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PITTSBURGH -- Down to his final strike and his team trailing by a run with two outs in the ninth, St. Louis pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter told himself to just find a pitch he could handle.When the fastball from closer Tony Watson ended up right down the middle and not up and away as Watson hoped, Carpenter pounced. His solo homer -- a major league record 15th by a St. Louis pinch-hitter this season -- tied it and sent a jolt through the Cardinals. A home run each from Randal Grichuk and Jhonny Peralta followed, and St. Louis rallied for a stunning 9-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.Weve got a team that I think the best way to describe it is a dangerous team, Carpenter said. Weve got a team that I dont think anybody wants to match up with, especially in a postseason scenario. Its a fun team to play on. We never quit, and tonight was a good example of it.St. Louis blew an early five-run lead and the Pirates were a pitch away from ending a seven-game losing streak when Watsons 0-2 fastball turned into Carpenters 18th home run. An All-Star two years ago as a setup man who moved into the closer role when Mark Melancon was traded to Washington at the deadline, Watson gave up as many homers in the ninth as he did during the entire 2015 season.Were not playing good ball and to go out there and (have) guys fight back and be a strike away and serve up four more runs, its tough to swallow, Watson (2-4) said after his third blown save since replacing Melancon.Yadier Molina went 4 for 5, including a first-inning grand slam for St. Louis. Mike Mayers (1-1) tossed a scoreless eighth for the win, and Seung-Hwan Oh worked around a solo homer to Jung Ho Kang in the ninth for his 16th save.The Cardinals finished with five home runs in all, including Matt Adams 436-foot drive over the seats in right field that plopped into the Allegheny River on the bounce. The comeback allowed St. Louis to remain a game in front of the New York Mets for the second wild card in the National League.Im speechless, St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. Just, I love how this team competes, right down to the last out. Having a guy like (Carpenter), who hadnt felt quite right, to be able to come into that situation, and then right after that ... Im at a loss.Jung Ho Kang had two homers for Pittsburgh and Jordy Mercer hit a two-run double in the fifth as the Pirates took advantage of some sloppy defense by the Cardinals to overcome an early five-run deficit. Watsons implosion, however, sent Pittsburgh to its eighth straight defeat.The Pirates came in reeling during their longest skid in two years, one that dropped them to the fringe of playoff contention. Opponents have outscored them 47-22 during the slide, including a 12-6 setback on Monday night in which the Cardinals simply overpowered Pittsburghs struggling pitching staff.It looked like more of the same early on Tuesday. The Cardinals loaded the bases against Ryan Vogelsong and Molina cleared them with his first grand slam since 2012, the 25th straight game the Cardinals have homered, a club record.MARTINEZ FINALLY ARRIVESSt. Louis rookie outfielder Jose Martinez made his long-awaited major league debut when he entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh. The 28-year-old son of former major leaguer Carlos Cafe Martinez grounded out to third in his first plate appearance after more than a decade in the minors.It was good to see him get that chance, Matheny said. This is a good day for him. Long time coming.TRAINING ROOMCardinals: RF Stephen Piscotty was initially held out of the lineup to give his aching left wrist a breather. Piscotty took a pitch off the wrist on Monday. Postgame X-rays were negative and Piscotty doubled as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.Pirates: Pittsburgh held C Francisco Cervelli out of the lineup a day after he experienced discomfort in his left hand trying to block a pitch.UP NEXTCardinals: Mike Leake returns to the rotation after a stay on the disabled list while battling a case of the shingles. Leake is 9-5 with a 3.28 ERA in his career against Pittsburgh but is 1-2 with a 5.71 ERA this season.Pirates: Rookie Jameson Taillon will face the Cardinals for the first time in the series finale. The 24-year-old has a 2.80 ERA over his last 10 starts and pitched six innings of one-run ball last week against Milwaukee. Buy Vapormax Australia . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Cheap Vapormax Sale . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. http://www.vapormaxcheapaustralia.com/ . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. Cheap Vapormax Australia . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Wholesale Vapormax Australia . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. The advantage of being a home team is you have a better understanding of conditions than your opposition, but that may not be the case when South Africa host New Zealand next month. Kane Williamsons men will have spent a significant amount of time in the country ahead of their two-Test series, thanks to a training camp at the University of Pretorias High Performance Centre organised by former New Zealand player Kruger van Wyk.The wicketkeeper-batsman, originally from South Africa, had retired from cricket in December and returned home to take charge of the Universitys cricket program, which he himself had come through. Van Wyk has an intricate knowledge of the High Performance Centre, which is home to CSAs National Academy and hosts several other elite sports teams at its state-of-the-art facilities. He knew it would be the ideal place for New Zealand to prepare for the four Tests they play in southern Africa - two in Zimbabwe, two in South Africa - this winter.I know what its like to tour, to want to get the best preparation and I had no doubt that we could help them with that, van Wyk said. In particular, he has focussed on giving New Zealand the kinds of surfaces they will encounter in Bulawayo, Durban and Centurion, which are all expected to be slow and low at this time of year. Its important that they [the pitches] are similar to the Zimbabwe ones, similar to the ones theyll get here. As a player, whatever you need, you get. Thats our motto. Whatever you guys need, were going to give it to you and give it at a high level of professionalism as well, so I hope the boys enjoy it as well while theyre here.With New Zealands every need being met, van Wyks loyalties were a subject of discussion and he made no attempt to hide where they lie. I think its going to be an awesome series. Its very clear who I wwant to see do well.dddddddddddd These are the guys who I played for, and my priorities, even though Im coaching and living in South Africa at the moment, its still with the New Zealand side, he said. Ive played Test cricket for New Zealand and Im proud of that. But I think its going to be a hell of a good series and Im so excited about seeing that and I really believe this is a good opportunity to get a double Test series victory.Key to New Zealands recent success has been their team culture, which is centered on the collective and has exuded a fun-factor for all involved. For van Wyk, that is the difference. Its been wonderful, actually. I think theres been such a new life blown into cricket in New Zealand and that was just through the culture in this side. Mike [Hesson, the coach] and Baz [Brendon McCullum] and Kane and a lot of the senior players must take massive credit for this. Theyve done some wonderful things for the image of the game and just the way theyve played as well. Thats the best way to get fans back, to get all these sorts of things back, ex-players, and their performances have been outstanding and I know it will only grow under Kane and Mike as well.That culture exists even among those, like van Wyk, who have left the New Zealand fold. As a coach, and as an ex-player, I think a lot of it is about giving back to the game, giving back to the people whove always been good to you. I am extremely thankful towards New Zealand cricket whove always been good to me and its time to give back, he said. Tukkies [University of Pretoria] was an institution that put a lot of time and effort into my development when I was a youngster here, so its the best of both worlds. ' ' '