LOS ANGELES -- San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy hopes a gut-check victory Tuesday will be the boost his club needs as it fights for its playoff life.The Giants buckled down for a pivotal, 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, just one night after a ninth-inning meltdown in a 2-1 loss seemed to send the San Francisco into a freefall.Instead of finding themselves on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, the Giants (80-71) go into Wednesdays action tied with the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals in the National League wild-card race.They also pulled within five games of the Dodgers in the NL West. So a victory at Chavez Ravine would not only give San Francisco a win in the three-games series but would keep alive the teams hopes in the division, given the Giants host Los Angeles Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in the final series of the season.Its going to be a dogfight the rest of the way, Bochy said after his team snapped a three-game losing streak. But tonight we grinded one out and got the job done, and thats a good start. Its the type of win you can build on, and we know we have guys who have gotten the job done before.If theyre going to build on that momentum, theyve got the right guy on the hill. Lefty Matt Moore carries an 11-11 record, but he has saved his best stuff for the stretch drive. Moore sports a 4-1 record in his past five starts. That included a workmanlike effort in his last start on Friday against St. Louis, in which he allowed two runs in five innings of an 8-2 San Francisco victory.Even better, he has found success against the Dodgers. Moore is 2-1 in three starts against them this season, holding them scoreless for 15 1/3 innings at one point.The Dodgers will counter with rookie sensation Kenta Maeda (15-9). The 28-year-old right-hander from Osaka, Japan, recorded his 15th win of the season in his last start, Sept. 16 at Arizona. In five innings, Maeda struck out six and allowed one run on three hits, getting the decision in Los Angeles 3-2 victory.The win put Maeda within two of the Dodgers rookie record set by Rick Sutcliffe in 1979, as he has really come into his own toward the end of the season. Maeda is 7-2 in his past 10 starts, over which he has limited batters to a .222 average while whiffing 53 and walking just 13.The Giants have found Maeda tough to solve; he has won both starts against San Francisco this year.The Dodgers have dropped two of the past three games, but they are still in the drivers seat, with a magic number of seven to clinch the division.Well just keep plugging away, manager Dave Roberts said. You cant let yourself get too high or too low. Nike Canada Sale . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. 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CLEMSON, S.C. -- James Conners smile said it all -- Pittsburgh was happy to once again shuffle up the national championship picture.Hey, sorry to do that. But we wanted this one bad, said Conner, who had two touchdowns and ran for 132 yards in the Panthers 43-42 stunner over No. 2 Clemson on Saturday.Conners 20-yard TD run with 5:17 left inched the Panthers into striking range and Chris Blewitt -- after a kiss on the cheek from coach Pat Narduzzi -- struck a perfect, 48-yard field goal with six seconds left for the winning points.Well remember this one forever, Conner said.So, too, will Clemson (9-1, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 3 AP) which saw its run at perfection halted after escaping so many other jams this season. A fourth-down stop a yard shy saved the Tigers 42-36 win over Louisville on Oct. 1. North Carolina States missed field goal at the end of regulation boosted Clemson to a 24-17 overtime win.This time, it was the Panthers (6-4, 3-3) who made the critical plays.When Clemson was driving for a touchdown already up 42-34, linebacker Saleem Brightwell picked off quarterback Deshaun Watson -- his third interception -- and returned it 70 yards to set up a 20-yard TD by Conner that drew Pitt within 42-40.When Clemson attempted to run out the clock, the Panthers defense (despite allowing 630 yards) stuffed Wayne Gallman a yard short on third and fourth downs to take over near midfield with 58 seconds left.We had a chance to put the game away and they stopped us, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. We had been making those kinds of plays this year.Nathan Peterman moved Pitt to the Clemson 30 and Blewitt steadily knocked through.It was Pitts highest-ranked win since defeating Backyard Brawl rival, No. 2 West Virginia, 13-9 in 2007 and spoiling the Mountaineers chances at playing for the national title.Our team had a lot of guts tonight, Narduzzi said.And a whole lot of playmakers to topple the defending ACC champs.Peterman had a career-best five TD passes and 308 yards. Conner rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown. He also caught one of Petermans scoring throws.Blewitt, who had a kick blocked at the end of the opening half, was steely eyed and ready. Narduzzi gave his senior a kiss on the cheek and sent him out for the winning kick.As soon as I saw the kick go up, I knew it was going in, Scott Orndoff said. It was jubilation.Clemson had its offense going.dddddddddddd Watson threw for an ACC record 580 yards and three touchdowns. Gallman ran for three TDs and Mike Williams had 15 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown.In the end, it was Clemsons first loss to an unranked opponent in five seasons, a span of 46 games.Come Monday, well start over because its a long season, Watson said. Get ready for Wake Forest. Hopefully, we can clinch the ACC (Atlantic) and punch our ticket for the championship game next week.THE TAKEAWAYPittsburgh: The Panthers showed that Narduzzis program is taking hold. Peterman stayed calm in the face of Clemsons strong pass rush and Conner was able to avoid the Tigers middle duo of Carlos Watkins and Dexter Lawrence to keep Pitt moving.Clemson: Many non-Tiger fans will say this team had it coming after escaping with close wins at home against No. 5 Louisville (42-36 on Oct. 1) and North Carolina State (24-17 in overtime on Oct. 15) after the Wolfpack missed the potential game-winning kick to end regulation. Clemsons path is still clear -- win out and hope its one-loss season is better than most others.POLL IMPLICATIONSExpect a rankings fall for Clemson, certainly from the top five. And theres not that much time left to make up for a loss. After Wake Forest, the Tigers face revived rival South Carolina at Death Valley before potentially heading to Orlando, Florida, for the ACC championship game.RECORD DAYWatsons passing yards broke the 21-year-old mark of Wake Forests Rusty LaRue, who passed for 545 yards against North Carolina State on Nov. 18, 1995. Watson said the record doesnt console him after the loss. Id rather go 0-for-30 with no yards and get the W, he said.SAYING GOODBYEThis wasnt the farewell Clemsons offense wanted. Watson, Gallman, Williams and receiver Artavis Scott are all juniors who were honored with Clemsons seniors Saturday after Swinney said they would all be leaving the program for the NFL after this season. Watson acknowledged wild emotions. Still, Im going to keep a smile on my face, he said.UP NEXTPittsburgh closes the year with two games at home, starting with Duke next week.Clemson will try to earn the ACC Atlantic Division title with a win at Wake Forest next Saturday.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '