As the playoff hopes of the Pittsburgh Pirates took a hit during the last two and a half weeks, all Gerrit Cole could do was watch.The Pirates ace will make his return from the 15-day disabled list (elbow) Monday when Pittsburgh opens a four-game series in Philadelphia. But the Pirates have almost eliminated themselves from the playoffs. Sundays loss in Cincinnati marked their third in a row and 11th in their last 13.Theyve fallen to 5 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the final wildcard spot in the National League playoff race. Theyre now 69-72 on the year. Pittsburgh was 63-61 when Cole last made a start.Cole, the teams ace, has had a disappointing and injury-plagued 2016. He has a 3.55 ERA in 20 starts. In his last four starts before hitting the DL with elbow inflammation, he gave up 34 hits and 17 earned runs in 21 2/3 innings, helping drop his record on the year to 7-9. This, after an impressive 2.60 ERA in 32 starts in 2015.Its the injuries that slowed him in 2016.It is awful, Cole said Thursday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Especially in a season like this where you feel you can make an impact. But you deal with the cards you are dealt and try to make the best hand out of it.Now, hell likely have four more starts to right his season, as the Pirates fight to save their playoff hopes.Im a big believer that the greatest indicator of the present is the past, athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk told the Post-Gazette. But Im also stubborn and want to be a pioneer and move forward and try to do something different to prevent these injuries. So, sure, (Cole) is more prone to injuries with three in one season.However, were going to have an all-systems attack on how were going to address a lot of his kinetic-chain issues that may or may not have caused some of his ailments this year.In Philadelphia, Cole and the Pirates meet a Phillies team that freshly promoted two prospects, outfielder Roman Quinn and catcher Jorge Alfaro, and is finishing out another year of rebuilding. Quinn, a Top 10 prospect in the Phillies system, started in his MLB debut Sunday. He batted second and played center field.Quinn went 0-for-3 with a walk and a diving catch in his debut.The Phillies (63-80), losers of three straight after a 3-2 loss in Washington Sunday, are likely to call up more prospects as they play out the final strings of 2016. And theyll likely use a variety of pitchers down the stretch, as some pitchers are reaching their innings limits.Veteran righty Jeremy Hellickson (10-9, 3.90 ERA), whom the Phillies decided to hang onto at the trade deadline, meets Cole Monday night.Hellickson, 29, has been the veteran presence and innings eater the young Phillies pitching staff has relied on.I think having Jeremy here is very important to our club, general manager Matt Klentak said last month. There was a reason we brought him here in the first place. The reason we traded for him was to add some stability to our rotation, help to mentor our young pitchers, to help to protect them from the workloads, help to save the bullpen.Hell continue to do all of that as the final three weeks of the season play out.Clearance LeBron James Shoes . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal. LeBron James Shoes Outlet .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. https://www.cheapshoeslebronjames.com/ . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. Cheap LeBron James Shoes . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. LeBron James Shoes For Sale . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off.GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jordan Lyons scored 18 points, Geoff Beans made five 3-pointers for 15 points, and Furman beat NCCAA member Trinity Baptist 102-53 on Saturday.It was the first time Furman scored 100 points since the 2005-06 season opener.Furman scored the first 20 points of the game until Ezra Howard put Trinity on the board with 16:03 left. The Paladins extended their lead to 60-17 at the half and they led by as many as 55 points.Furman scored 31 points off of Trinitys 21 turnoovers and won the rebounding battle 47-29.ddddddddddddKris Acox and Andrew Brown both scored 12 points for Furman (2-2). John Davis III added 10 points for the Paladins, who hit 14 of 29 3-pointers and made 52 percent of their field goals.Ezra Howard was the only player in double figures for Trinity Baptist. He made 5 of 8 3-pointers and scored 19 points. ' ' '