SAN FRANCISCO -- An exasperated San Francisco Giants team is still trying to find a way out of its post-All Star Game funk.Its hard to put into words how tough each (loss) is, Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford said.In the latest setback, Crawford had two extra-base hits and three RBI, and Buster Posey and Angel Pagan had three hits each, but the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied from a four-run deficit to complete a three-game sweep of the freefalling Giants with a 6-5 victory on Wednesday.The Giants, who on Tuesday fell out of first place in the NL West for the first time in 97 days, lost their fourth straight. They fell to 9-21, the worst record in the majors since the All-Star break. They dropped 1 1/2 games behind the Dodgers, who beat Philadelphia on Wednesday night.Asked if the Giants are nearing a breaking point, first baseman Brandon Belt said I think weve already reached that to a point.Weve had the meetings, weve done all kinds of stuff, were just not winning ballgames right now, so weve got to find a way to turn that around, he said.The Pirates won their fourth straight game and sixth in seven. They remain a game behind St. Louis, which beat Houston 8-2, in the race for the NL wild card.Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer, his 17th, which capped a six-run rally in the fifth inning that chased Giants starter Matt Cain (4-8).Cain had allowed one hit and had faced just one batter over the minimum with a 4-0 lead going into his disastrous fifth inning, when the Pirates scored six runs on four walks, three hits and a hit batsman.He was throwing so well and he just lost his release point, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.I probably stuck with him out there a little longer to be honest. I felt like he had enough to get through it. It didnt play out.Cains first pitch to McCutchen was an 89 mph fastball over the heart of the plate, and the Pirates center fielder pounced.I was trying to throw a fastball and left it right down the middle, Cain said.I think the biggest thing was I was trying to make too good of pitches instead of staying a little more aggressive, it just got me out of whack. I wasnt that far off in the inning. ... I just made a bad pitch to him (McCutchen).The loss typified the plight of a team with the best record in the majors going into the All-Star break that is now stuck in a downward spiral.It seems like one game youve got the pitcher shutting the other guys down and the offense isnt doing anything and the next game the offense is doing OK and the leads are gone, Belt said. If we could get on the same page, then thats how we won a lot of those games in the first half.Jeff Locke (9-7) pitched a scoreless fifth.Tony Watson survived a scoreless ninth after the Giants loaded the bases with no outs for his seventh save in eight tries since taking over Pittsburghs closers role.After inducing Buster Posey to ground into a run-scoring double play, Watson got Crawford to fly out to shallow center and McCutchen made a game-ending running catch.Pagan extended his hitting streak to 15 games.LA STORYBochy hasnt announced whether hell use Mondays day off to skip Cains spot in the rotation for next weeks series against the Dodgers, but Cain is aware of the possibility. It would be hard for me, Cain said. Those are big games in LA and they are the games you look forward to and compete in. But we have to do whatever we have to do right now. We have to find a ways to get back right track and winning and get some mojo going.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: Bochy had Posey in the lineup for a day game after a night game after the All-Star catcher missed two consecutive games with lower back tightness. I dont want him going out there if theres any risk of making it worse, he says hes fine, Bochy said. ... Belt dropped to the ground after fouling a pitch off his right knee in the fifth inning but stayed in the game. He said he felt OK running first to third later in the inning but expects bruising. It didnt feel good, Belt said, theres not a lot of padding there.UP NEXTGiants: LHP Madison Bumgarner will pitch the series opener with the Mets on Thursday. The All-Star threw seven shutout innings against Baltimore in his most recent outing to snap a streak of five winless starts in which he was 0-3 and the Giants were 0-5.Willy Hernangomez Hornets Jersey . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. Miles Bridges Jersey . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. https://www.hornetslockerroom.com/Muggsy-Bogues-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Percy Miller Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Caleb Martin Hornets Jersey . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services.SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- When Shaquille ONeal was 10 years old, his father made a prediction.Friday night when his son became a Hall of Famer, it was realized.Shaq and Allen Iverson headlined the 10-member Class of 2016 enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. One of the most star-packed classes in recent memory, it also featured international star Yao Ming, WNBA great Sheryl Swoopes, coach Tom Izzo, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf, an architect in the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls championship teams of the 1990s.If I know my father, hes up there arguing with Wilt (Chamberlain) that his son is the best big man in the game, Shaq said.Posthumous honorees were: 27-year NBA referee Darell Garretson; John McLendon, the first African-American coach in a professional league; Zelmo Beaty, the former NBA and ABA star who led Prairie View to an NAIA title in 1962; and Cumberland Posey, who is also a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.Shaq was an instant box office draw during his career because of his mammoth frame and rim-shaking dunks. But he also exhibited a personality that was as playful was it was engaging. He showed off all of it on Friday.He had the final speech of the night, a humorous dissertation that spanned his long journey in the sport.His speech had serious moments like thanking his parents, Phil Harrison and Lucille ONeal, for giving him the discipline and drive that drove his NBA dream.But he also tossed in light moments. He thanked former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant for helping him win three NBA titles, but also for getting me pushed off the team and traded to Miami.Before host Ahmad Rashad could even introduce Iverson, the first mention of his name started a roar of cheers throughout the assembled audience.Dressed in all black, former MVP known as A.I., blew kisses has tears began to form in his eyes.Thank God for loving me and blessing me, Iverson said, to be the man that I am and having no regrets for the man that I am. A man that my family loves, my teammates love and my fans love.Fighting tears throughout, Iverson thanked former Georgetown coach John Thompson for saving my life.(After) the incident happened in high school and all that was taken away...no other schools would recruit me anymore, Iverson recalled. My mom went to Georgetown and begged him to give me a chance. And he did.He said he later left Georgetown only as an OK basketball player.But once I started to lissten to Larry Brown and take constructive criticism, I learned how much of a great, great coach that he really is.dddddddddddd ... Thats when I became an MVP.Iverson saved his final thank you for wife Tawanna.Youre just the best to me, he said. I want you to walk around and be proud of yourself that you are a Hall of Famer.Two of the themes on the night were family and journeys. That was the essence of Swoopes speech, who was thankful of her path from tiny Brownsfield, Texas, and that her cancer-stricken mother, Louise, was able to see it.What a ride its been, she said.The 7-foot-6 Yaos arrival from China to the NBA in 2002 instantly helped bring the game to a broader international audience.He was Fridays first inductee, an honor which he joked that should have gone to Iverson.You know why? Because I need more practice than him, Yao said to applause from the crowd and a laugh from Iverson.Yao also thanked his early mentors in China, former NBA Commissioner David Stern for his vision in wanting Yao to play in the league, as well his first teammates on the Houston Rockets. He also singled is former NBA coaches, including Rudy Tomjonavich and Jeff Van Gundy.I will always consider you my family, Yao said. I am Texan and Houston Rocket for life.Izzo has become the face of the blue-collar Michigan State team while leading it to seven Final Fours and the NCAA championship in 2000.He thanked his parents, Carl and Dororthy, for being his first mentors. The 90-year-old Dorothy was in attendance, but Carl passed away last September.Izzo briefly got choked up as he spoke of his father, who he said instilled in him a work ethic that remains with him today.The seven Final Fours and championship are just frosting on the cake, Izzo said.Reinsdorf, the longtime Bulls owner, chronicled what led him to purchase the Bulls in 1984. It was a move he said legendary New York Yankees coach George Steinbrenner panned, telling him hed never make any money.He enjoyed proving him wrong.Its been a great life, he said. I know its the fourth quarter, but Im hoping for overtime.Like his father, Shaq too has a wish.One day when some father quizzes his sons on the greats of the game, I hope Shaquille ONeal will be the answer, he said.---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower ' ' '
