Fotoalbum » "Guys came out, and they didnt come out to play that first

CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo stayed at the plate for an extra second as his towering drive headed toward right field. The big first baseman just wanted to make sure it was fair before he got started on one enjoyable trip around the bases. Rizzo hit a two-run homer in the 13th inning and the Chicago Cubs beat the Miami Marlins 5-3 on Friday for their season-high fourth consecutive victory. "I think theyre playing with a lot of confidence right now and theyre continuing to pick each other up," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "I think theyre starting to feel and know they can do this. You dont want every game to be like this, but theyre doing it right. Well take it." The Cubs recovered after closer Hector Rondon blew a three-run lead in the ninth, earning their first four-game winning streak since last July 6-9. Rizzo also had a two-run double in the eighth and Jason Hammel pitched seven shutout innings. Junior Lake hit a leadoff single against Kevin Slowey (1-1) before Rizzo connected for his 12th homer. It was Rizzos second homer in two days and the Cubs first game-ending shot since he connected against St. Louis on July 29, 2012. "I hit it up in the air and the wind was blowing, so you never know," Rizzo said. "I knew I got enough of it. I was just hoping it would stay fair." Carlos Villanueva (2-5) pitched two perfect innings for the win. Chris Coghlan and Nate Schierholtz each had two hits. Garrett Jones had three hits for Miami, which had won four in a row. Nathan Eovaldi gave up three runs and six hits in 7 2-3 innings in his first career appearance against the Cubs. "I felt like I threw the ball well," Eovaldi said. "Was able to use both sides of the plate, slider was good, and I was able to throw my curveball a lot today for strikes." The Marlins had just two hits in extra innings. Their last nine hitters went down in order. "Other than the ninth inning, you know, mounting the rally, which was good to see, we put together some nice at-bats and gave ourselves a chance to play some extras," manager Mike Redmond said. "But then really in the extra innings, we didnt get anything going at all." Hammel allowed six hits, struck out eight and walked one, extending his scoreless streak to 14 innings over his last two outings. The right-hander, who could be an attractive trade target for a contender at next months deadline, is 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA over his last four starts. "I did my best to stay in my counts so I could be advantageous throwing the heater," he said. "I was kind of pitching backwards today. Slider early and fastball late." Hammel was in line for his seventh victory, which would have matched his total from last season, before the Marlins rallied in the ninth. Justin Bour had a run-scoring grounder before Reed Johnson, another pinch hitter, sliced a tying, two-run single into right-centre against one of his former teams. Bour was initially ruled safe on his grounder to first, but the call was overturned when a replay review showed Rondon got his foot on the bag in time. There was another overturned call in the 10th inning when Schierholtzs diving try for Casey McGehees sinking liner to right was initially ruled a successful catch. Eovaldi retired his first 14 batters before Schierholtz reached on a two-out single in the fifth for his 500th career hit. Coghlan followed with a liner to right for his third RBI in 24 games this season, scoring Schierholtz all the way from first for a 1-0 lead. While Eovaldi was shutting down the Cubs, Hammel had to work hard to keep the Marlins down. Miami got at least one hit in each of the first five innings, but Hammel was at his best when the Marlins had runners on base. "Im very confident in my stuff right now and having a good game plan," Hammel said. NOTES: Cubs C John Baker returned to the lineup after taking a foul ball off his throat during Wednesdays 5-4 victory over the Mets. Renteria said Bakers vocal cords are "inflamed" and the catcher is taking medication. "Theres nothing there that we can actually do to hurt it any more or any less," Renteria said. ... Blackhawks forwards Patrick Sharp, Bryan Bickell and Michal Handzus and defenceman Sheldon Brookbank took batting practice and threw in the outfield before the game. "The wind must be blowing in because I didnt get one out," Sharp said with a grin. "I think Bicksy hit one off the wall." ... Cubs RHP Jeff Samardzija (1-5, 2.54 ERA) faces 37-year-old Marlins LHP Randy Wolf (1-1, 3.38) on Saturday. Kris Bryant Jersey . Or at least on everyone elses expectations. Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another World Cup stunner on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy 1-0 to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process. Carlos Zambrano Cubs Jersey . Trailing 4-1 in the final set, Sharapova steadied her erratic service game and took command again to beat the 56th-ranked American 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on clay at the Magic Box tennis centre. The ninth-ranked Russian looked to be cruising before McHale broke late in the second set to tie the match and then took her commanding lead in the final set after breaking Sharapova. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Ian-Happ-Kids-Jersey/ . No, the San Antonio star didnt announce retirement plans during an off day at the NBA Finals on Wednesday. Addison Russell Jersey . The 24-year-old Pruneau played his CIS football with the Montreal Carabins. The six-foot, 200-pound Montreal native had 41 tackles, 3. Mark Grace Cubs Jersey . According to various reports, the striker is about to sign a five-and-a-half year extension with Manchester United worth a reported 300,000 pounds a week that would see him at Old Trafford until 2019.NASHVILLE -- Shea Weber and a couple of first-timers helped the Predators snap a home skid. Weber scored twice and Colton Sissons and Calle Jarnkrok each scored their first NHL goals to lead the Nashville Predators to a 6-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. Colin Wilson and Eric Nystrom also scored for Nashville, winners of three of four. Rasmus Ristolainen scored for Buffalo, which has lost 10 of its last 11 games. The Predators got off to a fast start, scoring four goals in the first, and ended a six-game home losing streak. "Weve talked about that the few games that we have to play better at home," Weber said. "Weve always been a team in the past that takes pride in winning at home and we havent done that lately. We need to change that." Sissons scored the games first goal at 6:26 of the opening period. From the left circle, Rich Clune sent a backhand on net. Buffalos Matt Hackett turned it aside, but Sissons pounced on the rebound at the left of the net and slammed it home for his first career NHL goal. "I cant really describe it," Sissons said. "Im on top of the world right now. Ive been working pretty hard and fortunately got a bounce there to get my first." Wilson struck at 11:44 of the first when he picked up a loose puck in the slot and beat Hackett for his eighth of the season. Just 9 seconds later, Jarnkrok beat Hackett with a snap shot from the slot to record his first career NHL goal. "Jarnkrok was goood," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said.dddddddddddd "Thats a goal-scorers goal. Hes very detailed. I love the way he plays. He plays on the right side of the puck every time." Weber completed Nashvilles first period barrage with a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle while the Predators had a 5-on-3 advantage. "Guys came out, and they didnt come out to play that first period," Buffalo coach Ted Nolan said. "In order to rebuild and retool, you rebuild and retool with the right people." Hackett was removed following the first period and replaced by Nathan Lieuwen. Ristolainen got Buffalo on the board at 2:06 of the second when he beat Carter Hutton with a slap shot from above the right circle. It was the rookies second career goal. "It was a goal, but a horrible hockey game," Ristolainen said. He was recalled earlier Thursday from the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis due to an injury to Tyler Myers. Weber struck again at 6:19 of the first with another slap shot from the top of the right circle. It was the captains 20th goal of the season, the second time in his career that he has reached that mark. NOTES: Wilsons goal was his first since Dec. 30, a stretch of 33 games . Twelve Predators recorded a point in the first period . Buffalo C Brian Flynn assisted on Ristolainens goal. He has assists in two of his last three games . The Sabres are 1-12-0 against Central Division teams this season. ' ' '