NEW YORK -- Francisco Liriano finally got to pitch for Pittsburgh and, just like that, the Pirates looked like a much better team. He struck out nine and the Pirates teed off on New Yorks pitching for an 11-2 win over the Mets on Saturday. "Hes pitched before and hes been good," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Good to have him in the fold now, for me its -- three left-handers in the rotation, I like that a lot. Especially in the division were in, the way we match up against the team. Jordy Mercer homered twice and Jose Tabata had four hits, including a two-run shot for the Pirates. The Mets have struggled to score at home, but the start by Jonathon Niese (2-4) would have put any team in a hole. He tied a career high by allowing eight runs, and walked more batters than he struck out for the fourth time in eight starts this season. Liriano (1-0), returning from a broken non-throwing arm, allowed one run in 5 1-3 innings and 90 pitches. He gave up six hits and two walks. "Today went good. Really good location and just using a lot today," Liriano said. "It was a little weird, nervous. But that went away and it just feels good to get the first one out of the way." After a late-spring injury to Jeff Karstens and the release of Jonathan Sanchez, the Pirates needed the help in their rotation. Now they can line up Liriano after fellow lefties Jeff Locke and Wandy Rodriguez. "Three left-handers in the rotation, I like that a lot," Hurdle said. "You can probably count the teams on one hand that have really good offensive splits more so against left-handed pitchers than against right-handed pitching." The Pirates jumped on Niese early, and finally drove him out of the game in the fifth. Mercer hit a solo shot after third baseman David Wright made a nifty barehanded play to throw out Starling Marte, and Tabata hit an RBI double off the base of the wall in centre field. Michael McKenry followed with a two-run single off reliever Scott Atchison and Clint Barmes followed with an RBI single before Liriano popped foul to end the inning. Liriano agreed to a contract with Pittsburgh in the off-season, but broke his right arm on Dec. 25, the day before he was supposed to fly to Pittsburgh and sign a $12.75 million, two-year contract. Liriano, who said he was injured when he slapped a door in his house, signed a revised offer and prepared for a delayed start to the season. And Liriano delivered. He set the first seven batters down in order, and the Mets didnt get anyone to third base until the sixth inning, when Justin Turner singled with Wright on first and one out. Marlon Byrd hit a tough dribbler down the third base line that Brandon Inge charged, but he mishandled the transfer to his throwing hand on a play that was ruled a single. The Mets put two runners on in the fourth inning after Byrds two-out single. But Liriano struck out Andrew Brown. He fanned Daniel Murphy to end the fifth after Tejadas double. Barmes hit an RBI single in the second inning and Tabata hit a two-run homer in the third, after McCutchens RBI single. The game was delayed 47 minutes by rain in the middle of the ninth. When play resumed, Brown led off with a solo home run off left-hander Tony Watson. The ball went deep to left, where both of Mercers home runs landed. "For our guys to swing the bats today the way they did in a big ballpark, I think that was a feel good for the offensive side of our game," Hurdle said. In the bottom of the seventh, reliever Bryan Morris hit pinch-hitter Jordany Valdespin with his first pitch. The night before, Valdespin hit a long home run and took plenty of time time admiring its trajectory. When he returned to the dugout after the inning, he threw his helmet in the corner and tore off his batting gloves while no one acknowledged him. Over on the Pittsburgh side, Morris received fist bumps from manager Clint Hurdle and many of his teammates. Through Mets team spokesman Jay Horwitz, Valdespin said the issue was closed and that he wasnt going to talk about it. Niese gave up eight hits and three walks with a strikeout before leaving with one out in the fifth. He also allowed eight runs July 27 at Arizona last season. "Its a tough time to go through this and I know the bullpen needs their rest. Its very frustrating not being able to go into the seventh inning, but, hopefully, its something Im going to work on and get it corrected," Niese said. "I think I created a bad habit of dropping down lower and kind of opening everything up. So, its something Im going to work on in the bullpen." NOTES: Saturday was Banner Day at Citi Field. Fans trooped Mets-themed banners around the warning track before the game, in the second year of revived tradition that had gone from 1963-1996. ... The Pirates have homered in 12 of their last 13 games and 19 of 22. ... New York has scored 31 runs in its last 12 home games. The 11 they allowed were a season worst at home. ... Pittsburgh right-hander Jeanmar Gomez (2-0) is expected to make his third start of the season in the finale of the four-game series on Sunday. Hell face Mets RHP Matt Harvey (4-0). ... Tabata singled in the seventh for the third four-hit game of his career. Shinji Kagawa Dortmund Jersey .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Roman Burki Jersey . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. http://www.footballdortmundpro.com/Kids-Roman-Burki-Jersey/ . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. Paco Alcacer Dortmund Jersey .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. Jadon Sancho Dortmund Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. NEW YORK -- When American swimming sensation Katie Ledecky added to her climbing total of career visits to NBCs Today show Monday -- this time to talk about how life has changed since she set two world records and won five medals at the Rio Summer Olympics, four of them gold -- she smiled and squirmed in her seat as the five hosts on the set took turns good-naturedly kidding her about her record-shattering start to her freshman year at Stanford University this fall.It already has included a 65-second rout in a 1,650-yard college invitational race Sunday in which Ledecky ... um ... beat the runner-up by four laps.Sooo, that basically means you get out of the pool, have coffee and a donut, and wait for everyone else to finish? TV host Savannah Guthrie needled.When the 19-year-old Ledecky was too polite or sheepish to parry back, the segment only got funnier.Wait -- she broke another record in just the last 20 seconds! Guthrie added.And on the way to the event tonight, shes going to break another record! Matt Lauer boomed, causing Ledecky to shake her head and blush again.Ledecky was in New York with 40 of her Olympic medal-winning teammates for USA Swimmings annual Golden Goggles Awards on Monday night, a black-tie year-end benefit that recognizes the U.S. teams best performances each year. Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, Libby King and Maya DiRado were among the others who attended. Ryan Lochte did not.Ledecky has replaced Phelps as the most riveting figure in U.S. swimming. But as scintillating as her first three months at Stanford have been -- starting with the fact she set an NCAA or American record in every race she swam through Nov. 15 -- there was another woman sharing the red carpet with her at the Marriott Marquis hotel who was also impossible to ignore.That was Stanford teammate Simone Manuel, the first female African-American swimmer to win an individual event at an Olympic Games and, as of last weekend, the first person anywhere to beat the amazing Ledecky in her last 74 finals in a race above 100 meters.Manuel, a junior, defeated Ledecky on Saturday in the 200-yard freestyle during an invitational at Ohio State, clipping Ledecky by .26 of a second.No, I didnt know the [length of the streak], a surprised Ledecky said, grinning as if even she found it cool.I didnt know it, either, but its not like Im out of the park yet, Manuel joked, speaking a little further down the red carpet from where Ledecky was taking questions. I still have to race her every day in practice, at nationals, at NCAAs.Manuel was right. Its just a start. But dont overlook the significance of their head-to-head battles; their races should be fascinating -- maybe even transformative -- for both swimmers.With 10 Olympic medals already won between them, the 20-year-old Manuel and Ledecky could anchor the U.S. swim team for a few Olympics to come.I know I definitely want more, Manuel said.The idea of Ledecky, especially, finally having anything close to a true rival -- another female swimmer who can push her and beat her while training on the same team and sometimes in the same lane day in and day out, sets up an interesting dynamic for both women as they slowly start looking ahead to the 2020 Tokyo Games.I dont look at it likee shes a frenemy, Ledecky laughed, pointing out she and Manuel were roommates in Rio, and have been roommates for four years at international meets, so were good buddies.ddddddddddddWe both love to race and we both love to compete. We race all the time in practice and Simone beats me at least a couple times a week [in sprints]. So its a great environment every day. And I dont consider it a loss when its my teammate thats beating me, anyway. Were both racing our hardest for Stanford and excited about what could follow.Ledeckys coaches are always looking for fresh challenges to throw her way. Shes been so peerless at the distance events for so long, there is talk now about dropping her down to the 100-meter free (Manuels gold-medal individual event in Rio), and maybe adding the 400 individual medley to the 200, 400, 800 and 1,600 events and world records she currently owns.Many argue Ledecky -- not LeBron James, Usain Bolt, Lionel Messi or anyone else you can name -- is the most dominant athlete in the world today. Its only news now when she doesnt win.Manuel shoulders a different set of challenges. Though she also won the gold in the 4x100 medley relay and silver in the 50 free and 4x100 freestyle relay in Rio, she said in the past that trying to become the first African-American to win any Olympic swimming medal was difficult for her at times, as if so much history weighed on every stroke. She was expansive on the topic in Rio, paying homage to groundbreakers that came before her and embracing a chance to weigh in on matters like police violence against African-Americans back in the United States.But Monday, she pulled back on the non-swimming topics a little.When an African-American reporter told Manuel shes now an icon and inspiration to their community and asked what kind of legacy she wants to leave o