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DETROIT -- Jason Grilli has picked up a lot of saves in his years as a closer, but none tougher than what he had to do against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night. Grilli came into the game in the bottom of the 11th inning with the Pittsburgh Pirates clinging to a 1-0 lead and the heart of Detroits order -- Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder -- awaiting him. "Thats as good as it gets in any lineup in the game," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Thats why you have a closer." For Grilli, it also meant trying to finish a game at Comerica Park -- a stadium where he had been booed relentlessly at the end of his four-season stint with the Tigers. "I have nothing but great memories of this place," Grilli said. "This is where Jim (Leyland) turned me into a reliever, and despite what the media might think I love coming back here." If the situation or the setting bothered Grilli, it certainly didnt show. He struck out Hunter, Cabrera and Fielder in order, ending the game as the clock approached 11:30 p.m. "Thats a great offence, and Miguel Cabrera is probably the best hitter in baseball right now," Grilli said. "So I was trying to not make a big mistake, but you cant spend much time thinking about that. You just go out there and win the game." Grilli certainly impressed the first of his victims while posting his 21st save in as many chances. "I faced him when I was in Minnesota and he was here in Detroit, and hes a different pitcher now," Hunter said. "Hes smart and hes got a little deception going. He jumps out at you, and before you know it, the ball is gone." Leyland knows just how far Grilli has come since moving to the bullpen in 2006. "Hes found a home and hes found a role and hes been terrific," he said. "Thats 21-for-21, and to do that against the heart of our order -- thats impressive." Grilli finished what Jeanmar Gomez had started. Gomez matched a career best with seven shutout innings in a duel with Detroits Rick Porcello, who worked eight. "I was just feeling really good today," said Gomez, who threw only 73 pitches. "Every one of my pitches was working, so I was working ahead in the count and down in the zone. Thats what made it good." The game was scoreless until Neil Walker -- the brother-in-law of Tigers centre fielder Don Kelly -- homered off Jose Ortega (0-2) with one out in the top of the 11th. "Ive been swinging the bat really well on this road trip, and Ive been getting the barrel on the ball just about every night," Walker said. "That kid throws hard, but he kind of floated a slider into the strike zone and I was able to drive it." Mark Melanson (1-0) picked up the win with a scoreless 10th inning for Pittsburgh. Porcello also matched a career best with his eight innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters. Porcello isnt the first Tigers pitcher to dominate Pittsburgh at Comerica Park. Last season, Justin Verlander took a no-hitter into the ninth against the Pirates, two days before Max Scherzer struck out 15 batters in a 4-3 victory. "Someone said to me today that we seem to strike out a lot in this ballpark," Hurdle said. "I told them to look at Detroits pitching staff. Everyone strikes out a lot against those guys." Gomez got some help from centre fielder Andrew McCutchen, who made a running catch to rob Andy Dirks of extra bases in the third inning and another to steal a double from Fielder in the seventh. Pedro Alvarez led off the eighth with a single and took second when Travis Snider walked -- the first time either team had put a runner into scoring position -- but Porcello got Clint Barmes to ground into an inning-ending double play. In the bottom of the inning, Omar Infante got to second on a one-out throwing error by Barmes at shortstop. Reliever Justin Wilson retired pinch-hitter Brayan Pena on a ground ball, and struck out Dirks. Walker singled off Joaquin Benoit in the ninth, stole second and took third on Penas throwing error, but Garrett Jones flew out to end the threat. Victor Martinez almost ended the deadlock in the bottom of the ninth, but Starling Marte made a running catch of his liner at the fence in left. Both teams put runners into scoring position in the 10th, but couldnt get a run across until Walkers no-doubt homer in the 11th. "We had chances in the eighth, ninth and 10th, but we couldnt get the big hit," Hurdle said. "We finally got that in the 11th." NOTES: The start of the game was delayed 1:13 by rain. ... The Pirates placed Jose Contreras (low back inflammation) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled reliever Bryan Morris from Triple-A Indianapolis. ... The Tigers have struck out 10 or more batters 28 times -- the second-highest total in franchise history behind last seasons 50. Detroit is currently on pace for 91 double-digit games. ... Porcello pitched into the ninth on July 21, 2012 against the White Sox, but didnt record an out.Cheap Patriots Jerseys . