2,000th career assist in the fourth

PITTSBURGH -- Tony Sanchez knows hes heading back to Triple-A soon enough. Tom Brady Jersey . The Pittsburgh Pirates backup catcher will be going to Indianapolis when Russell Martins strained left hamstring is healed. Its a reality Sanchez can deal with so long as he makes a contribution while given the chance. At the moment, thats hardly a problem. Sanchez tiebreaking single off Baltimores Ryan Webb in the bottom of the seventh scored Starling Marte to give the Pirates the lead for good in a 9-8 win on Wednesday night. Coming off an embarrassing 9-2 loss on Tuesday and desperately in need of something positive, Sanchez helped Pittsburgh earn a split of the brief two-game interleague set. "Its almost a must win," Sanchez said. "We didnt have a really good road trip. To start off this homestand and go 0-2 it wouldnt have been pretty. Thats huge for me." Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 4 with an RBI and his first two extra-base hits in more than two weeks for Pittsburgh, which won for only the third time in its past nine games. Marte and Ike Davis had three hits and two RBIs apiece for the Pirates. Bryan Morris (4-0) earned the victory after allowing the Orioles to tie the game in the top of the seventh. No biggie. Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for his seventh save, one that capped a weird night in which the teams combined for 14 runs in the first two innings while starters Wandy Rodriguez and Chris Tillman took turns getting hit hard. It ended in more orderly fashion after Marte led off the seventh with a bunt single, moved to third on a single by Davis and scored when Sanchez laced a Webb offering into right field. "Its a game-winning hit, hes got a few of them," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Sanchez. "Hes got extreme confidence." Nelson Cruz hit his 14th homer of the season and drove in three runs for the Orioles. Nick Markakis, Chris Davis and JJ Hardy had two hits and one RBI apiece but Baltimore left 10 men on base. "You had two early exits from starters and it became a game out of the bullpen and they pushed one across there late," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "But our guys, we had a couple opportunities to score some more, but I cant fault the offence." Pittsburgh began the night eight games under .500 in part because of a struggling starting staff that has hardly looked like the group that led the team to the post-season last fall. Things didnt get much better, but the bullpen briefly recaptured its touch. Vin Mazzaros worked 3 1-3 innings of hitless relief to steady things after Rodriguez made a mess of things during 1 2-3 poor innings. The veteran left-hander has struggled with his command and his conviction all season and did little to convince Hurdle he was ready to turn the corner despite being spotted a 4-0 first-inning lead thanks in part to a two-run triple by Marte. The 35-year-old Rodriguez, in the final year of his contract, promptly gave the big lead away as Cruz led off the second a blistering solo home run and added a two-run double later in the inning to put the Orioles in front. Rodriguezs throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Tillman meant he was only charged with one earned run for his 1 2-3 innings of work, dropping his ERA from 6.84 to 6.75. Hurdle said it was too early to discuss whether Rodriguez would make his next start, though Rodriguez insists hes healthy after missing time early this season with a left knee injury. Tillman couldnt take advantage of the reprieve. Coming off a shutout win over Kansas City in his previous start, Tillman only managed to get three outs. He failed to retire a batter in the second as the first six Pittsburgh batters reached base. Brad Brach came on in relief to get out of the inning, but not until after the Orioles trailed 8-6. NOTES: Pirates closer Jason Grilli could return as early as Saturday. Grilli has been on the disabled list since sustaining a left oblique strain on April 20. He threw 20 pitches in a simulated game on Tuesday without incident ... The Orioles sent LHP Wei-Yin Chen back to Baltimore ahead of the team on Wednesday as a precaution due to concerns over weather in Pittsburgh. Chen (5-2, 3.69 ERA) is scheduled to start on Thursday against Cleveland. ... The Pirates begin a four-game series with Washington on Thursday. Edinson Volquez (1-4, 4.71) starts for the Pirates against Washingtons Blake Treinen (0-1, 0.77). John Hannah Womens Jersey . De La Rosa pitched six strong