PITTSBURGH - A day after falling out of first place, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a trade they feel will bolster their offence. And it was welcome news to manager Clint Hurdle and his players. The Pirates acquired outfielder Marlon Byrd and catcher John Buck from the New York Mets on Tuesday, hoping the veterans can help the franchise to its first playoff berth in 21 years. The Pirates began the day a half-game behind St. Louis in the National League Central after the Cardinals took sole possession of first place Monday night with an 8-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates were idle. The Pirates sent the Mets minor league infielder Dilson Herrera and a player to be named later in exchange for Byrd, Buck and cash considerations. Pittsburgh had claimed Byrd off waivers and were able to work out the four-player deal with New York. "Its pretty neat to see us make a move like this," Pirates second baseman Neil Walker said. "We didnt expect something to happen this late. You usually figure it is something that would happen at the (July 31 non-waiver) trade deadline. "But these are established guys who can help us get to where we want to go." Byrd, 35, is hitting .285 with 21 home runs and 71 RBIs this season, including .345 with seven homers against left-handers, and will give Pittsburgh needed depth in the outfield while leadoff hitter Starling Marte recovers from a sprained right hand. Buck, 33, is batting .215 with 15 home runs and 60 RBIs. Since the beginning of the 2010 season, Bucks 63 home runs as a catcher rank third in the majors. He will back up Russell Martin. Both players are expected to join the Pirates for Wednesday nights game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Neither Byrd, a 12-year veteran, or Buck, in his 10th season, have played in the post-season. "Marlon Byrd is an impactful bat with significant numbers against left-handed pitching and John Buck is a strong receiver who works well with a pitching staff," Hurdle said. "Those were areas we were looking to improve upon and strengthen and the trade also adds a couple of layers of experience to our club." Mets manager Terry Collins was sad to see Byrd and Buck go, calling them "two very good professionals." "I cant tell you how much value they brought to this team," Collins said. Pittsburgh is searching for offence to take some of the pressure off a pitching staff that has carried the team for long stretches during the first five months of the season. The Pirates lead the majors with a 3.21 ERA, though there have been signs of wear and tear this month. Pittsburgh is 11-12 in August and has seen a 4-game lead over St. Louis two weeks ago turn into a virtual tie. Byrd has been red hot since the All-Star break, hitting .311 with 11 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 20 RBIs in his last 38 games. His presence should help an offence that is batting just .244 on the year, including an abysmal .223 with runners in scoring position, the second-lowest average in baseball. Ironically, it was Marlon Byrd T-shirt night on Tuesday in New York as the Mets hosted the Philadelphia Phillies. The 19-year-old Herrera is hitting .265 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs for Class A West Virginia. He played in the All-Star Futures Game last month at Citi Field. The Mets assigned Herrera to their Class A Savannah farm club and he will participate in the South Atlantic League playoffs. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said he did not regret waiting until late August to trade Byrd rather than at the non-waiver deadline. "At the end of July, it was a 29-team market. Now, it was a one-team market," Alderson said. "We felt we got a better package now than in July." Regardless of when the deal was done, Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington was happy with it. "The cost wasnt cheap because we gave up a good prospect and the second player is also going to be a good piece," Huntington said. "But our goal is to push this club forward and play deep into October, just not get there." Both teams made a series of roster moves in tandem with the trade. The Mets selected the contract of outfielder Matt den Dekker from Triple-A Las Vegas and also recalled catcher Anthony Recker and left-hander Robert Carson from Las Vegas. Ace pitcher Matt Harvey on the 15-day disabled list with a tear in his right elbow. The Pirates cleared spots on the 40-man roster by designating infielder/outfielder Russ Canzler for