Susi » after going par or better on the first 41

CHICAGO -- Pedro Alvarez stepped to the plate ready to strike in a big spot. Jose Iglesias Jersey . Once again, he delivered. Alvarez hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run seventh inning and Jason Grilli retired Emilio Bonifacio on a bases-loaded grounder to end the game, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. The Pirates trailed 4-0 heading into the seventh, but two big drives changed things. Pinch hitter Travis Snider cut the deficit in half with a two-run homer off Brian Schlitter. Alvarez put Pittsburgh ahead with his three-run shot on the first pitch from James Russell (0-1), his third homer in two games and fifth this season. "Just trying to be ready from pitch No. 1, ready to compete and sometimes that first pitch is the best one you see and just trying to be ready to hit as soon as I step in the box," Alvarez said. Chicago threatened in the bottom of the ninth before Grilli retired Bonifacio on a grounder to first. Pittsburgh took two of three at Wrigley Field. That gave the Pirates their third series win -- the most for them to start the season since the 1992 team took its first six. Gerrit Cole (2-0) struck out 10 in six innings. He also allowed four runs, three of them earned. Tony Watson worked a perfect seventh. Mark Melancon retired the side in the eighth before things got tense against Grilli in the ninth. Grilli gave up a leadoff walk to pinch hitter Ryan Sweeney and a single to Starlin Castro, putting runners on first and second. Grilli then struck out Luis Valbuena and Welington Castillo before Darwin Barney walked to load the bases. Bonifacio, who came into the game with a .500 average after going 19 for 38, ended it with that grounder to first baseman Travis Ishikawa, giving Grilli his third save in four chances. Chicagos Travis Wood sailed through six-plus innings, allowing four hits, striking out nine and walking three. He left to cheers with a four-run lead after Neil Walker led off the seventh with a double. Snider, batting for Clint Barnes, then drove a two-run homer to the shrubs in centre off Schlitter, cutting it to 4-2. Schlitter also gave up a single to Starling Marte and walked Andrew McCutchen with two out before Alvarez drove the first pitch from Russell off the roof of a party suite beyond the bushes in centre. "Its tough, especially as well as Woody pitched," Russell said. "You never want to mess up (an outing) that he had. Its one of those deals. Its why we play the game. It happens. We live to see another day." With a 1-0 lead going into the fourth, the Cubs took advantage of a wild pitch while scoring three more runs. Anthony Rizzo and Nate Schierholtz singled leading off. Castro drove an RBI single through the left side with one out, and Schierholtz came home on a wild pitch to Mike Olt. The lead grew to 4-0 when Castro scored on Castillos two-out single. The throw from Marte in left beat the runner by several strides, but plate umpire Mark Carlson called him safe. Carlson told a pool reporter that Castros foot touched the plate before catcher Tony Sanchez had control of the ball. He also said, "If he has the ball securely, he would have been able to block the plate." Manager Clint Hurdle came out of the dugout to discuss the play, but obstruction "never came up." He also chose not to challenge but would not say why. "If I give you any other answer, we got 10 more questions," Hurdle said. NOTES: The Pirates said top pitching prospect Jameson Taillon had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Wednesday. He is expected to miss 12 to 18 months. ... The Cubs open a three-game series at St. Louis on Friday, and manager Rick Renteria was asked if he sees the Cardinals as a model for what Chicagos trying to do. "Its hard to argue with a club, an organization, thats had success over the years," he said. "Youve got to see what it is that they do and dont do. You take things from every organization in baseball, but certainly, theyve had a tremendous amount of success over the last few years -- and over their existence." Omar Infante Jersey . Paul George and Darren Collison each scored 17 points and Roy Hibbert added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers (9-3), who won their third straight. Michael Fulmer Jersey . "I just think what it does for everybody in life is real simple," said Babcock early on Friday afternoon. "You dont give in. You just keep on keeping on. Is it going to go your way every time? No. But you choose your attitude and how you perform and how hard you dig in." Nearly four years to the day of the 2010 gold medal match in Vancouver, his team dug in with its best effort of these Olympics, snuffing out the high-powered Americans for another opportunity at gold. http://www.authenticbaseshoptigers.com/Omar-Vizquel-Jersey/ . As their best player continued to orchestrate his dramatic exit from the club, the Whitecaps added size and creativity at Thursdays Major League Soccer SuperDraft. DES MOINES, Iowa -- For the second time in less than a year, Tom Pernice Jr. hit a crucial shot on the 17th hole on his way to a victory. This time, Pernice needed one more big shot to secure the win. Pernice birdied the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with Doug Garwood on Sunday to win the Champions Tours Principal Charity Classic. "I was calm all day. I played it with the right edge and I stroked it and it went right in the hole," Pernice said. Pernice won for the third time on the 50-and-over tour, closing with a 3-under 69 to match Garwood at 12-under 204 at Wakonda Club. Garwood, making only his fourth start of the season, birdied the final two holes of regulation for a 71. They played the par-4 18th hole twice in the playoff. Pernice won with a putt from roughly 8 feet after they opened the playoff with matching pars. Pernices performance was reminiscent of the 3M Championship last August in Minnesota, when he made a 45-foot putt on No. 17 to win. He chipped in from roughly 30 feet out to take the lead on Sunday, though Garwood matched that birdie and later forced a playoff. "I really hit the ball good all week and really kept the ball in play in the fairway when I needed to and holed some key shots at key times," Pernice said. Bill Glasson, Jay Haas, Mark Calcavecchia and Michael Allen finished a shot back. Glasson shot 64, Haas 67, Calcavecchia 70, and Allen 71. Garwood opened the final round with a one-shot lead but needing to win to earn a full Champions Tour card for the neext 12 months. Daniel Norris Jersey. A birdie putt from the fringe on the first hole seemed to portend well for his prospects. But Garwood bogeyed three consecutive holes -- after going par or better on the first 41 holes of the tournament -- and went into the back nine tied for first. Garwoods fourth bogey of the round, on the par-5 13th hole, appeared to ruin his shot for a career-defining win. But Garwood rallied with clutch birdies on the last two holes to stay alive. Those shots helped Garwood redeem himself for three-putting the final hole of a qualifying tournament with a full exemption at stake in the off-season. "I gave it away at Q-school. Straight gave it away. Here I didnt feel like I gave it away because I earned it with the birdies on 17 and 18," Garwood said. Garwoods troubles made for a crowded leaderboard for much of the day. Glasson began Sunday eight shots off the lead. But he jumped atop the leaderboard with the best round of the tournament and sat around for over two hours waiting to see if hed end up in a playoff. Haas, a three-time winner of the event, joined him in the clubhouse at 11 under with a birdie on No. 18. Allen also nearly qualified for the playoff before missing a birdie putt on No. 18. Garwood then sent his approach on the final hole over the green, while Pernice stuck his close enough for a relatively easy winner. "This is a great course. I love it. Its an old classic course," Pernice said. "I liked it from the get-go and Im very happy with how it turned out." Cheap NFL Gear Cheap NFL Jerseys Outlet Stitched Jerseys Disocunt Football Jerseys Cheap NFL T-shirts Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China ' ' '