PITTSBURGH -- Jeff Locke never lost his poise and gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a chance to get a win. Locke overcame a shaky start to pitch seven innings and Josh Harrison had three hits to extend his hot streak as the Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 7-3 on Wednesday night. Locke (3-3) gave up three runs in the first two innings, and then shut out the Marlins over his last five. The left-hander gave up six hits, no walks, and struck out seven, beating Miami for the first time in five starts. "Its easy to let things snowball, its easy to let things carry on," Locke said. "I settled down. I started to get more in control. I kept pounding the strike zone because good things happen when you do that." Christian Yelich hit a two-run homer that drew Miami within 4-3 in the second. The Marlins never scored again and Locke retired the last 13 batters he faced. "He was just persistent," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said of Locke. "It started with his confidence. He could find the (arm) slot and stay with it, (catcher) Russell (Martin) kept him in a good place to battle through the first two innings then he ran the table. Its as well as hes pitched all year." Harrison hit a double and scored twice. He is 20 for 44 during a 10-game hitting streak, with six doubles, one triple and five home runs. Ike Davis had a two-run double in a four-run first for Pittsburgh against Tom Koehler (7-9). Gaby Sanchezs two-run double capped a three-run seventh that pushed the lead to 7-3. Jeff Baker singled in a run in the first for the Marlins. Koehler was charged with four runs in six innings while allowing five hits and four walks and striking out four. It was the second time in his last nine starts that Koehler allowed more than three runs. "I made some good pitches early in the inning that they hit but then I started falling behind in the count and had to come in with my fastball," Koehler said. "Theyre a very good fastball-hitting team. You dont want to put them in fastball-hitting counts the way I did." Russell Martin hit an RBI single in the seventh to give the Pirates a 5-3 cushion before Sanchez broke the game open with his double. TRAINERS ROOM Marlins: Right-hander Jarred Cosart was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday night because of a strained left oblique muscle. Cosart felt discomfort in his side while playing catch Wednesday and the Marlins decided to have him skip a start. He is tentatively scheduled to pitch next Tuesday against St. Louis. The Marlins got Cosart last week in a trade with Houston. He made his Miami debut the next day and took the loss against Cincinnati, giving up four runs in 5 1-3 innings Friday. He was 9-7 with a 4.41 ERA with the Astros. . Reliever Kevin Gregg is expected to have surgery to remove bone chips from right elbow and miss the remainder of the season. . Right-hander Henderson Alvarez played catch before the game, the first time he had thrown since going on the disabled list July 30 with right shoulder inflammation. He is expected to be activated Aug. 15, the first day he is eligible. Pirates: Center fielder Andrew McCutchen missed his second straight game because of a fracture and cartilage damage in his lower left rib cage but remains hopeful of avoiding the disabled list. . Second baseman Neil Walker sat out for the third time in four games because of lower back tightness but is expected to return to the lineup Thursday. . Right-hander Gerrit Cole, will make a third rehab start for Triple-A Indianapolis with the date to be determined after he has a bullpen session Thursday. Cole has been on the DL since July 5 with a strained right lat. ON DECK Marlins: Rookie left-hander Brian Flynn (0-0, 6.00) will fill in for Cosart and start in the finale of the three-game series. Flynn was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans on Tuesday when right-hander Jacob Turner was designated for assignment. Flynn pitched once for the Marlins this season, allowing two runs in three innings June 27 against Oakland. Pirates: Right-hander Edinson Volquez (8-7, 3.91) is 5-0 with a 1.99 ERA in six career starts against the Marlins and looks to snap his three-start winless streak, which comes on the heels of a four-start winning streak. DeMarcus Ware Womens Jersey .com) - Virginia is for loving Latrell Scott. Courtland Sutton Youth Jersey . Ryu (8-3) allowed a run and three hits in six innings and struck out six in his 13th start. In his first 13 starts last season -- his first in the major leagues -- the left-hander was 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA. This was the ninth time this year that Ryu has allowed fewer than three earned runs, and he is 7-0 in those games. http://www.thebroncosstoreonline.com/Youth-Royce-Freeman-Broncos-Jerseys/ .C. - The Panthers will be without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei for Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a broken bone in his foot. Tom Jackson Broncos Jersey . -- Quarterback Josh Johnson has returned to the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. Joe Flacco Womens Jersey . -- Alex Anthopoulos spoke volumes with what he didnt say on right-hander Ervin Santana.OKLAHOMA CITY -- This is what the Thunder had in mind when they picked up Caron Butler after the trade deadline. The forward scored 23 points to help Oklahoma City defeat the Denver Nuggets 117-96 on Monday night. He made 10 of 19 shots in 29 minutes as a reserve and posted his highest points total since joining the team. Kevin Durant, who had 27 points and eight assists, liked what the Thunder got from the 34-year-old Butler. "Thats what we want him to do," Durant said. "He was aggressive, and thats what we need him to do for the rest of the year." Butler said it felt good to get loose. "Im just getting into a rhythm," he said. "My teammates are doing a great job of finding me in flow, and Im starting to get a little more familiar with my game and understanding where I like the ball at." Reggie Jackson had 16 points and a career-high 11 assists, and Serge Ibaka added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Thunder, who won their fourth straight. The Thunder sat point guard Russell Westbrook so he could rest his surgically repaired right knee. Westbrooks knee took a hit from Toronto guard Kyle Lowry on Friday, but tests showed no further damage was done. The Thunder have been resting Westbrook for one game of back-to-backs, and Oklahoma City plays at Dallas on Tuesday. As usual, other players filled in successfully. "You have a system thats functioning," Butler said. "The only thing guys got to do is plug into that system and play a certain style and way and give a certain type of effort, and things just continue to move forward." Jackson, who had struggled at times since Westbrook returned after the All-Star break, played one of his best games of the season. "Hes just playing free now," Durant said. "You can just tell hes not getting in his own way, you know, thinking too much mentally and hes just going out there and playing." Ty Lawson scored 25 points, Quincy Miller and Timofey Mozgov each scored 12 points, Kenneth Faried had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Randy Foye had 11 points and four assists forr the Nuggets.dddddddddddd Denver allowed the Thunder to shoot 51 per cent. "We didnt get into the ball defensively," Denver forward Darrell Arthur said. "Our communication was off." The Thunder matched their highest points total in a quarter this season, making six 3-pointers in the first to take a 41-24 lead. Oklahoma City kept the pressure on and led 72-58 at halftime. The Thunder shot 60 per cent from the field and had their highest points total in any half this season. Durant had 22 points and six assists in the first half while Ibaka scored 15. Only one Thunder player shot worse than 50 per cent in the first half. "They came out strong, and we gave them a lot of easy shots," Lawson said. "It felt like they werent working for anything. Everything was pretty much easy in the first half, I think." Oklahoma City made just six of 18 shots in the third quarter, but the Nuggets were an even worse 3-for-16, so the Thunder actually extended their lead to 90-73 by the end of the period. "We got stops on the first two possessions (of the third quarter), so we could have cut the lead down to 10," Denver coach Brian Shaw said. "Instead, we dont capitalize on those situations, and they come down and score after that and push it right back up to 18 or 20. It was just one of those kinds of nights." NOTES: Thunder C Kendrick Perkins (left groin strain) and G Thabo Sefolosha (left calf strain) are improving, but still are out. Both have missed about a month. ... Durant has scored 25 or more points in 35 consecutive games, the longest streak since Michael Jordan did it 40 consecutive times during the 1986-87 season. ... Nuggets F Wilson Chandler (left groin strain) and F Jan Vesely (left rib cage contusion) did not play. ... Thunder C Hasheem Thabeet missed the game for personal reasons. ... Oklahoma Citys Adams scored in double figures for just the third time this season. ... Thunder G Mustafa Shakur played for just the third time this season. He was NBA D-League Player of the Month in February while playing for the Tulsa 66ers. ' ' '