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PITTSBURGH -- A single strike from falling two games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the race for the top spot in the National League wild-card race, the Cincinnati Reds needed a break. Ronnie Lott Raiders Jersey . Jordy Mercer provided one. The surging Reds took care of the rest. A wild throw by the Pittsburgh shortstop with two outs in the ninth inning opened the door for a three-run rally off Pirates closer Mark Melancon that tied the game. Joey Vottos home run off Kyle Farnsworth an inning later won it as the Reds pulled off an improbable 6-5 victory to move into a tie with the Pirates. Both teams are two games behind St. Louis for the lead in the NL Central. "Thats really uncommon, really rare, and for us to have done that in a game like this, against this squad, against that pitcher, that makes it even more rare and pretty impressive," Votto said. "Guys just strung together a bunch of tough at-bats." Ones that came after Mercer couldnt quite handle a slow grounder by Todd Frazier with one on and two outs in the ninth. Mercer charged the ball but couldnt get a grip on it and it ended up in the stands behind first base. "If I make a good throw right there, the game is over and all the stuff that happened never happens," Mercer said. "It was tough. We played a great game, everybody played a great game and to have it happen like that, its just a bad throw." And the Pirates quickly unraveled. Zach Cozart singled after Mercers error to put runners on the corners. Cincinnati rookie base-stealing specialist Billy Hamilton pinch ran for Cozart and promptly swiped second then raced home when Devin Mesoraco ended a nine-pitch duel with Melancon by sending a sharp grounder that bounced off third baseman Pedro Alvarez and rolled onto the grass in shallow left field. "I really just went up there and just thought about battling ..." Mesoraco said. "That was it. That was my only goal, just go up there, battle, battle, and hopefully leave one out over the plate that I could put a half-decent swing on and hopefully find a hole." Melancon has been dominant since taking over the closers role from Jason Grilli in July, but blew his second save in three days. San Diego rallied for a 3-2 win on Wednesday. This one, however, will almost certainly be more difficult to overcome. "Thats a game we should have won and I think the Reds know that too," Melancon said. JJ Hoover (5-5) earned the win for the Reds, who have won four straight. Aroldis Chapman worked the 10th for his 38th save. Farnsworth (1-1) retired Brandon Phillips to start the 10th but left fielder Starling Marte couldnt quite grab Vottos shot down the line. "We hadnt come back in a long time, and we hadnt come back for a long time on the road," Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. Pittsburgh began the week 74-2 when leading after eight innings, but has now squandered ninth-inning leads twice in three nights. "Who said it was going to be easy?" manager Clint Hurdle said. "Who said it was going to be easy? Weve been very good winning as a team, losing as a team ... weve got to find a way to finish things off." The Pirates appeared firmly in control through eight innings. Francisco Liriano overwhelmed the Reds, allowing two runs on three hits, walking three and striking out seven. The left-hander needed only 94 pitches to record 24 outs, but told Hurdle he was done when he entered the dugout after striking out Brandon Phillips to end the eighth. "He was fantastic," Hurdle said. "He said when he came off he laid it all out there." Ryan Ludwick finished 3 for 5 for the Reds, while Frazier hit his 17th home run. Jose Tabata and Neil Walker hit consecutive homers off Cincinnati starter Mat Latos in the first and Pittsburgh appeared en route to giving itself some breathing room as the franchise pursues its first playoff spot since 1992. PNC Park, typically a ghost town this time of year as the Pirates play out the string, was electric when Pittsburgh took the field. The 21st sellout of the season included Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett and Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. NOTES: Hurdle was ejected in the eighth for arguing after star Andrew McCutchen was hit by reliever Sam LeCure, who was given a warning by home plate umpire Mark Carlson ... The series continues on Saturday when Pittsburghs A.J. Burnett (8-11, 3.43 ERA) faces Home Bailey (11-10, 3.40). Bailey tossed his first career no-hitter in his previous start at PNC Park last September. Chuck Foreman Vikings Jersey . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Brian Urlacher Bears Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. http://www.nflchampsshop.net/...JOHN-RIGGINS-JERSEY/ . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants.Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis wasnt able to reach James Reimer on Sunday, leaving only a voicemail after the splash acquisition of Jonathan Bernier from Los Angeles. But when he does reach the 25-year-old in the next day or so hell relay a message similar to the one he expressed to the newest Toronto goaltender. "Nothing is being guaranteed to anybody," Nonis said via conference call early Sunday evening. "If Jonathan Bernier becomes a No. 1 goaltender because he plays better and stronger and Randy [Carlyle] feels more comfortable, then thats what happens. If James wont give up that net and hes the guy whos our starter then thats fantastic, too." Long in the hunt for another goaltender to complement and perhaps even overtake Reimer, Nonis sold the trade for Bernier as one that would strengthen the club considerably in goal, lending further security and higher upside to a position that had been in flux for the organization prior to the 2013 campaign. "Its my hope that both these