PITTSBURGH -- Though it wasnt a clean effort, it was a win for the Milwaukee Brewers, and theyll take it. Kyle Lohse pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Carlos Gomez homered and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 Friday night. Lohse (3-1) improved to 11-2 in his career against the Pirates, allowing one earned run in a win against them for the second time in six days. "It wasnt pretty, but they all count the same," said Lohse, who was charged with three runs -- two unearned -- and four hits with three walks with five strikeouts. "Sometimes, you get a win thats ugly, sometimes youve got to catch some breaks and sometimes youve got to grind it out in key situations and find a way to win." Gomez homered deep to centre to lead off the fifth and added an RBI single an inning later as the Brewers rallied from an early two-run deficit. Four Brewers errors came during the first, third and seventh -- and the Pirates scored a run during each of those innings. But Pittsburgh left 11 men on base, including the bases loaded twice. "We just werent able to get that at bat when we needed it tonight," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Repeatedly." Charlie Morton (0-2) allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings while losing to Lohse for the second time this week. Russell Martin had two hits and two RBIs for the Pirates, who have lost six of eight. Four Milwaukee relievers combined to allow five baserunners in 2 2-3 innings but did not allow any runs while stranding six. Francisco Rodriguez worked the ninth for his fifth save in five opportunities. Lohses fifth pitch of the game was put in play by Starling Marte -- seemingly for a routine pop-up near the pitchers mound. But third baseman Aramis Ramirez and first baseman Mark Reynolds collided. It was originally inexplicably ruled a single until later changed by official scorer Evan Pattak to an error on Reynolds. That wasnt even close to the most memorable wacky play of the game. That came in the sixth inning, when Maldonado literally hit the cover off the ball in what will be one of the more peculiar plays of the season. Maldonado grounded to third, where Alvarez fielded a ball thats cover had partially ripped off. Alvarez threw the flapping, awkwardly floating ball toward first, but it fell well short of the bag, giving Maldonado an infield single. "I said to Hurdle, You see something new every day, huh?," Lohse said. "He kind of chuckled." Asked if hed seen it before, Hurdle said flatly, "Never. Never. Ever." "It was just one of those games," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "Goofy stuff happened early -- then goofy stuff happened when Maldy hit the cover off the ball. Ive never seen that before. We got a run because of it. I dont know. Just a strange game. Hard to explain." After not getting a runner past first base in their first three innings against Morton, the Brewers got a two-run double from Scooter Gennett and an RBI single from Maldonado in thr fourth to take a lead they didnt relinquish. A day after scoring nine runs in the seventh and eighth innings, the Pirates pulled to 5-3 in the seventh on Andrew McCutchens RBI double, but Will Smith came on and struck out cleanup hitter Pedro Alvarez with runners on second and third to end the inning. The Pirates loaded the bases in the eighth, but Jim Henderson got Starling Marte to pop out to end the threat. NOTES: Pittsburgh SS Jordy Mercer was removed from the game with what the team called "discomfort" in his right ankle after Maldonado collided with him at second base during the third inning. Mercer stayed in the game the remainder of the inning. ... Less than 15 minutes before first pitch, the Pirates announced they acquired 1B Ike Davis from the New York Mets in exchange for minor-league RHP Zack Thornton and a player to be named. ... Playing each other seven times in a 10-day span, the Pirates and Brewers play the eighth of those meetings Saturday when Pittsburgh LHP Wandy Rodriguez (0-2, 7.31) faces Milwaukee RHP Matt Garza (0-2, 3.43). Stitched Orioles Jerseys .Just like old times.Only this time, just one got to enjoy a victory.James return to Miami as an opponent was a success — for the Heat, that is. Wade scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half, Luol Deng had 25 points and dogged James defensively all night, and the Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-91 in a hyped Christmas matchup Thursday. Orioles Jerseys 2020 . Gustafsson controlled the first round after getting top position on a throw, and came out much more forcefully in the second, buckling Manuwa with a Muay Thai knee, and finishing him off with strikes on the ground. https://www.cheaporioles.com/. The 36-year-old said a few months ago he would hang up his boots at the end of the season, but has since changed his mind. "Its a pity the season is ending now, as I am in good physical shape and enjoying myself," Di Natale said. Baltimore Orioles Gear . The team announced the moves before Sundays game against Houston. Shaw was 1-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 43 games for the Diamondbacks. Bergesen was claimed off waivers from Baltimore on Friday. Baltimore Orioles Pro Shop . It was the first game back in Columbus for Rangers star Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets franchise leader in goals, assists and games. He was given a standing ovation during a video tribute in the first period, but was booed loud and long after a second-period, two-handed shove up high on Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.After a long, hard Olympic season, the skaters at this