nt be available through at least Thursday, according to Girardi | Forum

PITTSBURGH -- Those who primarily follow the National League -- say, for instance, Pittsburgh Pirates fans -- might not have heard much about right-hander Joe Musgrove. Brett Howden Rangers Jersey .Musgrove (1-1, 4.18 ERA) began the season with Double-A Corpus Christi and has had arguably a meteoric start to his career with Houston. He will be on the mound Tuesday when the Astros play the second of three games at PNC Park.At 6 feet 5, 265 pounds, Musgrove, 23, can look imposing, and he has pitched accordingly -- thanks to his performance and a couple of opportunities.He was recalled from Triple-A Fresno Aug. 1 because Doug Fister was going on paternity leave. He came on in relief Aug. 2, pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings against Toronto and setting a major league record for strikeouts by a reliever making his major league debut with eight.The starter that day, Lance McCullers, then went on the DL, so the Astros kept Musgrove around and gave him his first start, Aug. 7 against Texas, then another and another. The statistic that jumps out: He has 23 strikeouts and three walks in 23 2/3 innings.In his first start, which turned out to be a 5-3, 11-inning Astros loss to the Rangers, Musgrove retired the first 10 batters he faced before giving up three hits in the fifth. Then he settled back down and retired seven of the last eight batters he faced as he pitched through the seventh.He tired at the end but still gutted through his performance, Astros manager A.J. Hinch told the Houston Chronicle. Thats a big step for a young kid to come up here, get his first start and finish his outing. Its really easy to nitpick at the end when youre tired, not make a pitch, and end up having me go out and get you at 6 2/3, as opposed to seven.So there was a good growth day for him. Hes got a lot of charisma, he knows what hes doing, and hes going to attack the zone. I really like what I see from his first two outings.Musgrove has gone 1-1 since that no-decision.Tuesday, he will oppose right-hander Ivan Nova (9-6, 4.83 ERA), meaning it could be a strikeout contest.Nova is 2-0 with a 4.41 ERA in three starts since Pittsburgh acquired him from the Yankees. In his most recent start, a no-decision Wednesday in a 6-5 Pirates win in San Francisco, Nova gave up four runs on six hits over four innings, with five strikeouts and no walks.Houston and the Pirates are in similar battles to try to climb into a wild-card spot, but they are moving in different directions lately.The Astros 3-1 win Monday in the series opener was their fourth win in a row and kept them 3 1/2 games behind Baltimore, which holds the second American League wild-card spot.Since falling to 11 games under .500 on May 22 at 17-28, Houston is 48-32.Winning is contagious and playing good baseball is contagious, said Mondays winning pitcher, Doug Fister. Weve been playing pretty well the last few days, the best weve played in a while.The game Monday was Pittsburghs fourth loss in a row, leaving the Pirates two games behind Miami and four behind St. Louis, which holds the second National League wild-card spot.Manager Clint Hurdle often cites an even keel as critical, and hes emphasizing it even more now.Were very consistent in what we do, and one thing I remind them of is to think with reason, not to think with emotion; make decisions with reason, dont make decisions with emotion, Hurdle said. Many of them have been there in that situation before. Ive been in that situation before. Its not for lack of effort or attitude. Youre getting attitude, youre getting effort, the game can swing back and forth sometimes.Youve got to play through it. You hold fast. These are the times when the coaching staff and myself need to show up. Somebodys got to hold the wheel, keep them positive, keep them playing forward and keep them optimistic. I believe well do that because thats the way were built, the way were wired. Wayne Gretzky Jersey . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Mike Gartner Jersey .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. http:///...comin-hockey-jersey/ . