PITTSBURGH -- A single strike from falling two games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the race for the top spot in the National League wild-card race, the Cincinnati Reds needed a break. LeCharles Bentley Jersey . Jordy Mercer provided one. The surging Reds took care of the rest. A wild throw by the Pittsburgh shortstop with two outs in the ninth inning opened the door for a three-run rally off Pirates closer Mark Melancon that tied the game. Joey Vottos home run off Kyle Farnsworth an inning later won it as the Reds pulled off an improbable 6-5 victory to move into a tie with the Pirates. Both teams are two games behind St. Louis for the lead in the NL Central. "Thats really uncommon, really rare, and for us to have done that in a game like this, against this squad, against that pitcher, that makes it even more rare and pretty impressive," Votto said. "Guys just strung together a bunch of tough at-bats." Ones that came after Mercer couldnt quite handle a slow grounder by Todd Frazier with one on and two outs in the ninth. Mercer charged the ball but couldnt get a grip on it and it ended up in the stands behind first base. "If I make a good throw right there, the game is over and all the stuff that happened never happens," Mercer said. "It was tough. We played a great game, everybody played a great game and to have it happen like that, its just a bad throw." And the Pirates quickly unraveled. Zach Cozart singled after Mercers error to put runners on the corners. Cincinnati rookie base-stealing specialist Billy Hamilton pinch ran for Cozart and promptly swiped second then raced home when Devin Mesoraco ended a nine-pitch duel with Melancon by sending a sharp grounder that bounced off third baseman Pedro Alvarez and rolled onto the grass in shallow left field. "I really just went up there and just thought about battling ..." Mesoraco said. "That was it. That was my only goal, just go up there, battle, battle, and hopefully leave one out over the plate that I could put a half-decent swing on and hopefully find a hole." Melancon has been dominant since taking over the closers role from Jason Grilli in July, but blew his second save in three days. San Diego rallied for a 3-2 win on Wednesday. This one, however, will almost certainly be more difficult to overcome. "Thats a game we should have won and I think the Reds know that too," Melancon said. JJ Hoover (5-5) earned the win for the Reds, who have won four straight. Aroldis Chapman worked the 10th for his 38th save. Farnsworth (1-1) retired Brandon Phillips to start the 10th but left fielder Starling Marte couldnt quite grab Vottos shot down the line. "We hadnt come back in a long time, and we hadnt come back for a long time on the road," Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. Pittsburgh began the week 74-2 when leading after eight innings, but has now squandered ninth-inning leads twice in three nights. "Who said it was going to be easy?" manager Clint Hurdle said. "Who said it was going to be easy? Weve been very good winning as a team, losing as a team ... weve got to find a way to finish things off." The Pirates appeared firmly in control through eight innings. Francisco Liriano overwhelmed the Reds, allowing two runs on three hits, walking three and striking out seven. The left-hander needed only 94 pitches to record 24 outs, but told Hurdle he was done when he entered the dugout after striking out Brandon Phillips to end the eighth. "He was fantastic," Hurdle said. "He said when he came off he laid it all out there." Ryan Ludwick finished 3 for 5 for the Reds, while Frazier hit his 17th home run. Jose Tabata and Neil Walker hit consecutive homers off Cincinnati starter Mat Latos in the first and Pittsburgh appeared en route to giving itself some breathing room as the franchise pursues its first playoff spot since 1992. PNC Park, typically a ghost town this time of year as the Pirates play out the string, was electric when Pittsburgh took the field. The 21st sellout of the season included Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett and Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. NOTES: Hurdle was ejected in the eighth for arguing after star Andrew McCutchen was hit by reliever Sam LeCure, who was given a warning by home plate umpire Mark Carlson ... The series continues on Saturday when Pittsburghs A.J. Burnett (8-11, 3.43 ERA) faces Home Bailey (11-10, 3.40). Bailey tossed his first career no-hitter in his previous start at PNC Park last September. Vaughan Johnson Jersey . -- D. J. Williams finally has his packing strategy down. Jon Stinchcomb Jersey . -- Kael Mouillierat scored three times and set up one more as the St. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/custom-malcom-brown-jersey-large-2272e.html . -- Dane Fox scored his 61st and 62nd goals of the season and Brendan Gaunce had a goal and three assists as the Erie Otters downed the Kitchener Rangers 7-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.It wasnt long ago when the Toronto Raptors were riding high atop the Eastern Conference. Now theyre in need of a serious spark following another loss on a six-game homestand. But help is on the way with the return of second-leading scorer DeMar DeRozan. The All-Star shooting will be return and be inserted into the starting lineup as the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors try to avoid their sixth defeat in seven games Wednesday night against the improving Philadelphia 76ers. Catch all the action LIVE on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5, and TSN GO with coverage beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. DeRozan played a key role in Torontos 13-2 start, averaging 20.7 points over the first 15 games. However, he hasnt played since sustaining a tear to his left adductor longus tendon in a loss to Dallas on Nov. 28. The Raptors owned the Easts best record while winning 11 of their first 15 without DeRozan. Theyve lost five of six since then, however, giving up 112.8 points per game in the last five to fall behind Atlanta and Washington. A 114-11 loss to Detroit on Monday was Torontos second in three games on its homestand after a 14-3 start at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors (25-12) rank among the leagues best with just 12.2 turnovers per game, but committed 19 against the Pistons. Kyle Lowry scored 10 on 3-of-12 shooting with seven giveaways Monday after averaging 24.8 points and 2.8 turnovers while hitting 22 of 54 (40.7 percent) from 3-point range over his previous eight games. Youre going to go through things and go through (bad) stretches in an 82-game season, coach Dwane Casey said. How wee learn from it and how we bounce back from it is going to be huge. Craig Robertson Jersey. Caseys club, though, could get a boost as DeRozan returns from his 21-game absence against the 76ers (7-30). DeRozan had 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting as Toronto shot 56.6 percent while limiting Philadelphia to a 37.9 percent in a 120-88 home win Nov. 9. Hes averaging 27.0 points over a five-game winning streak in the series. The 76ers, who opened the season with 17 straight losses, have surrendered 113.0 points per game during their skid versus Toronto. They allowed an average of 92.3 points while winning three of four before Tuesdays 105-87 loss to the Hawks. To have to go on a plane and now go to Canada and play another hell of a team - thats the nature of our beast, coach Brett Brown said. Youve got to wake up and you have to back it up. Michael Carter-Williams, who had 20 points and nine rebounds, missed the first meeting with Toronto due to a shoulder injury. He totaled 39 points, 13 assists and 12 boards in the last two matchups last season. Tony Wroten, averaging a team-best 16.9 points, isnt expected to play after he suffered a right knee sprain against the Hawks. That certainly doesnt help matters for a Philadelphia team that hasnt reached 100 points in its last 14 games. I dont believe hell make the trip, so were reduced to Michael and Jakarr (Sampson) and off we go, Brown said. Torontos Jonas Valanciunas looks to stay hot after scoring a career-best 31 on 14-of-15 shooting Monday. The big man has averaged 19.3 points on 67.3 percent shooting over his past four games. ' ' '