utes from time. Porto had done well to nearly hold out for a draw after seeing Hector Herr

MIAMI -- Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez heard a teammate yell and realized he had been caught by surprise. Desperate for a run, the Tampa Bay Rays were attempting a delayed steal. So Alvarez wheeled toward second base and threw yet another strike. The right-hander had good command all night long, needing only 88 pitches to toss an eight-hitter for his third shutout this year. He beat Tampa Bay 1-0 on Tuesday, sending the reeling Rays home after a winless eight-game trip. "Henderson took that game over," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "That was fun to watch." The only run scored when Christian Yelich walked on a 3-2 slider with two out and the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Alvarez (3-3) struck out five and walked none in his third consecutive scoreless outing, a stretch covering 19 innings. He retired his last five batters to close out the win in 2 hours, 10 minutes. "My sinker was working, and thankfully the batters were swinging early," Alvarez said through a translator. "That determines the brevity of the game. I was attacking the strike zone, and they were attacking as well." Alvarezs three shutouts lead the majors. He had been 0-5 in five previous career starts against the Rays, but this time he faced a team in a miserable slump. Kevin Kiermaier had the Rays only extra-base hit when he tripled with two out in the third. They went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position and are hitless in their past 22 at-bats in those situations. Theyve scored six runs in their past six games. "Were just not able to find that hole," Evan Longoria said. "We just have to keep going, keep fighting, stay positive through the tough times." The Rays eight-game losing streak is their longest since 2009. Theyve lost 10 consecutive road games while being outscored 52-19. Tampa Bay hit into three double plays -- one on a sacrifice attempt -- and had two runners caught stealing, including Yunel Escobar on the delayed steal attempt in the fifth. He singled with one out and took off for second when Alvarez had the ball on the mound before the next batter stepped to the plate, prompting catcher Jeff Mathis to holler at his pitcher. "Escobar caught me by surprise," Alvarez said. "What alerted me was Mathis scream. An easy out. A gift." Chris Archer (3-3) allowed only five hits in seven innings, but Rays starters remained winless in the past 16 games, mostly because of poor run support. Alvarezs past four victories have been shutouts, including a no-hitter on the final day of the 2013 season. He left his previous start last Wednesday after five innings because of a sore elbow, but he had only the Rays feeling any pain Tuesday. Alvarez said his arm felt fine, and he allayed any concerns with excellent velocity from start to finish. His final pitch was a 95 mph fastball. "We could tell early on that he had great stuff and was feeling good," Redmond said. Alvarez helped himself with six assists. The biggest came after a leadoff single in the eighth, when catcher Jose Molina bunted into a 1-6-3 double play. The Marlins needed three singles -- one by Alvarez -- and a walk to score the games only run. After they loaded the bases, Yelich fell behind 0-2 but got a walk when Archer missed with a 3-2 breaking ball. "A great at-bat by Yeli," Redmond said. "I dont know how he laid off a couple of those sliders. For a young kid like that, thats an amazing at-bat." Archer hopped off the mound in dismay at the call, but a TV replay showed the pitch was wide. "Instead of executing a pitch and letting him put it in play, I put it in the umpires hands, and it turns out he made a great call," Archer said. "I should have thrown it over the plate." The four-game, home-and-home series continues with two games in St. Petersburg beginning Wednesday. The Rays play 18 of their next 21 games at home. NOTES: After the game, the Marlins optioned 2B Derek Dietrich to Triple-A New Orleans. ... Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton broke hit bat when he lined out in the fourth inning, and the barrel sailed into the Marlins on-deck circle and hit Casey McGehee in the stomach. He wasnt hurt. ... RHP Kevin Gregg passed his physical and signed a minor league deal with the Marlins. ... Molina turned 39 Tuesday. ... RHP Tom Koehler (4-5, 3.18 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday for Miami against LHP David Price (4-4, 4.27 ERA). Austin Jackson Jersey . The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night. Jeff Samardzija Jersey . But last years runner-up Jarkko Nieminen crashed out despite winning the first set against Denis Istomin. Istomin fired 10 aces and won 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2 to even his career record against Nieminen at 3-3. http://www.sfgiantsrookiestore.com/Giant...al-Kids-Jersey/. According to a report from ESPN, the Green Bay Packers have re-signed the cornerback to a four-year, $39 million deal with a $12. Will Clark Jersey .com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets rewarded starting goaltender and pending restricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky with a four-year contract extension on Friday. Deion Sanders Jersey .Y. - Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs didnt flinch in the face of adversity. Lionel Messi preserved Barcelonas unbeaten start to the Champions League by equalizing in a 1-1 draw at AC Milan while Arsenals 100 per cent record disappeared with a 2-1 home defeat to Borussia Dortmund in Tuesdays other marquee match. Atletico Madrid made it three wins from three thanks to a double from in-form striker Diego Costa in a 3-0 victory at Austria Vienna, leaving the Spanish side on the brink of the last 16 already to continue its brilliant start to the season. Chelsea claimed the performance of the night by crushing Schalke 3-0, with striker Fernando Torres also scoring twice to put the 2012 champions top of Group E. Back from a thigh injury, Messi scored from close range to cancel out Robinhos opener for Milan and keep Barca in charge of Group H on seven points, two ahead of the Italians. Robert Lewandowski grabbed an 82nd-minute winner for Dortmund, last seasons beaten finalist, at Arsenal in Group F to bring the English team down to earth after a flying start to the Premier League and in Europe. They are joined in a three-way tie on six points by Napoli, which won 2-1 at Marseille to condemn the French side to a third straight loss. There were also first wins of the group stage for Celtic and Zenit St. Petersburg while Basel drew 1-1 at Steaua Bucharest. Milan and Barca were meeting in Europes top competition for the seventh time in three seasons, so it was perhaps no surprise to see the teams cancel each other out. There was no shortage of stars on show at the San Siro and two of them combined for Milans opener, Robinho exchanging passes with Kaka before slotting past Victor Valdes. However, Milan has never been able to handle Messi -- the Argentina forward has now scored six times against the Italians -- and he equalized after collecting Andres Iniestas pass, evading Kevin Constant and shooting into the bottom corner. The teams meet again in two weeks time, with Barcelona knowing a victory would put them on 10 points and close to the knockout stage. Celtic is two points behind Milan after beating Ajaxx 2-1 thanks to goals by James Forrest and Beram Kayal in a 10-minute spell either side of halftime.dddddddddddd Ajax grabbed a consolation goal through Lasse Schone in second-half stoppage time, by which time Celtic had been reduced to 10 men after Nir Biton was red-carded in the 87th minute. Arsenals first loss since mid-August, on the night of manager Arsene Wengers 64th birthday too, was sealed by Lewandowsis unforgiving finish eight minutes from time at Emirates Stadium. Back in London for the first time since losing last seasons final to Bayern Munich in May, Dortmund went ahead through Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the 16th minute only for Olivier Giroud to equalize just before the break. Jose Callejon and substitute Duvan Zapata were the scorers for Napoli at the Stade Velodrome, with Andre Ayew netting for Marseille four minutes from time. Atletico, level on points with Barca at the top of the Spanish league, is the only team in the four groups who played on Tuesday to have three straight wins after Costa added to the opener scored by Raul Garcia in the Austrian capital. Diego Simeones side is five points clear of Zenit, which beat FC Porto 1-0 thanks to Aleksandr Kerzhakovs goal five minutes from time. Porto had done well to nearly hold out for a draw after seeing Hector Herrera sent off for two yellow cards after just six minutes. In Group E, Torres marked his 100th start for Chelsea by scoring in the fifth and 69th minutes, with Eden Hazard completing an unexpectedly easy win against a Schalke team that led the group at kickoff. "If you do garbage, then you have to clean it up and we cleaned it up," said Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, referring to his teams home defeat to Basel on the opening matchday. "Weve got two matches at home so now we are in good condition to qualify and well try to finish top." Chelsea is ahead of Schalke on goal difference, with Basel two points back after conceding a late goal by Leandro Tatu to draw at Steaua, which claimed a first point in group play. ' ' '