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DENVER -- His early career struggles behind him, Jon Gray is answering the call as the Colorado Rockies ace.Gray pitched seven strong innings, Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story hit two-run homers off relievers after starter Julio Teheran left because of an injury, and the Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 on Friday night.Gray (6-4) shut down the Braves after allowing a run in the first inning, finishing with eight strikeouts in helping the Rockies hand the Braves their eighth straight loss at Coors Field.Hes really pitching like an ace and the futures bright with him on the mound, no doubt, Arenado said. His intensity has been up there. He expects to win. He expects to get guys out. He bears down and its been really impressive to watch him pitch lately.The Rockies first-round draft pick out of Oklahoma in 2013, Gray went without a win in his first 13 starts -- the longest streak at the start of a career in team history. Since then, though, he has gone 6-3 with a 3.77 ERA over 13 starts since earning his first victory May 13.His slider has been a difference-maker this year, Rockies manager Wat Weiss said. Its really sharp.Gray said he has become more sure of himsef on the mound, drawing on a mix of fastballs, curves, and sliders.My confidence is building and Im looking to build it more, he said.The Braves, meanwhile, were dealing with health questions about Teheran, who left the game after facing one batter in the fifth with what the team said was right lat tightness. His status was described as day to day.Lets hope its nothing big, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. He had a look on his face of, `Id like to try it. You want to keep going and then you end up screwing it up for weeks. They checked him out. Did everything, but felt theyd get a better read (Saturday).Teheran left after trying to run down Mark Reynolds infield hit, though the pitcher said he may have tweaked the muscle throwing a pitch in the previous inning.I was feeling a little discomfort and there was some pain, he said. I decided to come out of the game. I didnt want to make it worse.Teheran walked off the field under his own power and was relieved by Joel De La Cruz.Trailing 1-0 in the sixth, the Rockies went in front behind a four-run burst. DJ LeMahieu started the sixth with a walk and Arenado, coming off a scheduled rest day Thursday, drove a 2-2 offering from De La Cruz (0-3) into the bleachers in left-center field for his 24th home run.Dario Alvarez relieved and Carlos Gonzalez singled ahead of the home run by Story. The Rockies rookie has 24 homers.Jace Peterson connected for a two-run homer off Jason Motte in the eighth, pulling the Braves within a run.Carlos Estevez allowed a double to Adonis Garcia and walked Ender Inciarte to start the ninth. The runners advanced on a sacrifice and Erick Aybar walked to load the bases before Estevez recovered to get Chase dArnaud on a popup and strike out Peterson for his eighth save in 11 chances.Braves pitchers picked off two baserunners, costing the Rockies scoring opportunities.Charlie Blackmon singled to lead off the game, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. He stole second but Teheran got him out with a pickoff throw from the mound, allowing the Braves pitcher to withstand Arenados two-out triple unscathed by getting Gonzalez to ground out.In the fifth, De La Cruz, who had just relieved Teheran, made his first throw from the mound to first base and Freddie Freeman tagged a diving Mark Reynolds before he could get his hand back on the bag. Nick Hundley followed with a double and was stranded at third when Blackmon flied out to end the inning.TRAINERS ROOMBraves: RHP Shea Simmons, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, was slated to make his first rehab appearance on Saturday for the Gulf Coast Rookie League Braves. Hes expected to throw one inning. ... RHP Dan Winkler, in the midst of a comeback from a right elbow fracture, threw on the side Friday and provided there are no setbacks, team officials could put together a minor league rehab schedule for him.Rockies: LF Gerardo Parra, sidelined since mid-June because of a sprained left ankle, is stepping up his conditioning workouts and could soon begin a rehab assignment. ... LHP Chris Rusin, placed on the 15-day DL in early June with a left shoulder strain, is nearing a return. Hes expected to be re-evaluated by training staff after a scheduled rehab assignment on Sunday.UP NEXTBraves: RHP Matt Wisler (4-9) has been hurt recently by the home run ball, especially on the road, where he has allowed at least two homers in each of his past three starts away from home.Rockies: LHP Tyler Anderson (2-3) has won two starts since dropping his first three career decisions.Fake Vapormax 3 .