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CHICAGO -- The Pirates had a four-run lead in the first inning and were up two runs after five. Both times the Cubs came back, with Starlin Castro providing much of the power. In the end, the Pirates were finally able to shut down Chicago. Pedro Alvarez had two hits and two RBIs, and Russell Martin drove in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning as Pittsburgh beat the Cubs 7-6 on Tuesday night. Jason Grilli closed with a perfect ninth for his second save in three chances. "We just kept playing," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Its not about whats not happening. Its about what weve got to do next. Thats just the way we kept going. It was a fist fight off the mound for us most of the night. We executed extremely well in the first inning on offence and kept building innings." Cubs reliever Pedro Strop (0-1) walked two batters in the eighth and recorded only one out before being replaced by left-hander James Russell. Russell walked Alvarez to load the bases and Martin followed with a fly ball to right field that made it 7-6. "Had we laid down after the first inning, giving up four runs, I would have been extremely disappointed," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "But we didnt. We kept chipping away. I think thats what were talking about. We have to fight. We have to keep battling every day and if they keep doing that were going to get our situation where both sides of our game gets to where it needs to be." The Cubs tied the game in the seventh against Tony Watson (1-0) on Anthony Rizzos hit up the middle scoring Emilio Bonifacio, who went 3 for 5 and is batting .515. Castro hit a game-tying three-run homer in the third and a solo shot in the sixth against Pirates starter Charlie Morton for his first career multi-homer game. "The two pitches that they scored four of their runs on were just terrible pitches," Morton said of Castros homers. "It could have turned out a lot better had I executed a little bit better even instead of giving up a home run. The guys picked me up." Jackson gave up six runs on nine hits in 4 2-3 innings. Jackson struggled with his command, walking four (one intentional) and hitting a batter. Morton didnt fare much better allowing five runs on eight hits in six innings. Jacksons troubles began on the games first pitch with a lead-off double by Starling Marte. It sparked a four-run inning. Nine Pirates batted in the first. Alvarez doubled to score Marte and Andrew McCutchen for a 2-0 Pirates lead. Neil Walker added an RBI single and Travis Ishikawas sacrifice fly made it 4-0. Bonifacios two-out single to centre field in the second inning scored Ryan Sweeney from second base to cut the Pirates lead to 4-1. Jackson walked Marte and Travis Snider in the fourth to bring up McCutchen, who came through with an RBI single that made it 5-4. Ishikawas triple in the fifth scored Martin, who doubled to start the inning, and extended Pittsburghs lead to 6-4. "He played more of a supporting role, you can see hes being pitched more difficult," Hurdle said of McCutchen. "A lot of pitches, sequences, balls arent there to hit but when they crossed the plate a couple times today he squared up and hit them really hard. Hes a real good player." Renteria was ejected in the top of the ninth inning by home plate umpire Jeff Nelson for arguing balls and strikes. It was Renterias first ejection. Notes: Renteria said the Cubs are sticking with the five-man rotation as constructed meaning RHP Carlos Villanueva will stay in the rotation and not move back to the bullpen. . Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said he didnt have a problem with top prospect Javier Baezs recent ejection at Triple-A Iowa labeling it a "great development experience" for the 21-year-old shortstop. . Epstein said the Cubs are being cautious with Double-A Tennessee OF prospect Jorge Soler (sore right hamstring) by putting him on the seven-day disabled list. Soler aggravated his hamstring during the first minor league game of the season while running to second base on a double. . On the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron hitting the 715th home run of his career to set an MLB record, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle fondly remembered the moment. "I wasnt watching at the start and my dad tried to tune in the radio because we were in Florida," Hurdle said. "We listened to a lot of the games on radio. As it turned out, it was a pretty magical moment." Cheap Shoes . PETERSBURG, Fla. Clearance Shoes . Appearing on TSN 690 Monday afternoon, Mike Babcock said he had conversations with both P.K. Subban and Carey Price about those on-ice traits during Hockey Canadas summer orientation camp. Mike Babcock: McGill experience, P. https://www.fakeshoeswholesale.com/ . As the schedule flipped from November to December, they would go on to drop five straight, falling six games below the .500 mark before a franchise-altering trade turned them into an unrecognizable team. Fake Shoes From China . