PITTSBURGH -- Ivan Nova has developed a pre-game ritual since coming to the Pittsburgh Pirates from the New York Yankees in a trade on Aug. 1.The right-hander walks up to right fielder Gregory Polanco in the dugout just before the first pitch and asks him to hit a home run.He hit two for me today, Nova said with a smile.Nova took a shutout into the ninth inning and finished with a six-hitter while Polanco hit two home runs to lead the Pirates to a 7-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.Nova (10-6) struck out six, walked one and threw 69 of his 98 pitches for strikes while improving to 3-0 in four starts with the Pirates.It was the fourth complete game of the right-handers seven-year career with the others coming in 2013.He was very efficient with his pitches, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. He threw a lot of really good sinkers against a very good-hitting team with a lot of right-handed hitters and he locked them up with the ball away.His bid for his third career shutout ended when Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve led off the ninth with consecutive doubles.Pittsburgh snapped its four-game losing streak and stopped Houstons four-game winning streak. Both teams entered 3 1/2 games out of the second wild card in their respective leagues.Nova is doing his best to keep the Pirates hopes of a fourth consecutive postseason appearance alive after being traded for the first time in his career.You dont want to get traded, Nova said. This is not what I was looking for. Stuff like that happens, though. Im happy to be here. Its a good group of guys who want to win and Im trying to do the best I can to help them win.After the Pirates scored four runs in the first inning, Polanco hit solo shots in the third and fifth off Joe Musgrove and Tony Sipp to extend the lead to 6-0 and raise his season total to a team-high 19 homers.It was Polancos second two-home run game of his three-year career. The other was July 4 at St. Louis.The right fielder hit a combined 19 homers in his first two seasons.I guess Im getting stronger, Polanco said. My swing is getting better, shorter and quicker. Experience, too. The more swings you take, the better you get every day.The Pirates opened the first inning with six straight hits off Musgrove (1-2). Matt Joyce and Andrew McCutchen hit consecutive RBI doubles then Polanco and rookie Josh Bell drove in runs with singles.Polanco had three of the Pirates 11 hits while driving in three runs and scoring three times. Joyce and Bell added two hits each.The Astros Marwin Gonzalez had three hits.Musgrove, a rookie making his fourth career start, was rocked for five runs and eight hits in four innings with two strikeouts and no walks. He has allowed a combined 13 runs in 9 1/3 innings while losing his last two starts.Hes learning, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. Thats part of the nature of having young starters. Hes got to learn to battle himself through his first back-to-back games of adversity. He has pitches to do it. He has a ton of competitiveness in him.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: 3B Luis Valbuena will undergo surgery in the next few days to repair a torn tendon in his right hamstring. Out since July 27, Valbuena finishes the season hitting .260 with 13 home runs in 90 games. ... OF Preston Tucker (strained right shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment Wednesday at Double-A Corpus Christi. ... 3B/OF Yulieski Gurriel (right hamstring tightness) did not start for a second straight game after making his major league debut Sunday but is expected to be in the lineup Wednesday.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Collin McHugh (7-10, 4.99 ERA) starts the finale of the three-game series Wednesday. He is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in his last five starts.Pirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (7-8, 3.30) is 0-2 with a 6.48 ERA in his last three starts. Cheap Air Max 720 Canada On Sale . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Cheap Nike Shoes Canada . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. http://www.wholesaleairmax720canada.com/ . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Air Max 720 Canada Shoes . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Clearance Air Max 720 Canada Shoes . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. The?Duke Blue Devils?mens basketball team held its Countdown to Craziness season-opening event on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The annual celebration featured live entertainment, music and games prior to the introduction of the 2016-17 team, which concluded the evening by participating in an intrasquad scrimmage for the general public.The festivities began in an area on Dukes campus known as Krzyzewskiville, where fans greeted the Blue Devils as they entered the arena. Captains?Amile Jefferson, Matt Jones and Grayson Allen?took turns thanking the crowd on behalf of the team for supporting the basketball program.Once inside, the Blue Devils could no longer contain their excitement for the upcoming season, showing off moves to the packed house of Cameron Crazies prior to the scrimmage.Former Duke star and current Los Angeles Lakers rookie Brandon Ingram could not attend, but he still wanted to watch the festivities as they unfolded.Other alumni of the basketball program were luckier than Ingram. Philadelpphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor?along with former Portland Trail Blazers draftee and current Duke basketball special assistant coach Nolan Smith were on hand to take in the scrimmage and meet with this seasons players, including freshman center?Marques Bolden.ddddddddddddFellow freshman?Jayson Tatum?led all scorers with 18 points in the scrimmage.Countdown to Craziness has traditionally offered recruits the opportunity to become more familiar with Dukes program and fan base. High school prospects?Wendell Carter, Gary Trent Jr. and Matt Coleman?were in attendance. The Blue Devils are currently the favorites to land Trent Jr. and Carter. The Blue Devils are coming off a 25-win season in which they advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. Duke will host two exhibition games before opening the regular season with a home contest against the?Marist Red Foxes?on Nov. 11.-- Nick Ostiller ' ' '