It was a somewhat incongruous sight on day one in Brisbane: a West Indies legend attending a Test between Australia and Pakistan. Had Sir Garry Sobers, currently on a speaking tour in Australia, stayed at the Gabba a few days more, he would have witnessed Asad Shafiq break a 43-year-old record set by Sobers himself.As Asad steered the tail and led Pakistans fightback in a marathon final session on day four, he also passed Sobers tally of eight centuries from No. 6.The technically proficient Shafiq, who had never batted at six before making his Test debut, has made the most of his position down the order, becoming something of a specialist at guiding the bowlers through difficult periods at the crease.He always batted brilliantly with the tail, his team-mate Azhar Ali said after play. He always loved to bat up the order, but he performed for us at number six. Especially scoring [nine] centuries at number six is not easy.Our lower order didnt really have very good averages, but he bats with them very well and he scored [nine] hundreds, its a very special achievement. He has scored a lot of runs also, hes averaging 40-plus, which is a very good achievement.It seemed as though the chance to break Sobers record had passed Shafiq by when he was promoted up the order for Pakistans fourth Test against England in August and scored a century from No. 4. But the emergence of Babar Azam, combined with his own form tapering off, meant Shafiq moved back to his original Test batting position.Hes a special player. Ive always rated him as a very fine player, because batting at No. 6 is never easy, Azhar said. But as a team plan, he started batting [up the order], but again the team manager thinks that this is our best combination. As team players we always are willing to play wherever our team needs. Hes a brilliant player who can bat at any number. Hopefully he gets his number soon.He bats at number six really well. He could be probably better than any of us [there]. Thats probably the reason he got back at number six. Sometimes you have to make decisions according to the situation, according to the team plan. Thats why I went to open the batting, because of the requirement of the team. Its a team game, so were all happy with what the team demands of us.Pakistans chase so far - described by the Australia bowling coach, David Saker, as heroic - could hardly have been foreseen by the most optimistic of their supporters, given how fragile they appeared in the first innings. Azhar said Mickey Arthur and Misbah-ul-Haq had instilled confidence in their players, telling them to take the fight to the Australians.Before we started today, the discussion was to back ourselves, and back our ability to score runs in these conditions, Azhar said. First innings, it didnt go to plan and you can easily doubt your techniques and ability to score runs in these conditions.But the message from the captain and the coach was to back yourself. I think everyone batted with a lot of determination and a lot of skills. As a unit, were really happy how this day has gone.Its never easy to chase that big a total, but we certainly made a very good effort, especially the way Younis Khan batted - he came back into form, which is very important; hes a senior player and is always there to perform for us.Asad was struggling for runs and he came back with a bang and in the dressing room we really enjoyed his innings and the way he batted. It was a really special knock. Also special contributions from Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz, the way they showed the determination. It will really help us get more confidence going through the series.Pakistan came tantalisingly close to finishing the extended session with three wickets still in hand, but Jackson Bird claimed the wicket of Wahab Riaz in the final over of the day. Pakistan went to stumps needing 108 runs more.Obviously the wicket in the last over really hurt, Azhar said. It still would have been a big task, but it looks a bit bigger now because we have only two wickets. But still Asad is there, so we have hopes that if he carries on - and Yasir Shah and Rahat [Ali] can bat with him as long as they can - we can actually get closer at least. Colorado Avalanche Shirts . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. 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SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants got the victory they desperately needed.Madison Bumgarner snapped a five-start winless streak with seven shutout innings, Denard Span had four RBI and the Giants beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-2 on Saturday night.The victory kept the Giants alone atop the NL West, a full game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat Pittsburgh 8-4.The Giants were 6 1/2 games up at the All-Star break, but they entered Saturday 8-17 since, worst in the majors.We needed a win tonight, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. Madison, with what hes accomplished here and the big games that hes pitched, just gives the team a sense of confidence when hes out there.Bumgarner (11-7) had lost five of his previous seven decisions. He allowed three hits, struck out eight and walked three.I made pitches and didnt give in, things just went our way thats all really you can say, Bumgarner said.The Orioles fell out of first place, a half-game behind Toronto, which beat Houston 4-2.Span sparked the Giants with two-run singles in the second and sixth innings. Both came with two outs.It doesnt get much bigger than that, Bochy said. Twice you come up with men on second and third and get hits. ... Timely hitting is what wins ballgames for you and of course good pitching, and Bum threw a beautiful game.Kevin Gausman (3-10), who hasnt won on the road this season, lasted just four innings. He struck out nine batters and walked six, becoming the first pitcher in the majors to do so since 2013.I thought I threw a lot of strikes, Gausman said. The most frustrating thing was on the other side (they were) getting those pitches.Sometimes borderline pitches are strikes, sometime theyre balls, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. He worked a lot down in the zone and he wasnt getting the bottom of the zone. ... Anytime you walk six, theres a lot more to it than just missing. He wasnt the only one.Gausman fell to 0-9 on the road this season and is 0-16 in his last 25 road starts going back to AAug.dddddddddddd 22, 2014.Santiago Casilla faced one batter to get his 27th save.Brandon Belt broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run homer -- his 14th -- off Ubaldo Jimenez.Joe Panik had three hits, including two ground-rule doubles, and scored two runs.It was definitely good to get (Bumgarner) a few runs early and then tack on at the end, Panik said. Hes been so good for us, he deserves some run support.He pitched his tail off for us tonight, so definitely a good win all the way around.SPITTING IMAGEThe Giants unveiled a nine-foot bronze statue of Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry. The legendary spitballer was a five-time All-Star and two-time Cy Young Award winner. He played for the Giants for 10 years (1962-71) and is the fifth former Giant to be honored with a statue outside AT&T Park. Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda are the others.TRAINERS ROOMOrioles: RHP Darren ODay was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right rotator cuff strain. ODay visited with team orthopedist Dr. Michael Jacobs and got a cortisone shot. The Orioles called up RHP Tyler Wilson from Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding move. ... INF Steve Pearce, who missed five games with an injured flexor tendon in his right arm, wasnt in the starting lineup but was used as a pinch-hitter in the top of the seventh inning.Giants: LHP Josh Osich, on the disabled list since July 24 with a left forearm strain, threw a bullpen session.UP NEXTOrioles: LHP Wade Miley is 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA in two starts since being acquired in a trade from the Seattle Mariners. Hes 4-4 with a 3.23 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) against San Francisco.Giants: RHP Johnny Cueto is 0-2 with a 5.02 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break after going 13-1 with a 2.47 ERA in the first half. He is 0-2 with a 10.32 ERA in two career starts against Baltimore. ' ' '