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PITTSBURGH -- For Russell Martin, it was all about staying positive. The Pittsburgh Pirates catcher remained optimistic when the Detroit Tigers were seemingly putting runners on base in every inning. And he was still looking on the bright side when he stepped to the plate with a chance to win the game despite having already struck out three times. Martin hit a bases-loaded single off the left-centre wall in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Pirates a 1-0 victory over the Tigers on Thursday night. "Youve got to believe you can do it," Martin said. "If you think youre going to fail then youre probably going to fail. Its all a matter of having a positive attitude and believing in yourself. Our whole team is like that right now." Neil Walker opened the inning with a sharp single to right off Luke Putkonen (1-1) and Andrew McCutchen walked. Gaby Sanchez loaded the bases by bouncing a single through the left side of the infield. Martin then ripped a 2-1 pitch into the gap to give the Pirates (34-20) their 16th win in 20 games. Martin came into the game having gone 4 for 29 in his previous eight games. However, he singled in the ninth inning and wound up with a multi-hit game. "The great thing about Russell is he never takes his offence behind the plate," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said "He struck out his first three times up tonight yet he went right back behind the plate and it was all about the pitcher. Thats why it was so good to see him come through at the end." The Tigers left 11 runners on base in losing their third straight. "Baseball is always a hard game and tonight it was really hard," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "Thats what I always say, on-base percentage is great but the biggest thing is you need to drive those guys on base in. We had a hard time with that tonight. Weve had a hard time with that the last few days. Detroit was shut out by the Pirates for the second time in three days as Jeff Locke and five relievers combined on a nine-hitter. Bryan Morris (3-2) pitched a scoreless inning to finish. "You know how good the Tigers offence is, one of the best in baseball," Walker said. "You feel like youre playing with a ticking time bomb when they dont score but you cant give enough credit to our pitching staff. They got so many big outs in this game." Detroit starter Doug Fister struck out 12 in seven innings and allowed four hits. Miguel Cabrera hit two doubles for the Tigers, including the 400th of his career. Fister came in with a 5.20 ERA in five May starts after going 4-0 with a 2.38 ERA in five starts in April. "I felt like I was executing well," Fister said. "I was able to keep the ball down, move the ball in and out and make them hit the ball on the ground, which is the name of my game." Both teams failed to cash in on consecutive outstanding scoring opportunities in the middle innings. Pittsburgh hit three singles in a row to start the fourth and Detroit had four consecutive singles to start the fifth. Walker led off the Pirates fourth with a single but was caught stealing at second base. McCutchen and Garrett Jones then singled to put runners on the corners but were stranded when Martin struck out and Travis Snider lined out. In the Tigers fifth, Matt Tuiasosopo and Bryan Pena hit back-to-back singles but Tuiasosopo was thrown out at home by Snider, the right fielder, while trying to score on Avasail Garcias single. Fister then singled to load the bases, but Omar Infante hit a grounder to third baseman Brandon Inge, who threw home to force Pena for the second out. Andy Dirks grounded out to end the inning, leaving the bases loaded. Detroit missed more chances. The Tigers had runners on first and second with one out in the sixth when Vin Mazzaro relieved Locke and struck out Tuiasosopo and got Pena to ground out. Mazzaro escaped a first-and-third jam with one out in the seventh by getting Dirks to pop out and Cabrera to ground out. After Infante doubled with two outs in the ninth, McCutchen, the centre fielder, tracked down Dirks drive to the gap in right-centre to end the inning. "It goes back to the staples of pitching weve been talking about since the start of spring training," Hurdle said. "Have intent with every pitch and have conviction with every pitch and execution will follow. Our guys really executed and we were able to hold a very good team off the board for 11 innings, which is something we can feel good about." NOTES: Detroit RF Torii Hunter sat out with a bruised left elbow, which he injured Wednesday night when he was hit by a pitch from Morris. Hunter will miss games Friday and Saturday at Baltimore to attend his sons high school graduation in Texas, but expects to play Sunday against the Orioles. ... Tigers SS Jhonny Peralta was ejected in the top of the fourth inning by home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez for arguing a called third strike. Peralta went 0 for 2, ending his 10-game hitting streak. ... Pittsburgh 3B Pedro Alvarez was not at the ballpark Thursday after having dental surgery earlier in the day to remove two wisdom teeth. ... LHP Wandy Rodriguez (6-2, 3.58) will pitch for the Pirates against Cincinnati RHP Johnny Cueto (2-0, 2.76) on Friday night in the opener of a three-game home series. ... Detroit RHP Max Scherzer (7-0, 3.42) will face Baltimore RHP Miguel Gonzalez (2-2, 3.94) in the opener of that three-game series. Vans Old Skool Clearance .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. Vans Sk8 Hi Leather . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-sk8-hi-clearance/sk8-hi-reissue.html . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Vans Sk8-Hi Shoes For Sale . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. Vans Sk8 Hi Clearance .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. The college gridiron has returned, and with it a plethora of big names all competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Now its your chance to put your knowledge to the test!Looking for more ESPN Fantasy Games? Play Capital One Bowl Mania, our college football bowl pickem game, and compete for a chance to win $1,000,000! Just pick all 42 bowl games correctly!Its no surprise that Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State are all pre-season title contenders, but with programs like Michigan and LSU seemingly on the verge of a return to prominence and with others such as Oklahoma and Florida State right in the mix, the competition will be fierce.Each week well list 10 matchups from the slate of College Football games to choose from, some more evenly matched than others. Its up to you to pick the winners, so if you see one of the programs listed above as an option throughout the season they are probably worthy of serious consideration.Heres a breakdown of the two formats:Straight-Up: Pick the teaams from the 10 listed matchups that you feel are most likely to win.dddddddddddd Correct picks earn you points towards your season total.Confidence: Here youre not only picking the winners of each matchup, youre RANKING each selection you make based on how confident you are. Your most confident pick will be assigned 10 Points while the least will be assigned 1, placing an added emphasis on getting those top picks correct.You can create an entry in BOTH the straight-up and confidence versions of College Pickem, each boasting a $2000 Amazon Gift Card to the contestant who scores the most points throughout the season.Were also offering a $100 weekly prize for that segments top competitor in both formats so youre never out of the running for a nice payday. To help you along the way be sure to check out ESPN Chalk for all your research needs. Good luck and have fun!nd confidence versions of College Pickem, ea ' ' '