PITTSBURGH - A day after falling out of first place, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a trade they feel will bolster their offence. Houston Astros Shirts . And it was welcome news to manager Clint Hurdle and his players. The Pirates acquired outfielder Marlon Byrd and catcher John Buck from the New York Mets on Tuesday, hoping the veterans can help the franchise to its first playoff berth in 21 years. The Pirates began the day a half-game behind St. Louis in the National League Central after the Cardinals took sole possession of first place Monday night with an 8-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates were idle. The Pirates sent the Mets minor league infielder Dilson Herrera and a player to be named later in exchange for Byrd, Buck and cash considerations. Pittsburgh had claimed Byrd off waivers and were able to work out the four-player deal with New York. "Its pretty neat to see us make a move like this," Pirates second baseman Neil Walker said. "We didnt expect something to happen this late. You usually figure it is something that would happen at the (July 31 non-waiver) trade deadline. "But these are established guys who can help us get to where we want to go." Byrd, 35, is hitting .285 with 21 home runs and 71 RBIs this season, including .345 with seven homers against left-handers, and will give Pittsburgh needed depth in the outfield while leadoff hitter Starling Marte recovers from a sprained right hand. Buck, 33, is batting .215 with 15 home runs and 60 RBIs. Since the beginning of the 2010 season, Bucks 63 home runs as a catcher rank third in the majors. He will back up Russell Martin. Both players are expected to join the Pirates for Wednesday nights game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Neither Byrd, a 12-year veteran, or Buck, in his 10th season, have played in the post-season. "Marlon Byrd is an impactful bat with significant numbers against left-handed pitching and John Buck is a strong receiver who works well with a pitching staff," Hurdle said. "Those were areas we were looking to improve upon and strengthen and the trade also adds a couple of layers of experience to our club." Mets manager Terry Collins was sad to see Byrd and Buck go, calling them "two very good professionals." "I cant tell you how much value they brought to this team," Collins said. Pittsburgh is searching for offence to take some of the pressure off a pitching staff that has carried the team for long stretches during the first five months of the season. The Pirates lead the majors with a 3.21 ERA, though there have been signs of wear and tear this month. Pittsburgh is 11-12 in August and has seen a 4-game lead over St. Louis two weeks ago turn into a virtual tie. Byrd has been red hot since the All-Star break, hitting .311 with 11 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 20 RBIs in his last 38 games. His presence should help an offence that is batting just .244 on the year, including an abysmal .223 with runners in scoring position, the second-lowest average in baseball. Ironically, it was Marlon Byrd T-shirt night on Tuesday in New York as the Mets hosted the Philadelphia Phillies. The 19-year-old Herrera is hitting .265 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs for Class A West Virginia. He played in the All-Star Futures Game last month at Citi Field. The Mets assigned Herrera to their Class A Savannah farm club and he will participate in the South Atlantic League playoffs. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said he did not regret waiting until late August to trade Byrd rather than at the non-waiver deadline. "At the end of July, it was a 29-team market. Now, it was a one-team market," Alderson said. "We felt we got a better package now than in July." Regardless of when the deal was done, Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington was happy with it. "The cost wasnt cheap because we gave up a good prospect and the second player is also going to be a good piece," Huntington said. "But our goal is to push this club forward and play deep into October, just not get there." Both teams made a series of roster moves in tandem with the trade. The Mets selected the contract of outfielder Matt den Dekker from Triple-A Las Vegas and also recalled catcher Anthony Recker and left-hander Robert Carson from Las Vegas. Ace pitcher Matt Harvey on the 15-day disabled list with a tear in his right elbow. The Pirates cleared spots on the 40-man roster by designating infielder/outfielder Russ Canzler for assignment and recalling right-hander Kyle McPherson from Triple-A Indianapolis and placing him on the 60-day disabled list. McPherson underwent ligament reconstruction surgery on his right elbow July 10. Pittsburgh will make corresponding 25-man roster moves Wednesday. Brian Hunter Astros Jersey .Y. - Referee Ed Hochuli referred to replay official Tom Sifferman by his nickname Jungle Boy, which was heard on the in-stadium microphone