LOS ANGELES -- Francisco Liriano finally got that long-awaited first victory of the season. Cheap North Carolina Jerseys Authentic . Liriano pitched in and out of trouble in his duel with Josh Beckett, and Ike Davis homered to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 Friday night. Liriano (1-5) scattered five hits over 5 2-3 scoreless innings. After entering with a 5.06 ERA, he struck out eight and walked two in his 12th start of the year. "It was a great feeling to get that first win out of the way," said Liriano, a 16-game winner for Pittsburgh last season. "It was a long time, and I felt like I wasnt doing my job. I just want to try to go deeper into the game my next time out." Beckett (3-2) allowed two runs and five hits in five innings, five days after pitching the first no-hitter in the majors this season during a 6-0 win at Philadelphia. Yasiel Puig reached base for the 31st straight game, getting an infield single in the fourth and continuing to second on Lirianos throwing error. He came up with the bases loaded in the fifth and popped up on a changeup for the third out, making him 0 for 5 in those situations. "Francisco pitched out of the stretch most of the night, and the leadoff hitter reached base in five of those six innings," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle pointed out. "To get Puig, thats just a classic matchup on a Friday night in front of 47,000 -- thats good stuff. There were so many important pitches in that sequence, but he stayed focused and was aggressive. He had eight strikeouts, and a lot of them were with guys on second." Despite Lirianos record, hes been able to keep his team in games more often than not. The Pirates have won all six of his no-decisions. "Thats what we continue to tell Frank," Hurdle said. "Fortunately, hes been around. Hes had to battle through so many things, and this is just the next thing hes going to get challenged by at the major league level. Hes kept his composure and his confidence, so well see where he can take it. I just believe its going to get better and better for him." Beckett was removed for a pinch-hitter after 88 pitches -- the 34-year-old righty threw a career-high 128 in the first no-hitter by a Dodgers pitcher since 1996. "Physically, I felt fine. I took care of myself in between starts, and I was ready to go out there," Beckett said. "I didnt feel any different between this start and my last one. I mean, if you look at those 128 pitches in nine innings, its only 13, 14 pitches per inning." Pirates second baseman Neil Walker robbed Matt Kemp of an RBI single in the sixth with a diving stop toward the middle and threw him out, after Hanley Ramirez led off with a double. Liriano faced one more batter, striking out Scott Van Slyke with his 100th pitch. Justin Wilson then fanned Andre Ethier. Mark Melancon gave up an RBI single to Ramirez in the eighth, but retired pinch-hitter Adrian Gonzalez on a grounder with the potential tying run at second. Jason Grilli pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save. Beckett retired the side in order only once. He hit Starling Marte with a 2-2 pitch to open the third and Clint Barmes followed with a walk. Marte was picked off second, but the Pirates overcame that miscue with singles by Josh Harrison and Walker, whose hit to right field drove in Barmes with the games first run. Davis led off the fourth with a drive to centre that travelled an estimated 453 feet. It was his fourth home run of the season, including two grand slams against Cincinnati. "Beckett was on the corners all night and his stuff was good, but that fastball caught a little more of the plate and I was able to get the good part of the bat on it," Davis said. "We really didnt do too much off him, but we scored just enough runs. Its hard to beat the Dodgers only scoring two runs, but our pitchers were amazing tonight." Drew Butera, who caught Becketts no-hitter, also was behind the plate for Lirianos no-no with Minnesota on May 3, 2011, against the White Sox in Chicago. He threw out Russell Martin and Harrison on stolen base attempts for the third out in the second and fifth innings, respectively. NOTES: It was the 19th time since 1900 that a pitcher made his first start following a no-hitter against an opponent who also had pitched one. The last time that happened was May 7, 2012, when Jered Weaver of the Angels faced Liriano and beat Minnesota for the second time in five days, 8-3. ... Dee Gordon stole two more bases to raise his major league-leading total to 34, and the Dodgers total to 64 -- also tops in the majors. ... Pirates LHP Tony Watson extended his scoreless streak to 15 2-3 innings with a perfect seventh. ... Cincinnati LHP Johnny Vander Meer (1938) remains the only pitcher to throw no-hitters in consecutive starts. Justin Jackson College Jersey .C. -- Eric Staal kept his focus after his apparent breakaway goal was waived off early in the third period. Cheap North Carolina Jerseys Free Shipping . The defending champions’ roller coaster season included trading offensive star Percy Harvin in the midst of the team’s 3-3 start. That move that reportedly irked several Seahawk players, but one management saw necessary to save the team’s chemistry.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Mr. Fraser, Im a fan of the column as you put a good perspective on some of the crazy reffing that goes on. I would love to know how Torontos Stephane Robidas isnt suspended for elbowing Vancouvers Shawn Matthias in the head with a dirty blatant elbow this past Saturday. Now Vancouver has one of its hottest players out with a concussion. Its pretty infuriating when we see Alex Burrows get two games for a much less dangerous hit, then Robidas gets away with a dirty, blatant elbow to the head. Whats wrong with this league? Ted Goodsell Airdrie, Alberta Ted: You are one of four fans that dropped this question in the Cmon Ref mail bag just last night who are curious as to why no suspension was imposed to Stephane Robidas after he elbowed Shawn Matthias in a play that resulted in concussion-like symptoms to the Vancouver player. The Player Safety Committee has a series of criteria to determine a hit they deem to be worthy of a suspension. You can find various examples and explanations in tutorial videos contained on the NHL.com player safety website. The committee, headed by Stephane Quintal, attempt to rule in a fair and consistent manner based on the criteria they have been handed. This is certainly no easy task and every decision (or non-decision) they make is closely scrutinized by team personnel, the media and fans alike. Every play is different and must be judged on its own merit. In many situations it appears to me that too narrow a margin exists between determining an illegal play worthy of a penalty imposed by the referee in the game or elevated to a suspension after the fact with regard to player safety. Even though this was an elbow infraction, rule 48 is the modern day standard bearer for illegal contact to the head. The rule provides a list of criteria that not only defines an illegal check to the head but offers caveats or exemptions that carry forward and become part of the criteria used by the Player Safety Committee to determine suspensions. Critical to their consideration is if an opponents head was the mmain point of contact and especially whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponents body and the head was not picked as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward. Harrison Barnes College Jersey. This is certainly an abundance of verbiage to digest when breaking down hits that result in varying degrees of contact to the head of a player. It is my opinion that too many caveats are being considered for not suspending a player when significant contact to the head results from a high, illegal hit. As we look at a couple of different angles when Robidas initiated contact with Matthias we are presented with evidence that would most likely have been strongly considered by the P.S.C. to determine a suspension was not warranted to the Toronto player. The camera shot from the stands, looking through the back of Matthias, indicates that Robidas elevated arm/elbow appears to make initial contact just below the chin (neck area) of the Vancouver player. As Robidas initiates contact his upper body slides off the centre mass of his opponent and results in Matthias head becoming the main point of contact with the right-back shoulder and upper tricep of Robidas. The cross ice shot is somewhat more incriminating that the elbow did some residual damage but it can be argued that Robidas elbow rode up after making initial contact below the chin. In the eye and mind of those responsible for determining a suspension this becomes an illegal elbow worthy of a minor penalty and does not cross the line of the criteria they utilize for the purpose of suspension. Some (or even many of us) wont agree with the rationale or criteria currently being utilized to determine a suspension. Many would suggest it falls short in an effort to hold players accountable for high hits that result in various degrees of contact to the head of an opponent and can result in injury. The General Managers are presently meeting and can recommend changes to this process if they deem them to be warranted. Its their stick and puck and until such time as changes are made it will be business as usual. I wish Shawn Matthias a full and speedy recovery. Authentic Nike Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Tennessee Titans Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Washington Redskins Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Denver Broncos Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Green Bay Packers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike New England Patriots Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Oakland Raiders Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Seattle Seahawks Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Carolina Panthers Jerseys Cheap Authentic Nike Cleveland Browns Jerseys Cheap Cheap Throwback Baseball Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Atlanta Braves Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Baltimore Orioles Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Boston Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Chicago Cubs Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Chicago White Sox Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Cincinnati Reds Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Cleveland Indians Jerseys ' ' '