Dein erstes Forum » , he joined Roger Federer (942 wins) and Rafael Nadal

DETROIT -- Victor Martinez drove in three runs to help Detroit to a much-needed win, then offered a bit of a plea to Tigers fans who have been losing patience with the AL Central favourites. "Its not fair when people out there are thinking that weve got to win this division by 10, 15, 20 games," Martinez said. "Were not playing Little League teams. Were trying. Its too long of a season. At some point youre going to struggle. Every team struggles at some point. "As a fan, if youre going to be with us when were doing good, we really need the fans when were struggling too." Martinez had three hits, and Nick Castellanos homered and tripled to lead the Tigers to an 8-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. Detroit rallied from a 4-1 deficit and snapped a four-game losing streak, but the Tigers remained a half-game behind first-place Kansas City. The Tigers are suddenly facing adversity amid mounting injuries. They had to send Buck Farmer to the mound to make his major league debut, and he allowed four runs in five innings. Blaine Hardy (2-1) followed with two scoreless innings of relief, lowering his ERA to 2.05. Hes been a rare bright spot in a bullpen thats been unreliable. "Hes done an excellent job, really," manager Brad Ausmus said. "Hes not strictly a lefty-lefty guy. Hes got the ability to get right-handed hitters out, which gives me a lot of flexibility in the middle innings." Castellanos put Detroit ahead 5-4 with a solo homer off Vance Worley (5-2) in the sixth. Martinez added a bases-loaded single in the seventh. The Tigers returned home after going 2-7 on a road trip against the New York Yankees, Toronto and Pittsburgh. A 19-inning loss to the Blue Jays stretched the pitching staff thin, and Anibal Sanchez and Justin Verlander are nursing injuries. The game was tied at 1 in the fourth when Pittsburghs Jordy Mercer hit an RBI triple and Travis Snider followed with a two-run homer. The Tigers tied it with three runs in the fifth. Alex Avila led off with a homer to make it 4-2, and after a single by Eugenio Suarez, Ezequiel Carrera hit a grounder to second. Jayson Nix tried to make a tough throw to second to get the lead runner, but his throw was poor, and the error helped Detroit to a big inning. Miguel Cabrera eventually hit a sacrifice fly, and Martinez tied it with a two-out RBI single. Castellanos hit his ninth homer of the year with one out in the sixth. "I think the pitches that hurt were the home runs," Worley said. "Couple of guys who I got behind -- had to throw good pitches." Worley allowed five runs -- three earned -- and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings. TOUGH SPOT: Farmer has spent most of this season at Class A West Michigan, and he was called up from Double-A Erie to make this start for the Tigers. He made it through the order the first time without allowing a hit, but the Pirates scored a run in the third and three in the fourth. He allowed six hits and a walk and struck out four, and the Tigers were able to rally after he left the game. OUTFIELD PROBLEMS: Pittsburgh centre fielder Starling Marte made a diving attempt on Castellanos hit in the second, and the ball got past him for a triple. Right fielder Gregory Polanco couldnt handle Torii Hunters double in the fourth, and Polancos long run to right-centre in the seventh was for naught when he was unable to make the catch on Carreras drive, which went for a triple. FOR THE BIRDS: Worley and Cabrera both seemed distracted by two birds that settled in between the mound and the plate while Cabrera was batting in the first. Cabrera stepped out and waved his bat at them, then Worley rolled a ball to the plate, trying to shoo them away. TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: Pittsburgh was once again without 2B Neil Walker, who has been limited to only three games this month. Walker has been bothered by a bad back. Tigers: Detroit 2B Ian Kinsler stayed in the game and seemed to be OK after a pitch by Stolmy Pimentel bounced weirdly and hit him in the side of the head. Pimentels pitch in the seventh inning was in the dirt, then bounced up off C Russell Martin and hit Kinsler. UP NEXT Pirates: Francisco Liriano (3-8) takes the mound for Pittsburgh on Thursday against Detroit. Hes posted a 2.25 ERA in five starts since returning from a left oblique strain. Tigers: Max Scherzer (13-4) pitches