t last season and trying to make a

PITTSBURGH -- Pinch-runner Josh Harrison stood on second base in the bottom of the eighth inning and pointed to Pittsburgh Pirates third base coach Nick Leyva. "I told him to get that arm ready, because Im coming," Harrison said. Moments later, Harrison was streaking across home plate to give the Pirates the lead. Minutes after that, the Jolly Roger thats been a fixture on the Pittsburgh skyline all summer climbed up the flagpole again. Harrison scored on Pedro Alvarezs tiebreaking single Sunday, sending the Pirates to a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals that staked Pittsburgh to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five NL division series. Russell Martin followed with a sharp RBI single against reliever Kevin Siegrist, who took over after Carlos Martinez (0-1) faltered. The go-ahead single was the latest big hit by Alvarez. He homered in the first two games against St. Louis and is 4 for 10 with four RBIs in the series. Alvarez also kept the Pirates famous flag flying high in October. "Raise the Jolly Roger!" is the rallying cry for this wild-card team, now one victory from its first post-season series win since Willie Stargell, Dave Parker and the "We Are Family" gang won it all in 1979. "Were continuing to surprise a lot of people, I believe. Were continuing to show people that were not done, that were not just happy to be in the post-season," star centre fielder Andrew McCutchen said. "Were fighting to win a World Series." Heady territory for a franchise that had endured a record 20 consecutive years of losing coming into this season. Six months later, the Pirates are on the cusp of knocking out baseball royalty. Mark Melancon (1-0) picked up the win despite allowing Carlos Beltrans tying home run in the top of the eighth. Jason Grilli worked the ninth for a save. Charlie Morton is set to start for Pittsburgh in Game 4 on Monday against rookie Michael Wacha. Beltran finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs. His 16th playoff home run moved him past Babe Ruth for eighth place in post-season history. "Its a must-win tomorrow for us," Beltran said. "Hopefully we can come here tomorrow, take care of business, win and go play the last game at home." Beltrans shot temporarily silenced a rocking crowd at PNC Park. It also set the stage for another dramatic win by the Pirates. McCutchen led off the eighth with his second hit, a double to left. But the NL MVP candidate unwisely tried to advance on Justin Morneaus grounder to shortstop and was an easy out at third. Harrison ran for Morneau and moved up when Marlon Byrd walked. St. Louis manager Mike Matheny turned to a lefty in Siegrist to face the left-handed Alvarez. The Pittsburgh slugger tied for the NL lead with 36 homers during the regular season, but hit just .180 against lefties. "I just knew it was going to be a tough matchup," Alvarez said. "Ive seen him a couple of times before. I havent had much success. Hes a pitcher with good stuff -- great stuff. He threw me a couple of fastballs out over the plate." One too many, as it turned out, and Alvarez singled between first and second. Martin then fouled off a squeeze bunt before lining a hit to left that gave Grilli more than enough cushion. The game was a rare nail-biter between two clubs that spent the summer shadowing each other in the race for the NL Central title. Coming into Sunday, only five of the previous 21 matchups between the two were decided by two runs or less. After blowouts by each club in St. Louis, there wasnt much room to breathe in front of a frenzied, black-clad crowd looking for a repeat of Pittsburghs giddy 6-2 romp over Cincinnati in the wild-card game last Tuesday. Martins sacrifice fly off reliever Seth Maness in the sixth gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead and turned the game over to Pittsburghs "Shark Tank" bullpen, one of the keys to the franchises first winning season and playoff berth in a generation. Tony Watson worked around a one-out single in the seventh before giving way to Melancon. The Cardinals must win two straight to advance to the NL championship series for the third straight year. "Weve been in this situation," Beltran said. "Last year, I think we were in this situation a lot. So I think were fine, man. We want to come here tomorrow, we want to win and hopefully take this series home." Pirates starter Francisco Liriano dominated the Cardinals during the regular season, going 3-0 with an 0.75 ERA in three starts against the NLs highest-scoring team. He was electric against the Reds last Tuesday, shaking off a sinus infection and baffling them with a series of changeups and sliders that ended Cincinnatis season and manager Dusty Bakers tenure. Liriano narrowly escaped damage in the third Sunday when Matt Holliday lined to right with the bases loaded. The left-hander wasnt quite as fortunate in the fifth. Jon Jay led off with a single and Pete Kozma followed with a walk. After pitcher Joe Kelly struck out