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Aaargh! Sloppy Pirates blanked 5-0 by Colon, Mets

By WTOP Staff

MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Sloppy in the field and punchless at the plate. The past two days in New York were ugly ones for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Bartolo Colon carried a three-hitter into the eighth inning, and the Mets got home runs from David Wright and Lucas Duda in a 5-0 victory Wednesday.

Charlie Morton (1-7) was chased in the sixth and Pirates pitchers walked eight in all. Pittsburgh fell to 7-16 away from home with another poor performance.

“The defense hasn’t been good,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “We’ve got work to do.”

That goes for the offense, too. Pittsburgh began the day batting .223 on the road while averaging 3.3 runs. The latest effort didn’t help.

Colon (4-5) struck out a season-high nine — seven looking — in his second consecutive win, and Wright added an RBI single during an eventful afternoon. He stole a base, made two throwing errors and robbed Andrew McCutchen of extra bases with a diving play at third.

Neil Walker and the Pirates went into the game well aware that Colon was relying on his moving fastball some 90 percent of the time this season. Still, they couldn’t do much with it.

“He threw it where he wanted and we couldn’t put anything together,” Walker said. “It was one of those days where we had a good feel for what he was trying to do and where he was trying to put the ball and we didn’t counter quite as effectively.”

The Mets improved to 13-17 at Citi Field, winning the series against Pittsburgh for their first consecutive victories at home since a three-game streak from April 23-25.

Pitching four days after his 41st birthday, Colon reached 2,000 strikeouts when he caught ex-Met Ike Davis looking in the sixth. The burly right-hander saved the souvenir, tossing the ball to injured ace Matt Harvey in the dugout.

“Just amazing how he works both sides of the plate,” Wright said. “He just dissects hitters.”

Colon’s previous turn Friday was washed out by rain after he yielded two runs in four innings against Arizona. In his last outing that counted, he went eight innings to beat Washington 5-2 on May 17.

“He pitched as we expected him to pitch. We just couldn’t square him up,” Hurdle said. “He’s been around as long as he has for reasons — because he’s good at what he does.”

Colon was pulled after 121 pitches, his most in a decade, but Jeurys Familia needed only one to get out of the eighth. He got Davis to ground into an inning-ending double play with two on, then finished the six-hitter for his second major league save and first this season.

Duda drew a leadoff walk in the second and scored after second-string catcher Chris Stewart was unable to handle two wild pitches by Morton.

Pirates starter Edinson Volquez and reliever Jeanmar Gomez combined for four wild pitches with Russell Martin behind the plate in Tuesday night’s 4-2 loss.

“We’ve got to tighten some things up and play better,” Hurdle said. “They had three trips around the bases in the last two days — it was one hit.”

Wright had an RBI single in the third after an embarrassing defensive sequence for the Pirates handed Daniel Murphy a Little League triple.

Murphy hit a grounder to third, and Pedro Alvarez threw high to first for an error. Murphy took off for second but the ball caromed hard off the dugout fence to Walker. He threw to second in time to get Murphy, but shortstop Jordy Mercer dropped the ball for another error that let Murphy scamper to third.

“Pedro’s had some challenges throwing the ball across the diamond this year,” Hurdle said.

Pittsburgh appealed that Murphy never touched second base, but he was called safe.

Wright opened the sixth with his fourth home run. Duda added a long, two-run shot off Bryan Morris in the eighth.

“The first inning was really long. Couldn’t repeat pitches. That ran the pitch count up there pretty quickly,” Morton said. “Some of my pitches just flattened out today.”

NOTES: Hurdle said Jason Grilli is very close to regaining the closer job. Grilli was sidelined from April 21 to May 22 with a strained left oblique. Hurdle said he wants to establish some clear bullpen roles soon so his relievers know what’s expected of them on the rest of the road trip. … Davis, traded by the Mets last month, received a warm hand in the series opener Friday night — and Hurdle believes that was meaningful. “I think when he got applauded the other day, I think that closed the book for him,” Hurdle said. “He showed up, he gave it everything he had, he’s a Pirate now, and he feels good about being a Pirate now.” … RHP Phil Irwin was claimed off waivers by Texas. … Gerrit Cole (4-3) pitches for the Pirates when they begin a four-game series Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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