assignment and recalling right-hander Kyle McPherson from Triple-A Indianapolis and placing him on the 60-day disabled list. McPherson underwent ligament reconstruction surgery on his right elbow July 10. Pittsburgh will make corresponding 25-man roster moves Wednesday. Fake Custom Jerseys . Patty Mills scored 15 points, Tim Duncan had 10 points and 11 rebounds in limited minutes, and San Antonio trailed for only 11 seconds late in the first quarter of a 103-90 victory over Portland on Wednesday night. Custom Jerseys Cheap .com) - The NFL is investigating whether the New England Patriots intentionally deflated balls during Sundays AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis. https://www.cheapcustomjerseysonline.com/. Lawrie was hit on the hand by Cincinnati pitcher Johnny Cueto in the second inning of Sundays 4-3 loss to the Reds. Custom Jerseys Nike . Cruz set the tone with a two-run homer in the first inning, and Baltimore scored eight times in the eighth to pull away for a 12-3 victory in Game 1. The major league leader with 40 homers during the regular season, Cruz added an RBI single to his early blast off Max Scherzer. Authentic Custom Jerseys . Chris Heisey followed with a two-run triple and Billy Hamilton added an RBI double, all but sealing Cincinnatis fourth straight victory and seventh in eight games. Brandon Phillips, celebrating his 33rd birthday, hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth for the Reds before pinch-hitter Buster Posey tied it with an RBI double off hard-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom half.ATLANTA - Jordan Schafer scored from first base on Justin Uptons bloop single to right field with two outs in the 10th inning, giving the Atlanta Braves a 7-6 win over the Washington Nationals on Friday night. Chris Johnson singled with two outs off left-hander Jerry Blevins (1-1), and Schafer pinch ran. With a 2-2 count, Schafer ran on the pitch and Upton dropped a single in front of Bryce Harper. Schafer already was rounding third when Schafer bobbled the ball. No error was charged. Luis Avilan (2-1) pitched around two walks, one intentional, in the 10th. Upton hit a solo home run in the eighth off Tyler Clippard that tied the score 6-all, his third homer in two games. Atlantas Ramiro Pena and Washingtons Ryan Zimmerman hit three-run drives — Zimmerman following a throwing error by Dan Uggla on a routine grounder to second. Denard Spans single off David Carpenter drove in Harper in the eighth to put the Nationals ahead 6-5. Atlanta burst ahead with a four-run second against Tanner Roark, who allowed five runs and five hits in 4 2-3 innings. Julio Teheran could hold the lead, giving up five runs — two earned — and 10 hits in six innings. Ian Desmond had a run-scoring single in the fourth, when the Nationals left the bases loaded. Washington manager Matt Williams used his appeal in the seventh inning when Adam LaRoche was called out at the plate when trying to score on Jordan Waldens wild pitch with Harper bbatting.dddddddddddd The pitch bounced away from Gattis toward the Nationals dugout. Gattis looked behind him before finally spotting the ball and throwing to Walden, who made the tag. Plate umpire Adrian Johnsons call was confirmed in the video review. Braves closer Craig Kimbrel struck out Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche and Zimmerman in the ninth. Washingtons Drew Storen fanned Pena, Ryan Doumit and Jason Heyward in the bottom of the inning. Pena made his second straight start for shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who jammed his right wrist in a home-plate collision on Wednesday night. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said he wanted to give Simmons one more day "to make sure hes fine." "I dont want something small to become something big," Gonzalez said. NOTES: Nationals RHP Doug Fister (DL, back muscle) threw 35 pitches in the bullpen before the game. "He was really impressive," Williams said. "The ball had good life." Williams said Fister will go on a minor league injury rehabiliation assignment after he increases his pitch count in bullpen sessions. ... Roark hit Freeman, Uggla and Upton with pitches. ... Simmons was presented his 2013 Gold Glove and Platinum Glove Awards by Rawlings in a pregame ceremony. ... The 10 hits allowed matched Teherans career high, also against the Nationals on April 29 last year. ... Braves LHP Alex Wood is to face Nationals RHP Taylor Jordan in the second game of the series on Saturday night. ' ' '