings with only two Padres reaching scoring position. But with two outs in the sixth inning, consecutive singles by Chase Headley, Seth Smith and Yonder Alonso ended Coles night, with Alonso driving in Headley to pull the Padres to within 4-1. Jared Hughes relieved Cole and got Jedd Gyorko on a grounder to second to end the rally. "I had good stuff tonight and stuck around long enough to win but I wasnt very effective at all with a four-run lead," Cole said. "That was pretty frustrating and I uncharacteristically ran out of stuff at the end." He retired 10 straight at one point and only two Padres get into scoring position over the first five innings. Alvarez doubled the Pirates lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning, hitting a fastball over the right-field fence for a two-run homer. Alvarezs 11th home run on the year scored Russell Martin, after he opened the inning with a walk. Hahn gave up two more hits, to Jordy Mercer -- his sixth in seven at-bats -- and Josh Harrison, before being lifted for Jason Lane. Walker became the eighth different Pirates player to hit their last eight home runs when he connected in the third inning for his 11th of the season. Walkers two-run, opposite-field blast to left came off Hahns curveball. "It was easier the second time around to see what he wanted to do," Walker said Once Hahn exited, Lane worked 3 1-3 perfect innings in his first major league appearance since Oct. 1, 2007, and first as a pitcher. Lane switched to pitching after 497 games as an outfielder. "Jason did a great job," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Just what we needed." With Hahn and Lane making their major league debuts as pitchers, it was first time since Sept. 4, 1971 that two Padres did that on the same day. NOTES: Padres RHP Andrew Cashner could start as soon as Saturday against the Nationals. Cashner will test his mending elbow in a Wednesday side session before getting the OK for Saturday. . LHP Eric Stults was placed on bereavement leave after the death of his grandmother. He isnt expected to miss a start. . OF Carlos Quentin was out of the lineup but is expected to start on Wednesday; he struck out as a pinch hitter in the eighth. . Pirates OF Starling Marte, hitless in his previous 17 at-bats, didnt start. "Its been hard sledding for him," Manager Clint Hurdle said. Marte struck out as a pinch hitter in the seventh. ... RHP Stolmy Pimentel (sore right shoulder) will pitch three innings for Class A Bradenton on Friday. ... Padres RHP Ian Kennedy (4-6, 3.42) faces Pirates LHP Francisco Liriano (1-5, 4.62) in Wednesdays finale of the three-game series. Colton Sceviour Panthers Jersey .Y. - Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby captured his second career Art Ross trophy on Sunday after leading the NHL in scoring this season. Frank Vatrano Panthers Jersey . Bjoerndalen broke the record he shared with cross-country skiing great Bjoern Daehlie, also matching his fellow Norwegians record of eight gold medals. Bjoerndalen earlier won gold in Sochi in the mens sprint biathlon. http://www.hockeypanthersofficialonline.com/denis-malgin-hockey-jersey/ . Sections of the British media reported Friday that Brooklyn Beckham, the son of United great David, was invited to a training session at the club on Thursday. Vincent Trocheck Jersey . Zdeno Chara scored with 13 seconds left in regulation after David Krejci tied it late, lifting the Bruins to a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night in a game that saw Orpik taken from the ice on a stretcher. Aaron Ekblad Panthers Jersey . As a follow-up, TSN.ca offers you the opportunity to chime in on all the big issues with our insiders. Read up on all the questions and answers, and put in your own two cents on our popular Your Call feature. PHILADELPHIA -- Theres been no slowing down Andrew McCutchen or the Pittsburgh Pirates lately. The reigning NL MVP hit the first inside-the-park homer of his career and the Pirates protected their lead in the wild-card race, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 Wednesday night. Russell Martin also homered in the fifth inning, and the Pirates bullpen helped secure the teams sixth victory in seven games. McCutchen tied the score when he scored standing up after his drive off the wall in straightaway centre field. "With (McCutchens) speed," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said, "it was an easy finish for him." The star slugger said he knew he had an inside-the-park homer when the ball first struck the wall. "Its brick, so anything coming that hard is going to come off it and go that way," he said. "I knew when it hit the wall that I had a good chance." The last-place Phillies have had a difficult time trying to contain McCutchen, who is 18 for 36 in his last 10 games against Pittsburghs in-state rivals. Two batters after McCutchens electrifying homer, Martin gave the Pirates the lead for good with a more-traditional long ball. He sent his ninth homer of the season a few rows deep into the centre-field seats, putting Pittsburgh ahead 4-3. Pittsburgh starter Vance Worley (7-4), who pitched two seasons for the Phillies, won in his return to Philadelphia since being traded in 2012. The Pirates bullpen, which entered with the NLs fifth-best ERA, kept Philadelphia hitless for four innings. Bobby LaFromboise, John Holdzkom and Tony Watson pitched clean innings, and Mark Melancon did the same in the ninth to convert his 28th save in 32 opportunities. Hurdle said Worley had "inconsistent command," forcing him to rely on his bullpen to pick him up. Worley agreed with his managers assessment. "Stuff was sloppy and did the opposite of what I wanted the ball to do," he said. "It seemed like my ffour-seam (fastball) was sinking, and my sinker was cutting, and my curveballs were nowhere in the zone.dddddddddddd And if I threw my cutter right it was 5 feet short. I just had to keep battling and trust what I had and trust my defence behind me." Cody Asche doubled and scored two runs for the Phillies, who have lost three of four. Phillies starter Jerome Williams (3-1) helped Philadelphia more from the batters box than from the pitchers mound. The right-handers two-run single in the fourth doubled his career RBI total to four and gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead. Williams hit was the last of the night for Philadelphia. In the fifth, McCutchen and Martin, who finished with three RBIs, homered off Williams to erase Pittsburghs deficit. TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: 3B Pedro Alvarez has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in the fourth metatarsal of his left foot, for which the typical recovery time is four to six weeks. Alvarez has appeared in only one game since Aug. 26, when he first sustained the injury. Phillies: LF Domonic Brown exited in the sixth with a bruised left shoulder. ... LHP Cliff Lee had his left elbow examined by three physicians, including the teams, in recent weeks. He will remain on his present rehab plan and will not throw until November, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. ... SS Jimmy Rollins, who sustained a left hamstring strain Monday, has no timeline for a return, Amaro said. UP NEXT Pirates: LHP Francisco Liriano (4-10, 3.74 ERA) takes the mound for the rubber match Thursday. He earned a win Saturday, his first in his past seven starts. Phillies: RHP A.J. Burnett (8-15, 4.29) gets the ball Thursday night. He has gone at least six innings in each of his last six starts, a streak that dates to Aug. 8. ON A ROLL Pirates LF Starling Marte used a sixth-inning single to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, during which he is 16 for 40. He also doubled in the eighth and finished 2 for 4. ' ' '