guys are prepared for the job," Nonis said. "Both guys have the potential, both of them want it, and that can only make your organization stronger. Its funny how some people look at things; either you dont have enough depth in net or you have too much. I subscribe to the notion you can never have too much." In exchange for Bernier, the Leafs sent Matt Frattin, Ben Scrivens and a second round pick to the Kings. Selected 88 picks after Bernier in the 2006 draft, Reimer did all that was asked and more for the Leafs this past season, tying for the seventh-best save percentage in the NHL, albeit in a 48-game schedule. But as was evident in their attempts to land Miikka Kiprusoff at the trade deadline, Nonis and the Toronto management team were hunting for more security in their crease beyond the Manitoba native, a competitor with upside, one who could potentially assume the reins and even thrive in the event that Reimer steps backward next season. Toiling behind Jonathan Quick for the past three years in California, Bernier has played in just 62 career games – far fewer than the 111 Reimer has amassed – but posted a sparkling 1.88 goals against average and .922 save percentage this season. "This is clearly not a knock on James at all," Nonis stressed, though Reimer will now clearly have to compete for the starting job with Bernier. "We feel weve got two of the top young goaltenders in the league right now. Both of them we feel have the potential to be solid number ones. "I also believe that when you have someone pushing you, you get the most out of yourself. And I think thats the situation here where these guys can push each other and were going to see some good goaltending because of it." The first goaltender selected in the 2006 draft (11th overall), Bernier could never escape the shadow of Quick in Los Angeles, never playing in more than 25 games. Heading into restricted free agency this summer, he made it clear to Kings general manager Dean Lombardi that he wanted an opportunity to start, a chance to prove that he could live up to the hype and become a viable No. 1. "Its kind of bittersweet for us," Kings assistant general manager Ron Hextall said Sunday. "Hes been a great soldier for us and a very good player for us. Unfortunately hes stuck behind Jonathan Quick which is a tough situation for [him]. And as a sense of fairness to him and the timing that we feelt was best for the organization we made the move. Deion Sanders Falcons Jersey. " "Hes still young and I still think hes got a long way to go in terms of development," Nonis said of the former Lewiston MAINEiac, noting the tendency of goaltenders to grow well into their 20s and early 30s. "Theres always a gamble when youre taking a young player. But we felt that the gamble was worth taking with the upside that we think that Jonathan has." Its uncertain if Bernier can reach that upside, but in theory, the Leafs have improved their viability in goal with the addition. Bernier has never held a starting job in the NHL and managed back-to-back games just twice for the Kings last season, but he offers the intrigue and potential to assume the role or at the very least, complement Reimer as a secondary option for Carlyle. Reimer rarely wavered in his first extended go-around as the Leafs No. 1, posting an impressive .924 save percentage in 33 games. But its clear the organization is unsure of his ability to be their guy over an 82-game haul. And had he not been capable of such a task next season, they would have been forced to turn to an even more uncertain option in Scrivens, which they undoubtedly had no interest in doing. The gamble assumes that with more opportunity in Toronto, Bernier may just thrive, thus offering the organization two budding goaltenders capable of starting as opposed to just the one. "James has done a very good job," Nonis said of Reimer, who posted 19 wins last season. "Hes improved every year and were expecting that to continue next season. Hes made some significant strides, hes done an excellent job for us … I dont think you can be deep enough at that position. We got younger and deeper today and we feel our team is stronger because of it." Nonis and Lombardi began trade talks on Bernier as early as the first week of the 2013 campaign, coming "close" on a couple occasions but never following through. After the Kings were knocked out of the playoffs by the Blackhawks in the Western Final, Lombardi reached out to Nonis and suggested that Bernier would be available once more. In Frattin, the Leafs lose a 25-year-old with the ability to score and impact the game physically, but one who was inconsistent last year. The potential to be a 15-20 goal-scorer is certainly there. Scrivens meanwhile, filled in capably for Reimer when the latter went down with injury in 2013 and while there certainly is potential for him as an NHL netminder – his .915 save percentage ranked in the top-25 – the Leafs ultimately determined he would not eclipse nor ever seriously push Reimer as Bernier might. The Leafs also assume $500,000 in the deal along with a second round pick (either 2014 or 2015, their choice), two valuable commodities for the Kings in making the deal. Nonis hinted in his comments that more changes may be in the cards in the coming days. With Mike Komisarek likely to be bought out in the very near future, the Leafs will have just 11 players signed for next season with choices to make on the likes of Tyler Bozak and Clarke MacArthur as well as figures to agree upon with Nazem Kadri, Cody Franson, Carl Gunnarsson, and now Bernier among others. "I think between now and July 5 youll probably see a couple more moves from us," Nonis said, noting the open hole on the roster with the departure of Frattin. "Were going to work hard to do that anyway between now and then." Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '