DETROIT -- Victor Martinez drove in three runs to help Detroit to a much-needed win, then offered a bit of a plea to Tigers fans who have been losing patience with the AL Central favourites. "Its not fair when people out there are thinking that weve got to win this division by 10, 15, 20 games," Martinez said. "Were not playing Little League teams. Were trying. Its too long of a season. At some point youre going to struggle. Every team struggles at some point. "As a fan, if youre going to be with us when were doing good, we really need the fans when were struggling too." Martinez had three hits, and Nick Castellanos homered and tripled to lead the Tigers to an 8-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. Detroit rallied from a 4-1 deficit and snapped a four-game losing streak, but the Tigers remained a half-game behind first-place Kansas City. The Tigers are suddenly facing adversity amid mounting injuries. They had to send Buck Farmer to the mound to make his major league debut, and he allowed four runs in five innings. Blaine Hardy (2-1) followed with two scoreless innings of relief, lowering his ERA to 2.05. Hes been a rare bright spot in a bullpen thats been unreliable. "Hes done an excellent job, really," manager Brad Ausmus said. "Hes not strictly a lefty-lefty guy. Hes got the ability to get right-handed hitters out, which gives me a lot of flexibility in the middle innings." Castellanos put Detroit ahead 5-4 with a solo homer off Vance Worley (5-2) in the sixth. Martinez added a bases-loaded single in the seventh. The Tigers returned home after going 2-7 on a road trip against the New York Yankees, Toronto and Pittsburgh. A 19-inning loss to the Blue Jays stretched the pitching staff thin, and Anibal Sanchez and Justin Verlander are nursing injuries. The game was tied at 1 in the fourth when Pittsburghs Jordy Mercer hit an RBI triple and Travis Snider followed with a two-run homer. The Tigers tied it with three runs in the fifth. Alex Avila led off with a homer to make it 4-2, and after a single by Eugenio Suarez, Ezequiel Carrera hit a grounder to second. Jayson Nix tried to make a tough throw to second to get the lead runner, but his throw was poor, and the error helped Detroit to a big inning. Miguel Cabrera eventually hit a sacrifice fly, and Martinez tied it with a two-out RBI single. Castellanos hit his ninth homer of the year with one out in the sixth. "I think the pitches that hurt were the home runs," Worley said. "Couple of guys who I got behind -- had to throw good pitches." Worley allowed five runs -- three earned -- and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings. TOUGH SPOT: Farmer has spent most of this season at Class A West Michigan, and he was called up from Double-A Erie to make this start for the Tigers. He made it through the order the first time without allowing a hit, but the Pirates scored a run in the third and three in the fourth. He allowed six hits and a walk and struck out four, and the Tigers were able to rally after he left the game. OUTFIELD PROBLEMS: Pittsburgh centre fielder Starling Marte made a diving attempt on Castellanos hit in the second, and the ball got past him for a triple. Right fielder Gregory Polanco couldnt handle Torii Hunters double in the fourth, and Polancos long run to right-centre in the seventh was for naught when he was unable to make the catch on Carreras drive, which went for a triple. FOR THE BIRDS: Worley and Cabrera both seemed distracted by two birds that settled in between the mound and the plate while Cabrera was batting in the first. Cabrera stepped out and waved his bat at them, then Worley rolled a ball to the plate, trying to shoo them away. TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: Pittsburgh was once again without 2B Neil Walker, who has been limited to only three games this month. Walker has been bothered by a bad back. Tigers: Detroit 2B Ian Kinsler stayed in the game and seemed to be OK after a pitch by Stolmy Pimentel bounced weirdly and hit him in the side of the head. Pimentels pitch in the seventh inning was in the dirt, then bounced up off C Russell Martin and hit Kinsler. UP NEXT Pirates: Francisco Liriano (3-8) takes the mound for Pittsburgh on Thursday against Detroit. Hes posted a 2.25 ERA in five starts since returning from a left oblique strain. Tigers: Max Scherzer (13-4) pitches for the first time since striking out 11 in eight innings against Toronto on Saturday -- in a game Detroit went on to lose in 10. Josh Hamilton Jersey . While he was away, it was the division-rival Baltimore Orioles conducting a little business of their own, scooping up Ubaldo Jimenez on Monday evening to a reported four-year, $50-million contract. Harold Baines Jersey .