PITTSBURGH -- Clint Hurdle did his best to ignore the doubters when the Pittsburgh Pirates took a $5 million flier on Edinson Volquez. "Thats why they call it noise," Hurdle said. Funny, its quiet now. The resurgent right-hander continued his career resurrection on Tuesday night, limiting the Detroit Tigers for six effective innings in a 4-2 victory. Volquez (10-7) allowed two runs on five hits, striking out five against two walks. His best play, however, wasnt a pitch but a slick behind-the-back grab of a chopper by Victor Martinez in the first inning that kept the Tigers from extending an early 1-0 lead. "The ball got me," Volquez said. "I got lucky on that one." Maybe, but Volquez isnt ruling out karma either. There were times over the last five years when that ball would find its way to centerfield and Volquez would crumble. Not this time. The former All-Star turned reclamation project has been one of the few constants in a pitching rotation thats seen top end starters Francisco Liriano and Gerrit Cole spend significant time on the disabled list. "Hes been fun to watch," Hurdle said. "From the time we got him he showed up wanting to get better and wanting to learn." Travis Snider went 2 for 4 with an RBI for the Pirates. Gaby Sanchez and Ike Davis added RBI doubles and Jordy Mercer chipped in a run-scoring single. Mark Melancon worked out of a two-on, one-out jam for his 22nd save as Pittsburgh improved to 5-3 without star centerfielder Andrew McCutchen, who is on the disabled list with a rib injury. Alex Avila hit his ninth homer of the season for Detroit. Robbie Ray (1-2) gave up four runs in five-plus innings while making a spot start for the weary Tigers. Detroit has lost six of seven as it battles surging Kansas City for the lead in the AL Central. "Weve got to make our own opportunities," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "Weve got to take advantage of those opportunities and were not doing that." Detroits best chance came in the first. Ian Kinsler drove home Ezequiel Carrera with an RBI-single in the first and Miguel Cabrera followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Martinez smashed a grounder up the middle that Volquez somehow grabbed with his glove while reaching behind his back. Kinsler was tagged out in a rundown between third and home and the big inning was avoided. It was the only reprieve Volquez needed. Sanchez and Snider delivered consecutive RBI doubles in the second off Roy to put the Pirates in front. Mercer drove home Josh Harrison in the third to make it 3-1. Avila hit a long home run to centre to pull Detroit within one but pinch hitter Ike Davis doubled to the gap in right-centre to score Starling Marte and push the lead to 4-2. TRAINERS ROOM Tigers: Officially placed RHP Anibal Sanchez on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Aug. 9 with a right pectoral strain and recalled left-handed reliever Blaine Hardy from Triple-A Toledo. An MRI on Cy Young winner Justin Verlanders sore shoulder on Tuesday revealed no major structural damage, though Ausmus called it "unlikely" that Verlander would make his next scheduled start on Sunday against Seattle. Pirates: The team continues to take a cautious approach with Cole, who has been on the disabled list since July 5 with a right lat injury. The former No. 1 pick will start for Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday. Hurdle said the team would like to see Cole get one more start under his belt without any setbacks before making his return. Pittsburgh second baseman Neil Walkers bad back kept him out of the lineup on Tuesday, though Hurdle said Walker is making significant progress. ON DECK The interleague series between the two clubs moves to Detroit on Wednesday. Rookie Buck Farmer will make his major league debut for the Tigers. The fifth-round pick in the 2013 draft went 10-5 with a 2.60 ERA in 18 starts for Class A West Michigan and went 1-0 in two starts with Double-A Erie. Vance Worley (5-1, 2.30 ERA) will start for Pittsburgh. Worley is 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in his last four starts. Jonathan dos Santos Mexico Jersey . The whole deflation of New England Patriots footballs is like a murder mystery without the violence or significance. On one side, this is a ridiculous issue. Edson Alvarez Mexico Jersey . Colorado came up big against Chicago last spring, and repeated that performance Tuesday night. Varlamov stopped 36 shots and Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche in a 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks. http://www.nationalsoccermexico.com/migu...-mexico-jersey/. Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Andres Guardado Mexico Jersey . Philbin said Thursday he wants players to treat one another with civility and he wont tolerate anything less. In taking questions for the first time since Ted Wells released his report into the bullying scandal that rocked the league, Philbin made it clear things would be cleaned up. Jonathan dos Santos Jersey . A little more than one year after missing a last-second tip-in that would have given the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, the 6-foot-8 forward scored on a layup with 7.With the Mathieu Pelletier story, I struggled a bit with this question. From all accounts Mathieu was a great man, a father, a leader, and a quiet force in the Lac Megantic community. He was in the prime of his life, with a young son and a beautiful family, and just like that, he was gone. Went out to a bar with friends on a Friday night and happened to be in the worst possible place at the worst possible time. There was no rhyme or reason to his death, no lesson to be learned from it, no way to help others with a story of awareness. It was a just a horriblee, tragic, accident.dddddddddddd So why tell this story? I think the answer is as simple as this. Mathieu was a great man, a father, a leader, and a quiet force in the Lac Megantic community. Mathieu mattered, he was someone that made a profound impression on those closest to him, and the town at large. This story is a way to honour who he was and what he stood for. A way to remember him. A way to give those who didnt know him a brief glimpse into the type of person Mathieu Pelletier was. For me, thats a pretty damn good reason why. ' ' '