Herzlich Willkommen » VCU finally began to close the gap

CHICAGO -- A couple of weeks ago, Jeff Samardzija was a symbol of the Chicago Cubs struggles when he was winless despite leading the major leagues in ERA. Now Samardzija has his second win in three starts for a team trying to turn around its season. Samardzija tossed seven solid innings, Junior Lake hit two home runs and Emilio Bonifacio added a two-run shot as the Cubs extended their winning streak to five with a 5-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Saturday. "The best thing as a starting pitcher you can have is consistency -- that every time you go out there your coach and your teammates know what youre going to give them," Samardzija said. "Thats what I want to do." Saturday certainly was a start. Samardzija (2-5) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, striking out eight. Pedro Strop got his second save. Except for his last outing -- eight runs in three innings at Milwaukee last Sunday -- Samardzija has put up similar numbers all season. The Cubs, though, would always come up short in one phase of the game during his outings, whether it was offence or defence. During the winning streak, consistent all-around production has been the norm. "I think everybodys contributing in some shape or form," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. "Junior adding two solo homers there, those are big runs, obviously. There are a lot of different things, a lot of little things. Theyre just playing the game." Christian Yelich went 2 for 4 with a homer for the Marlins and opened the scoring in the third inning with a solo shot to make it 1-0. "It was a good swing," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "He keeps battling. He gives you good at-bats. Hes got power. You see it in there. Its just really just a matter of consistency for him. He keeps having good at-bats. Even though his average is probably not where he would want it, or everyone else would want it, I know hes going to give me a good at-bat." The Cubs went in front in the bottom half of the inning when Samardzija singled and Bonifacio hammered a 3-2 pitch from Miami starter Randy Wolf (1-2) into the left-field bleachers for a 2-1 lead. It was Bonifacios first homer since July 30 last season. "That was great," Samardzija said. "I got to jog around the bases instead of having to score from first." The Cubs stretched the lead to 3-1 in the fifth when Lake hit a long homer into the shrubbery in centre field, connecting with a 79 mph changeup on a 2-1 count. Miami got to 3-2 in the sixth inning when Giancarlo Stanton doubled with one out, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Casey McGehees groundout to first base. The Cubs got a run back in the bottom half when Starlin Castro led off with a double, advanced to third on a fly out and scored when Wolf threw a wild pitch with Mike Olt at the plate. Lake bumped the lead to 5-2 an inning later when he went deep for the second time in the game -- the second multihomer game of his career -- on a line drive to left against reliever Chris Hatcher. "I really love how were playing right now as a team in all phases," Samardzija said. "To win big league ballgames you have to have all three or four phases of the game. "I love the way were swinging it right now, and, as a pitcher, it gives you a lot of confidence to go out and pound the zone." NOTES: Cubs LHP Zac Rosscup (left shoulder soreness) began his rehab assignment with Class AAA Iowa Saturday. He has been on the disabled list since May 10. ... Redmond said C Jarrod Saltalamacchia (concussion) has not participated in baseball activities since being hit on his catching mask by a foul tip on May 31 and that it was likely he would be sent to the 15-day disabled list. ... RHP Jake Arrieta (1-1, 3.00 ERA) will face RHP Henderson Alvarez (3-3, 2.62) Sunday in the finale of the three-game series. Alvarezs three wins are all shutouts. Nike Air Max 270 Flyknit Sale . On the day after Billy Horschel posted his 12th straight round in the 60s, won his second straight tournament against a world-class field and picked up an additional $10 million bonus as the FedEx Cup champion, Watson was kicking back in his seat at a Kansas City Royals game. Nike Air Max 270 Flyknit China . Sopoaga hit the upright with his first shot at goal from 15 metres. He then kicked nine goals in succession -- two conversions and seven penalties -- before being replaced in the 62nd minute, three points short of the Highlanders record for most points in a match. http://www.max270cheap.com/air-max-270-black-sale.html. Joining him in this years class were Switzerlands Patrick Huerlimann and Norways Eigil Ramsfjell. The announcement was made at the world mens curling championship at Capital Indoor Stadium in China. Nike Air Max 270 React Triple Black . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. Air Max 270 Mens Sale . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday.Norfolk, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - Aaron Bacote scored a career-high 31 points on a perfect shooting effort from the floor, leading Old Dominion to a 73-67 upset of No. 14 VCU at the Constant Center. Bacote hit all eight of his field goal attempts and went 4-for-4 from 3-point range, while the Monarchs knocked down 9-of-17 attempts from beyond the arc to earn their first win over a ranked opponent since 2009. The Rams, on the other hand, struggled from the perimeter for much of the day and shot 39 percent overall in being dealt a second defeat in their last three games. Give (ODU) Coach (Jeff) Jones and his staff and his team a lot of credit, said VCU head coach Shaka Smart. They really came out with an aggressiveness about them at both ends of the floor, that really was the difference in the game. Trey Freeman added 15 points in a game the Monarchs (5-1) led virtually the entire way due to their marksmanship from the perimeter and ability to handle VCUs trademark pressure defense. I think our guys thought they could win. I dont know that they came into the game expecting to win, said Jones. We hadnt put together 40 minutes against that kind of team. Treveon Graham tallied 29 points for VCU (4-2), with Melvin Johnson recording 14 in the loss. ODU put the Rams in a sizeable hole midway through the opening half on the strength of its long-range shooting success. The Monarchs made each of their five 3-point attempts -- with Bacote draining the first two and Ambrose Mosley the last three -- during a 17-2 run that turned a tie game into a 23-88 lead.dddddddddddd. The Monarchs maintained a double-digit cushion well into the second half, building a 32-18 advantage at the break by beating VCU at its own game. Old Dominion committed just four turnovers as Freeman successfully navigated the Rams press, while the Rams had nine giveaways that led to 12 Monarchs points over the opening period. For most of the game I thought we had that nice balance, Jones said. We wanted to be aggressive, but we wanted to be smart. Down by as many as 18 early in the second half and trailing 57-40 with under 4 1/2 minutes to go, VCU finally began to close the gap. Graham ripped off eight straight points to get the margin under 10, then later drilled a trey to cap a 13-2 spurt that pulled the Rams within 59-53 with 1:34 remaining. The Monarchs were able to hold on by hitting their foul shots, however, going 12-of-14 from the charity stripe in the final minute. ODU ended the game 24-of-30 at the free throw line, with VCU converting only 13 of its 22 chances. Game Notes The Monarchs had dropped five straight against ranked teams since a 61-57 decision over then-No. 11 Georgetown on Dec. 19, 2009 ... Bacotes previous career best was 28 points, set twice last season ... VCU had won four straight meetings between the former Sun Belt and CAA rivals, with Old Dominions last victory over the Rams coming in the 2011 CAA Tournament title game ... VCU, which held a 35-32 edge on the boards, had won 22 straight in which it outrebounded its opponent. ' ' '