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday. Discount Shoes . The alley-oop looked easy -- just like everything else after halftime for the Miami Heat. James scored 32 points, Wade added 22 points and eight assists, and the Heat trailed by 11 early in the second half before running away to a 107-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.MIAMI -- LeBron James watched from the bench in a stylish grey suit, and with the game deadlocked at halftime, he took off his necktie. Soon the tie on the scoreboard was gone, too. Stout defence plus Chris Boshs outside shooting and a boost from Miamis reserves helped the Heat overcome the absence of their MVP on Sunday to beat the Chicago Bulls 93-79. "We were missing a pretty big man," Dwyane Wade said. "Theres nothing we can do to replace the best player in the world, but we just had to go out there and play team basketball on both ends of the floor." James was a late scratch after he broke his nose in Thursdays win at Oklahoma City, and his teammates picked up the slack. Former NBA No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden replaced James for his first NBA start since December 2009, and reserves Chris Andersen, Michael Beasley and Ray Allen helped the Heat pull away in the second half. "You dont want to see guys out," said coach Erik Spoelstra, who earned his 300th career victory. "But when guys are out, Im always curious to see how you respond as a team. Weve have several of these games that could have been excuse games, but guys have stepped up." Bosh tied a career high with four 3-pointers and had 28 points and 10 rebounds. Wade added 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Mario Chalmers contributed 12 points and nine assists. Defence did the rest against the offensively challenged Bulls. "Were starting to put it together defensively," Bosh said. "We got off to a slow start early in the season, but I think right now were starting to get it, starting to click." Like the Heat, the Bulls were also short-handed, with starter Jimmy Butler a late scratch because of bruised ribs. They shot 36 per cent, went 6 for 21 from 3-point range and were called for a 24-second violation at least six times, including twice in a row. "We werent playing with a good enough thrust," guard Kirk Hinrich said. "We were slow getting into our stuff. We didnt make quick decisions, and we got stuck fighting the clock." Joakim Noah had 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for the Bulls, who had won five in a row. "Those guys have ended our seasons a lot," Noah said. "Youve got to hate playing those guys, and every time we play them our intensity has to be high. We did it in sspurts, it wasnt good the whole time, and thats whats disappointing.dddddddddddd" Miami, playing at home for the first time in 20 days, extended its winning streak to five games. Wade sealed the victory by sinking a jumper with less than three minutes left, giving the Heat their first 18-point lead. Earlier two of his points came on free throws after he improvised a backward somersault when fouled hard in the lane. Otherwise there werent a lot of acrobatics from the typically high-flying Heat, who shot 42 per cent and had only seven fast-break points. Contributing to the workmanlike effort was the 7-foot Oden, playing his 11th game after being sidelined by knee trouble for 3 1/2 years. He had five points and five rebounds in 13 minutes. "Greg was great," Spoelstra said. "Hes an active player for somebody that big, and hes very intelligent. He has a good grasp of what we want to do." The stoic Oden shrugged off the milestone of returning to the starting lineup. "Im starting to feel a little more comfortable out there, and I think guys are starting to feel more comfortable with me," he said. "Its something we can build on. Being able to put me in that starting lineup showed some confidence in me." James, missing a game for only the second time this season, drew a big ovation when he was shown on the video scoreboard during an early timeout. During another timeout in the fourth quarter, when the Heat had built a big cushion, he danced to music blaring over the public address system while his teammates huddled. They scored on seven consecutive possessions during a 16-2 run at the end of the third quarter that put them ahead 65-52. The catalysts were unlikely: In quick succession, Andersen dunked on an alley-oop, Allen hit a runner and Beasley banked home a basket. "It doesnt matter if LeBrons out," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Theyre a good team. That team has other players. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade -- those are All-Stars, too. The bench is deep. Thats a championship team." NOTES: Spoelstra earned his 300th victory in his 448th game. Only five coaches reached the milestone more quickly, including his boss, Pat Riley, who did it the fastest at 416 games. ... Wades seven offensive rebounds were a career high. ... The Bulls fell to 24-6 when leading after one quarter. ... Miami improved to 8-1 in February. ' ' '