PITTSBURGH -- All eyes were supposed to be on Gregory Polanco. Jermon Bushrod Saints Jersey . But thanks to his new-found success against left-handed pitchers, Anthony Rizzo stole the show. Rizzo homered, doubled twice and drove in three runs to lead the Chicago Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3 Tuesday night, spoiling Polancos much-anticipated debut. Rizzo hit a two-run homer in the first inning off lefty Francisco Liriano, who came out in the fourth with discomfort on his right side. Rizzo also doubled and scored in the fourth and hit an RBI double in the seventh, a drive to deep right-centre that struck Polancos left wrist as the touted Pirates rookie tried to make the catch. Rizzo has five home runs and a .344 batting average in 61 at-bats against left-handers this season. Last year, he batted .189 with seven homers against southpaws in 189 at-bats. "I feel more comfortable against them now and its the best Ive ever hit left-handers at any level," Rizzo said. "I dont know if Ill ever figure lefties out -- or right-handers, either -- but I do feel confident against them." Rizzo has every reason to feel confident. He has five homers in his last 10 games, raising his season total to 13. "You can talk about mechanics and scouting reports and everything else, but the biggest thing in this game is confidence," Rizzo said. "If you step into the batters box with confidence, then youre giving yourself a much better chance to hit." Polanco went 1 for 5 after getting called up from Triple-A Indianapolis, where the right fielder was leading the International League with a .347 batting average and 49 RBIs in 62 games. "It was a lot of fun," he said. "It was exciting. I was a little nervous at first but then I relaxed and had fun." Pinch-hitter Luis Valbuenas two-run double off Casey Sadler (0-1) broke a 3-all tie in the sixth and put Chicago ahead for good. Travis Wood (6-5) allowed three runs and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings. "It was a grind at times but I got through it," Wood said. Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer for the Pirates, his ninth of the season and fifth in nine June games. Valbuena and Junior Lake each had two hits for the Cubs, as did Pittsburghs Russell Martin and Starling Marte. Rizzo scored on a single by Starlin Castro in the seventh to push Chicagos lead to 7-3. Rizzos homer put the Cubs up 2-0, but the Pirates tied it on McCutchens drive in the third. In the top of the fourth, Rizzo led off with a double and scored on Darwin Barneys double. Pittsburgh tied it again in the bottom half on pinch-hitter Jose Tabatas RBI double. "Rizzos blast there in the first inning kind of got us rolling and we did a good job of adding on runs after that," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. Liriano allowed two runs in three-plus innings. He bent over and held his back after throwing a pitch to Rizzo, then left the mound after a few warmup pitches. After leading the Pirates with 16 wins last season, Liriano has struggled this year. He is 1-6 with a 4.60 ERA in 14 starts. Liriano will almost certainly miss his scheduled start Sunday in Miami and could land on the disabled list. Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole (right shoulder fatigue) went on the DL on Sunday and second baseman Neil Walker (appendectomy) followed him Tuesday. NOTES: The Cubs released RHP Jose Veras, one week after designating him for assignment. He was 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in 12 relief appearances while going 0 for 2 on save chances. ... Pittsburgh 3B Pedro Alvarez got the night off. He is 1 for 18 against Wood. ... Chicago RHP Jason Hammel (6-3, 2.53 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday night against RHP Brandon Cumpton (1-2, 6.51). DeMario Davis Jersey . -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released veteran guard Davin Joseph, a mainstay on their offensive line over the past eight seasons. Rick Leonard Jersey .7 million, one-year contract.The deal, announced Friday, includes a $50,000 performance bonus if the left-hander appears in 60 games. http://www.authenticfootballshopsaints.com/Youth-Natrell-Jamerson-Elite-Jersey/ .? It was his second straight start for the Jets; he suffered a 1-0 loss against Minnesota Monday. So this season Hutchinson has now won games in the ECHL, AHL and NHL. He was perfect three- for-three in the shootout to nail down the win.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Adam Jones hit a pair of two-run homers, including a tiebreaking shot in the sixth inning, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 Monday night. Bud Norris (8-6) won for the fifth time in his last six starts, allowing two runs -- one earned -- and eight hits over 6 2-3 innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. The Orioles increased their AL East lead to four games over the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. Norris was recalled from Double-A Bowie, where he was optioned on July 10 in order to keep him on his regular routine during the All-Star break. The Orioles did the same thing with Tuesdays scheduled starter, Miguel Gonzalez, who was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on July 11. Zach Britton pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save. Rookie right-hander Matt Shoemaker (7-3) gave up four runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings, striking out 10 and walking none. The loss put the Angels two games behind first-place Oakland in the AL West. Jones, who didnt make it past the second round in last weeks All-Star Home Run Derby, opened the scoring in the first with a drive into the left-field bullpen after a single by Nick Markakis. Shoemaker retired his next 15 batters -- striking out eight -- before Markakis doubled with one out in the sixth. One out later, Jones hit his 19th homer to left-centre for a 4-2 lead. It was his fifth two-homer game in the majors. Josh Hamilton drove in the Angels first run in the first with a two-out RBI single that scored Kole Calhoun, who led off with a single and got to second when shortstop J.J. Hardy threw the ball past second baseman Jonathan Schoop on a fielders choice grounder by Mike Trout. The Angels tied it in the fourth when Howie Kendrick led off with a ground-rule double and scored on Hank&nbbsp;Congers sharp single to right. Cameron Meredith Jersey. The Orioles might have had a shot at Kendrick at the plate had first baseman Chris Davis not cut off the throw from Markakis. A two-out infield hit by Calhoun then loaded the bases for Trout, who took a called third strike and immediately got into umpire Eric Coopers face -- but didnt get ejected. Trout was called out on strikes his next time up and had more to say to Cooper before manager Mike Scioscia came out to make sure the All-Star MVP stayed in the game. NOTES: Albert Pujols flied out on a 3-0 pitch in the fifth. The three-time NL MVP is batting .432 in his career on 3-0 counts (32 for 74) with six homers and 22 RBIs. ... Orioles RHP Darren ODay, who began his big league career with the Angels in 2008, pitched a perfect eighth to lower his ERA to 1.04 -- the best among AL relievers. ... The Orioles got a scare in the second when Norris took a hard-hit grounder by Conger off his right ankle for a base hit. Britton was smacked on the right forearm by pinch-hitter Erick Aybars comebacker, but also escaped injury. ... The Angels, who came in leading the majors in runs, didnt get a hit after Hamiltons one-out single in the fifth. ... The Orioles optioned C Steve Clevenger to Triple-A Norfolk to clear a roster spot for Norris. They will have to make another corresponding move after Gonzalez rejoins the 25-man roster. ... Hardys error was his ninth of the season and 46th by the Orioles, who have the second-fewest in the majors behind Cincinnatis 45. ... Shoemaker gave up a first-inning run for the first time in 11 big league starts. ... Markakis double was his 20th, the ninth straight season he has reached that total. His 38 multihit games are tied with Robinson Cano for the second-highest total in the majors behind Jose Altuves 42. Black China NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Hoodies Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Stitched Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys 2020 ' ' '
