PHILADELPHIA -- Jeanmar Gomez and the Phillies bullpen couldnt capitalize on yet another strong starting pitching performance.Sean Rodriguez had a pinch-hit three-run homer in the ninth inning off Gomez, lifting the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Phillies 5-3 on Tuesday night.It overshadowed a quality outing from right-hander Alec Asher, who allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings.Our starting pitching the last couple of weeks has been as good as anybody in baseball, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said, adding Asher was the bright spot tonight.Asher was acquired in the 2015 trade that sent left-hander Cole Hamels to the Texas Rangers.Asher has now allowed just two earned runs (1.46 ERA) in his two starts for the Phillies this season.I thought it went well, said Asher, who threw 95 pitches. I wasnt tired at all.Pittsburgh remained six games behind the Mets for the second NL wild card.Rodriguez hit for pitcher Felipe Rivero (1-5) with two on and one out and drilled a 2-2 pitch from Gomez (3-4) into the second row of seats in right field.It was a tough day for me, Gomez said. It was a slider that was up. Some of my pitches were flat.Rodriguezs home run was his 13th of the season and first since Aug. 14. It was also his first pinch-hit home run since May 25, 2013.Rodriguez put the Pirates ahead after Francisco Cervelli reached on a walk and Jordy Mercer doubled off Gomez.Tony Watson struck out two in the ninth for his 12th save.Playing in just his third major league game, left fielder Roman Quinn had two hits and scored a go-ahead run in the eighth on Freddy Galvis sacrifice fly. In his first 13 big-league plate appearances, Quinn has reached base safely seven times.Hes an exciting player to watch, Mackanin said.Pirates right-hander Ivan Nova entered 5-0 since being acquired from the New York Yankees on Aug. 1. He allowed two runs and five hits while recording a season-high 11 strikeouts but left the game in the seventh after throwing 92 pitches.Nova missed the chance to become the second Pirates pitcher to go 6-0 in his first eight starts.I was getting ahead in the count and I threw some good sinkers and that was a good thing for me, Nova said. Theyre an aggressive team and they were out there swinging.Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was ejected for the sixth time this season and the 51st time in his managerial career in the sixth inning. Hurdle vehemently argued with first-base umpire Alan Porter over a call that resulted in Ryan Howard beating out a double-play grounder to bring in the go-ahead run for Philadelphia.The night was a mixed bag for Pirates rookie second baseman Adam Frazier, who gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the third inning but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Josh Bell followed with a double that would have scored Frazier.Frazier also botched a fourth-inning grounder by Howard that tied the score at 1, had an errant throw on a potential double-play grounder by Maikel Franco that gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead in the sixth and grounded out with the bases loaded to end the seventh with the score tied 2-2 after Jung Ho Kang scored on a wild pitch.UP NEXTPirates: LHP Steven Brault (0-2, 3.38 ERA) will make his sixth career start when the series resumes Wednesday night. The 24-year-old has received just five runs of support in his five previous starts.Phillies: RHP Jake Thompson (1-5, 6.05 ERA) will make his eighth start of the season. The 22-year-old is looking for his first win since Aug. 12. Seattle Mariners Shirts . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. Mariners Jerseys 2020 . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. Wholesale Mariners Jerseys . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Stitched Mariners Jerseys . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. RALEIGH, N.C. -- Miami didnt back away from its ground game, even as it went nowhere against one of the nations top run defenses through Saturdays first half.Eventually, coach Mark Richt figured, the Hurricanes would break a few runs.Mark Walton responded by running for three second-half touchdowns, turning in a huge performance to help the Hurricanes beat North Carolina State 27-13.Walton ran 120 yards for the Hurricanes (7-4, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) to crack the 1,000-yard mark on the season. The last of that production came when he bounced off two tacklers and sprinted free for the 24-yard clinching score with 2:06 left.The line did a great job for me, coach was trusting in me, Walton said. The first half, it didnt go so well for our running game. The second half we came out and we ran the ball well.Indeed. Walton ran for 102 yards after halftime, including a 30-yard score as one of two third-quarter touchdowns against a run defense ranked fourth in the Bowl Subdivision and tops in the ACC by holding opponents to 99.4 yards per game.Those two TDs broke a 3-3 halftime tie to put the Wolfpack (5-6, 2-5) in catch-up mode.Sometimes youve got to chip away -- youve got to chip away and eventually something will break, Richt said. And youve got to stay patient running the ball. You cant just avoid the running game completely and chuck it every down. Its not healthy for anybody.Matt Dayes ran for 76 yards and a touchdown to become N.C. States first 1,000-yard rusher since 2002. But the Wolfpack committed just too many mistakes to make comeback, including an end-zone interception thrown by Ryan Finley, a penalty negating a fourth-quarter TD run by Dayes and BraLon Cherrys fumbled punt return -- all in the second half.Finally, cornerback Jack Tocho committed a pass-interference penalty on third down with 2:56 left, giving Miami a first down and setting up Waltons clinching run.We didnt make enough plays when we needed to, Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said. It was a hard-fought first half but we just didnt play well enough to win.BIGG PICTUREMIAMI: A week after securing bowl eligibility for the ninth straight season, the Hurricanes closed the regular season at 4-2 on the road after managing a combined three road wins over the past two seasons -- another positive sign in Richts first year.ddddddddddddN.C. STATE: This game just about summed up the Wolfpacks season full of missed opportunities as N.C. State tried to become bowl eligible for the third straight year, falling right in line with a dropped late interception to potentially seal a win against Florida State and a missed short field goal to upset Clemson on the road.Its tough right now because theres a lot of mistakes made out on the field and a lot of missed opportunities, Dayes said. Thats why it hurts so bad.MILESTONESIn addition to Dayes and Walton reaching 1,000 yards on the season, Miami receiver Ahmmon Richards broke the Hurricanes single-season freshman receiving record (840 yards) set by program great Michael Irvin in 1985. He finished with nine catches for 117 yards.UP NEXTMIAMI: The Hurricanes close the regular season at home against Duke, a year after beating the Blue Devils on an eight-lateral, final-play kickoff return that officials later determined shouldnt have counted in a controversial finish.Hopefully we wont get to that point next week, said Walton, who was on the field during that final return. Were not trying to get to that moment again. ... I dont want to revisit that play.N.C. STATE: N.C. State closes the regular season with a trip to rival North Carolina for a Friday afternoon matchup over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in a final shot to go to a bowl. The Wolfpack won the last visit there, a 35-7 romp in 2014.Weve still got one more game left, safety Josh Jones said. Its not too late.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college football at http://collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '