CHICAGO -- The Pirates had a four-run lead in the first inning and were up two runs after five. Both times the Cubs came back, with Starlin Castro providing much of the power. In the end, the Pirates were finally able to shut down Chicago. Pedro Alvarez had two hits and two RBIs, and Russell Martin drove in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning as Pittsburgh beat the Cubs 7-6 on Tuesday night. Jason Grilli closed with a perfect ninth for his second save in three chances. "We just kept playing," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Its not about whats not happening. Its about what weve got to do next. Thats just the way we kept going. It was a fist fight off the mound for us most of the night. We executed extremely well in the first inning on offence and kept building innings." Cubs reliever Pedro Strop (0-1) walked two batters in the eighth and recorded only one out before being replaced by left-hander James Russell. Russell walked Alvarez to load the bases and Martin followed with a fly ball to right field that made it 7-6. "Had we laid down after the first inning, giving up four runs, I would have been extremely disappointed," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "But we didnt. We kept chipping away. I think thats what were talking about. We have to fight. We have to keep battling every day and if they keep doing that were going to get our situation where both sides of our game gets to where it needs to be." The Cubs tied the game in the seventh against Tony Watson (1-0) on Anthony Rizzos hit up the middle scoring Emilio Bonifacio, who went 3 for 5 and is batting .515. Castro hit a game-tying three-run homer in the third and a solo shot in the sixth against Pirates starter Charlie Morton for his first career multi-homer game. "The two pitches that they scored four of their runs on were just terrible pitches," Morton said of Castros homers. "It could have turned out a lot better had I executed a little bit better even instead of giving up a home run. The guys picked me up." Jackson gave up six runs on nine hits in 4 2-3 innings. Jackson struggled with his command, walking four (one intentional) and hitting a batter. Morton didnt fare much better allowing five runs on eight hits in six innings. Jacksons troubles began on the games first pitch with a lead-off double by Starling Marte. It sparked a four-run inning. Nine Pirates batted in the first. Alvarez doubled to score Marte and Andrew McCutchen for a 2-0 Pirates lead. Neil Walker added an RBI single and Travis Ishikawas sacrifice fly made it 4-0. Bonifacios two-out single to centre field in the second inning scored Ryan Sweeney from second base to cut the Pirates lead to 4-1. Jackson walked Marte and Travis Snider in the fourth to bring up McCutchen, who came through with an RBI single that made it 5-4. Ishikawas triple in the fifth scored Martin, who doubled to start the inning, and extended Pittsburghs lead to 6-4. "He played more of a supporting role, you can see hes being pitched more difficult," Hurdle said of McCutchen. "A lot of pitches, sequences, balls arent there to hit but when they crossed the plate a couple times today he squared up and hit them really hard. Hes a real good player." Renteria was ejected in the top of the ninth inning by home plate umpire Jeff Nelson for arguing balls and strikes. It was Renterias first ejection. Notes: Renteria said the Cubs are sticking with the five-man rotation as constructed meaning RHP Carlos Villanueva will stay in the rotation and not move back to the bullpen. . Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said he didnt have a problem with top prospect Javier Baezs recent ejection at Triple-A Iowa labeling it a "great development experience" for the 21-year-old shortstop. . Epstein said the Cubs are being cautious with Double-A Tennessee OF prospect Jorge Soler (sore right hamstring) by putting him on the seven-day disabled list. Soler aggravated his hamstring during the first minor league game of the season while running to second base on a double. . On the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron hitting the 715th home run of his career to set an MLB record, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle fondly remembered the moment. "I wasnt watching at the start and my dad tried to tune in the radio because we were in Florida," Hurdle said. "We listened to a lot of the games on radio. As it turned out, it was a pretty magical moment." Nike Australia Air Max 270 .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action. Nike 270 Australia .ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. http://www.cheapairmax270australia.com/ . J.J. Hardy drove in a run for the Orioles, who bounced back from an 8-4 loss in the series opener on Friday. Fresh off the 15-day disabled list, Derrek Lee went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Jake Arrieta (7-3) gave up three runs on five hits over six innings to pick up the win. Buy Nike Air Max 270 Australia . - Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift the Revolution to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night that kept New Englands playoff hopes alive. Cheap Air Max 270 Australia . The 17-time Grand Slam champion, who lose three straight finals in Monte Carlo to Rafael Nadal from 2006-08, has not played in the tournament since 2011, when he lost to Jurgen Melzer in the quarterfinals. MINNEAPOLIS -- With the Memphis Grizzlies front office in turmoil, the Minnesota Timberwolves are considering trying to lure coach Dave Joerger away to coach the team in his home state. The Timberwolves have received permission to interview Joerger for their head coaching vacancy, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The people requested anonymity because the Timberwolves are not commenting publicly on their coaching candidates. Joerger, who is from Staples, Minnesota, and went to college at Division-II Minnesota State, Moorhead, went 50-32 in his first season as Grizzlies coach last year. After a rough start while the team transitioned from coaching veteran Lionel Hollins to the first-timer Joerger, the Grizzlies pulled together, overcame several injuries to key players and surged to the seventh seed in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. But after losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Oklahoma City Thunder, owner Robert Pera made the surprising decision to overhaul the front office. He fired CEO Jason Levien and director of player personnel Stu Lash, two moves that immediately called into question Joergers job security. Joerger goes way back with Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders. As a young coach trying to make his way up the ladder, Joerger came to watch Saunders, who coached the Timberwolves from 1995-2005, run practices. The two formed a mutual respect which lasts to this day. Saunders, who coached in the CBA before breaking into the NBA, has long had an affinity for coaches who had to grind it out in the minor leagues, believing they learn not only how to coach, but to run an organization. Joerger won championships in the NBDL, the Internattional Basketball Association and the CBA before joining the Grizzlies as an assistant to Lionel Hollins.dddddddddddd Joergers experience as a head coach last year with the Grizzlies helps him fit the profile Saunders is looking for in a replacement for Rick Adelman, who retired last month. Saunders has said he wants a proven coach who knows the demands of running an NBA team, including handling questions from the media. The latter qualification is of particular concern for the Wolves right now with star forward Kevin Love set to opt out of his contract after next season. The Wolves are considering all their options with Love, including potentially trading him this summer. If the Wolves do not trade Love, they will head into the season with one of the major storylines in the league, one sure to draw attention from media all across the country. Thats part of the reason Saunders is reluctant to turn over the keys to a first-time head coach. The Wolves interest in Joerger was first reported by the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. The Timberwolves opening has also been linked to Hollins and college coaching stars such as Michigan States Tom Izzo, Floridas Billy Donovan and Iowa States Fred Hoiberg. Saunders has yet to offer the job to anyone, but it is believed that the uncertainty surrounding Love has caused some of the more high profile names on Saunders list to give tepid responses to inquiries. The situation with Love in Minnesota pales in comparison to the upheaval in Memphis, and the opportunity to bring his family back to his home state could be enough to convince Joerger to make the move if an offer comes his way. The two sides were working Wednesday to set up a meeting, which could come as soon as Thursday. ' ' '