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. NEW YORK -- Trailing by four runs in the ninth inning, the somnambulant New York Yankees were on the verge of falling 10 games behind division-leading Baltimore in the AL East. Many in the crowd of 39,875 already had streamed out, convinced they had seen another listless loss in a season filled with them.Those who left early missed an astonishing comeback the Yankees hope sparks the turnaround that has eluded them.New Yorks first three batters reached, cutting the deficit by a run, and an electric seven-pitch span unfolded.Brian McCann hit a tying, three-run homer off Sam Dyson, Starlin Castro walked and Didi Gregorius capped the six-run inning with his two-run shot, lifting the Yankees to a 9-7 win over the Texas Rangers, the team with American Leagues best record.Probably the biggest win of the year for us, Alex Rodriguez said.New York trailed 7-2 Wednesday night and had a 1.2 percent win probability, according to Fangraphs, before McCanns solo homer with one out in the eighth off Cesar Ramos. McCann, bothered by patellar tendinitis, grabbed his left knee while rounding first and limped as he circled the bases.Matt Bush came in and escaped a two-on jam, and the 30-year-old rookie, seeking his first big league save, was left in for the ninth.Win probability was up to only 1.8 percent before Rob Refsnyder singled leading off the ninth. Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a walk, and Dyson (1-2) relieved.New York had been 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position before Brett Gardner singled, and Refsnyder came home when center fielder Ian Desmond bobbled the ball for an error.After Rodriguez lined out, McCann lined a 97 mph, 1-0 fastball on the inside of the plate above the knees and sent it about six rows deep into the right-field seats. Castro walked on five pitches, and Gregorius drove Dysons first offering, an outside changeup at the knees, into the first row above the right-field scoreboard, where the ball ricocheted off a fans glove and back onto the field.I didnt know it was gone like right away. After I stepped on first, thats when I saw it, Gregorius said. I didnt smile because I didnt want to smile, but as soon as I rounded third, see all the guys there, everybody cheering, I had to smile right there.It was the first game-ending homer of Gregorius career; he said his only other one was for the Netherlands national team in October 2010 against Taiwan in the Intercontinental Cup.Threw some quality pitches down in the zone and they got hit. Thats the end of it, saiid Dyson, who blew a save for the second time in 18 chances. Jaromir Jagr Rangers Jersey. I kind of came in and let everybody down.New York (38-39), which has never been more than two games above .500 this year, had lost the series opener, wasting a ninth-inning lead after a 3 1/2-hour rain delay in a game that ended at 2:44 a.m. Cole Hamels shut down the Yankees on Tuesday, extending their losing streak to three.Theres a sense of urgency, manager Joe Girardi said before the game. As days tick away, you start to run out of time, and you dont want to bury yourself.Texas opened a 5-1 lead in the third against Masahiro Tanaka when Nomar Mazara, a 21-year-old rookie who is the youngest position player in the majors, hit a three-run double and scored on Prince Fielders single off a diving Refsnyder at first.Rougned Odor added his 15th homer in the sixth, an opposite-field drive to left, and Adrian Beltre hit an opposite-field homer to right in the eighth off Luis Cessa (1-0), who allowed one run in three innings for his first big league win.Chase Headley had homered in the second against Nick Martinez, who played college ball in the Bronx with Fordham, and had a sacrifice fly in the sixth off Ramos. The drama was yet to come. New York had not won this year when trailing after eight innings.It can be huge, McCann said. We dug ourselves a hole early in April, and were getting out of it right now.Gregorius hoped the comeback was just a prelude.I would say the biggest is yet to come, he said.RARE FEATSBefore McCann, the previous Yankees player to homer in the eighth and ninth innings of a game was Tony Clark in 2004, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... The Yankees had not won when trailing by four runs in the ninth inning or later since beating Oakland 10-9 on Sept. 22, 2012, when they allowed four runs in the 13th, tied the score in the bottom half and prevailed 10-9 in the 14th.TRAINERS ROOMYankees: After leaving Tuesdays game in the first inning with a tight right hamstring, Carlos Beltran probably wont be available through at least Thursday, according to Girardi.UP NEXTYankees RHP Michael Pineda (3-7) starts Thursdays series finale against RHP A.J. Griffin (3-0). Pineda is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his last four starts. Griffin returned from a stint on the DL caused by shoulder soreness and allowed two runs over 4 1/3 innings against Boston last Saturday. ' ' '