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Vapormax 3 Clearance . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-vapormax-mens-clearance.html .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Mens Fake Vapormax . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. Cheap Vapormax 97 China . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off.PITTSBURGH -- Down two goals -- and even worse, down two defensemen -- after two periods on Thursday night against San Jose, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan offered his players a much-needed reminder.You can win ugly in this league, Sullivan told them.The Stanley Cup champions responded with 20 minutes of grit against an opponent only too familiar with how deep the Penguins can dig when the moment requires.Evgeni Malkin, Scott Wilson and Patric Hornqvist scored in a 7:15 span in the third period to lift the Penguins to an unlikely 3-2 victory in a rematch of last Junes Stanley Cup Final. Hornqvist and Malkin both finished with a goal and an assist while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots to buy the Penguins time until the offense finally got going.We played right, Malkin said. We moved the puck quickly. We shot the puck. . We did the right things. There were lucky goals, off the post, off the goalie. Its not pretty, but its important goals.Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau scored for the Sharks, who controlled the first 40 minutes and appeared well on their way to a one-sided victory before falling apart late. Martin Jones made 17 saves but saw the play in front of him break down in the third.This league is really a race to three goals, thats pretty much how it works, and we couldnt get the third goal, San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. Again, let them hang around, which is something weve done lately.The Penguins captured the franchises fourth Stanley Cup in an entertaining final last June, finishing off the Sharks in Game 6 in San Jose. If San Jose wanted a glimpse at just how close it came to its first title, they need only look toward the rafters at PPG Paints Arena during warmups to get a look at the banner the Penguins raised last week.San Jose insisted Thursday had nothing to do with revenge or any sense of payback. Last June is gone. For now the Sharks are still trying to find an identity even with nearly the same roster back for another run.Theyre off to a hot start and certainly looked fresh playing for the third time in four days on the road. Not so much Pittssburgh, which failed to generate anything in a shutout loss in Montreal on Tuesday.dddddddddddd It looked like more of the same 48 hours later with captain Sidney Crosby (concussion) and defenseman Kris Letang (upper body) out of the lineup.Hertl gave San Jose a 1-0 lead 5:04 into the second thanks to a strange sequence in which Fleury lost control of his stick when a shot from Brent Burns smacked off the handle. The puck was briefly cleared but as Fleury tried to chase the stick down, the Sharks rushed back into the zone and Hertl eventually jammed a rebound off a shot by Joe Pavelski past the stickless goaltender.San Joses lead doubled shortly after Hornqvists goal was overturned, stripping Chris Kunitz to create a 2-on-1 that ended with him taking a pass from Logan Couture and burying it by Fleury.Things changed quickly even with Derrick Pouliot and Olli Maatta unavailable after leaving with undisclosed injuries.Malkins second of the year -- a shot from between the circles 6:47 into the third -- got Pittsburgh started. Wilson tied it 2:14 later when he collected the puck from the corner and darted to the net before slipping a backhand by Jones.Hornqvist completed the comeback by slamming a rebound by Jones on the power play to give the Penguins the lead. Sullivan praised his defensemen while also giving credit to Malkin, Kunitz, Hornqvist and Phil Kessel for fueling an improbable comeback.They played inspiring hockey, Sullivan said. They played the right way in the third period and they were hard to handle because of it. When those guys play that way, they give us a chance to win.Game notesCrosby did not skate Thursday, a scheduled day off. ... The Penguins also scratched Conor Sheary (eye). ... San Jose scratched Fs Michael Haley and Ryan Carpenter and D Dylan Demelo. ... The Penguins went 1 for 5 on the power play. The Sharks were 0 for 3.UP NEXTSharks: wrap up a five-game road trip Saturday at Detroit.Penguins: visit Nashville on Saturday. ' ' '