world-record line superimposed on the vide

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates patiently waited six years for former No. 2 overall draft pick Jameson Taillon to make the major leagues. So far, hes been worth the wait.The Pirates didnt call up Taillon until two months into the season but, thanks to several reshufflings of their rotation, hes now settled into what effectively is the No. 2 man in their rotation. And its taken Taillon only nine starts in the big leagues to do that.Taillon will make start No. 10 Thursday afternoon against the San Diego Padres after going 2-2 with a 3.29 ERA, 43 strikeouts and only six walks in 52 innings during his first nine starts.Taillon has been in the majors long enough that he doesnt feel like a rookie any longer, even though he clearly is.The 24-year-old Taillons latest start was typical of the way hes pitched to date; he gave up only one run in six innings Friday against the Cincinnati Reds, although he didnt get the decision in a game the Pirates won 3-2.Hes got some tools to work with, and hes learning more each and every time out there, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. It was another night for him to grow.Taillon is quickly growing into an irreplaceable piece of the Pirates pitching puzzle.He has allowed only eight earned runs in 30 innings over his last five starts, walking a single batter. Not surprisingly, the Pirates have won five of his last six starts, even though the right-hander was on the disabled list with right shoulder fatigue from July 5-19.Taillon hasnt won since June 29 at Seattle, or at all in five starts at PNC Park, but the Pirates are 4-1 in those games.Taillon will oppose Padres left-hander Christian Friedrich (4-7, 4.76 ERA), who makes his ninth start on the road of his 16 overall starts. Friedrich pitched a season-high seven innings in his last start Aug. 5 vs. the Philadelphia Phillies, permitting four runs and five hits.Friedrich, like Taillon, is a former first-round draft pick -- and one of 13 starters the Padres have used this season.For the most part, I thought he was really good all day, Padres manager Andy Green said -- with the exceptions being the home run and double he allowed to the Phillies Cameron Rupp.The Padres and Pirates will play for the sixth and final time this season, with the Padres leading the season series 3-2 following their 4-0 win Wednesday behind Edwin Jackson and two relievers, who combined to allow only two singles.San Diego is one of the more aggressive teams in the majors stealing bases -- theyre third in the majors with 99 steals -- and that was evident Wednesday as Travis Jankowski pulled off a rare steal of home in the eighth inning.Jankowski detected that reliever Antonio Bastardo wasnt watching him closely as the left-hander focused on his matchup with Alex Dickerson, so he took off for the plate and scored as catcher Eric Fryer fumbled Bastardos hurried throw home.We run the bases with a ton of aggression and steal a lot of bases -- but we take whats given to us, Green said. That was probably more of a gamble ... but it worked out because Travis has the ability to create anxiety in other people when hes running the bases. He took it upon himself (to go) ... and if youre going to take a chance, thats the time to take one. Custom Saints Jerseys .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. Authentic Custom Saints Jersey http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/ . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Custom Erik McCoy Jersey . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Custom Saints Jersey China . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Racing nothing but the clock, Katie Ledecky gave the U.S. its first victory by crushing her own world record in the 400 freestyle.The result was totally expected. The unassuming teenager from suburban Washington has dominated the longer freestyle events since winning gold in the 800 free at the London Olympics as a 15-year-old.The only drama was whether shed take the world record even lower.Her powerful stroke quickly made that a moot point, too.Ledecky kicked off the first wall with a lead of nearly a body length and steadily pulled away from the overmatched field -- as well as the world-record line superimposed on the video screen.Her arms churning effortlessly through the water, Ledecky touched nearly 5 seconds ahead of her closest pursuer and quickly whipped around to look at the scoreboard.When Ledecky saw the time -- 3:56.46 -- sshe let out an uncharacteristic scream and shook her right fist.dddddddddddd She crushed the mark of 3:58.37 that she set nearly two years ago on the Gold Coast of Australia, and had been chasing ever since.I was pumped, Ledecky said. Thats what I wanted and I had been so close to breaking that all year, the past two years. I knew I was due for a breakthrough.Shes just getting warmed up.Ledecky, who added gold to the silver she won in the womens 4x100 free relay, is also favored in other two individual events: the 200 and 800 free. She could pick up another gold in the 4x200 free relay.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . ' ' '