Allgemeines » he Cubs to a 9-2 vi

CHICAGO -- Jason Hammel is certain the Cubs are better than their record so far. Hammel pitched seven strong innings, Mike Olt hit a three-run home run and Nate Schierholtz drove in a pair of early runs to lead the Cubs to a 9-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. "With a doubt," he said. "Weve played a lot of close ballgames where we could have come out on the other end. Were a young team and well figure out how to win those ball games pretty soon." Hammel (3-1) allowed just one run and four hits without walking a batter in seven innings to lower his ERA to 2.60. "Very nice job," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "He got some groundball double plays when he needed to. Made some pitches when he needed to. It was pretty efficient." Olt still is hitting below .200 for the season (.195), but has four homers and nine runs batted in despite not playing every day. The Cubs, whove won three of four to improve to 7-12, have won back-to-back games for the first time this season. They last won consecutive games on Sept. 9 and 10 of last season against the Cincinnati Reds. Their last consecutive home wins came on Sept. 4 and 6 against Miami and Milwaukee. Brandon McCarthy (0-4) lowered his ERA from 7.11 to 6.23 because only one of five runs allowed was earned. He yielded seven hits in five innings. Arizona has dropped four straight and has the worst record in the majors at 5-18. "It was a carbon copy of the game (Monday)," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "We made an error there, gave them life and then Brandon got behind in the count 3-1 and Olt hit a ball down over the plate, a pretty big pop into that wind. "We didnt mount any pressure again offensively so I dont know what to tell ya," he said. In the third inning, Luis Valbuena stroked a one-out double to left-centre field and then scored two batters later on a two-out single by Schierholtz. In the fifth, Schierholtz drove in Valbuena again, this time on a sacrifice fly to right field, for a 2-0 lead. Valbuena led off the inning with a single, went to second on a groundout and then reached third as Arizona second baseman Martin Prado dropped Anthony Rizzos grounder for an error. The Cubs took advantage. Given the extra out, Starlin Castro singled to put two runners on and Olt followed with a homer into the right field bleachers for a 5-0 lead. "I think it probably helped me," Olt said of the wind. "I wasnt trying to hit a home run. I was just trying to put the ball in play and hit it hard." Arizona finally got on the board against Hammel in the sixth when Tuffy Gosewisch led off with a homer. The Cubs then broke things open with four runs in the bottom of the eighth, while the Diamondbacks got one back in the ninth. NOTES: Wednesday is the 100th anniversary of the first game at Wrigley Field, which then was known as Weeghman Park, between the Chicago Federals and Kansas City Packers of the Federal League. The Cubs will wear replica Federal uniforms for the game, while Arizona will wear Packers uniforms. . Diamondbacks OF Mark Trumbo didnt start because of soreness in his left foot. The injury occurred late in Mondays game. . Now that RHP Jose Veres no longer is closing games, Renteria will hunt for opportunities to get Veres on the mound so he can work out his problems. "It could be at any moment," Renteria said. "We could be up by 10 (or) down by 10. He needs to pitch. Hes talked about he wants to get back on the mound and throw." . LHP Wade Miley (2-2) is scheduled to face Chicago RHP Jeff Samardzija (0-2) on Wednesday. Virgil Green Chargers Jersey . -- Aaron Rodgers isnt out for revenge in Green Bays season opener. Mike Pouncey Chargers Jersey . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. http://www.chargersauthenticofficialonline.com/authentic-kyzir-white-jersey.html .The third-seeded Murray, who won here in 2009, will face seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa next on the indoor hard court. Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys . Catch the action live on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Wild lead the Northwest Division and look to get back into the win column after having a season-high seven-game winning streak cut short with Tuesdays 2-1 loss at Winnipeg in the finale of a five-game road trip (4-1-0). Derwin James Chargers Jersey . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract.Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal, last years runner-up David Ferrer and Wimbledon titlist Andy Murray were a trio of fourth-round winners Monday at the French Open. The world No. 1 Nadal improved to a remarkable 63-1 lifetime at Roland Garros by crushing Serb Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 on Court Chatrier. The lopsided affair saw the ruthless Spanish great assume set leads of 5-0, 4-0 and 5-0 on Day 9 of the clay court fortnight. "I played with no mistakes and having the control with the backhand, with the forehand from the baseline," Nadal said. "Sure, you never know whats better, but in theory, the theory says that its better win like this than win longer matches." The 13-time major champion Nadal is trying to become the first man to capture five straight French Open championships. Music superstar Prince was in attendance Monday, nearly hidden in the stands, sitting in the very back row of the presidential box at Chatrier clutching a shiny cane. When the Nadal match ended, Prince rose to leave then paused and paid his respects by applauding. The fifth-seeded Ferrer, meanwhile, had a hiccup in the fourth set in an otherwise routine 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 victory over 19th-seeded former University of Illinois standout Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Ferrer will now appear in his 10th straight Grand Slam quarterfinal. He reached his first and only Grand Slam finall here a year ago before getting whipped by his fellow countryman Nadal in an all-Spanish title tilt.dddddddddddd. The two will meet in a rematch of that match in a quarterfinal on Wednesday. Nadal, who will turn 28 on Tuesday, is 21-6 lifetime against the 32-year-old Ferrer, including 3-0 at Roland Garros. Ferrer, however, upset Nadal on some red clay in Monte Carlo back in April. "I look forward to playing against David (Ferrer), it is going to be a very difficult match," said Nadal. The seventh-seeded Murray, seeking a trip into only his second-ever French Open semifinal, humbled 24th-seeded Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) on Court Lenglen. The British star improved to 10-1 lifetime against the hard-hitting Verdasco in reaching his 13th straight Grand Slam quarterfinal. Murrays quarterfinal opponent will be 23rd-seeded French crowd favorite Gael Monfils, who cruised past Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. The 2008 semifinalist Monfils is now into his fourth career Roland Garros quarter. The quarterfinals will commence Tuesday when second-seeded 2012 runner-up Novak Djokovic takes on eighth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic and sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych encounters 18th-seeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis. The former world No. 1 and six-time major champion Djokovic still needs a French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam. Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '