Jameson Taillon spent the hours before the trade deadline

PITTSBURGH (AP)doing some detective work. The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher scoured Twitter for updates George Foster Jersey , asked team trainers if they were scanning medical records and touched base with acquaintances of potential targets for a brief rundown on who might be joining the hottest team in the majors.”I had fun with it,” Taillon said. ”My heart was racing, I think.”So are the Pirates.Hours after his team picked up Texas closer Keone Kela and Tampa Bay starting pitcher Chris Archer in an effort to give Pittsburgh’s surprising postseason push a jolt, Taillon pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the Pirates held on late for a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.”We’re really excited for the additions,” Taillon said. ”I think we still kind of don’t have anything to lose so we’re going to keep playing free. Going to hopefully play complete games like we’ve been doing and see what we can make happen.”Gregory Polanco hit his team-leading 19th home run, a solo shot in the eighth that gave the Pirates a two-run cushion. They needed it after closer Felipe Vazquez gave up a single to pinch-hitter David Bote leading off the top of the ninth and Addison Russell followed with a shot to the gap in right-center that scored Bote.Russell sped to third on the play and was initially ruled safe , but the call was overturned upon review. Vazquez retired the next two batters to pick up his 24th save in 28 opportunities.”I’d like to see the replay on that last play, because I didn’t see it,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ”I went up and looked at it. The call on the field has integrity and I’d really need to see why that was changed.”David Freese added a pair of RBI doubles for the Pirates, including a drive to the gap in right-center in the fifth that scored Polanco and put Pittsburgh ahead to stay as the resurgent Pirates won for the 16th time in 20 games.”We’ve been fighting the last month,” Polanco said. ”We know we want to play in October and to bring in pitchers (like Kela and Archer) is good for us and you know, that’s a good plan. You’ve got to keep fighting, keep winning.”Taillon (8-8) allowed three runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings of work Tom Seaver Jersey , his lone mistake an off-speed pitch to Javy Baez in the fourth that Baez turned into a three-run homer that tied the game.Baez finished 3 for 4, including his shot to the rotunda behind the left-field seats that boosted his season home run total to 22, but the Cubs hit into two double plays and left seven runners on base to lose for the third time in four games.Jon Lester (12-4) hadn’t lost on the road since falling to Cleveland on April 25. He needed 101 pitches to labor through five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Lester is 2-1 with a 4.69 ERA in four starts against the Pirates this season.”It seems like every time I throw against them, I’m not getting ahead,” he said. ”Kind of a grinder. Hopefully, I get another shot. I feel like I haven’t pitched even close to anything good against these guys.”The Pirates were reeling three weeks ago but have moved into the playoff chase by posting the best record in the majors since July 8. General manager Neal Huntington splurged at the deadline, bringing in Archer and Kela while parting with young prospects in outfielder Austin Meadows and pitchers Tyler Glasnow and Taylor Hearn.Huntington called the decision a difficult one but felt it was worth it with both Archer and Kela under team control through at least 2020. Either way, the Pirates enter August in the thick of a crowded NL playoff chase. Consider the Cubs believers in Pittsburgh’s chances after their NL Central rival drew within six games of first place.”I think this team is definitely not out of it,” Lester said. ”I think we’ve seen in the past where they do get maybe a little bit on the streaky side. Hopefully, you kind of catch them when they’re not streaking in a positive way. But yeah, their offense gets rolling. They’ve got a good group over there.”TRAINER’S ROOMCubs: RHP Yu Darvish (right triceps) reported no pain following a bullpen session on Tuesday. Darvish, who hasn’t pitched since May 20 Paul Konerko Jersey , called it a ”starting point” and remains out indefinitely. The four-time All Star also brushed off comments made by former MLB star-turned-ESPN analyst Alex Rodriguez, who said during a broadcast on Sunday night that Darvish’s slow rehab was a distraction in the Chicago clubhouse. Darvish said ”it doesn’t matter” what Rodriguez thinks of him.UP NEXTCubs: Cole Hamels will make his first start for the Cubs on Wednesday when the teams wrap up their two-game set. Chicago acquired Hamels from Texas last week. The four-time All-Star went 5-9 with a 4.72 ERA for the Rangers this season.Pirates: Nick Kingham (5-5, 4.80 ERA) will try to bounce back after giving up six runs in three-plus innings in a loss to the New York Mets last Thursday.— There’s no doubt the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers are on different paths, but those roads converge Tuesday when the teams square off in the opener of a two-game, dog-days-of-summer interleague series at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.The Dodgers will send right-hander Walker Buehler (6-4, 2.96 ERA) to the mound for the first game of the series and Texas will counter with rookie right-hander Ariel Jurado (2-3, 6.40).The Rangers head home after a 2-4 road trip to the Bay Area, where they lost two of three games to both Oakland and San Francisco. The latest defeat was Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Giants, but the game featured a Texas lineup with six of the eight position players 25 years old or younger.Article continues below ...Texas is in a decidedly rebuilding mode. The Rangers had an outfield in the finale against the Giants that included Joey Gallo (24), Carlos Tocci (23), and Nomar Mazara (23). Infielders Ronald Guzman (23), Jurickson Profar (25) http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-paul-konerko-jersey , Isiah Kiner-Falefa (23) and Rougned Odor (23) are also part of a young core for Texas.“They’re all getting to do it together,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister told MLB.com. “That’s the value of it really. They’re getting major league experience, but they’re doing it together, inside of the lineup, kind of learning each other as they continue to take these at-bats.“As we move forward, there is a better sense of what we could possibly get out of these guys next year. Not just the rest of the season, but next year.”Meanwhile, Los Angeles is in a dogfight for the National League West title but was buoyed by a three-game weekend sweep of San Diego that finished with a 7-3 win on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.Justin Turner had a huge game to help the Dodgers complete the sweep, when he doubled twice and singled to match his career-high-RBI game with five.“We broke out and J.T. had a huge day,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s a pro across the board. Whether it be the defensive positioning, in the batter’s box having a plan, the heartbeat in a big spot, he’s very focused on each pitch.”Turner is batting .308 and has been the hottest hitter in the league in August. He has reached base safely in 20 of 21 games while hitting .405 in that stretch.The Dodgers remained 2 1/2 games behind first-place Arizona.“Coming down this last stretch Nellie Fox Jersey , the personal numbers, stats, don’t mean anything as long as we figure how to win a game,” Turner said.Buehler last pitched Wednesday against St. Louis at Dodger Stadium, where he tossed seven scoreless innings while striking out nine batters and giving up only three hits but not factoring into the decision in a 3-1 loss. In 16 starts, he has gone 6-3 with a 2.51 ERA and is averaging 9.84 strikeouts per nine inningsBuehler has never faced the Rangers.Jurado will make his first career Interleague appearance and start in the series opener against the Dodgers. He is coming off an encouraging outing in Oakland, in which he pitched into the sixth inning.Jurado had allowed at least four earned runs in each of his past three outings, going 0-2 and amassing an 8.64 ERA during that stretch. He has never taken the mound versus Los Angeles.