CHICAGO -- Players chanted "MVP! MVP!" as they doused Andrew McCutchen in the visitors clubhouse, two decades of futility finall

CHICAGO -- Players chanted "MVP! MVP!" as they doused Andrew McCutchen in the visitors clubhouse, two decades of futility finally washed away. Keanu Neal Jersey . The last time the Pirates made the playoffs, Barry Bonds was in the middle of the order. The average price of gas was $1.13 a gallon. Yes, it had been that long. The Pirates are going to the playoffs for the first time in 21 years, clinching at least a National League wild card Monday night when they beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 and the Washington Nationals lost to St. Louis. And they hope thats just the start, not the end. "Were definitely not done," McCutchen said. "Weve got some games left. We still could move farther." Now, they can turn their attention toward bigger goals, the kind that seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream through all those losing seasons. It will be Pittsburghs first trip to the post-season since Bonds, Jim Leyland and Co. won three straight NL East titles from 1990-92. Bonds then left for San Francisco as a free agent, and the small-budget Pirates piled up 20 consecutive losing records -- the longest streak in the four major professional sports. "For me, its not about the last 21 years," Russell Martin said. "For me, it was just about this year, and what we could do this year. They had a good season last year, lost some steam late in September, but I knew that if youre having a good season all the way into September, you know you have a good club." Starling Marte hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning at Wrigley Field, and the Pirates threw out a runner at the plate for the final out. The Pirates sprayed each other with bubbly and beer and sparkling cider in the visitors clubhouse once St. Louis 4-3 win over the Nationals became final. The Cincinnati Reds also clinched at least a wild-card berth, when they beat the New York Mets 3-2 in 10 innings. The Pirates and Reds, both 90-67, trail St. Louis by two games in the NL Central with five to go. Pittsburgh players sang Journeys "Dont Stop Believing." They took pictures and manager Clint Hurdle had them gather for a group photo in the middle of the cramped visitors clubhouse. "The people of Pittsburgh have been waiting a long time," said Neil Walker, who homered. The Pirates snapped a 1-all tie when Marte sent a drive off Kevin Gregg (2-6) with two outs in the ninth into the left field bleachers. In a fitting coincidence, they then preserved the victory on the final out in a play at the plate. McCutchen, the centre fielder, picked up Ryan Sweeneys bloop single after right fielder Marlon Byrd failed in trying to scoop up the ball and threw to first baseman Justin Morneau, positioned just in front of the pitchers mound. Morneau caught the throw on one hop and made the relay to catcher Russell Martin, who applied the tag on Nate Schierholtz trying to score from first base. Still on his knees, Martin held the ball over his head in jubilation. Then, he heaved the ball toward deep left field as the Pirates celebrated near the mound, and Jason Grilli grabbed him, having escaped with his 32nd save in 34 chances. "Twenty-one years since we popped champagne in a Pirates clubhouse -- and were acting like its been a long time," Hurdle said. "The hard work, the fun. Im just proud of each and every man in here, the fans they represent, ownership, general manager, president ... the scouts, players. This has been a group effort for a long time." The Pirates last trip to the playoffs ended with Atlantas Sid Bream sliding home with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 1992 NL championship series. The Cubs tied it in the eighth off Mark Melancon (3-2). Martes 12th homer set off loud boos for Gregg (2-6), who was almost released last week after going on a rant to reporters when he thought he had lost the closers job to Pedro Strop. Walker homered against Jeff Samardzija in the first to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead, and Charlie Morton pitched three-hit ball over seven scoreless innings before the Cubs tied it against Melancon. Brian Bogusevic led off the eighth with a single, his second hit, and moved up on a groundout by Darwin Barney. Then, after a wild pitch, he scored the tying run on a single by pinch-hitter Donnie Murphy. That spoiled a terrific start for Morton, who struck out five and walked one. Samardzija was almost as good, allowing one run and five hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked four after going 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA in his previous four starts. Samardzijas only blemish in this one came when Walker drove a 1-1 pitch out to left-centre with one out in the first. With the long ball, Walker matched a career high of 14 set last season. He has four homers in the past five games. Samardzija settled down after that but got little support as the Cubs lost for the 10th time in 13 games. It was also the second straight day an opponent celebrated at Wrigley Field. Atlanta clinched the NL East on Sunday, and this