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PITTSBURGH -- Solid starting pitching. A couple of defensive gems. Just enough hitting to make a difference. For a night, the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates managed to recapture a little bit of their 2013 magic. Do it a few more times and maybe their miserable start to 2014 will become a memory. Edinson Volquez allowed one run in six sharp innings, Andrew McCutchen and Josh Harrison made a splash both at the plate and in the field, and the Pirates edged the Washington Nationals 3-1 Thursday night. Volquez (2-4) ended a three-game losing streak by limiting the Nationals to three hits, walking two and striking out four. Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his eighth save. McCutchen drove in two runs for the Pirates and made a sliding grab with two on in the ninth to end the game. Josh Harrison added two hits for Pittsburgh and added a run-saving catch of his own for the Pirates. "Thats what were known for, just playing routine baseball, not doing anything too out of the ordinary," McCutchen said. "(Just) getting in scoring position, getting some runs home and having pitching shut it down for us." Ian Desmond hit his eighth homer of the season for the Nationals, but Washington left 10 runners on base. Rookie Blake Treinen (0-2) struggled with his command in his second career start, giving up two runs on four hits in 5 2-3 innings, striking out four and walking five. The Nationals have lost three of four. "Our approach was fine," Washington manager Matt Williams said. "They made some really nice plays. That happens. Its big league baseball. They get paid to do that." Volquez had been a pleasant surprise during the seasons first month, but scuffled through his previous four starts, going 0-3 with a 10.19 ERA as part of a slide that had the Pirates well off the pace in the NL Central a year after making the franchises first post-season appearance in more than two decades. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle wondered if Volquez -- who led the National League in walks per nine innings last season -- was suddenly throwing too many strikes. The former All-Star did a better job mixing location and speed against Washingtons patchwork lineup. His only real miscue came on a 2-0 fastball in the fourth that Desmond sent into the seats in centre field that briefly tied the game at 1. It was the 10th home run Volquez has surrendered this season, but he responded by retiring nine of the last 10 batters he faced. "Just keeping the ball in the strike zone, keeping the ball in the ballpark," Volquez said. "I did it for a couple innings and Desmond hit a homer. A solo shot cant beat you, its only one run. You stay in the game and keep pitching." Treinen, who faced Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw in his previous major league start, wasnt quite as crisp. He retired the first eight batters he faced thanks in part to a sinker that topped out at 97 mph before getting loose in the third. He loaded the bases with two outs on a pair of walks and a single by Harrison before hitting McCutchen with an 80 mph changeup to force in a run. Trouble surfaced again in the fifth thanks in part to Harrison, who has provided a spark in right field even as the Pirates mark time until the likely arrival of highly touted prospect Gregory Polanco next month. Harrison walked to lead off the inning and moved to second on a fly to centre before streaking home on a sharp single up the middle by McCutchen. Harrison is 13 for 37 (.351) since being moved into the leadoff spot earlier this month. Washington loaded the bases in the eighth off Tony Watson, but the left-hander retired Scott Hairston on a fly to shallow left field to get out of it and Melancon survived despite putting two runners on with McCutchens sliding grab on a sinking liner by Anthony Rendon sealing it. NOTES: The Pirates claimed right-handed reliever Josh Wall off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday and assigned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. Wall is 1-1 with a 15.15 ERA in 15 career major league games. To make room for Wall on the 40-man roster, the Pirates designated RHP Phil Irwin for assignment. ... Nationals 1B Adam LaRoche went 0 for 2 in a rehab start for Class A Potomac on Thursday night. LaRoche has been on the disabled list since May 10 with a strained right quadriceps. LaRoche is eligible to come off the DL on Sunday. ... The series continues Friday night when Washingtons Jordan Zimmerman (3-1, 3.70 ERA) faces Pittsburghs Charlie Morton (0-6, 3.45). Air Force 1 Damen Deutschland . This week, topics cover the World Series champion Red Sox, John Farrell and what to look forward to this off-season. Nike Air Presto Schwarz Günstig . On Thursday theyll learn even more. Despite the cloud of uncertainty that has followed them around from the moment general manager Masai Ujiri was brought in to put his stamp on the franchise, the Raptors have surpassed all pre-season expectations. http://www.airforce1gunstig.de/ . -- The NFL Players Association wants to determine if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaked information about quarterback Josh Freeman being in the NFLs substance abuse program. Air Force 1 Schwarz Deutschland . -- Wes Welker is unlikely to suit up for Denvers game Thursday against San Diego after leaving Sundays win over Tennessee with his second concussion in four games. Nike Air Force One Deutschland . The Flames are in the midst of a six-game slide (0-5-1), their longest losing streak since an 0-6-3 skid from Jan. 11-28, 2010. They havent won since Nov. 3 in Chicago and most recently went winless on a three-game homestand.It has been a relatively surprising start to the season for Mike OShea and the 2-0 Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The rookie head coach has worked hard to establish a new attitude and culture in his locker room, and with the way Winnipeg has won each of their opening games to start 2014, it has leant itself to teachable moments for the heavily-rebuilt club in how to get the job done no matter the circumstances. Their 45-21 wire-to-wire dominance over the Toronto Argonauts in Week 1, followed by an impressive 36-28 come-from-behind victory over the Ottawa Redblacks has the Blue and Gold with a pair of wins coming in wildly different fashion. "As a coaching staff, were supposed to teach off any result," said OShea. "Win. Lose. Draw. Win big. Win ugly. Lose big. Lose close. Theres so much to learn from the entire film and whatever the results. Its our job to find those teaching points, those correctables, those concepts in any result." But when your opponent scores touchdowns on their first three offensive possessions — as the Redblacks did in the franchises first CFL game — some individuals might get down on themselves. Or turn on their teammates. Former Bombers head coach Tim Burke often pointed to this scenario as an issue during Winnipegs tumultuous 3-15 season in 2013. "There might still be some guys that have said, Here we go again. But weve got enough guys that are saying, This is no big deal," said OShea. "Were down 11 ... 11 points in a CFL game? Come on." It was 14 points, actually, Mike. And your club showed some serious resiliency and character in gutting out a win — quite the evolution from just eight months ago. The Bombers took another hit in the Canadian injury department this week as guard Chris Greaves sprained a ligament in his right knee during the first quarter against Ottawa and will be out a few weeks. The injury doesnt look very serious as Greaves was spotted walking around outside Investors Group Field this week with no brace or noticeable limp. "Thats a good sign, eh?" said OShea, who will plug-in International Cordaro Howard at Greaves left guard spot. "(Greaves) is a tough guy. Hes going to get back as soon as he possibly can. Hes not going to be one to rest." While All-Star defensive lineman Bryant Turner returns to the lineup following a week away from the team for the birth of his daughter in Alabama, fellow tackle Zach Anderson will miss the game in Montreal with a heel contusion. "Zach Anderson would play every single day. Hed play a game every day if he could," added the head coach. "The smart thiing to do with Zach is let him rest, because he would play every week and wed be in the same spot of him probably not practicing during the week.dddddddddddd The odd time is not a bad thing but hed be better off if we get him healthy." Several injured players returned to regular practice participation this week, but as was the case last week, OShea isnt in a rush to push any of his guys back in for the sake of upping the talent in his lineup. "Were committed to putting the best team on the field for every game," said OShea, while placing paused emphasis on the word team. "Sometimes it might not be the best player if the team performs better or if the group performs better with a certain mix in there. Theres always a fair bit of speculation that goes into that too when you make a roster change, and how thats going to affect the total performance." Safety Moe Leggett is listed as questionable this week with an ankle issue. Johnny Sears was taking first team reps at safety to end the practice week in Winnipeg, and it would be a safe assumption that Teague Sherman would start at Sears strong side linebacker spot. Conveniently, this too would even out the ratio issue of starting three internationals on the O-line with Greaves out. Notes: Cory Watson will miss a second game after re-injuring his hamstring in Week 1... The teams leading receiver Aaron Kelly (second in the CFL with 163 yards) "banged his knee" in practice this week and suffered some swelling the following day, but assures his head coach he will be ready to play in Montreal. "I expect (Kelly) to play," said OShea... Running back Paris Cotton is possible to return to the lineup after missing a few weeks with a knee injury. The speedster looked good returning kicks in practice alongside the CFLs Week 2 Special Teams Player of the Week Demond Washington, but dont expect Cotton to take many (if any) reps on offence away from eye-opening rookie Nic Grigsby... Cornerback Donovan Alexander, who has suffered from a calf strain since early in training camp, may make his first start since Winnipeg signed him to a free agent deal this offseason. That said, fellow national defensive back Matt Bucknor has played quite well in Alexanders absence... The football club finally put the Korey Banks saga to rest, releasing the suspended 11-year veteran in the hours leading up to kickoff against Ottawa... General manager Kyle Walters locked up a pair of heavy defensive contributors this week, inking Canadians Teague Sherman and Jake Thomas to contract extensions. Terms of the deals were not released, as per club policy. ' ' '