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/682...ey-rangers.html. Subway workers in Rio de Janeiro, meanwhile, were holding an assembly to vote on whether they would strike to demand higher wages, threatening to disrupt transportation. By late Tuesday night there was no announcement of their decision. Michael Young Rangers Jersey .J. -- Kyle Palmieri thrilled his personal rooting section with an overtime winner that sent the Anaheim Ducks to their seventh straight win. Ted Williams Rangers Jersey . Re-signed by the club to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract on July 5, Bass appeared in three preseason games with Columbus prior to breaking a bone in his hand on Sept.ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Terrelle Pryor will start at quarterback for the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, replacing Matt McGloin for the final regular-season game against the Denver Broncos. Coach Dennis Allen made the announcement at the end of his news conference Monday, saying it was "part of the plan" that apparently took shape when Pryor recovered from an injury to his right knee in late November. "Its been a while since weve gotten an opportunity to see Terrelle in a game and I want to get him in the game and get another opportunity to evaluate him," Allen said. "We all get frustrated when were not playing, but (Pryor has) done a good job with that and hes going to get another opportunity." Pryor was the leading rusher among quarterbacks in the NFL when he suffered a knee sprain in early November. However, he has thrown only five touchdowns with 11 interceptions and has a passer rating of just 66.0. When asked why he was making the move now, Allen emphasized that he was not benching McGloin and that it is simply another chance for the Raiders (4-11) to take another look at Pryor. Whether the decision was Allens or whether it came at the urging from owner Mark Davis remains unclear. Allen has been a strong supporter of McGloins since early in training camp and has repeatedly talked glowingly about the former Penn State star. Even after making the switch back to Pryor, Allen made it clear he believes McGloin will be in the mix for the job next season. McGloin has thrown more touchdowns (eight) and fewer interceptions (eight) than Pryor but has also completed a lower percentage of passes than his counterpart. "I liked a lot of things that I saw in Matt," Allen said. "He wasnt quite as sharp as he had been earlier in a couple of the earlier games, but Ive been pleased with what Ive seen out of (McGloin) from the first moment he walked on campus here. I think we have a guy that can be in our plans for the future and Im glad hes on this football team." Its been a tricky road back into the sstarting lineup for Pryor.dddddddddddd He was hurt during Oaklands 49-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 3 then aggravated the injury the following week against the New York Giants. After that game, Pryor told reporters his knee had been bothering him -- a statement he later regretted making because, in his words, it sounded like an excuse. That opened the door for McGloin, who threw three touchdowns without an interception in his first NFL start against the Houston Texans on No. 17. Oaklands offence has made only modest improvements since then and the team has lost its past five games with McGloin as the starter. In the past two games, the undrafted rookie quarterback threw six interceptions and lost two fumbles. McGloin passed for just 206 yards and committed two turnovers during Sundays 26-13 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Allen, however, declined to say whether Pryor will play the entire game against the Denver Broncos or if McGloin will be rotated in. That was the pattern the Raiders used against the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, only in reverse with McGloin starting and Pryor coming off the bench. "Well see," Allen said. "Hes going to be the starter. I informed both of those guys this morning and well go from there. We want to get another opportunity to see, and weve said for a while now that we want to be able to evaluate Terrelle so heres an opportunity to go in and do that." Oakland went 3-5 in the eight games Pryor started before getting hurt. He has made only a few cameo appearances since then, but did not play against San Diego on Sunday. Allen gave players the day off Monday, so neither Pryor nor McGloin could be reached for comment. Two weeks ago, however, Pryor said he wasnt going to get caught up in a quarterback controversy. "The only thing I can do is control what I can control and just keep getting better," he said on Dec. 10, two days after a 37-27 loss to the Jets. "At the end of the day thats all I can control. Thats where were at." ' ' '