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MILWAUKEE -- The Pittsburgh Pirates are red hot heading to Chicago. But their postseason aspirations could hinge on medical examinations off the field over the coming days.Ivan Nova threw six sharp innings before leaving early because of a hurting left hamstring and the Pirates hit three solo homers to rally past the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 on Sunday for their eighth straight road victory.Were going to leave here in a good place but weve got to show up in Chicago, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. I dont think you could ask for much more here at the end of August. We get to play meaningful games. It should be fun.Pittsburgh is in the thick of the NL Wild Card race, but Novas injury is the latest issue in a road that gets much tougher for the Pirates.I was trying not to think about it, said Nova, who was pulled as a precaution. It was my first time experiencing something like that. I decided to tell the manager.Ace Gerrit Cole will not start Monday, instead heading to get an outside opinion on his ailing right elbow and missing at least one scheduled start.We will talk more about Gerrit and his situation when he comes back from the doctor, general manager Neal Huntington said.John Jaso and Gregory Polanco each homered in the sixth off Brewers starter Chase Anderson (7-11) to complete Pittsburghs first sweep at Miller Park since 2004. Starling Marte added a solo shot in the eighth.Nova (4-0) retired 10 of his final 11 batters after allowing Jonathan Villars solo homer in the third. He scattered three hits and struck out four before being pinch hit for in the seventh. Tony Watson converted his 10th save in 13 opportunities.Nova is pitching like a staff ace so far in Pittsburgh before he hits free agency this winter. Hes struck out 22 and walked just four in 31 1/3 innings with a 2.87 ERA over his first five starts since being acquired at the trade deadline from the Yankees.Itd be pretty silly for the manager to push him out there for one more inning and he blows his hamstring, Hurdle said. We were very pleased with that effort.ANDERSON STRUGGLESAnderson again failed to get out of the sixth inning for Milwaukee -- for the 11th time in his last 12 starts.He worked his way out of a bases loaded jam with one out in the fourth, but grooved a pair of pitches in the sixth and was pulled after Polancos shot put Pittsburgh ahead for good.The command was there for me today for the most part, just got away from me in the sixth inning, Anderson said.PIRATES MOVEPirates 3B Adam Frazier was optioned to Single-A Bristol before the game and RHP A.J. Schugel was recalled. Frazier started at third base in Saturdays 9-6 win.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: With Cole out, Hurdle says his rotation plan in Chicago will be Steven Brault on Monday followed by Chad Kuhl and Ryan Vogelsong.Brewers: Brewers RHP Junior Guerra (right elbow) is expected to return to the rotation at some point after Thursdays day off. He threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings in his previous rehab start at Triple-A Colorado Springs.UP NEXTPirates: Brault (0-1, 3.60 ERA) will be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. The left-hander will make his third career start.Brewers: Zach Davies (10-6, 4.06) takes the hill in the opener of a series against St. Louis. http://www.nflcardinalsrookiestore.com/Cardinals-Tyrann-Mathieu-Jersey/ .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. http://www.nflcardinalsrookiestore.com/T-Shirts/ . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. http://www.nflcardinalsrookiestore.com/Cardinals-Robert-Nkemdiche-Jersey/ . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. http://www.nflcardinalsrookiestore.com/Cardinals-Deone-Bucannon-Jersey/ . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. http://www.nflcardinalsrookiestore.com/Cardinals-Jermaine-Gresham-Jersey/ . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnsons quest to win a record-tying seventh championship has been burning for nearly three years at Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson wants that title. Chad Knaus wants that title. Rick Hendrick wants that title.Oh, how easy it would be for No. 48 team to coast through the next two weeks, to look only at the Nov. 20 season finale and the opportunity they have to reach the top of NASCAR.They wont. This is cant stop, wont stop time and these guys are on a mission.And in this year of the ho-hum playoffs, it may be the storybook ending NASCAR needs.Johnson, the most celebrated driver of the last 15 years, won his ninth race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday to lock down a spot in NASCARs final four. He has not been in this position under the elimination format introduced before the 2014 season, when Johnson was still celebrating his sixth title.The drive for (hash)Se7en -- the moniker hes used on Twitter the last two-plus seasons -- sputtered out early the last two years. And even through a long stretch of this season, Johnson hardly seemed to be a legitimate contender as the Hendrick cars struggled to keep pace with Joe Gibbs Racing, Team Penske and Kevin Harvick.There was a period of 15 races this year where Johnson had just three top-five finishes. Hendrick was far from pleased. The boss sent his cars to the wind tunnel, became a constant sight to his drivers and teams. Everyone turned it up a notch, and Hendrick could see the turnaround coming together.Sometimes youre not as good as you look, youre not as bad as you look, Hendrick said. I dont think we were as bad. Now, we were pretty terrible back April, May. We started picking up speed, getting to the front, leading some laps.I felt like we could be at Homestead, but theres no guarantee. There are a whole lot of people in the garage that thought theyd be at Homestead that wont be at Homestead.Once Johnson won at Charlotte to advance into the third round, the first time he had made it this far in the Chase, he became a sudden lock for Homestead. Hes great at Martinsville, has won the last four November races at Texas, and has an average finish of 7.8 at Phoenix. But he locked his championship spot down in the first race of this segment, and now has the luxury to coast for two weeks.Knaus had yet to wring the champagne out of his firesuit following Sundays victory before he was already contemplating a strategy.ddddddddddddWe need to now sit back, look at our car allocation and make sure that were taking the best product that we possibly can to Homestead, he said. When I get to the shop, were going to get together, look at what it is weve got, we may make a quick decision, maybe make a change.But he cautioned that doesnt mean hell order Johnson to cruise around Texas and Phoenix. It means they are in such good shape, they can play with the field for two weeks.This is what the No. 48 team does to opponents. It kicks its program into another gear and saps all the energy out of its opponents. Jeff Gordon saw it firsthand in 2007 when he was racing his teammate for the title. When he thought he had Johnson on the ropes, Johnson strung together four consecutive victories in the Chase to put Gordon away.When Johnson grabbed that fourth win, Gordon -- the greatest driver of a generation -- went to victory lane and bowed to his teammate.His strength is in his demeanor, and it absolutely gets under the skin of his opponents. Hes so cool and calm in public, tries always to be a professional. His attempt to extinguish a potential fire with Harvick last year at Chicago led Harvick to punch him in the chest before Johnson had even said a word.When he didnt get out of Denny Hamlins way fast enough Sunday at Martinsville, Hamlin moved him and loudly complained about Johnson on his team radio.Asked about it after the race, Johnson literally laughed out loud.Im puzzled that he had to move me like he did, Johnson said. I just cant roll over. I prefer to race people cleanly. I could have easily taken the easy route and moved him when he came back to take over the lead, and I didnt. I hope that showed him that, `Look, man, I dont have a beef.Man, Im out there to win. We got points on the line. We got a championship in the line. I got accused of racing hard? Ill take that as a compliment.Johnson has been to Homestead nine times before with a chance to win the title. He delivered six times. The situation will be different this year; all drivers will be even and the highest finisher will claim the title.Johnson hopes to show the next two weeks that hes untouchable and nobody stands a chance in this drive for (hash)Se7en. Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys 2020 Cheap Jerseys Online NFL Jerseys Cheap ' ' '