years World Championships reveled in the adulation of their Japanese audience. The Saitama Super Arena, just outside of Tokyo, was packed with over 18,000 skating fans who hung on the skaters every move. For many of the skaters - after performing for an often-disinterested and sometimes intimidating crowd at the Sochi Games - the Saitama audience was the perfect antidote to a physically and emotionally exhausting Olympic year. You could see the skaters take the ice with the knowing attitude of, "it doesnt get better than this!" and in the end, whether their performance was, in itself, a personal best or somewhat subpar, you could sense the their joy at being there and read the gratitude etched on their faces as they acknowledged their audiences, took their bows and soaked in the moment. In return, the skaters rose up and delivered some of their best performances ever and fittingly, hometown heroes Mao Asada and Yuzuru Hanyu both won gold. On the way to her win, Mao set the highest Short Program score ever recorded and Yuzuru edged his teammate Tatsuki Machida by less than a point to become the first man in 12 years to win World and Olympic gold in the same year. The Canadian Team, without recent Olympic medalists Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir and Patrick Chan, stepped up and won medals in both the Pairs and Dance. Canada also qualified one of the largest teams for next years Worlds due in part to its depth in all four disciplines. Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje won a silver in Dance - missing gold by the tiniest of margins - .02. They had back to back, awesome skates but their free dance for me was Weaver and Poje at their finest. Their connection to each other, their ability to capture the subtleties of the music and their powerful edge work, were highlighted in their masterful tango. What stood out for me in their performance was the fact that their program is balanced in its difficulty throughout, not just during the required technical elements. Their skating has continued to grow and develop this season and you could feel their momentum and their sense of purpose building in the days before the competition. So when a couple of the top teams had minor baubles and left the door ajar in the short dance, they strode through. They are the real deal and will be a force going forward. Canada was the only country to have three teams in the Top 10, which is awesome in itself but even more extraordinary when you look at the fact that Virtue and Moir where not there. Canadian teams moved back to podium position in the pairs, with Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford winning bronze and Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch finishing fourth. The differences are so small at the top of the field in pairs that both teams, who were terrific in Japan, will have to look for new ways to reinvent themselves if they are to challenge for the top of the podium in coming years.dddddddddddd Moore-Towers and Moscovitch were pretty much flawless in this event, but couldnt quite get to the podium which tells me that they may need to up the ante technically. Their performance in the free was, I thought, one of the highlights of these World Championships but they were a little too far back in the short to make up the distance. They have charming programs and are extremely well trained and capable which has served them well, but has left them just off the World podium two years in a row. They need that little bit more and the challenge is where and how to get it? More technical risk most likely. Strategy is going to be key for them going forward. Duhamel and Radford found that a little less worked for them here. Known for taking extreme risk, they simplified slightly going into some of their more difficult elements and that made all the difference for them, compared to Sochi. It freed them up to execute their elements cleanly, perform better and the medal was their just reward. The results were disappointing for Kevin Reynolds and Kaetlyn Osmond in the singles events in Japan but they have both had that kind of a season. Much has gone wrong for them this year except when it mattered most. With an Olympic Medal on the line, they delivered big time at the team event in Sochi. Without their solid showing , Canada would not have won silver. That silver is the lining in an otherwise glad its over kind of season. The good news is that there is a whole spring and summer ahead to regroup, heal and rebuild. Kaetlyn can - for the first time - look forward to two Grand Prix assignments this year. She qualified last year too, but injury took her out. Its what she needs the most, experience. She has come so far in such a short time with little international experience to build on. In an Olympic season that is relentless, missing training time going in as both Kevin and Kaetlyn did, undermines everything. I believe that this approaching offseason is a crucial time for them as they head into the next Olympic quadrennial. Its right now when they must make up for lost training time and get back on track. Bright lights for team Canada at this years Worlds were 15-year-old Nam Ngyuen and 16-year-old Gabby Daleman who both hit personal bests in their free programs and showed that they are ready for the big time. They were not intimidated at all by the size of the event or the numbers in the stands in fact they fed off it. Both are charming and feisty at the same time and one saw clearly that they arent prepared to wait their turn. So the stage is set for the next four years and from what we saw in Japan, Canada is in great shape going forward. ' ' '