the trade deadline doing some detective work. The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher scoured Twitter for updates Charlie Morton Jersey , asked team trainers if they were scanning medical records and touched base with acquaintances of potential targets for a brief rundown on who might be joining the hottest team in the majors.”I had fun with it,” Taillon said. ”My heart was racing, I think.”So are the Pirates.Hours after his team picked up Texas closer Keone Kela and Tampa Bay starting pitcher Chris Archer in an effort to give Pittsburgh’s surprising postseason push a jolt, Taillon pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the Pirates held on late for a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.”We’re really excited for the additions,” Taillon said. ”I think we still kind of don’t have anything to lose so we’re going to keep playing free. Going to hopefully play complete games like we’ve been doing and see what we can make happen.”Gregory Polanco hit his team-leading 19th home run, a solo shot in the eighth that gave the Pirates a two-run cushion. They needed it after closer Felipe Vazquez gave up a single to pinch-hitter David Bote leading off the top of the ninth and Addison Russell followed with a shot to the gap in right-center that scored Bote.Russell sped to third on the play and was initially ruled safe , but the call was overturned upon review. Vazquez retired the next two batters to pick up his 24th save in 28 opportunities.”I’d like to see the replay on that last play, because I didn’t see it,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ”I went up and looked at it. The call on the field has integrity and I’d really need to see why that was changed.”David Freese added a pair of RBI doubles for the Pirates, including a drive to the gap in right-center in the fifth that scored Polanco and put Pittsburgh ahead to stay as the resurgent Pirates won for the 16th time in 20 games.”We’ve been fighting the last month,” Polanco said. ”We know we want to play in October and to bring in pitchers (like Kela and Archer) is good for us and you know, that’s a good plan. You’ve got to keep fighting http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , keep winning.”Taillon (8-8) allowed three runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings of work, his lone mistake an off-speed pitch to Javy Baez in the fourth that Baez turned into a three-run homer that tied the game.Baez finished 3 for 4, including his shot to the rotunda behind the left-field seats that boosted his season home run total to 22, but the Cubs hit into two double plays and left seven runners on base to lose for the third time in four games.Jon Lester (12-4) hadn’t lost on the road since falling to Cleveland on April 25. He needed 101 pitches to labor through five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Lester is 2-1 with a 4.69 ERA in four starts against the Pirates this season.”It seems like every time I throw against them, I’m not getting ahead,” he said. ”Kind of a grinder. Hopefully, I get another shot. I feel like I haven’t pitched even close to anything good against these guys.”The Pirates were reeling three weeks ago but have moved into the playoff chase by posting the best record in the majors since July 8. General manager Neal Huntington splurged at the deadline, bringing in Archer and Kela while parting with young prospects in outfielder Austin Meadows and pitchers Tyler Glasnow and Taylor Hearn.Huntington called the decision a difficult one but felt it was worth it with both Archer and Kela under team control through at least 2020. Either way, the Pirates enter August in the thick of a crowded NL playoff chase. Consider the Cubs believers in Pittsburgh’s chances after their NL Central rival drew within six games of first place.”I think this team is definitely not out of it,” Lester said. ”I think we’ve seen in the past where they do get maybe a little bit on the streaky side. Hopefully, you kind of catch them when they’re not streaking in a positive way. But yeah Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey , their offense gets rolling. They’ve got a good group over there.”TRAINER’S ROOMCubs: RHP Yu Darvish (right triceps) reported no pain following a bullpen session on Tuesday. Darvish, who hasn’t pitched since May 20, called it a ”starting point” and remains out indefinitely. The four-time All Star also brushed off comments made by former MLB star-turned-ESPN analyst Alex Rodriguez, who said during a broadcast on Sunday night that Darvish’s slow rehab was a distraction in the Chicago clubhouse. Darvish said ”it doesn’t matter” what Rodriguez thinks of him.UP NEXTCubs: Cole Hamels will make his first start for the Cubs on Wednesday when the teams wrap up their two-game set. Chicago acquired Hamels from Texas last week. The four-time All-Star went 5-9 with a 4.72 ERA for the Rangers this season.Pirates: Nick Kingham (5-5, 4.80 ERA) will try to bounce back after giving up six runs in three-plus innings in a loss to the New York Mets last Thursday.— HOUSTON (AP) — With his team down one run going into the eighth inning, Houston manager AJ Hinch went to closer Roberto Osuna in hopes of keeping it that way.Things only got worse for the Astros in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series. Osuna gave up a grand slam to Jackie Bradley Jr. after hitting consecutive pinch-hitters with two-strike pitches, and the Boston Red Sox won 8-2 on Tuesday to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.“It’s a 3-2 ballgame until all hell broke loose in the eighth inning,” Hinch said. “A couple of hit by pitches and a huge swing by Bradley and there’s the game.”Hinch treats one-run deficits like a tie game in the postseason, figuring his team still has a good chance to win.“Trying to keep it at a one-run game with a really effective closer against the middle part of their order,” he said. “We get out of that 3-2, we’ve got plenty of outs left, and you never know what can happen.”In his first ALCS appearance for the Astros Nolan Ryan Jersey , Osuna came on with Houston trailing 3-2 and retired J.D. Martinez on a deep fly to start the eighth before an infield single by Xander Bogaerts.After a fielder’s choice grounder for the second out, Rafael Devers singled. Pinch-hitter Brock Holt was hit on the foot to load the bases before Mitch Moreland got plunked as well, forcing in a run.“Just a weird inning,” Osuna said. “I got Martinez on the first pitch and then I got after Bogaerts with two strikes early in the count, and then I don’t know what happened.”Bradley’s slam to right field broke it open, giving Boston an 8-2 cushion.“No margin for error,” Hinch said. “It’s really a matter of he didn’t finish at-bats as well as he normally does, whether it’s going to pitches or executing the pitch. Execution was a little bit of a problem at the end of at-bats. And he lost a lot of those at-bats at a huge time in the game.”It was another postseason meltdown for a hard-throwing Astros closer, similar to Ken Giles last October. Giles was traded to Toronto in July as part of the deal that brought Osuna to the Astros.In Game 4 of the World Series last year, Giles came into a 1-1 tie in the ninth inning and was charged with three runs without getting an out in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the sixth time in seven postseason appearances that he gave up a run.Osuna made two scoreless appearances for the Astros in the AL Division Series against Cleveland, getting the save in Game 2 after pitching the final 1 1/3 innings.The Astros will likely need more of that if the defending World Series champions are going to get a chance to win it all again this season.“You don’t want to do this to your team, especially in a situation like that http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey ,” Osuna said. “But I’m ready to bounce back tomorrow.”His teammates didn’t seem worried about one bad outing by Osuna.“He’s a pretty confident guy and he’s going to turn the page quick,” said Jose Altuve, who had two hits and scored both Houston runs.In his 23 regular-season games with the Astros after being acquired, Osuna was 2-2 with 12 saves and a 1.99 ERA. He had 19 strikeouts and three walks.“This guy, he’s been here before and he’s one of the best young pitchers in the game,” catcher Brian McCann said. “We were one pitch away at two outs, and a couple of pitches got away and hit them. … He’s got the temperament (for) closers that you strive to be. He’s going to be ready to go tomorrow.”Canadian prosecutors last month dropped a domestic assault charge against Osuna, who agreed to stay away from the alleged victim for one year and continue counseling.Osuna was still with the Blue Jays in May when he was suspended without pay for 75 games for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.“We have a very close-knit group in there and he’s absorbed some of that love and affection and he’ll get that tonight. He’ll be ready to go,” Hinch said.