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PITTSBURGH (AP) —ster shots http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey , Hunter Pence hit the biggest home run of all.Pence connected for a pinch-hit grand slam and the Texas Rangers rallied late, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-6 Wednesday.The Rangers trailed 6-2 before three walks by reliever Michael Feliz loaded the bases for Pence. He sent the first pitch off the foul pole in left field to tie it.Article continues below ...Coming into this season, Pence didn’t appear to be the longball threat that he once was. The 36-year-old once hit 27 home runs in a season, but that was back in 2013. He hit just four in all of 2018, and was signed to a minor league contract by the Rangers in February.But his power stroke might be returning to the form of his youth. Pence hit a home run and a pair of doubles in the first game of the series on Tuesday before equaling his 2018 total with his fourth homer of the season Wednesday.“Trust my approach and hit it. That was all I was focused on,” Pence said.Rangers manager Chris Woodward was focused on putting up Pence in the right spot.“He’s a remarkable human being, man,” Woodward said. “He’s waiting the whole time. He was champing at the bit behind me. I could hear him pacing back and forth. I let him know, ‘Hey, I want to make sure when you hit, it’s a situation where you’re either going to tie it or plate a run.'”Isiah Kiner-Falefa doubled off Tyler Lyons (1-1) and an offline relay throw allowed Nomar Mazara to score the go-ahead run in the ninth. Rougned Odor followed with a two-run homer.Ariel Jurado (1-1) worked the eighth and got the ball to Chris Martin, who earned his first save of the season and first since 2015.Joey Gallo gave Texas the early lead with a two-run shot that bounced off the concourse beyond the right-center field wall and landed in the Allegheny River. The estimated 443-foot drive was Gallo’s 100th career home run in his 377th game, making him the fastest player to 100 homers in American League history. He also became the first player in major league history to hit 100 home runs before reaching 100 singles (he has 93).Gallo said Pence has been a positive example for himself and the other young hitters on the Rangers.“He’s always ready to come in the game,” Gallo said. “I think that says a lot for a guy with that much experience Justin Smoak Jersey , that much respect in the game, and he’s taking every single out serious, every single game serious. I think it’s very good for us young guys to see that.”Josh Bell’s estimated 472-foot drive tied the game in the Pittsburgh fourth and was the fourth ever to reach the river on a fly. It was his ninth home run of the season after hitting 12 in 2018.“I think I’ve hit a couple on the bounce,” Bell said. “I’ve never really thought about getting one in the air. But I knew that if I connected that way, it was a possibility. It was awesome to have finally have done it.”Gregory Polanco drove two with a single in the Pirates sixth. Kevin Newman stole second and scored on two errors ahead of Colin Moran’s pinch-hit home run in the seventh.Texas starter Shelby Miller struck out six over his four innings, and allowed only the Bell homer.ROSTER MOVEThe Rangers optioned outfielder Delino DeShields to Triple-A Nashville after the game. He is batting .182 with one homer, 10 RBIs and seven steals in 30 games.TRAINER’S ROOMRangers: 1B Ronald Guzmán (right hamstring strain) is expected to come off the injured list on Thursday. He’s been out since April 7.Pirates: Pittsburgh put RHP Keone Kela on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 6, with right shoulder inflammation. … RHP Nick Burdi was diagnosed with a nerve injury after leaving the game in obvious pain on April 22. He’ll be re-assessed after six weeks of rest. … RHP Chris Archer (right thumb irritation) is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Friday.UP NEXTRangers: LHP Mike Minor (3-2, 2.40 ERA) will start a four-game series at Houston. He threw seven scoreless against the Astros on April 3.Pirates: RHP Joe Musgrove (1-3, 2.63) will start a season-long 11-game trip in St. Louis on Friday. He made his shortest start of the season on May 3, when he allowed seven runs in 2 2/3 innings against Oakland. WASHINGTON (AP) — In some respects, the first game of 2019 felt a bit like a remnant of 2018 all over again for manager Dave Martinez and the Washington Nationals.As much as the roster has been reworked after missing the playoffs, with plenty of folks gone — most prominently http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey , of course, Bryce Harper — and plenty arrived to replace them, the sorts of things that ailed the Nationals last season were again on display in a 2-0 loss to the New York Mets on opening day.That included an up-and-down-the-lineup inability to hit in the clutch and one particularly bad example of baserunning by rookie center fielder Victor Robles.“You’re going to have a couple shots, and you better make the most of it,” right fielder Adam Eaton said. “If you don’t, you’re not going to be successful.”The Nationals wasted Max Scherzer’s at-times dominant debut: 12 strikeouts, two hits, two runs in 7 2/3 innings. They were facing the only pitcher who received more NL Cy Young Award votes than Scherzer did last year, Jacob deGrom, who struck out 10 in six scoreless innings for the Mets.And Washington certainly did create some chances against deGrom. Runners at first and second in the first inning. Runners at the corners with no outs in the third. Another runner stranded at third in the sixth.“Losing in general is frustrating. It’s a long, long season. I think we’ll put this behind us pretty quick,” said shortstop Trea Turner, who stole three bases and had two singles but also struck out after getting ahead in the count 2-0 with two on. “Nothing’s won or lost on the first day, so we’ll be all right and we’ll move on.”Harper led the team with 34 homers and 100 RBIs last season; he played Game 1 of his $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.So Washington probably could do without blunders such as what happened with Robles after he doubled leading off the third. Eaton followed with a single Aaron Sanchez Jersey , giving the Nationals guys at first and third with no outs.Turner went to the plate expecting a safety squeeze call with the speedy Robles 90 feet away — but ended up striking out.That brought up No. 3 hitter Anthony Rendon, who sent a grounder to third. Robles hesitated as the third baseman threw to second base for a forceout. Robinson Cano then saw Robles heading home and threw to the plate; Robles got stuck in a rundown, leading to a 5-4-2-5 double play that ended the inning.“To be honest, I got a little confused,” Robles said through a translator. “In the middle of the moment, I realized I had made the mistake, so I tried to kind of make up for it.”Too late.“That’s just a young base-running mistake by him,” Martinez said. “We talked about it, and he understood. … As soon as the ball was hit, he froze a little bit.”Notes: After Friday’s day off, the teams resume their series Saturday, with Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg starting against Mets RHP Noah Syndergaard. Strasburg is 8-5 with a 2.83 ERA in 17 career starts against the Mets; Syndergaard is 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA in five starts at Nationals Park.