PITTSBURGH -- Jeff Locke spent a lot of time with A.J. Burnett last year, and then faced his mentor in a pitching matchup in Pittsburgh. Locke got the best of Burnett on Sunday in Pittsburghs 6-2 victory that finished off a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies. "It didnt even feel like we were playing a Major League Baseball game," Locke said. "We spoke really briefly before we got in the bullpen, just told each other to have fun today, go get em. Pound down." Locke gave up just three hits and a walk in eight innings, and the Pirates completed their first sweep of the season. Pittsburgh had failed to finish a sweep in eight previous tries this season. Philadelphia was swept for the eighth time. "I didnt know we didnt have a sweep all season," Locke said. "It feels good, especially a team like those guys over there. Especially when (Marlon) Byrd and A.J. come back again." The Pirates (47-41) moved a season-high six games over .500, while the Phillies (37-51) fell a season-high 14 games below .500. Locke (2-1) gave up two runs -- one earned -- and struck out four. He has made six straight quality starts since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on June 8. The left-hander worked mostly off of his fastball and changeup in an outing his manager Clint Hurdle called "fantastic." Byrd gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a single to left. Jimmy Rollins scored an unearned run from second after he reached base on a throwing error by third baseman Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez leads the major leagues with 18 errors this season. Pittsburgh responded in its half of the inning with two runs to erase Philadelphias early lead. Andrew McCutchen beat out a ground ball to shortstop with two outs after Burnett struck out the Pirates first two hitters. Neil Walker followed with a single. Against his former batterymate, Pirates catcher Russell Martin hit a two-run double to right-centre for a 2-1 advantage that wouldnt have been possible without McCutchens hustle. "Thats my game," McCutchen said. "I go up, hit a ball on the ground, and I have an opportunity to do something with it. Thats what I use my legs for and thats what Im going to always be like." The Pirates added another run in the third when Josh Harrison led off with a triple that split the gap in right-centre. Harrison tagged from third on a shallow fly ball from Walker to centre fielder Ben Revere and scored as Reveres throw came in offline. Burnett (5-8) gave up three runs and five hits, walked two and struck out seven in seven innings in his return to Pittsburgh. The Pirates played a "Thank You A.J." video on the scoreboard when Burnett took the mound in the first inning "The video caught me by surprise," Burnett said. "I dont know what to say about it. It was very moving. It was very unexpected." Byrd hit his 18th home run in the seventh inning to draw Philadelphia within 3-2. Locke threw Byrd a changeup low and inside, which Byrd sent over the fence in left field. "He got me," Locke said. "I got ahead of him, threw a changeup, and boom, he hit it. I knew it was a home run." For Hurdle, it was only a matter of time until Byrd would damage the Pirates. "Byrds a good hitter," Hurdle said. "We played with the tigers tail earlier in the series because he had a lot of at-bats with runners in scoring position that we were able to navigate through and around." Byrd finished 2 for 4 with two RBI. "Hes been very steady for us," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "An everyday grinder who forces the chips in. Hes been one of our consistent bats." Harrison scored again in the eighth on a RBI triple by McCutchen, who was awarded third base because of fan interference following a crew chief review initiated by home plate umpire Dale Scott. Philadelphia reliever Justin De Fratus elevated an 81 mph slider over the plate that McCutchen hammered to the opposite field. "I thought it had a chance," McCutchen said. "But like Ive said plenty of times, you just never know what the ballpark is. Some days itll go, some days it wont." McCutchen then scored on a single by Starling Marte, and Jordy Mercer drove in another run with a sacrifice fly. NOTES: Pittsburgh RHP Charlie Morton (5-9, 3.30 ERA) will oppose St. Louis RHP Adam Wainwright (1-4, 1.89 ERA) on Monday when the teams begin a three-game series at Busch Stadium. ... Philadelphia LHP Cole Hamels (2-5, 2.98 ERA) will face Milwaukee RHP Marco Estrada (7-5, 4.94 ERA) as the Phillies continue their road trip on Monday. Dele Alli Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. Josh Onomah Jersey .Y. -- In a span of three days, Shabazz Napier and Connecticut knocked out both Philadelphia schools in the NCAA tournament. http://www.hotspurfcproshop.com/moussa-sissoko-hotspur-jersey-uk/ .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan opened the Ford Womens World Curling Championship with a 7-5 win over Russia on Saturday. Kevin Wimmer Jersey . Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., had 18 aces in the match. He needed one hour 39 minutes to complete the victory. Michel Vorm Jersey . - Doug Kalitta led Top Fuel qualifying Friday in the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway with a 3.TORONTO - If you had been up early to watch the Canadian mens hockey team win gold Sunday morning, the Raptors first-half lullaby likely put you back to sleep. "I think we set basketball back probably 15 years in the first half," Dwane Casey admitted, speaking of his teams lackadaisical effort at the outset of a 105-90 win over the lowly Orlando Magic. Slow starts have become a troublesome trend for the Raptors, who scored 44 points on 42 per cent shooting in the opening 24 minutes Sunday, but theyve also developed a fondness for the second-half explosion, which seems to bail them out more often than not. Whatever Casey is saying or doing in the locker room at intermission, its been working. Once considered to be one of the worst third-quarter teams in the association, the Raptors looked like an inspired team coming out of the halftime break. "Like I told our guys, were going to have a lot of games where were going to have to grind it out," Casey said. "For whatever reason we struggle in the first half [and] come through, turn it on [in the second half], but I think thats also a little bit of growth on our part. Ive seen times when it had been a struggle for close to 40 minutes." The Raptors have indeed turned a corner in that regard, establishing themselves as a lethal second-half club. Toronto has outscored, or tied, its opponent in the second half in 13 straight contests, holding teams to 39 per cent shooting and besting them by 91 total points during that stretch. Since the season-altering trade of Rudy Gay, the Raptors lead the NBA in second-half point differential, outscoring foes by 216 points, 47 more than the second-ranked Indiana Pacers. Led by its dynamic backcourt, Toronto missed just two of its 14 field goal attempts in the third, besting the Magic 36-24 and turning a three-point halftime lead into a 15-point advantage going into the fourth. Neither guard, Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan, missed a shot in the frame. The two combined for 26 of Torontos 36 points. Lowry, who shot just 1-of-7 in the first half, was in the zone. As the clock ticked down to end the period, the Raptorrs point guard pulled up from 25-feet and drained his fourth three-pointer, putting the finishing touch on a perfect (5-for-5 from the field, 4-for-4 from three, 3-for-3 from the line) 17-point quarter.dddddddddddd Although the Raptors have outscored the Magic and Cavaliers 73-45, shooting 76 per cent from the floor in their last two third quarters - en route to a pair of home victories - Lowry and his teammates are wisely concerned about their customary slow starts. "Were not that good of a team to just ease our way into the game," said Lowry, who finished with 28 points on Sunday. "Weve got to come out and play with [that] intensity from the start." Whats behind the teams late wake-up calls? "I cant really put a finger on it," DeRozan said after scoring 17 of his 24 in the second half. "Maybe we just like a challenge sometimes. [We] put ourselves in a tough situation so we can fight ourselves out, but weve got to stop that and understand weve got to come out of the gate so we dont make the game that hard on us." Fortunately, the Raptors were playing host to the leagues worst road team. The Magic, riding a 15-game losing streak away from home, were missing leading scorer Arron Afflalo, absent as a result of an ankle injury. They scored just 14 points in the opening quarter and didnt put up much resistance when the Raptors guards seized control of the game. Toronto managed to seal a double-digit victory despite committing a season-high 24 turnovers, 18 of them coming from Lowry, DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas. While six of Torontos next seven games come against losing teams, this is not a habit that will be kind to the playoff-bound Raptors as they approach the stretch run. "We cant rely on that," DeRozan said of his teams second-half success, "because when we run into the top teams its going to be tough to try to make a comeback against those teams." "So weve got to start a habit of that now," he continued, "even when were playing teams like Orlando so well be ready and we know what to expect when we play the good teams." Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseysdiscount uswnt jerseyWholesale AC Milan JerseysWholesale Arsenal JerseysWholesale A.S. Roma JerseysWholesale Atletico Madrid JerseysWholesale Chelsea JerseysCheap Barcelona JerseysBayern Munich Jerseys For SaleCheap Borussia Dortmund JerseysCheap Inter Milan JerseysJuventus Jerseys From ChinaLeicester City Jerseys For SaleDiscount Liverpool JerseysWholesale Manchester City JerseysManchester United Jerseys For SaleWholesale Paris Saint-Germain JerseysReal Madrid Jerseys From ChinaCheap Sevilla JerseysAuthentic Tottenham Hotspur Jerseys ' ' '