~~**KINDERWUNSCHECKE**~~ » propped up a 20-6 halftime lead

PITTSBURGH -- Russell Martin swatted at Jonathan Broxtons 96 mph fastball and watched as Carlos Gomez gave chase. When the ball cleared the fence just out of Gomezs reach, the Pittsburgh Pirates catcher thumped his chest as he rounded first base after providing the latest lightning bolt in a season full of them for one of baseballs most resilient teams. "Its hard to be happier than that," Martin said. Buried in May, the Pirates are streaking toward October. Martins three-run blast off Broxton with one out in the eighth inning ignited the Pirates to a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night and gave Pittsburgh a 4 1/2-game lead in the race for the second National League wild card spot with just nine days left in the regular season. Its a spot that seemed impossible in the spring. At one point Pittsburgh trailed Milwaukee by 9 1/2 games. Now the Pirates have all the momentum. Pittsburgh has won a season-high five straight and 12 of its last 14. Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for his 31st save. John Holdzkom (1-0) earned the win in relief for his first major league victory. Pittsburgh spent seven innings getting overpowered by Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo, who struck out 11 before finally exiting after 112 pitches. Broxton (4-3), acquired on Aug. 31 to bolster a bullpen in anticipation of a playoff push, quickly gave it all away. Starling Marte led off the Pittsburgh eighth with an infield single. Neil Walker singled with one out to set the stage for Martin, who had two ugly check swings before taking a 1-1 pitch and sending it into the second row of seats in right-centre field for his 11th homer of the year and by far his most important. "I was trying to go down-and-away," Broxton said. "I dont know where it was. I dont watch the videos." Probably a good idea after the Brewers -- who led the NL Central for 149 days this year -- watched their playoff hopes take another devastating blow. Rickie Weeks hit his seventh homer of the season off Pirates starter Jeff Locke and Jonathan Lucroy added an RBI-single, but Milwaukee lost its third straight. The Brewers let a 2-0 lead get away late on Thursday night against St. Louis and fell in extra innings. They arrived in Pittsburgh at 4 a.m. on Friday morning hoping to revive their season against a team they have dominated for years, including an 11-5 mark this season. Now they likely need to sweep the final two games of the series to have any reasonable chance of catching Pittsburgh. "When you go to late innings, were used to putting games away," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. "Weve been really good all year in finishing out games, and were not doing it right now." Gallardo did his part. He escaped early trouble and then settled down, retiring nine of the final 10 batters he faced before giving way to Broxton after 112 leave-it-all-out-there pitches. The Pirates stranded six runners in the first four innings against Gallardo with nothing to show for it. Still, they remained upbeat after Gallardo tired. "Were a team that has a pretty good offence. When you have somebody that neutralizes you, its frustrating," Martin said. "But we believe in each other and we believe when we get to the bullpen we can make things happen." Ike Davis added an RBI single later in the inning off Jeremy Jeffress to give Melancon a little extra cushion he wouldnt need. TRAINERS ROOM Brewers: Milwaukee 1B Mark Reynolds was back in the lineup on Friday, going 0 for 3 less than 24 hours after a rare mental mistake opened the door to a late St. Louis rally. "This guy, instinctually, is unbelievable," Roenicke said. "Thats why when you see those things happen, its surprising. And, you know, why couldnt you do it in a game that didnt matter? Or a month ago, when maybe we were winning 6-0 in a game and you make a mistake? Its just when he made it that was so tough." Pirates: RHP Charlie Mortons return from the disabled list may be short-lived. Pittsburgh pulled Morton from his next scheduled start on Sunday after he felt discomfort in his groin and midsection late in his five innings of work in a victory over Boston on Tuesday. The pain intensified during a bullpen session on Thursday. Vance Worley will take Mortons spot in the rotation when the Pirates wrap up the series with Milwaukee. UP NEXT Brewers: Matt Garza (8-8, 3.74 ERA) will make his third start against the Pirates this season. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 6.55 ERA versus Pittsburgh. He is coming off six solid innings in a victory over Cincinnati last Sunday. Pirates: Edinson Volquez (12-7, 3.27 ERA) will search for his fifth straight victory when he faces the Brewers on Saturday. The 30-year-old is 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA in four starts against Milwaukee this season. Wholesale Nike Shoes China Paypal . Mesoraco hurt his hamstring while scoring from second in Friday nights 5-4 loss at Atlanta. Chapman was hit by a line drive during an exhibition game on March 19, breaking his nose and a bone above his left eye. The left-hander looked strong while throwing 43 pitches in batting practice before Saturday nights game against the Braves. Wholesale Nike Shoes For Sale . PAUL, Minn. http://www.discountnikeshoes.com/. Mako Vunipola was promoted from the reserves, with Matt Mullan called up to the bench on Thursday. "It is important that Joe is with his partner at this exciting time," England coach Stuart Lancaster said. Discount Nike Shoes China .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. Discount Nike Shoes Online .Y. -- It was as if Matt Moulson never left the New York Islanders.CARDIFF -- Wales gave a two-time defending champions response to a demoralizing defeat by whipping France 27-6 and keeping its Six Nations title defence alive on Friday. So shaken to the core was Wales by its 26-3 demolition from Ireland, the only unbeaten team left in the championship, that coach Warren Gatland warned his British Lions-laden side that careers were on the line under the Millennium Stadium roof. The players answer was a robust performance of power, pace and poise, adding up to a third straight win over France last achieved 42 years ago. "That was the response we were looking for," captain Sam Warburton said. "We knew we had it in us." He admitted playing for their jobs was also an incentive. "We said in the week that we dont want to take our places for granted. We have probably worked our hardest in the last two weeks," he said. Stand-in centre George North scored after five minutes and fullback Leigh Halfpennys boot punished frequent French errors and a second-rate scrum with five penalties that propped up a 20-6 halftime lead. When Warburton reached out to plant the ball on the line in the 64th, the score became Wales biggest win over France at home since 1950. That margin will be vital in terms of points difference in the standings if Wales, which jumped over previously unbeaten France into second place, can stay on track and Ireland lose somewhere. The Irish are at Twickenham on Saturday. Wales performance wasnt assured beforehand, certainly not after lock Alun-Wyn Jones, who captained the Lions in their series-clinching win in Australia last year, withdrew just before the match with a foot injury. That gave a second Welshman, Jake Ball, his first test start beside scrumhalf Rhys Webb, whose zippy pass was a big factor in Wales frantic start. Five minutes in, lineout ball was spread left and inside centre Jamie Roberts drew two defenders. North gave Halfpenny an overlap and he chipped ahead. France fullback Bruce Dulin claimed the ball just before the tryline, but he was accidentally clipped in the head by teammate Jean-Marc Doussain and dropped the ball, which North pounced on in goal.dddddddddddd Halfpenny couldnt convert. He seemed to kick only the hardest goalkicks, and France kept giving him chances, especially from a scrum that Wales eventually got on top of. Captain Pascal Pape conceded the second penalty from a ruck, and tighthead prop Nicolas Mas the third for slipping in a scrum. Wesley Fofana was milked by North in a ruck for Halfpennys fourth, and a tighthead conceded just before halftime ended up giving Halfpenny his fifth penalty. Moments before then, referee Alain Rolland told both captains the scrum was a mess and threatened to dish out cards. He upheld his promise in the 50th, sin-binning Mas and counterpart Gethin Jenkins. By then, Wales was in charge and the outmuscled French had few options. "It was a catastrophic first half, our discipline was poor, and we gave away too many penalties," France coach Philippe Saint-Andre said. "We were totally apathetic in the first half." Dulin said, "They got on top of us very quickly and we couldnt pull ourselves together. We didnt go about things the right way. "We didnt start the game well and they just gained in confidence. After their match against Ireland they really wanted to put their foot down." France had a try rightfully disallowed early in the first half for a knockon, but the backs received no ball and didnt go close again until the 50th, when centre Mathieu Bastareaud slipped North and was stopped just short of the tryline, and couldnt offload to Dulin or winger Hugo Bonneval. The French backs were more involved in the second half, but Wales defence was smothering. Frustrated No. 8 Louis Picamoles got himself sin-binned in the 62nd and Wales took advantage. From a Roberts barging run up the middle, Warburton charged off a ruck and just managed in a double tackle with an outstretched arm to put the ball on the line. With 10 minutes to go, Wales substituted Adam Jones and Jenkins, Ball, Dan Lydiate, Webb, Rhys Priestland and Halfpenny, and all were cheered off as returning heroes deserve to be. ' ' '