trying to bunt, a double steal set up Beltrans two-run single. At 2-all, the Cardinals had matched their entire output against Liriano in their previous 28 innings. Liriano was matched nearly pitch for pitch by the unflappable Kelly. The 25-year-old right-hander has been rock-steady all season, even as he moved from middle reliever to starter in July. Kelly welcomed the hostile environment, calling the sea of black-clad fans that awaited him one of the things a kid dreams about. The reality proved a little more unnerving, at least when Byrd hit a two-run single in the first. The well-travelled outfielder -- who played in 1,250 regular-season games before reaching the playoffs for the first time -- has been a welcome jolt both in the lineup and in the clubhouse for the Pirates. "Just having a heck of a time," Byrd said. NOTES: Grilli worked around a leadoff single in the ninth. ... McCutchen is batting .538 (7 for 13) and has an on-base percentage of .684 in the playoffs. His five walks rank first in the league this post-season. ... Beltrans home run was the first by the Cardinals in 10 games at PNC Park this year. Terry Rozier Jersey .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. Gordon Hayward Jersey . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract. http://www.celticsofficialsstore.com/kid...celtics-jersey/. Armstrong was given the rank of "Chevalier" -- or Knight -- in the "Legion dHonneur" in 2005, the last year of his seven consecutive Tour de France victories. Kyrie Irving Jersey . -- Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson couldnt hear himself amid the roar in Koch Arena, so he kept stomping on the floor in a fruitless attempt to get his teams attention. Al Horford Jersey . Among the six changes: Drivers are now eligible if they have competed for 30 or more years in NASCAR or turned 55 in the calendar year before nominating day. Previously, drivers were not eligible until they had been retired for three years, so drivers can continue to compete and still reach the hall. LAS VEGAS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors have reopened trade talks for All-Star forward Kevin Love, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. With most of the NBA in Las Vegas for summer league games, the sides have had a chance to meet face-to-face to talk about a deal mentioned as a possibility for more than a month. The person requested anonymity because both teams are not publicly commenting on trade discussions. Timberwolves president and coach Flip Saunders was seen talking to Warriors general manager Bob Myers at the arena on Sunday as the teams look to bridge the gap that caused discussions to stall. The Warriors have been reluctant to include shooting guard Klay Thompson in any package, which has been considered a deal-breaker for the Timberwolves. There were no signs that the Warriors were ready to change their position on Thompson. New Warriors coach Steve Kerr is keen on pairing Thompson with Steph Curry in the backcourt that has become known as the "Splash Brothers," even as he acknowledged earlier in the summer that he would like to add a power forward with shooting range. There is none better at bringing that dimension than Love, a 25-year-old who plans to opt out of his contract at the end of next season and go looking for a contender. Love has not made the playoffs in the first six seasons of his career in Minnesota. So far, the Wolves and Warriors have discussed swapping Loove and veteran shooting guard Kevin Martin for David Lee, Harrison Barnes and a future draft pick.dddddddddddd That hasnt been enough for Saunders, who has been adamant that that 24-year-old Thompson be the main piece to come back. The Wolves also have talked to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have LeBron James coming back home to play next season. A three-player core of James, Love and Kyrie Irving would immediately make the Cavaliers a favourite in the wide-open Eastern Conference, but Cavaliers GM David Griffin has refused to part with No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins to land Love. The Timberwolves have demanded Wiggins be a part of the deal, which has put those discussions at a standstill. Love and James were teammates on gold medal-winning Team USA in London in 2012 and James has long been an admirer of the super-athletic Wiggins, who has been a much-hyped prospect during his prep days in Canada and his one season at Kansas. Saunders has said hed have no issues keeping Love, making a couple of moves to improve a roster that finished 10th in the West last season and trying to make a playoff run to convince the face of the franchise he should stay in Minnesota. That strategy worked for the Portland Trail Blazers with LaMarcus Aldridge, and the Wolves believe Love could change his mind if enough improvements are made. The Wolves also can pay Love about $26.5 million more than any other team with the extra year they can offer him. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '