Clanforum » Hamilton also struck out against Nector

PITTSBURGH -- All eyes were supposed to be on Gregory Polanco. 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). D.J. Hayden Jersey . Ferrer, the two-time defending champion in Buenos Aires, is aiming to win his 21st ATP tournament. Ferrer will next face fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, the fourth seed, who defeated Jeremy Chardy of France 7-6 (7), 6-3 in another quarterfinal match. Taven Bryan Jaguars Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. http://www.authenticjaguarslockroom.com/...n-Elite-Jersey/. PAUL, Minn. Donte Moncrief Jersey .com) - The Kansas City Chiefs activated linebacker Joe Mays from short-term injured reserve on Saturday. Ronnie Harrison Jersey . The United States clinched the final berth into the Ford Worlds, March 28-April 6 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, on Saturday in Blaine, Minn.ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Seattle Mariners quickly answered those critics who thought Robinson Cano wouldnt have enough support in the lineup to make a difference. James Paxton pitched seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball and Cano drove in his first run for the Mariners on Wednesday night in an 8-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels, completing a three-game sweep in the teams first series under new manager Lloyd McClendon. "The last couple of years, a lot of us guys were younger and going through battles and learning some things," first baseman Justin Smoak said. "Now its time for guys who have been here the last couple of years to step up." Smoak, Mike Zunino and Corey Hart all homered for Seattle, which outscored the Angels 26-8 while sweeping a season-opening three-game set for only the second time in their 38-year history. The other time was in 1985, when they started out 6-0 at home against Oakland and Minnesota before losing 12 of their next 13. "We had a lot of confidence coming in," Smoak said. "Weve got a great pitching staff. Paxton, Erasmo (Ramirez) and Felix (Hernandez) pitched their butts off and gave us a chance to win, and we were able to score some runs. Now we have to keep it going." It was the first time the Angels were swept in a three-game series to start a season since 1992, by the Chicago White Sox at Anaheim. "Thats obviously not the way we wanted to come out and open this thing up," said Angels third baseman David Freese. "They all count, but its a long season and well bounce back. Theres a lot of guys in this clubhouse that understand what a baseball season consists of, and sometimes this happens." Paxton (1-0) threw 99 pitches in his fifth big league start and struck out nine, including Josh Hamilton all three times he faced him. Hamilton also struck out against Nector Noesi for the final out after Noesi game up Mike Trouts RBI triple and Freeses sacrifice fly. Paxton stranded a runner at third base in the first with the help of centre fielder Abraham Almonte, who raced in to make a sliding catch on Freeses sinking liner for the third out. He escaped another jam in the fourth by fanningg Hamilton and Howie Kendrick with two men on, then struck out the side in the fifth.dddddddddddd Paxton became the second pitcher in Mariners history to win four of his first five big league starts. The other was Michael Pineda, who did it in 2011. Paxton, a Canadian-born left-hander, was 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA four starts last September. "I just got in a groove and felt really good," Paxton said. "Probably around the third inning, I kind of found my rhythm and everything was coming together really well for me." Hector Santiago (0-1) was charged with four runs, four hits and three walks in five-plus innings. The 26-year-old left-hander, beginning his first full season as a starter, was acquired in December along with Tyler Skaggs from Arizona in a three-way trade with the Chicago White Sox that sent slugger Mark Trumbo to the Diamondbacks. Seattle scored 18 of their runs in this series with two outs. Cano, who left the New York Yankees after nine seasons to sign a 10-year, $240 million free agent contract, finished his first series in a Seattle uniform 5 for 11 with two intentional walks. "His presence definitely affects any lineup," Freese said. "I mean, you look up and down that lineup and its a complete lineup." Brad Miller, who homered twice for the Mariners in Tuesdays 8-3 win, legged out a double to right with two outs in the third and came home on Canos single. Miller drove in the second run with a two-out single in the fifth. The Mariners broke it open with four runs in the sixth, as Stefan Romero greeted Fernando Salas with an RBI double and Zunino hit his sixth big league homer. Smoak and Hart both homered with two outs in the ninth against Ernesto Frieri. NOTES: Santiagos only other start at Angel Stadium came with the White Sox on May 18, 2013, when he allowed three runs and four hits over 3 1-2 innings in a no-decision. ... The Angels begin a four-game series Friday night at Houston. The Astros won the season series 10-9 last year, despite finishing a major league-worst and franchise-worst 51-111 after switching over from the NL to the AL. ... Angels pitchers gave up 17 extra-base hits and 15 walks in the series. 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