innings to win his sixth consecutive decision, Todd Helton homered and the Colorado Rockies snapped the Los Angeles Dodgers six-game winning streak with a 7-5 victory on Wednesday night. Kevin Faulk Jersey .com) - Theres nothing better for a team than to send out the staff ace in the most important game of the season. http://www.shoptheofficialpatriots.com/Elite-Andre-Tippett-Patriots-Jersey/ . - First-timer Chris Harris Jr.WASHINGTON -- Tayshaun Prince was having his best scoring game of the season, and the Memphis Grizzlies were cruising in the fourth quarter, when a loose ball somehow ended up in the hands of little-used Washington Wizards rookie Otto Porter. Porter let it fly to beat the shot clock -- and it went in for his first NBA 3-pointer. "My thought was like, Man, if you make that type of shot, then here goes the fourth quarter," Prince said. The Grizzlies led by as many as 19 in the final period, but the Wizards made six 3s over those final 12 minutes. Porter, a career 0-for-10 from long range entering the game, made a second one. The lead was down to two after Bradley Beals 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining, but time ran out not a moment too soon for Memphis, which made its free throws in the closing seconds to preserve a 110-104 win Monday night. "The most important thing," Prince said, "is we stay composed." Prince finished with a season-high 21 points, and Zach Randolph added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who improved to a season-high nine games above .500 and pulled within one game of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Memphis shot 60 per cent after the first quarter and outscored Washington 62-34 in the paint for the game. John Wall scored 23 points, Beal had 21, and Marcin Gortat added 16 for the Wizards, who had a six-game winning streak snapped. Washington had answered a challenge by winning its first three games after losing starting forward Nene to a knee injury, but this time the rotation was also missing forwards Kevin Seraphin (sore right knee) and Martell Webster (sore back). Which is how Porter ended up getting some major playing time, something scarcely seen this season by the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. He had scored only 39 points all season, and he looked as surprised as anyone when his first 3-pointer went swish. "I dont know how that went in," he said. "But I had to get it up there." The Grizzlies appeared in control after a 17-2 run over the final 3 1/2 minutes of the third quarter. Stephon Gilmore Patriots Jersey. Mike Conley (20 points, seven assists) started the spurt with a left-handed driving layup. Both Randolph and Tony Allen converted three-point plays, and Prince hit a 3-point shot as the lead grew to 79-64 entering the fourth. After Porters initial 3-pointer, Nick Calathes made a jumper to push the lead to 19, but the Wizards kept coming. Porters second 3-pointer made the score 102-98 with 1:17 to play. But it wouldnt be enough. "I think thats something we find ourselves doing a lot, getting down and digging in the last five minutes of games, and I feel like we cant do that," said Washingtons Trevor Ariza, who scored 15 points. "We gotta play hard throughout the whole game and compete throughout and not wait for the last five minutes to play." The Grizzlies had 10 players make at least two field goals, while the Wizards relied heavily on their starters. Prince, whose veteran contributions arent always reflected satisfactorily in the "points" column, was more of a scoring threat than usual. "The difference tonight was getting a couple of post-ups early, making a couple of shots in the paint," Prince said. "You notice pretty much since Ive been here, its been jump shot after jump shot, so I had the opportunity today to really get inside." Notes: Wall got his 2,000th career assist in the fourth quarter. ... Memphis F James Johnson sat out with a sprained right ankle and is day to day. ... Washington coach Randy Wittman said he expects Webster back for the Wizards next game Wednesday. Theres no timetable for Seraphin, who missed his fourth straight game. ... The Grizzlies are 16-11 on the road, and this win began a stretch in which 12 of 17 are away. "For some reason, the chemistry is a lot better," Prince said. "Were more concerned with not letting teams get out early on us, which is very surprising because when youre at home you just say, Lets hit em in the nose in the first quarter then we should be in good shape. But were doing it the opposite way." ' ' '