Neuigkeiten » Duncan and Green both pulled down

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs dont have the look of a team more interested in draft position than on-field success. One day after the Central Division cellar-dwellers couldnt have looked worse in a 13-3 embarrassment against the lowly San Diego Padres, they showed some grit in a come-from-behind, 7-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, who suffered their fourth consecutive loss on Friday. A persistent wind at their backs, the division rivals treated the largest crowd at Wrigley Field this season to five home runs and 23 hits. "A good team win," said manager Rick Renteria, whose club trailed 3-0 before even getting a chance to bat. "The crowd was buzzing all day. It was a pretty neat environment. Obviously, the fans were into it." Luis Valbuena hit a decisive two-run homer in the seventh to decide the see-saw affair. Kevin Siegrist (1-2) hit Anthony Rizzo with a full-count pitch to start the inning. One batter later, Valbuena launched the first pitch into the centre-field bleachers, his first homer against a left-hander in 37 at-bats this season. "I was looking for a fastball, and I got a fastball right there," Valbuena said. "Thats why I got aggressive." "We had the match-ups we wanted right there," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "We wanted (a left-hander) in that situation, in that part of the lineup, and a lefty ended up getting him." The Cardinals tied the score 5-5 on solo homers by Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday in the fifth inning. Pinch-hitter Oscar Taveras singled to break the tie in the sixth, but the lead was short-lived. Justin Grimm (3-2) pitched a scoreless inning for the win. Hector Rondon retired the side in the ninth for his 12th save in 15 chances. Cubs starter Travis Wood did well to survive five innings after a rocky start. He allowed five runs -- two earned -- and seven hits with one walk. Wood aided his cause with a solo homer off Joe Kelly in the fourth inning, his third of the season. He became the first Cubs pitcher since Carlos Zambrano (2009) with at least 10 RBIs in a season. "They fought off a lot of pitches and made me work," Wood said. "I was only able to go five, but luckily, I was able to keep it close and we were able to pull it out." Ryan Sweeneys three-run homer pulled Chicago even at 3-3 in the second inning. Kelly had not allowed an earned run in 18 1-3 innings against the Cubs before then. One inning later, Sweeney singled home Valbuena, who had walked, for a 4-3 lead. Kelly lasted 4 2-3 innings allowing eight hits and two walks. St. Louis struck first with three unearned three runs in the opening inning, when Wood was forced to throw 32 pitches largely because of two errors behind him. Carpenter and Holliday singled, then rookie second baseman Arismendy Alcantara threw away a potential double-play grounder that allowed a run to score. One out later, Jon Jay hit a two-run double, and when left fielder Chris Coghlan allowed the ball to get past him, the batter advanced to third base on the second error of the inning. NOTES: One night after his team played a 3-hour, 36-minute, nine-inning game, Renteria said there was no easy solution to quicken the pace. "The only thing that speeds up ballgames is good pitching and good defence," he said. "There are a lot of times, to be honest with you, when were ready to go and were waiting for the TV (signal). Sometimes you cant control the length of ballgames. They are what they are." ... Cubs RHP Edwin Jackson is not expected to miss a start. He left the game in the sixth inning on Thursday because of cramps in his pitching hand. ... OF Justin Ruggiano (groin) was not in the lineup for the second consecutive game but was available off the bench once again. ... St. Louis RHP Shelby Miller will make his first start since July 10 on Saturday. The veteran had been moved to the bullpen because of a minor back ailment and pitched one innings in his only appearance. "I felt a little tired (before), but at the same time, you always want to be out there," he said. "Right now, I feel really strong. My body is where it needs to be." ... The Cardinals have a 4-6 record since All-Star C Yadier Molina (thumb) was placed on the DL. Nike Air Max Womens Sale 2018 . -- Officials have approved a deal to build a new $672 million stadium for the Atlanta Braves away from the downtown Atlanta area that has traditionally been its home. Nike Air Max Womens Sale Orange . -- Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since returning from a major injury, Ryan Callahan had his first goal with Tampa Bay, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 on Thursday night. http://www.nikeairmaxwomenssale.com/. In this weeks Leaf Report podcast, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel debate whether Toronto can continue their shootout dominance and discuss what Dave Nonis game plan should be heading into the trade deadline. Nike Air Max Womens Sale Blue . Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. Nike Air Max Womens Sale 95 . The Mariners ace allowed just one hit over eight innings while striking out nine, and Robinson Cano backed him with a two-run homer as Seattle earned a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - The Portland Trail Blazers became the second team this week to beat the San Antonio Spurs in triple-overtime. Damian Lillard had a career-high 43 points, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 32 and the Blazers pulled away in the third overtime to top the Spurs 129-119 on Friday night. Lillard hit game-tying 3-pointers in regulation and the first overtime and scored nine of Portlands 17 points in the third overtime as the Blazers wrapped up their fourth consecutive win. Cory Joseph hit a tying shot in the second OT for San Antonio, which became the first NBA team in 63 years to play in consecutive three-overtime games. At least the 1951-52 Baltimore Bullets split theirs. The Spurs fell to Memphis 117-116 in Wednesdays triple-OT thriller, two days after the Blazers beat them in Portland. The three-game losing streak for the reigning NBA champions is their longest since a three-game slide Jan. 26-29. Tim Duncan had a season-high 32 points and Danny Green added 27 for the Spurs, who lost despite starting the first two overtimes on 6-0 runs. In the initial overtime, they scored just one more point over the next 2 1/2 minutes. Lillards tying 3-pointer came after Wesley Matthews missed a 3 and Aldridge got the offensive rebound, kicking it back to Lillard at the point. Manu Ginobili missed an off-balance shot for the Spurs before the buzzer. Earlier, Danny Green had a 3-pointer waived off after a replay review showed he was still touching the ball when the shot clock expired. In the second overtime, Duncan also had a basket ttaken off the board for the same reason.dddddddddddd After scoring the first six points again, the Spurs got two more in the next two minutes of the second overtime. Lillard sparked an 8-0 run with a dunk after splitting the defense, which was followed by 3s from Dorell Wright and Steve Blake for a 112-110 lead. But the Spurs tied it when Joseph rattled in a baseline leaner at the other end. Matthews missed a 3 off the back of the rim at the buzzer with a chance to win it, but the Blazers scored 11 straight points to start the third overtime to pull away. It was the largest lead by either team since the Spurs 11-point advantage in the second quarter. Earlier, after Lillard missed a dunk off the back of the rim with Duncan in his face, the Spurs took a 97-95 lead with 5.7 seconds left in regulation on Greens 3 from in front of the Portland bench. But Lillard tied the score at the other end by dribbling past Green off an inbounds pass and getting a layup to drop with Duncan there again. The Spurs, with 1.4 seconds to work with, were unable to win in regulation after Greens 3 at the buzzer was blocked by Lillard on the high right side. Game Notes Aldridge had 16 rebounds while Duncan and Green both pulled down 10 ... Matthews scored 16 points ... Joseph had 10 points and seven assists ... The Spurs are in Dallas on Saturday to take on the division-rival Mavericks, who expect to have new point guard Rajon Rondo in uniform ... The Blazers opened a four-game road trip that continues Saturday in New Orleans. ' ' '