adian is playing the best tennis of his life, relying on one of the best serves on the planet. Against Thiem, he won 86 percent of his first-serve points, collected 13 aces and did not face a break point.Its a great match for me, Raonic said afterward in an on-court interview. It wasnt a round-robin m

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Gerrit Cole wasnt nervous about making his first major league road start in his backyard until he heard "Calling All Angels," the syrupy Train ballad played before every game at Angel Stadium. "Ive probably been listening to that song here since I was like 6 years old," said Cole, the Pittsburgh Pirates phenom with pure Southern California roots. "I might have a couple of Rally Monkeys at home." Once the music faded, Cole shook off his homecoming jitters and kept rolling on an outstanding start to his career. Cole pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning in his native Orange County, earning his third straight victory in the Pirates 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night. The Pirates 22-year-old right-hander out of Orange Lutheran High School and UCLA dazzled the Angels, repeatedly hitting 100 mph on the stadium radar gun. He struck out five and retired 11 straight before Albert Pujols leadoff homer in the seventh, leaving later in the inning to a warm ovation from his hometown fans. "It was a lot of fun to see everybody and be back in California," Cole said. "I wasnt expecting to be back here for another few months, so it was great." Cole (3-0) is the first Pittsburgh pitcher to win his first three career starts since Myrl Brown in 1922. He even outpitched Angels ace Jered Weaver (1-4), who yielded nine hits and four runs over six rocky innings in his fourth straight winless start. After beating Cy Young winners Tim Lincecum and Zack Greinke in his first two starts, its clear Cole can hold his own against the majors best -- and still keep a sense of humour about his rising star. "Thats like $400 million worth of pitching," Cole said. "Weve just been scoring runs and giving me a chance." Until they ran into Cole, the Angels had won six of eight while enjoying perhaps the best offensive stretch of their disappointing season. Los Angeles had scored at least five runs in six of its last eight games, including 10 runs and 17 hits while rallying from a seven-run deficit to beat Seattle on Thursday. "Thats a power arm, theres no doubt about that," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "The ball comes out hot. I think we had some good at-bats against him and hit some balls hard, but for the most part, he was pounding the zone with good stuff and pitched a good game for those guys." Cole, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft, was born in nearby Newport Beach, Calif., and went to high school 15 minutes from Angel Stadium, racking up 121 strikeouts with an 0.46 ERA as a senior. After three years at UCLA, Cole rocketed through the Pirates system and made his major league debut in Pittsburgh to much fanfare 10 days ago. The 6-foot-4 power pitcher hasnt disappointed, beating San Francisco and the Dodgers in Pittsburgh before besting Weaver, who finished second in last years AL Cy Young voting. "He pitched like he was pitching in front of his friends and family," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "He was geared up. He got after it. It was like he was pitching in his hometown, and he wasnt going to let anybody down." Pedro Alvarez and Jordy Mercer homered in the second inning of the Pirates first game in Anaheim since 2007. Jason Grilli pitched the ninth for his NL-leading 26th save. Cole retired Los Angeles first seven hitters before back-to-back singles by Hank Conger and Peter Bourjos in the third, but he escaped the jam and didnt allow another baserunner until the seventh. The Angels finally got to Cole when Pujols led off with his 488th career homer off the fake rock pile in left-centre field. That was the first major-league homer allowed by Cole, and he followed up by issuing his first career walk to Mark Trumbo. Howie Kendrick then hit a liner back to the mound that hit Cole on the upper left thigh, but he stayed in the game. "Its pretty sore," Cole said. "Got me right on the thigh. Good thing Ive got fat legs." The Angels finally chased Cole on Alberto Callaspos RBI single, and the Anaheim crowd cheered the local kid on the way to the dugout. Weaver hasnt been his usual dominant self in five starts since returning from a 45-day stint on the disabled list. After he gave up Alvarezs 17th homer to lead off the second inning, Mercer followed with a two-run shot, his fourth of the season. "The last three starts it just kind of seems like theres one inning thats a blow-up inning, and Ive just got to learn to stay away from that," Weaver said. "Its frustrating. Im not doing a whole lot to help the team right now. I just have to keep battling, and hopefully things will turn around." The Pirates added another run in the fourth when Bourjos, normally a spectacular fielder, lost track of Starling Martes two-out fly to centre. The ball landed well behind him for an RBI triple. Josh Hamilton sat out with a sore right wrist, and the $125 million slugger isnt likely to start a game this weekend while the Angels give him some rest. Hamilton, who was available off the bench, was in a 3-for-26 skid in the first seven games of the Angels homestand. NOTES: Pittsburgh improved to 2-5 at the Big A, getting its only previous win here on June 11, 2002. ... RHP Billy Buckner, selected from Triple-A Salt Lake before the game to take injured Jason Vargas roster spot, pitched 2 2-3 sharp innings of relief for Weaver, giving up one hit and one walk. ... Mike Trout went 0 for 4, but made a full-stretch diving catch on Gaby Sanchezs drive into the left-field corner in the fifth.Nike Air VaporMax 2018 . