NATIONAL LEAGUE Pirates winning despite trades

Brian Giles could be the next Pirate to be traded.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- The white flag is flying, but no one is surrendering.
By shipping off their top two relievers and two lineup regulars in the last five days, the Pittsburgh Pirates' front office signified that it was giving up on the season and starting over.
The players have a different idea.
Matt Stairs' RBI double in the 11th inning Thursday afternoon gave the trade-depleted Pirates a 7-5 victory and two-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.
Before series opener, manager Lloyd McClendon challenged his team to show some grit and win some games. The sweep left them 4-1 since the front office began the dismantling.
"I didn't expect anything else," McClendon said. "Certainly the trades have been tough. Like I told the players, the season's not over. Everyone had us going into the tank and giving up."
Reds struggling
The Reds are the ones who look like they've lost interest. They were masters of the last-inning comeback during the first few months, pulling off dramatic victories that kept them in contention and masked their flaws.
They were only 21/2 games out on July 2 and considering trades to bolster the rotation. A monthlong free fall has dropped them a season-high 13 games under .500 and 111/2 games out in the NL Central.
They trail the fourth-place Pirates by two games, their starting rotation has a 6.30 ERA that's the worst in the league, and they committed three more errors Thursday, leaving them with 97 overall -- the most in the majors.
"I think it's apparent that we've got a lot of issues on this team," infielder Aaron Boone said. "We just give up too many runs. As much as people blame the pitching, we don't catch the ball too well either. Good teams make plays -- run down balls, close up holes -- and we don't."
The Reds went 1-7 on a homestand that snuffed out all hope of a turnaround and cost them Ken Griffey Jr., out for the season with a torn tendon in his ankle. Outfielder Austin Kearns also is on the disabled list.
"We had some injuries and lost some key people," manager Bob Boone said. "We came home, we lost Junior. That's pretty key. It's happened a lot the last three years."
Undefeated at Great American
The Pirates have provided them with some of their toughest moments this season. They swept the first series in their new ballpark, then came back and won two more this week, leaving them undefeated at Great American Ball Park.
It's the first time that Pittsburgh has won five in a row in Cincinnati since 1991, when the two teams were among the NL's best.
"We've been fortunate," McClendon said. "We've played some tough games here. That's a very talented club over there. We just caught them at the right time."
Giles next to go?
The Pirates blew three leads with poor defense before pulling out the latest one. Stairs' double off Chris Reitsma (7-3) broke an 11th-inning tie. Mike Lincoln (1-0) pitched the last two innings to get the victory.
As soon as it ended, the trade speculation resumed in the Pirates clubhouse. Outfielder Brian Giles, who could be one of the next to go, met agent Joe Bick in a waiting room to get an update.
Bick hasn't been approached by general manager Dave Littlefield about a trade. He said a report that Giles had blocked trades was untrue.
Giles headed back to a clubhouse that has stubbornly resisted the temptation to give up.
"We've always played hard," Giles said. "We just haven't been talented enough. You can say whatever you want about our team, but we always compete."