CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Pedro Alvarez hasnt changed anything in June, except those RBI numbers. Theyre way up there, just like the Pirates. Alvarez drove in all of Pittsburghs runs with a solo homer, bases-loaded double and a single on Thursday for a 5-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds and a split of their high-profile NL Central series. The Pirates remain a half-game behind second-place Cincinnati after the four-game set, keeping them virtually shoulder-to-shoulder as they chase the torrid St. Louis Cardinals. After blowing a one-run lead in the ninth and losing 2-1 in 13 innings on Wednesday night, Pittsburgh salvaged a game behind Alvarez and a bullpen running on fumes. "We needed a big day from a number of people today and Pedro was one of them," manager Clint Hurdle said. "There was no bigger swing than with the bases loaded, left-on-left. Beautiful." Alvarez had an RBI single and his 16th homer off Homer Bailey, who couldnt follow his no-hitter against Pittsburgh with a win. After Alfredo Simon (5-3) loaded the bases in the seventh, Alvarez doubled off left-hander Tony Cingrani to snap a 2-all tie. The five RBIs were a season high for a Pirate and one shy of Alvarezs career high. The third baseman has been Pittsburghs top run producer in June, leading the team with 48 RBIs overall. Its quite a change. Alvarez .180 in April and .225 in May before finding his form. He has six homers in June, second-most in the NL. "I just think its repetition and getting the opportunity to go out and try to gain as much experience as I can from every day out there," Alvarez said. Bryan Morris (4-2) contributed to the go-ahead rally with his first career single. He also pitched two innings, allowing one run. Left-hander Tony Watson pitched the last two innings for his second save in three chances. The Pirates lead the season series 6-4, holding their own early in the season despite a rotation thats sapped by injuries and a lineup that strikes out a lot and wastes chances. Under the circumstances, the way the series ended was satisfying. "We dont expect anything less," Morris said. "Its good to not lose any ground. Definitely would have loved to have three out of four in the series, but were not complaining about the split, especially after the hard game last night." Jay Bruce hit another solo homer, his third of the series and his fifth in seven games. His ninth-inning shot off Jason Grilli led the way to the draining 13-inning win on Wednesday night. The teams combined for seven homers in the series, all solo shots. Cincinnati hit four in a 4-1 win that opened it. Brandon Cumpton made his second major league start for Pittsburgh, giving up two runs -- one earned -- in five innings. Bailey faced the Pirates for the first time since his no-hitter at PNC Park last September and left after six innings with the score tied at 2. He gave up six hits, throwing 113 pitches. Bailey is 8-2 career against Pittsburgh. "Theyve definitely made strides over the past couple of years, but its early," Bailey said. "They have a good club but the past couple of years, theyve fallen into the pattern of fading, so well see. Its a long season." Alvarezs throwing error helped the Reds get an unearned run in the first. Shin-Shoo Choo reached on Alvarezs team-high 13th error, stole second and came around on Joey Vottos single. Another batter got hit, extending a prominent theme to the Ohio River rivals series this season. At least one batter has been plunked in each of the 10 games, with 19 hit overall. Pirate pitchers have hit 10, Reds pitchers 9, leaving some simmering unhappiness on both sides. Choo has been hit six times, Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen three times each, Brandon Phillips twice, and five others one time apiece. Walt Merrill Jersey Retro . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. 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Donald Payne Jersey Retro .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. NEWARK, N.J. -- Sheldon Jeter cant quite put his finger on why Pitt is giving up second half leads. Fortunately, he and the Panthers can continue to look for answers after a victory.Michael Young had 29 points and nine rebounds as Pittsburgh held on to defeat Penn State 81-73 on Saturday in the Never Forget Tribute Classic.To Pitt coach Kevin Stallings, it was d?j? vu.That looked like a lot of our games to me so far this year to me, Stallings said. Really good play on both ends in the first half. Second half, offensive play was probably good enough. Defensive play was not very good.Jamel Artis had 16 points and eight rebounds, Cameron Johnson scored 10 and Jeter added eight points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots for Pitt.A 3-pointer by Ryan Luther gave the Panthers (8-2) a 50-26 lead with 16:50 to play but Penn State used an 11-2 run to trim its deficit to 15 about four minutes later. Shep Garner scored four points during a 6-0 spurt that pulled the Nittany Lions within five with 1:50 left but Jeter answered with a 3-pointer and they would get no closer.Sheldon is a great team guy.He probably hit the biggest shot of the game. They had the moment and he jumped up and he stuck that three in from the corner there, Stallings said. Biggest shot of the game probably for us.Mike Watkins had 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, while Tony Carr and Payton Banks scored 13 points apiece for Penn State (6-5). Garner added 12.A tale of two halves, Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said..dddddddddddd Not sure where we were in the first half. Maybe the bus was late. But we showed up in the second half and competed like a Penn State basketball game.BIG PICTUREPenn State: After George Mason snapped Penn States four-game winning streak, the Nittany Lions have lost two in a row for the second time this season. Penn State had lost to No. 1 Duke and No. 24 CincinnatiPitt: Young has led the Panthers in scoring in the past nine games, and came in to the contest ranked 17th in the country in scoring, averaging 22.3 points per game.UP NEXTPenn State: After a week off, the Nittany Lions will remain on the road when they travel to Madison Square Garden to face St. Johns next Sunday before closing out their non-conference schedule at home against Morgan State.Pitt: The Panthers return to the court next Saturday to face Rice at 7 p.m. to begin a five-game home stand.HITTING FROM 3Pitt went 10 of 22 (45.5 percent) from beyond the arc while Penn State hit only 6 of 22 shots from 3-point rangeFIRST TIME IN A LONG SERIESPenn State and Pitt met for the 147th time in the 110-year history. However, it is the first time they have played on a neutral site as they played at the Prudential Center in the second game of a double-header in the inaugural Never Forget Tribute Classic. The Nittany Lions hold a 75-72 advantage in the series despite losing six in a row. ' ' '