during the Arizona Cardinals-Carolina Panthers NFC wild-card game Saturday. Joaquin Andujar Jersey .Boston beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Tuesday night and celebrated consecutive wins for the first time in more than a month. https://www.cheapastros.com/1063o-ken-caminiti-jersey-astros.html . "I dont know where we would be without him," McClendon said. "Hes done a tremendous job for us and (Wednesday) was no different." Logan Morrison drove in two runs in Seattles big sixth inning, Young pitched seven strong innings and the Mariners beat the Houston Astros 5-2 to complete a three-game sweep. NEW ORLEANS -- Its a good thing for the New Orleans Pelicans that Ryan Anderson doesnt let an off night stop him from unleashing long-range shots with the game on the line. Anderson shook off some unusually poor shooting and hit two clutch 3-pointers in overtime that carried the New Orleans Pelicans to a 111-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. "Its important that I stay aggressive on this team. I think coach has a lot of confidence in me, a lot of faith in me and if Im passive or if I dont take a shot when Im open, it could hurt the team," Anderson said. "So when I get an open chance I want to shoot it confidently. ... You can never give up your confidence on the court, no matter how awful the shooting night you have." Jason Smith showed he is getting increasingly comfortable at centre after spending much of his early pro career at power forward. The 7-footer never backed down against the size and strength Detroit had underneath with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. Smith scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds for the Pelicans, who snapped a two-game skid while handing Detroit its third straight loss. "He was a monster tonight," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "Heres a guy doing it on both ends of the floor, has a career night and just didnt give in." Anderson finished with 22 points on 6-of-18 shooting, including 4 of 12 from 3-point range. Jrue Holiday added 19 points and Al-Farouq Aminu, whose teammates call him "Chief," had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Asked what it meant for the Pelicans to outrebound Detroit 51-43 -- turning 16 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points -- Anderson said, "It means Jason and Chief battled their tails off tonight. ... It just means that we wanted it more." New Orleans also got 14 points from Tyreke Evans, whom the Pelicans expected to miss a week or two after an ankle sprain Friday. Instead, he returned without missing a game, but acknowledged he played in pain. "I just felt like I could help," said Evans, adding that he understood his team was already short-handed because of Anthony Davis broken hannd. Justin Verlander Jersey. "Once I felt like I could run and cut side-to-side, I said, Im going to play." Monroe, a New Orleans native, had 28 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit, which led by three points early in overtime before Andersons first 3 of the extra session tied it. Brandon Jennings added 25 points and Rodney Stuckey 20 for the Pistons. Drummond had 10 points and 11 rebounds, but was disappointed New Orleans established itself as better team near the basket. "Its on Greg and I to figure it out. We cant continue to let guys come in our paint and do those kinds of things to us," Drummond said. "Its a building process and were going to figure it out. Its not going to happen for too long." Detroit had one last lead when Jennings stole the ball from Holiday and heaved the ball down-court to Monroe for a fast-break dunk to make it 103-102. Thats when Anderson responded with his second 3 of the extra period to give New Orleans the lead for good. "We lost track of him in overtime," Monroe said of Anderson. "With a guy like that, you cant give him one second to get that shot off. ... We did a good job most of the game, but he hurt us in overtime." Detroit trailed 108-106 after Jennings floater off the glass with 13 seconds left. Detroit then fouled Evans, who missed his second free throw, but Josh Smith was called for a lane violation, and Evans hit on his extra chance to seal it. The Pelicans led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter when Holidays 15-foot pull-up made it 83-71, but that lead evaporated when Stuckeys turnaround jumper late in the period began a 12-0 Detroit run that included Monroes layup and putback. Detroit finally tied the game at 96 on Josh Smiths running hook with 1:19 left. Both teams then went cold, each failing to score on a pair of possessions, and the game went to overtime after Jennings missed two jumpers in the final seconds. NOTES: Eric Gordon scored 14 for New Orleans. ... Smith scored 11 for Detroit. ... The Pistons rested Chauncey Billups in what was the Pistons second game in as many nights, while Stuckey returned from a two-game absence cause by left knee soreness. ' ' '