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Air Max 2018 Homme Pas Cher . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. http://www.nikeoffwhite.fr/nike-air-more-uptempo.html . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. Nike Air Max Flair Pas Cher . 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. Air Max 2018 Elite Pas Cher . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed.On Friday, the final day of round-robin matches at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, there are still six scenarios by which two of three players in Group John McEnroe can make the semifinals. One of them -- wins by Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori in two and three sets, respectively -- would actually send No. 1-ranked Andy Murray, author of a 21-match win streak, home to the London suburbs.Over in Group Ivan Lendl on Thursday night, it wasnt nearly as complicated. When No. 4 Milos Raonic met No. 9 Dominic Thiem, it was win and in.At this year-end tournament missing Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer, here was a glimpse into the future of mens tennis, a battle between the two youngest qualifiers in London, a pair of heavy hitters destined to be top-10 players for quite some time.Raonic, 25, had just one more Finals appearance on his résumé than the first-time Thiem, 23. That experience -- and a nearly unreturnable serve -- manifested itself in a sparkling 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory.In the pivotal first-set tiebreaker, Raonic hit aces on his final three service swings.Hes also had some high-powered consultants watching from his box. In addition to primary coach Riccardo Piatti, Carlos Moya and John McEnroe sat side-by-side. Thats a total of eight Grand Slam singles titles.Thats why you have three guys, Raonic joked afterward. If the first two arent right, maybe the other one will be.McEnroe was brought on for a stint during the grass-court season, and Raonic responded by reaching his first Grand Slam final. McEnroes mantra was to encourage Raonic to come forward more often to take advantage of his huge serve and wingspan. While the quickness of the O2 Arena court didnt allow an excessive amount of that, the conditions suited Raonic. Thiem, who doesnt quite have Raonics reach, is more comfortable on clay.And now the possibility of a Sunday final showdown between Murray and Novak Djokovic, with the No. 1 ranking on the line, looms large.Earlier Thursday, the No. 2 Djokovic dismantled alternate David Goffin, playing for injured Gael Monfils (rib), 6-1, 6-2 in 70 minutes. Djokovic awaits the second-place finissher in the McEnroe Group in Saturdays semifinals.ddddddddddddBy defeating Wawrinka in the Friday afternoon session, Murray will advance to the semifinals for the first time in four years. That (and four of the other scenarios) would land him a meeting with Raonic, against whom he is 8-3, including 5-0 in 2016.The Canadian is playing the best tennis of his life, relying on one of the best serves on the planet. Against Thiem, he won 86 percent of his first-serve points, collected 13 aces and did not face a break point.Its a great match for me, Raonic said afterward in an on-court interview. It wasnt a round-robin match for us; it was a quarterfinal. I was fortunate to get through today.Thiem, whose forehand is one of the tours heaviest and whose one-handed backhand is lovely to behold, looked a little weary. After playing a terrific first set, he was broken on his first service game in the second. Thiems last shot was a weak backhand into the net on Raonics second match-point opportunity.This was Thiems 82nd match of the year, second only to Murrays 84. He was trying to become the youngest semifinalist in London since Juan Martin del Potro in 2009, but he finished with 57 match wins.After the then-22-year-old Thiem beat 19-year-old Alexander Zverev in the fourth round of the French Open this spring, he concluded, Such a great player, Sascha, and, yeah, I think the difference today was maybe probably the three years age difference.That also was the case with Raonic, who had lost his only two previous matches in London, to Federer and Murray in 2014, before pulling out with a thigh injury. Here hes won two of three matches (also beating Monfils) and pushed Djokovic into two tiebreakers. Raonic led in both frames but failed to hold his serve -- and his nerve.Those [key] moments he stepped up and played well, Raonic explained afterward. I just maybe hesitated a little bit too much.In Saturdays semifinal, most likely against Murray, Raonic will have to fly into those momentous occasions at full speed. ' ' '