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OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Pittsburgh Pirates are doing the little things to win the close games.Manager Clint Hurdle calls the first half two good months of baseball and one that was complicated.David Freese hit a go-ahead single in the top of the 10th inning, and the Pirates beat the Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Saturday night for their third straight win.Erik Kratz led off the inning with a single against Daniel Coulombe (1-1), Jordy Mercer sacrificed him over and Freese singled to left. As left fielder Coco Crisp threw out Freese at home on Adam Fraziers single moments later, and the play was upheld on an umpire review.Gregory Polanco added an insurance RBI single.I just like the grit in my club, Hurdle said. Offensively, we scratched.Juan Nicasio (6-6) struck out two in the ninth for the victory, then Mark Melancon allowed a pair of singles before finishing for his 23rd save as the Pirates won for the sixth time in eight games after dropping eight of nine.Pittsburgh also has won the last three meetings against the As after losing the initial 11.As reliever Ryan Madson had runners on second and third in the ninth following a double steal but retired Sean Rodriguez on a popup and induced Josh Harrisons groundout. The Pirates challenged whether Danny Valencias throw from third to first was in time, but the call was confirmed in 1 minute, 55 seconds.Jed Lowrie had a sacrifice fly and Josh Reddick an RBI single in the third for Oakland, one of his career-high matching four hits. His double in the fifth got stuck in the outfield wall and wasnt ruled a ground-rule double, preventing a run from scoring.It was very frustrating. Could have won the game, he said. Over the years Ive obviously seen (the hole) but never really paid attention to it. After it happened I went out there and it was literally a three-inch gap to put a baseball in. Never hit a hole in one before even in golf so I guess this is going to have to count.Harrison hit an RBI double and Starling Marte a run-scoring single in the fourth as Pittsburgh tied the game at 2.Mercer led off the game with a double on a ball that got lost in the sun and dropped in shallow right field between three As players.Rich Hill came off the disabled list to strike out six while pitching four-hit ball over six innings in his first outing since May 29 after being sidelined with a strained left groin. He had a five-start winning streak since losing May 1 to Houston.Hill allowed two runs on four hits and walked two, limited to 83 pitches based on how much time he missed.Pirates right-hander Chad Kuhl gave up seven hits and two runs, struck out two and didnt walk a batter in six innings. It was his second major league start after beating Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers in his debut -- and he got the nerves and any awe factor out then.Now it wasnt my first time anymore, he said. Just another day at the yard.Crisp hit his 300th career double in the third and extended his hitting streak to nine games.The As ended a stretch of hitting a home run in a season-best 10 straight games, playing their first extra-inning game at home after 60 without one since Aug. 18 last year against the Dodgers.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (triceps strain) shadow threw in the bullpen a day after a simulated game. ... The Pirates have gone a week without a roster move. Shhh, shhh, Hurdle said. Its been welcome.Athletics: Oakland agreed to terms with versatile, 17-year-old Cuban OF Lazaro Armenteros on Saturday. He receives a $3 million signing bonus. The As also agreed to terms with Dominican players 3B George Bell, SS Marcos Brito, SS Yerdel Vargas, and CF Kevin Richards. All of the new acquisitions will report to the clubs Dominican training facility and later to Arizona for instructional league this fall. Organizationally, its a big day, manager Bob Melvin said.UP NEXTPirates: In his last start against the As, Sunday starter LHP Francisco Liriano (4-8, 5.33 ERA) pitched seven scoreless innings in a 5-0 win on July 10, 2013.Athletics: RHP Daniel Mengden (1-3, 2.81) makes his fifth big league start and is coming off his first major league win last Monday at San Francisco. He is the eighth pitcher in Oakland history to allow three or fewer runs in each of his initial four starts.Wholesale China Jerseys . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. China Jerseys Online . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. http://www.chinawholesalejerseysnfl.com/ . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Cheap NFL Jerseys . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice.WASHINGTON -- Arizona Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale wasnt sure what to expect from Matt Koch in his first major league start. He just knew it wouldnt be a long outing.Koch knew it, too, and he made the most of his limited time on the mound, allowing one hit and two runs in five-plus innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks lost 4-2 to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.The 25-year-old no-hit the NL East champions through five innings before Jose Lobaton singled to lead off the sixth. Walking pinch-hitter Wilmer Difo spelled the end of Kochs night at 69 pitches with a blister issue cropping up along the way.Hale said the pitch count and not the blister was the reason he took Koch out of the game after an impressive showing.We wanted to see him pitch up here and get a chance to start, Hale said. He showed us he can do it. ... We were real close on the 70-75 pitches we wanted to get him, so we were really happy with what he did. Its too bad. He had a win in his pocket there and it went away quick.Anthony Rendon hit a three-run home run off Randall Delgado (4-2) to provide the winning margin for the Nationals, who cut their magic number for home-field advantage against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division series to five. Diamondbacks second baseman Jean Segura hit a leadoff home run off Max Scherzer (19-7) and Welington Castillo had an RBI double in the third, but the Cy Young Award candidate settled in to strike out 10 in six innings.Hale acknowledged being surprised by Kochs performance, even if the right-hander didnt impress himself.Just trying to get quick outs, Koch said. I knew I was at my pitch limit, so I was just trying to make the most of the pitches I had and trying to get quick groundball outs.It worked for most of the game, and the Louisville product started thinking about a potential no-hittter after getting through four.ddddddddddddy mindset was just stay focused and keep the ball down, he said.Koch succeeded in doing that even if Delgado made a mistake that cost the Diamondbacks a victory. With the organization looking ahead to next season and beyond, Koch did well in a spot start in place of Zack Greinke after five career relief appearances.This was a guy who has already shown in the relief appearance that we gave him that hes not afraid and he goes right at guys, Hale said. He was very, very, very good.SCHERZER DOMINATESScherzer mixed his slider, curveball and changeup in with his overpowering fastball to wrest control of the game back. At one point he struck out six consecutive hitters.What allowed him to settle in is that he changed his game plan because you could tell their game plan on him was to sit hard and early in the count, Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. That was just a veteran making the adjustment at the right time.TRAINERS ROOMDiamondbacks: Hale said RHP Rubby De La Rosa successfully had stem cell injections in his elbow. De La Rosa is trying the stem cell procedure in an attempt to avoid a second Tommy John surgery.Nationals: C Wilson Ramos is out for the rest of the season and playoffs after an MRI revealed a torn ACL in his right knee. ... LHP Sammy Solis threw a perfect seventh inning in his first appearance since Aug. 15 after a stint on the DL with shoulder inflammation. ... OF Bryce Harper missed another game with a left thumb injury. ... 2B Daniel Murphy remained out with a strained glute.UP NEXTLHP Gio Gonzalez (11-10, 4.51 ERA) starts the third of the four-game series for the Nationals against Diamondbacks RHP Shelby Miller (2-12, 6.47). ' ' '