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MIAMI -- Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Gregory Polanco had five hits Friday night, and the last one was the biggest -- and the longest. Kyle Orton Jersey . Playing in his fourth major league game, Polanco broke a tie in the 13th inning with his first homer, helping Pittsburgh to an 8-6 victory over the Miami Marlins after the Pirates had a ninth-inning meltdown. Polanco went 5 for 7, scored three times and made a run-saving catch in right field. "That could have been a coming-out party for him," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Very exciting to watch. I hope we get to watch for a long time." Clint Barmes singled off Mike Dunn (5-4) to start the 13th and advanced on a sacrifice. Polanco homered on a hanging 2-2 slider and smacked his hands as he circled the bases, mindful his mother was in the stands watching him for the first time since he played winter league in his native Dominican Republic. "For sure this is my best game ever -- the first time shes here watching me play," Polanco said. "I was excited and a little emotional. Shes so proud of me, and I know shes feeling excited right now." Jeanmar Gomez (1-2) pitched four scoreless innings after the Pirates blew a 6-2 lead in the ninth when three relievers combined to issue six walks. The Pirates Jeff Locke pitched a career-high eight innings, and the bullpens wildness cost him his first victory since Sept. 12. Miami trailed 6-5 and had runners at first and third with two out in the ninth when Hurdle ordered NL home run and RBI leader Giancarlo Stanton intentionally walked. The strategy backfired when Casey McGehee fell behind 0-2, and then walked against Mark Melancon to tie the game. Melancon struck out Marcell Ozuna to send the game to the 10th. "You rip off the rearview mirror and keep playing," Hurdle said. The Marlins stranded three in the ninth and two in the 12th. "The game was there for the taking at the end," McGehee said. "It was unfortunate we couldnt quite finish it off." Pittsburghs Sterling Marte homered and tied a career high with four hits. Ike Davis added a two-run double, and the top four hitters in the Pirates order went 13 for 27. The Pirates have won seven consecutive series openers, and on Saturday they have a chance to reach .500 for the first time since mid-April. Miamis Nathan Eovaldi pitched as though he was more worried about his wifes delivery than his own, which was understandable. Their first child is due, which left Eovaldis status in doubt until game time, and he allowed 10 hits and six runs in 4 2-3 innings. Stanton hit his 18th home run. Rafael Furcal, making his season debut after being sidelined by injuries since 2012, turned two double plays at second base but went 0 for 6. Locke, making his second start since right-hander Gerrit Cole went on the disabled list, allowed two runs, seven hits and no walks. The left-hander said he was encouraged by his performance. "Its huge," he said. "Anytime you give this team a chance to win, it makes you feel good. Thats what Ive always tried to do through the struggles and the successes. It builds a lot of confidence moving forward." Locke made the NL All-Star team last year but pitched poorly the second half of the season and has spent most of this season in Triple-A. NOTES: Marlins LF Christian Yelich left the game in the second inning with a strained lower back. His status is day to day. ... 2B Michael Martinez made his first start with the Pirates and went 0 for 3. ... Pirates OF Josh Harrison (ankle) was held out of the lineup. ... Former Pirate Garrett Jones pinch-hit in the ninth for Miami and struck out. ... The Pirates Russell Martin was safe at second when the Marlins botched a rundown in the fourth, but the call was reversed following a replay review and he was ruled out. ... Martin made his 1,000th career start at catcher, which ranks fifth among active players. ... RHP Stolmy Pimentel and RHP Vance Worley are candidates to start Sunday for the Pirates in place of LHP Francisco Liriano (left oblique strain). ... LHP Randy Wolf (1-2, 4.15 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday for Miami against RHP Charlie Morton (3-7, 3.14 ERA). Demarcus Lawrence Jersey . Jesus Navas bookended yet another huge home win for City by scoring after 14 seconds and again in second-half stoppage time, with Sergio Aguero also netting in each half to add to an own goal by Sandro and a brilliant strike by Alvaro Negredo. John Jett Jersey .The Williams siblings, with 25 Grand Slam titles between them, will have a couple of Madisons joining them, too.Madison Keys had a 6-4, 7-5 upset win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Saturday night, and Madison Brengle beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-2 in an all-U.TORONTO - As rumours surrounding the future of Kyle Lowry - this summers biggest free-agent prize at his