PITTSBURGH -- If this was the end of Ivan Novas brief time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he went out on a good note.The right-hander allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings Thursday night as the Pirates and Chicago Cubs played to the first tie game in the major leagues since 2005 when rain forced the teams to stop in the sixth inning with the score 1-all.The Cubs and Pirates arent scheduled to play again this season, and the game wont be made up because it doesnt affect postseason positioning. So instead of becoming a suspended game, the stats count and it was declared a tie -- the first since Houston and Cincinnati went seven innings on June 30, 2005, before rain halted them.After losing his previous two starts, Nova limited the Cubs to four hits with five strikeouts and no walks.It was the final start of the season for Nova, who went 5-2 in 11 starts after being acquired Aug. 1 from the New York Yankees in a trade. He is eligible for free agency after the World Series.I had a really, really, really good time here and hopefully we can work it out to where I can stay, Nova said. Im excited for free agency, though, and well see what happens.Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said last week that he has been in talks with Novas representative about a possible extension.I leave that to my agents, Nova said. I really know anything about it.Pittsburgh is 78-80 and needs to sweep its season-ending three-game series at St. Louis that starts Friday night in order to extend its streak of winning seasons to four. The Pirates had 20 straight losing seasons from 1993-2012, the record for major North American team professional sports.Willson Contreras had two hits and scored for the NL Central champion Cubs, who have already clinched the best record in the majors. Josh Bell hit a sacrifice fly for the Pirates.The Cubs werent around to talk about it as they were already dressed and out of the clubhouse by the time they game was officially called following a delay of 1 hour, 23 minutes.A tie, I dont remember every being involved in one at the major league level, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. Its definitely something different.Tim Federowicz hit a sacrifice fly in the Cubs second. Pittsburgh tied it in the third.Cubs rookie Rob Zastryzny gave up one unearned run in 3 2/3 innings in his first major league start after beginning his career with seven relief appearances.Manager Joe Maddon opted to use all relievers as he prepares his team for the postseason.FOOTBALL HEROMaddon wore a No. 12 Lafayette College football jersey during his pregame meeting with reporters. It was the same number he wore when he was a quarterback for Leopards.The Cubs traveling party planned to wear football jerseys for their flight to Cincinnati following the game.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: RHP Jason Hammel (elbow tightness) has been scratched from his scheduled start Friday night at Cincinnati but may be able to pitch in a simulated game Tuesday and be ready for the NL playoffs next week. .. . LF Chris Coghlan (sprained left ankle) did not play after being injured Wednesday night when he crashed into the fence chasing a fly ball but could return Friday. ... OF Jorge Soler (strained right side) will not play at Cincinnati but could participate in the simulated game.Pirates: LF Starling Marte (lower back strain) and SS Jordy Mercer (strained right forearm) will not play in the final series. . RF Gregory Polanco (strained neck) missed his second game in a row.UP NEXTCubs: RHP Jake Buchanan (0-0 9.00 ERA), who has made one relief appearance for Chicago after going 12-8 for Triple-A Iowa, will start Friday against Reds RHP Josh Smith (5-2. 4.77).Pirates: Rookie RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-1, 4.91) faces Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (15-9, 3.15) and will be looking for his first major league win in his fourth career start. Allen Iverson Jersey . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Marco Belinelli Jersey . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. 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CINCINNATI -- Andy Dalton has thrown only three touchdown passes in four games, a statistic that points to why the Bengals (2-2) are treading water.The passing game is missing something important, and its not the quarterback.Daltons new-look receiving group hasnt kept up with the one from last season, the most glaring change from their 8-0 start in 2015.A.J. Green has two touchdown catches, and running back Giovani Bernard has one. At this point last season, the Bengals already had nine touchdown passes.Their scoring is way down as a result. Last season, the Bengals scored at least 24 points in each of their first four games with a total of 121. This season, they havent scored more than 23 in any game and have only 78 points overall.Instead of touchdowns, theyre settling for field goals. Thats the main thing theyre trying to correct heading into games at Dallas (3-1) and New England (3-1), places where they havent won since the 1980s.Weve got a lot of new faces in there offensively, left tackle Andrew Whitworth said.Theres a lot of guys that havent been leaned on to play that many snaps or have never played in the offense, so theres going to be a growing part of the season. Now its time to really see guys take leaps and bounds forward.The Bengals knew there would be a break-in period with their new receivers . Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu left as free agents, taking away the No. 2 and No. 3 receivers from last season.Plus, tight end Tyler Eifert -- who set a club record for touchdown catches by a tight end with 13 -- tore a ligament in his ankle during the Pro Bowl and hasnt played yet.The Bengals filled the receiver openings by signing Brandon LaFell and drafting Tyler Boyd from Pitt.LaFell has 13 catches in four games for 208 yards without a touchdown. Boyd has 12 catches for 130 yards without a touchdown.Green has bailed them out with a couple of big games. He caught 12 passes for 180 yards in an opening victory against the Jets, and he had 10 catches for 173 yards in a win last Thursday over Miami.ddddddddddddOh man, its just fun to be lining up across from him, getting plays alongside him, communicating with him, Boyd said.Watching him make plays like that, its amazing. Hes a guy you know you can count on any given play at any given time.The Bengals are trying to get the rest of the receivers up to that level when they get close to the goal line. Theyve thrown for a lot of yards -- their passing game ranks third in the NFL.But theyve struggled inside the opponents 20-yard line. Theyve converted only 31 percent of those chances into touchdowns, the worst in the NFL.During the 4-0 start last season, Eifert had touchdown catches of 13, 8 and 9 yards; Green caught TDs of 16, 80 and 67 yards; Jones scored on catches of 45 and 16 yards; and Brandon Tate had a 55-yard touchdown catch.We should have more (touchdowns) than we have, offensive coordinator Ken Zampese said. Weve put ourselves in bad situations on our own -- self-inflicted. Regardless of who we have in there, were better than what weve shown and well be better as we go forward. Well make sure.Game notes The Bengals are 1-5 all time in Dallas, with their only win in 1988. Overall, theyve lost five of their past seven games against the Cowboys . ... The following week, the Bengals visit New England , where they havent won since 1986, dropping their past six. ... Its unclear when Eifert will be back. He got his left ankle taped and participated in a light workout with the team on Monday. 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