for the first time since striking out 11 in eight innings against Toronto on Saturday -- in a game Detroit went on to lose in 10. Air Max Günstig Bestellen . - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was so busy in free agency he didnt mind having a few extra weeks to prepare for the draft. Air Max Schweiz . Louis Cardinals won the World Series last season, but after losing first baseman Albert Pujols to free agency and manager Tony LaRussa to retirement, they opened the 2012 season in 12th spot in the TSN. http://www.airmaxoutletschweiz.ch/ . Jovanovski, the 2012 champ seeded fifth, will meet surprise Japanese qualifier Misa Eguchi on Friday. Eguchi, ranked 183rd, qualified for her first WTA main draw this week, then beat No. Air Max Kaufen . At times during a solid but not spectacular season, they looked all three. Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant. Nike Air Max Günstig Damen . - The Oakland Athletics have finalized an agreement on a 10-year extension to play at the Coliseum through the 2024 season. KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Serena Williams capitalized on a critical double-fault by Yaroslava Shvedova to survive a 69-minute first set and win her opening match at the Sony Open 7-6 (7), 6-2 on Thursday. "It was an incredibly tough first set," Williams said. "I just needed to relax and yet keep up the intensity." The top-ranked Williams seeks a record seventh Key Biscayne title, and her second in a row. No. 4-seeded Maria Sharapova, a five-time runner-up in the tournament, joined Williams in the third round by beating Kurumi Nara 6-3, 6-4. Seeded players had first-round byes. In mens play, former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt became the third active man to win 600 matches when he rallied past Robin Haase of the Netherlands 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Fellow Australian Bernard Tomic lasted only 28 minutes in the shortest match since the ATP started keeping such records in 1991, losing to Jarkko Nieminen 6-0, 6-1. Tomic, who won just 13 points, is mounting a comeback from surgery on both hips and was playing for the first time since January. "I did the best as I could," he said. "Hopefully in a little bit of time I can get back to 100 per cent." Williams, who owns a small share of the NFLs Miami Dolphins, wore a dress in the teams orange and turquoise colours -- which may explain her slow start. Or maybe it was because she hadnt played since Feb. 21. Williams had to erase a 5-3 deficit in the first set, and then fell behind 6-3 in the tiebreaker. Shvedova pushed a forehand into the net, then the Kazakh hit a nervous double-fault that allowed Williams to exhale. She won the nnext two points with aces, then closed out the set with a backhand winner, a fist pump and a scream of "Yes!" Her game steadied in the second set, when she had 18 winners and only 10 unforced errors -- bad news perhaps for opponents to come in the tournament Williams considers her hometown event.dddddddddddd She lives an hour north in Palm Beach Gardens. "I love playing here," she told the crowd. The 33-year-old Hewitt also staged a comeback. With the victory, he joined Roger Federer (942 wins) and Rafael Nadal (675) in reaching the 600 match milestone. "Not many people get the opportunity to get close to that, so it means I have been around for an awfully long time," Hewitt said. "Im getting old. A few years ago when I had the last couple of surgeries, I probably would have doubted Id get to this stage. Im grateful Im out there and able to compete with the best guys." In other womens play, No. 5-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany won her opening match, beating Peng Shuai of China 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5). Kerber, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, matched her best showing at Key Biscayne by reaching the third round. Ana Ivanovic beat American Lauren Davis 6-1, 6-1, and No. 8 Petra Kvitova defeated Argentinas Paula Ormaechea 6-3, 6-4. Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2006 champion, lost to Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic 7-6 (5), 7-5. Fridays stadium court schedule features the winners of 34 Grand Slam titles in five matches. The parade of champions will include Federer, Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams, Andy Murray and Li Na playing their opening matches. ' ' '