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Fake Patriots Jerseys . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/ . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Custom New England Patriots Jerseys . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. New England Patriots Pro Shop . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement.ATLANTA -- Freddie Freeman is a big reason why the Atlanta Braves always believe they can score runs. "It seems like we always get a couple of guys on, and were one swing away," he said. "Theres nine innings, so were not ever going to get down. Weve done that this year." Freeman hit two homers, Brian McCann added a three-run shot and the Atlanta Braves won their fifth straight game with an 11-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night. The Braves, who scored 10 unanswered runs, moved 10 games ahead of second-place Washington in the NL East. They lead the majors with a 36-15 home record. Freeman had four RBIs with his first multihomer game this season and fourth of his career. His three-run shot in the seventh gave the Braves an 11-3 lead. Atlanta scored six runs with two out in the fourth inning to make it 8-3 on Jason Heywards RBI single, Evan Gattis two-run double and McCanns 14th homer. Rookie Alex Wood (1-2) earned his first career victory, allowing six hits, three runs and one walk while striking out seven in seven innings. Wood overcame a couple of obstacles. First was a blister on his left index finger that began to bleed and hindered his location. Second was relying too much on his curveball early in the game and not as much on his changeup. But visiting in the dugout pitching coach Roger McDowell and the team trainer corrected both issues. "I dont think it really had an effect," Wood said. "We had a game plan going in. That was just a small hiccup. I couldve been anything out there." Juan Nicasio (6-5) gave up 10 hits and a season-high eight runs, walking four and striking out four in four innings. The Rockies led 1-0 in the first on Carlos Gonzalezs sacrifice fly and went ahead 3-1 in the second on Nolan Arenados ninth homer, but Nicasio couldnt hold the leads. Since getting recalled July 12 from Triple-A Colorado Springs, Nicasio had gone 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA in three starts, but the right-hander was finished after making 31 pitches in the fourth. Nicasio dropped to 0-3 and has a 9.82 ERA in four career starts against Atlanta. "Weve had a tough time staying away from the big innning first two games of this series," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said after watching his team give up a six-run inning for the second straight night.dddddddddddd "Weve got to put innings away, weve got to put games away." Freemans 13th homer, a three-run shot off Edgmer Escalona, put the Braves up 11-3. In 67 games since May 15, Freeman is hitting .311 with 11 homers and 50 RBIs. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez can sense other players feeding off Freemans success. "When you keep the line moving and keep having good, quality at-bats, we can do that," Gonzalez said. "We can do that people. Weve got that kind of offence." Colorados Michael Cuddyer singled in the seventh and tried to score from first on Wilin Rosarios double, but was tagged out at the plate. Heyward overran the ball in left-centre after it took a bad hop and had to turn back two steps to pick it up, but his relay to Andrelton Simmons was on time, and Cuddyer was cut down on McCanns tag. "I knew I didnt have a lot of time," Simmons said. "I didnt want to overthrow him and cause all that, so just tried to keep it low and get as much as I could on it." NOTES: Rookie OF Todd Cunningham, a top Braves prospect, was cheered loudly after singling in the seventh in his first major league at-bat. Cunninghams contract was purchased earlier in the day from Triple-A Gwinnett when OF Reed Johnson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with left heel tendinitis. Cunningham stayed in the game and replaced Gattis in left field. ... Colorado LHP Jeff Francis allowed three hits and two runs in 2 1-3 innings. It was Francis second relief appearance in 217 career games and first since Oct. 3, 2010 against St. Louis. ... Rockies manager Walt Weiss said he still hasnt decided who will start the series finale on Thursday opposite Atlanta RHP Julio Teheran. ... RHP Brandon Beachy told Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez that he felt normal soreness after Mondays start, his first in returning from elbow ligament replacement surgery in June 2012. Beachy allowed eight hits, a career-high seven runs and one walk with five strikeouts in 3 2-3 innings. ' ' '