PITTSBURGH - A day after falling out of first place, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a trade they feel will bolster their offence. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses For Sale . 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. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses . 1. Did the Senators trade the wrong goalie? Lets make one thing clear: The Ottawa Senators acquired Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues for one reason and one reason alone. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses China .com) - Damian Lillard poured in 40 points on 11-of-21 shooting to go along with 11 assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder, 115-111, in overtime on Tuesday. http://www.cheaprayban.net/ . Off-Season Game Plan examines a team facing some challenging times as GM Bryan Murray tries to put together a roster for next season. Perhaps the first challenge facing Murray is that its expected he will be moving out Jason Spezza, a premier point producer who is about to enter the final year of his contract.BROOKLYN - The Toronto Raptors will try to capture their first best-of-seven series in franchise history and advance into the second round of the 2013-14 NBA Playoffs this evening when they face the Brooklyn Nets in Game 6 at Barclays Center. You can watch live coverage now on TSN, TSN GO and TSN Radio 1050. Also, TSN.ca will feature live streaming of the fan festivities at Maple Leaf Square and the post-game news conferences. The only time the Raptors advanced in the postseason came in 2001 when they defeated the New York Knicks, 3-2. They fell to the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals that year, but since have failed to get out of the first round the three other times they made the playoffs. "I think we understand the intensity, weve learned that," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said after practice on Thursday. "Its hard in this league because so much is on the line. Were a young team. Its a positive for these guys to go through this." The Raptors took the series lead with a 115-113 home win on Wednesday. Any win is important, but Toronto watched a 26-point lead evaporate before finally securing the victory. "We did everything wrong you could think of in the fourth quarter," Casey said. "This was a learning experience." The Nets appeared ready to pack it in as they began the fourth quarter in a 91-69 hole and had Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett watching from the bench. Somehow, the combination of Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and an unproven bench totaled 44 points over the final 12 minutes to make things veryy interesting. Cheap Authentic Ray Ban Sunglasses. Mirza Teletovic opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play on the ensuing possession to jump-start a 19-3 run that trimmed the Nets deficit to 97-91. Johnson knocked down an open 3-pointer with 3:19 left to pull even at 101-101, and it was knotted at 106-106 prior to a huge 3-pointer from Torontos Kyle Lowry. Two DeMar DeRozan free throws stretched the margin to 113-108, though Alan Andersons second four-point play of the quarter gave the Nets hope inside 10 seconds to play. After DeRozan sank two clutch free throws for a three-point game, the Raptors fouled Andray Blatche, who made his first free throw and grabbed his own rebound after intentionally missing the second. Blatches pass back to the top of the key, however, went over Williams head and into the backcourt for a violation, and the Raptors barely hung on for the win. "Hopefully, this put us on high alert," said Casey. Lowry led the way with 36 points behind six 3-pointers, including the gigantic go-ahead one with 1:04 remaining. DeRozan added 23 points and Jonas Valanciunas chipped in with 16 for Toronto, Johnson paced Brooklyn with 30 points, Teletovic added 17 off the bench while Williams and Anderson each netted 13 in the setback. "The guys fought," Nets head coach Jason Kidd said. "They put us in a position to win on the road, but we didnt do the little things." If the Nets can force Game 7, it will be on Sunday at the Air Canada Centre. If Toronto prevails on Friday, the Raptors will meet the Miami Heat in the second round. ' ' '