position - begin to swirl, the most reasonable question that comes to mind is, what took so long? The Raptors breakout point guard has been the subject of recent speculation, originating at ESPN, connecting him to the four-time defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat. The parties are said to have "mutual interest". Often, where theres smoke theres fire, but thats not always the case in the NBA, especially not at this time of the year. Smoke, in this case, comes with the territory. Fresh off a career season, leading the Raptors to an unexpected division title, Lowry is poised to become a coveted commodity in unrestricted free agency when he officially hits the open market on July 1. If the Heat are the first team to come knocking, they assuredly wont be the last. Why wouldnt Miami be interested in Lowrys services? The Heat are less than a week removed from a disheartening trip to the NBA Finals, where they looked vastly inferior to the San Antonio Spurs in a five-game elimination. Their current point guard, Mario Chalmers - also a soon-to-be free agent - was notably ineffective en route to losing his starting job late in the series. And Lowry? Why wouldnt he want to play in South Beach? Under the right circumstances, accompanied by a suitable contract, you would be hard-pressed to find someone unwilling to play in one of the leagues most desirable destinations with LeBron James, the best basketball player on the planet. Therein lies the caveat, and its a big one; money. The Heat, under their current construction, can only offer so much of it. Firstly, in order for Miami to put together a passable offer to Lowry or any other prominent free agent, James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would need to opt out of their contracts - owing them each more than $20 million over the next two season - to renegotiate smaller deals. Udonis Haslem would likely have to do the same. Lowry, underpaid for most of his eight-year career, has been one of the leagues bargain players, earning just over $6 million last season. At best, Miami - or any other capped out team - may be able to offer something in that neighbourhood. From a Raptors perspective, nothing has changed since Masai Ujiri addressed the point guards future six weeks ago, making Lowry the teams top offseason priority. "Its very important for us, in terms of continuity," said the Raptors general manager that afternoon, asked abbout the likelihood of re-signing Lowry. Calvin Hill Jersey. "For me, negotiating is easy if we want Kyle to be here and Kyle wants to be here." "I think well be fair with Kyle and well figure it out and I think its important. So well go through that process but were optimistic stuff will happen." They remain confident to this day and much of that stems from the fact that they can offer Lowry more than any other team, while also providing him the platform to lead a winning team with a cast that hes comfortable with. The 28-year-old is staring down his first super-sized NBA contract and in a league where so much can change in three-to-four years, there are no guarantees that another one will follow. Certainly, if hes willing to sacrifice in exchange for a better chance at competing for a championship hell have that opportunity but for a player entering his prime, one with a young family to support, it would be surprising to see him leave that much money on the table. With the Raptors he could double the size of his most recent contract, a four-year $23 million deal signed back in 2010. As you might expect, Lowry and his representatives will test the market, see whats out there and leverage the interest hes sure to get from other teams. As he wisely pointed out during a midseason wave of rumours following the trade of his best friend Rudy Gay, its a business. The Raptors will also have a big decision to make, holding the 20th pick in next weeks draft, five days before teams are able to sit down and meet with their free agent point guard. Would they select a lead guard as insurance? "I think the biggest thing is to not make draft decisions based on that, on your current roster and your current situations," Dan Tolzman, the Raptors director of scouting, said last week. "You keep it in the back of your head and youll take it into account when youre drafting players but if the most talented guy or the highest guy on your list happens to be a position that your loaded up with you can work stuff out later." "So I dont think you really approach the draft like, okay we need a point guard because we dont know what the situation is. But at the same time if the best player on the board is a point guard, well figure it out." And so it begins. For four months, primarily in the next two, the game shifts from the court to the boardroom, podium and social media sphere. The sound of sneakers squeaking and whistles whistling are replaced by rumours, bravado and conjecture. Buckle up. ' ' '