time, it was the Pirates turn to party. "Thats what we need to do," Samardzija said. "I think were getting there, but we need to get some things ironed out." Brian Poole Jersey . On Sunday, head coach Patrick Roy said the teams leading scorer will skate at Mondays morning practice and the club will make a decision on his status for Game 6 at that point. Austin Hooper Jersey . With Bernard hurt, the second-round pick has emerged.Hill ran for 152 yards during a 27-10 win at New Orleans on Sunday, his second big game. He also ran for 154 yards against Jacksonville earlier this season. http://www.cheapfalconsjerseysonline.com/?tag=wes-schweitzer-jersey-online . Sizemore, who turned 29 on Jan. 4, has been limited to six games over the past two seasons because of an injured left knee that twice required surgery. He originally got hurt on Feb. 25, 2012, during a fielding drill in Oaklands first full-squad spring training workout and had surgery that March 21 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.MILWAUKEE -- Dwight Howard was disappointed by the Rockets inconsistent effort, even if it was good enough to beat the Bucks. Howard scored 27 points, including three crucial free throws in the closing seconds, and James Harden scored 10 of his 22 points in the decisive third quarter to help Houston hold off a short-handed but scrappy Milwaukee team for its fifth straight win, 101-95 Saturday night. "We didnt attack like we needed to the whole game," Howard said. "There were spurts when we attacked the basket, but there were times when settled for the 3. We have to always be in attack mode." The Rockets let the Bucks get close once in the third and then again down the stretch. "They dug into the lead a little bit," Rockets head coach Kevin McHale said. "Im just glad we got that win. That wasnt one of our best games. We had a lot of possessions offensively where we didnt move the ball." Jeremy Lin added 18 as the Rockets tied their longest winning streak of the season, a mark set in late November. "Were too up and down right now," Lin said. "We go up 12 and then we are only up six. It would be nice for us to build leads and really dominate from start to finish." Howard grabbed 13 rebounds for his 33rd double-double of the season, the third highest in the NBA this season. Nate Wolters, who scored a career-high 19, sparked the Bucks with seven points during a 16-7 run to open the second half and that pulled them to 63-61. "Defensively, they kind of got what they wanted there for a while," McHale said of the Bucks effort. "But we had some good runs inside the game that got us some separation." The Rockets quickly answered with baskets by Patrick Beverley and Terence Jones, and then Harden added seven points to prevent Milwaukee from getting any closer using an 18-8 run to end the third and take an 81-69 lead into the fourth. Brandon Knight scored 23 points and Khris Middleton 20, including three free throws aftter being fouled behind the arc with 46. Ryan Schraeder Jersey. 6 seconds remaining as Milwaukee came back to trail 98-95. Howard made three of four free throws for Houstons final points and seal the win. "I thought for the most part, we hung in there," Bucks head coach Larry Drew said. "The first half we really were just trying to make it work after we lost Larry Sanders." The Bucks were already down to four reserves before an inadvertent elbow from Harden knocked Sanders out of the game with 7:37 left in the first quarter. The two were fighting for a rebound under the Bucks basket. Sanders fell to the floor for a few moments before walking off. He did not return due to blurred vision. After the game, Bucks coach Larry Drew didnt have any additional news on Sanders. John Henson thought that Sanders got hit in the eye and probably would just have a black eye. With the loss of Sanders, the Rockets had an easier time in the low post and outscored the Bucks 58 to 48 in the paint. Luke Ridnour (back), Ekpe Udoh (ankle), Ersan Ilyasova (back), O.J. Mayo (illness/conditioning) and Caron Butler (ankle) missed the game for Milwaukee. Lin came off the bench to score 11 points in the first half as Houston shot 53.5 per cent and took a 56-45 lead at the half. Harden added 11 points and then helped Howard get his 11th just before the half ended on a slick alley-oop. Howard had just converted a three-point play when Harden lofted a pass that the Rockets centre dunked for a 15-point lead. NOTES: Houston improved to 15-3 against the Eastern Conference, including five straight against the East. ... Rockets C Omer Asik returned after missing the last 31 games with a right thigh/knee injury, but F Greg Smith sore right knee kept him back in Houston. Hes played in only 11 games so far this season. ... Howard is 17 of 18 in career games against the Bucks. ... The Rockets are 12-0 when Howard has scored at least 20 points in the last six weeks, compared to 2-6 when he doesnt. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Baseball Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap Custom Jerseys China Cheap Basketball Jerseys Authentic NFL Jerseys China Cheap College Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys ' ' '