NEW YORK -- Pirates manager Clint Hurdle had good reason to call upon Gaby Sanchez to bat for Ike Davis. Sanchez tagged the Mets again, delivering a pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning and a tiebreaking single in the ninth that rallied Pittsburgh over New York 5-3 on Monday. Sanchez has a .324 average with nine homers and 34 RBIs vs. New York, matching or topping his bests against any NL team. He lost playing time after Davis was acquired in a trade with the Mets in mid-April. "Ikes a good player and hes been swinging the bat really well. Hes been one of the hottest bats on the team. So, hes going to play and I understand that," Sanchez said about Davis, who was making his return to Citi Field. "My role is to keep that going whenever I get my chance, keep that going and help the team win." The Mets announced after their ninth loss in 12 games that they had fired hitting coach Dave Hudgens. New York also cut reliever Jose Valverde soon after he gave up Sanchezs go-ahead hit. Valverde (1-1) was booed off the field after allowing pinch-hitter Jose Tabatas tying single in the eighth. Valverde returned for the ninth and was even worse, yielding four runs overall. "Dont think for one second that theres not a guy in there that realizes that this is part of it. We just released one of the best professionals I ever been around in Jose Valverde," a fired-up Collins said. "You deal with it, and if you cant you dont belong in the game." Mets minor league hitting co-ordinator Lamar Johnson will take Hudgens place. Right-hander Vic Black is being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to fill Valverdes spot. With one out in the ninth, Valverde gave up a single to Neil Walker and walked Andrew McCutchen. Sanchez fouled off a fastball, losing hold of the bat, which spun toward the Pirates dugout and hit a batboy in the legs. The batboy smiled and on-deck hitter Russell Martin checked to see if he was OK. Sanchez then singled to left, scoring Walker. Juan Centeno couldnt handle Curtis Grandersons throw that bounced to the right of the plate and skittered past Valverde, who was backing up but way too close to the catcher. McCutchen scored on Grandersons error for a two-run lead. Martin added an RBI double for Pittsburgh, which rebounded from a loss to Washington on Sunday after a season-high four straight wins. "This mentality in the dugout is, This is the inning. Even if we get pushed down, the next inning well make something," Hurdle said. "Youve got to be relentless. You cant get sad." Tony Watson (5-0) pitched an inning for the win. Mark Melancon got his 10th save. Davis drew a warm reception from the Memorial Day crowd of 29,309, opposite of what he predicted during a pregame chat in the visitors dugout. Popular with fans in his four-plus seasons, he went 0 for 2 with a walk. Slumping Lucas Duda homered off Melancon to start the ninth. The homer was the first off Melancon in 86 innings, since April 14, 2013. New York took a 2-0 lead in the fifth on Daniel Murphys single, Pittsburghs third error of the game and a favourable review under the new home plate collision rule. But the Mets bullpen wasted a fine start by Jacob deGrom. The 25-year-old deGrom pitched 6 2-3 scoreless innings in his third career start, allowing five hits. He laboured early but settled in to throw 122 pitches. Brandon Cumpton was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to take the place of Wandy Rodriguez, who was designated for assignment Thursday, and matched deGrom into the fifth. With the help of an umpires review, New York took the lead. The Mets two-out rally was started by -- who else? -- deGrom. He lined a single to left field for his second hit of the day and advanced when Juan Lagares walked. A college shortstop, deGrom is now 4 for 5 as a big league batter. "I guess Ive been seeing the ball pretty well," deGrom said. Murphy lined a single to right field and deGrom scored easily. Josh Harrisons throw to third skipped passed third baseman Pedro Alvarez and Lagares scampered home. The ball took a good bounce back to Alvarez off the protective fence in front of the Pirates dugout and he made a quick throw home. Martin set up to the left of home plate but stuck his leg out, blocking Lagares path before the ball arrived. Umpire Laz Diaz initially called Lagares out, but Colliins asked crew chief Jeff Nelson to review the play under new rule 7.13, covering collisions at the plate. After a delay of 3 minutes, 4 seconds, Lagares was called safe and Murphy was awarded second base on the play home. "Weve encouraged our guys to play the game, do what you feel athletically moved to do knowing what the options are," Hurdle said. NOTES: The Mets placed OF Eric Young Jr. on the DL because of a right hamstring strain. They recalled OF Matt den Dekker from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his place. ... The Pirates designated RHP Vin Mazzaro for assignment to make room for Cumpton. ... Up Next: Pirates RHP Edinson Volquez (2-4) faces Mets LHP Jonathon Niese (3-3) on Tuesday night. Alex Tuch Jersey .Kessy tried to show what he can do playing left wing for the Oilers in 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday in pre-season action. Oscar Lindberg Jersey . -- First baseman Carlos Pena and outfielder Brennan Boesch have signed minor league deals with the Los Angeles Angels. http://www.goldenknightssale.com/authent...knights-jersey/. Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate. Oscar Dansk Jersey . - Wesley Matthews got a chance to practice his bow-and-arrow 3-point celebration on Sunday night. Brad Hunt Jersey . Strasburg (1-1) got 14 consecutive outs in one stretch and allowed only three hits, including Marcell Ozunas homer in the seventh. The right-handers lone walk was to the last batter he faced. Washingtons starter Wednesday, Jordan Zimmermann, left after a career-low 1 2-3 innings, leaving the bullpen "taxed," as manager Matt Williams put it.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Detroit Pistons are a much-improved team after Joe Dumars rebuilt the roster once again over the summer. That doesnt mean they are ready to knock off teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder. Detroit played the Thunder tough into the third quarter Friday night, but Oklahoma Citys superior depth took over down the stretch, especially once Andre Drummond and Josh Smith got into foul trouble. Rookie Steven Adams finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow post reserve Nick Collison had nine points and four rebounds in a 119-110 victory. "We were just trying to keep it simple and try not to make mistakes," Collison said of his partnership with the New Zealander. "I thought we were really locked in defensively. It was a different situation than most nights, but our bench played really well." Thunder coach Scott Brooks thought his entire second unit played a key role in the victory. "Nick, Steven, Derek (Fisher), Jeremy (Lamb) and Reggie (Jackson) did an outstanding job," he said. "They gave us a great effort, they moved the ball and took care of it. Steven and Nick did a really great job of playing together and understanding what we needed them to do. They protected the paint and they took care of the pick-and-roll. Detroits biggest problem, though, was trying to stop Kevin Durant. Their only hope of that was Smith. He sat out large portions of the second half and Durant finished with 37 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. "We werent hitting shots and they were hurting us on the offensive glass, but it is really hard to adjust your lineup to fix those things when you are facing Kevin," said Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks, who spent the last four years as an assistant with the Thunder. "You always have to have someone on the floor that can guard him, so that limits your options when you want to change things." Smith finished with 25 points for Detroit before fouling out, while Greg Monroe (20 points, 15 rebounds) and Brandon Jennings (22 points, 11 assists) added double-doubles. "Its always tough aggainst that team, but especially when you get into foul trouble," said Monroe, who found himself playing with Kyle Singler, Gigi Datome and Jonas Jerebko instead of Drummond and Smith.dddddddddddd "They kept making plays, and they kept getting to the free-throw line. It is hard to win games like that." Leading by 10 early in the fourth, the Thunder struggled to put Detroit away. The Pistons got within 88-84, but didnt have an answer for Durant down the stretch. Smith committed his fifth foul trying to guard him with 5:07 left, and Durant hit both free throws to give him 30 points and move the Oklahoma City lead to 101-89. Smith fouled out moments later, and picked up a technical foul on his way off the floor. Oklahoma City threatened to break the game open in the second quarter, leading by as many as 11 as the Pistons continued to struggle to score from outside. Jennings and Monroe, though, combined for 10 points in the final two minutes of the half, pulling Detroit within 55-51. Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 27 points in the half, while Monroe had 13 points and eight rebounds for Detroit. The Pistons went ahead on back-to-back three-point plays by Monroe and Smith midway through the third, but Smith immediately committed his fourth foul and had to join Drummond on the bench. Six straight points by Durant forced Drummond back in with four fouls, but Lambs 3-pointer at the buzzer let Oklahoma City take an 84-76 lead into the fourth. Westbrook scored 20 points despite missing 14 of his 19 field-goal attempts. NOTES: Detroit Tigers President Dave Dombrowski had one of the best seats in the house, sitting courtside just two spots away from the halfcourt line. ... Cheeks got an enthusiastic pregame welcome from the Thunder. Durant grabbed Cheeks in a playful headlock, while Thunder coach Scott Brooks and several players rushed over to embrace him. ... Durant earned a spot on the nightly blooper reels when he lost his grip on the ball while driving for a baseline dunk. As Durants empty hands came down on the basket, the ball looped over the Pistons bench and into the stands. 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