Die Anpflanzler [DA] » n a three-game series

PITTSBURGH -- Pirates catcher Russell Martin didnt start Thursdays game. Rather, he ended it. Martin drew a bases-loaded walk off Tony Cingrani with two outs in the 12th inning and Pittsburgh beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 to avoid a three-game sweep. Cingranis first pitch buzzed in low around the ankles of Martin, who drew boos from those left in attendance for not letting the ball hit him to score the winning run. "I did wonder maybe if I wouldve got hit the game would be over," Martin said. "But when its at your feet you just react, and I just reacted." Later, Cingranis 3-1 pitch caught what Reds manager Bryan Price thought was a part of the strike zone established during the games proceedings. Instead, it was ball four. "Im not saying we would have won this game," Price said. "But it certainly didnt give us an opportunity to go out there and compete in the 13th." Cingrani (2-8) took the loss after he gave up a single to Gaby Sanchez, balked him to second, intentionally walked Josh Harrison and hit Clint Barmes with a pitch to load the bases. Martin entered the game in the 10th and wound up walking twice. Justin Wilson (2-0) retired the Reds in order in the top of the 12th. Devin Mesoraco hit a solo homer in the Reds ninth off Jason Grilli, who blew his fourth save in 15 chances this season. Grilli gave up a home run for the second time in three days, and has allowed four in 20 games this year. He gave up four homers in 54 appearances last season. Billy Hamilton led off the game with a double against Jeff Locke, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Joey Votto to put the Reds ahead 1-0. Votto doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jay Bruce for a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Locke settled down though and worked six innings in which he allowed two runs on six hits and a walk. Gregory Polanco opened the fourth with a single for Pittsburghs first runner against Homer Bailey and the Pirates later scored three times in the fifth. With runners at the corners and Polanco at the plate, Bailey went through his pitching motion but did not release the ball and was called for a balk. ""It was one of those deals where youre thinking more about not falling than throwing the ball," Bailey said. "My back foot slipped out from me then I land on the side of my other the foot, so it was a circus all the way around. I was just trying not to fall backward." Pirates manager Clint Hurdle offered that the call may have helped his hitters gain some traction against Bailey after he started with three perfect frames. "I think that the balk call might have leaked in a little bit," Hurdle said. "Whether it rattled him, I dont know, hes a pro." Polanco, Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen followed with singles that scored two runs for a 3-2 Pittsburgh lead. "They hit some balls off the end of the bat, had some balls fall in," Bailey said. Price pulled Bailey in the sixth and as reliever Sam LeCure took his warmup pitches, heavy rain began to fall and there was a 35-minute delay. The Pirates twice put runners in scoring position after Mesoracos tying homer. McCutchen struck out looking at an offspeed offering from Aroldis Chapman in the ninth with runners at first and second. Marte struck out swinging in the 11th in the same situation. NOTES: Polancos single in the fourth extended his hitting streak to nine games, the longest by any Pirates player to begin a major league career. ... Barmes finished with his first four-hit game since May 30, 2009. ... RHP Charlie Morton (4-7, 3.09) opposes Cubs RHP Edwin Jackson (4-7, 5.11) on Friday afternoon as the Pirates open a three-game series at Wrigley Field. ... RHP Mat Latos (0-0, 0.00) is slated to make his second start of the season when the Reds return home to face RHP R.A. 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San Jose Sharks Jerseys .Y. - Geno Smith shouted a couple of mighty expensive expletives.MOSCOW -- Maxim Kovtuns two confident quads gave him a big lead after Fridays short program in the Rostelecom Cup, the last of six Grand Prix events before the final. As the only competitor to try two quads, much less complete them, Kovtun ended the day nearly nine points ahead of Japans Tatsuki Machida, who opened with a clean quad but then stepped out of the triple toe loop that was the second jump in his combination. Javier Fernandez of Spain was in third despite falling on his quad. In the womens short program, Russian Julia Lipnitskaia was in the lead, followed by Carolina Kostner of Italy, the 2012 world champion. American teammates Agnes Zawadzki and Mirai Nagasu were one-hundredth of a point apart at third and fourth, though well behind the two leaders. Kovtun is gunning for the sole Russian mens slot in Sochi, which Turin Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko also wants. Plushenko was to have been part of the Rostelecom field, but withdrew from what would have been his first top-tier competition since back surgery this spring. Plushenko blamed his withdrawal on a knee injury. "I was interested in trying my strength against such a fantastic skater," Kovtun said. "But I hope I will have another chance at Russian nationals." Kovtun was strong throughout his flamenco-themed program, the only notable flaw that he was almost sitting on the landing of his second quad to keep his balance. Machida, who won gold at Skate America, lamented that he was not in good condition in Moscow, but said its not clear whats troubling him. "Actually, I dont know," he said when asked about the specifics. Fernandez, the European champion and world bronze medallist , expressed satisfaction despite his fall. "I think I just had a little problem in the pattern and I just need to keep my mind clear," he said. All four of the top women did triple-triple combinations. But Lipnitskaia landed a more difficult triple lutz-triple toe combo while Kostner, Zawadzki and Nagasu all did triple toe-triple toes. In pairs, four-time worrld champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy led after the short program, followed by Russians Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov and Canadas Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch.dddddddddddd Lipnitskaia, who won gold at Skate Canada, will qualify for the Grand Prix final with a medal of any shade in Moscow. Kostner would qualify with a gold, but Zawadzki, after a seventh-place finish in the Cup of China, is out of contention. The top six skaters in each discipline qualify for the final, which is Dec. 5-8 in Fukuoka, Japan. Lipnitskaias program began on a mysterious note, with her crouched down and drawing figures with her finger on the ice. Asked what thats all about, she chose to keep the meaning hidden. "Everyone can see what he wants to," she said. But once she rose from the crouch, the 2012 junior world champions program was crystal-clear: a clean triple-triple, a precisely landed double axel and a very fast combination spin at the end. The veteran Kostner, who said she is contemplating retirement after the season, said she was soothed by being back on the ice at Moscows Luzhniki Small Arena. The arena was the practice rink for the 2005 world championships, where she won her first world medal, a bronze. "It feels very special," Kostner said. "Its funny to see so much time has passed." The top pairs all struggled, notably Savchenkos hard fall on a throw triple axel, a challenging move that the pair daringly puts almost at the end of their program when their energy has flagged somewhat. "Its a risky element," Szolkowy acknowledged. "We tried it in several positions; we found at the end it is best." Bazarova put her hand down on the pairs opening triple toe loop and landed awkwardly on the throw triple loop, but said it was all an improvement over last weeks Trophee Bompard, where the pair was fourth. "Today, we got the maximum levels," she said. Moscovitch took his fall in stride, saying, "I was working on some yoga positions on the landing." ' ' '