NEWS » . Chicago played the Giants in New York on a Saturday and then

(SportsNetwork. Devin Smeltzer Jersey .com) - Zack Greinke aims to become just baseballs second nine-game winner this season as the Los Angeles Dodgers wrap a four-game series on Sunday afternoon with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tune in to all the action live on TSN2 beginning at 8pm et/5pm pt. Greinke carried a Major League-record string of 22 straight starts without allowing more than two earned runs into his last outing on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds. Though that streak was halted, Greinke still won his third decision in a row thanks to a positive 6-3 outcome. The right-hander was charged with three runs on eight hits over 7 2/3 innings, matching a season high with 11 strikeouts while not issuing a walk. It marked the first time Greinke allowed more than two earned runs in a start since July 25, but he still improved to 8-1 with a 2.18 earned run average. He is tied with St. Louis Adam Wainwright for the most victories in the NL this season and one back of Torontos Mark Buehrle for the most in baseball. Greinke, 30, is 5-2 with a 5.29 ERA lifetime against the Pirates, who counter with Edinson Volquez. Volquez is 2-3 with a 2.86 ERA in seven previous meetings with the Dodgers and spent a brief stint with the club last season. Acquired from the San Diego Padres midseason, the righty went 0-2 with a 4.18 ERA in six games (5 starts) with Los Angeles. Volquez picked up his second win of the season with a solid outing on May 22 versus Washington, but struggled with his command on Tuesday against the New York Mets in a no-decision. The 30-year-old yielded four hits and a walked a season-high five batters over five innings, but did limit the damage to just two runs. "It was a challenge for (Volquez) but he kept us in the game," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said of his starter. Volquez is 2-4 on the year with a 4.30 ERA and will try to cool off the Dodgers bats. Los Angeles saw its offense erupt on Saturday for a 12-2 win, thanks in large part to Hanley Ramirez. He went 4-for-4 at the plate and hit a pair of homers while matching career highs with five RBI and four runs scored. "Hanley has found something and I hope it continues. Everything fell our way today," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. Matt Kemp, Justin Turner and Drew Butera each drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who snapped a three-game losing skid. After flirting with a no-hitter in his last start, Hyun-Jin Ryu yielded two runs on 10 hits over six solid innings to earn the win. In the worst outing of his young career, Brandon Cumpton was tagged for 11 runs -- 10 earned -- on 11 hits and two walks over just 3 2/3 innings. "His (Cumpton) fastball command wasnt what weve seen from him in the past. It was a bad day for him," said Hurdle. Jose Tabata collected three hits and Jordy Mercer had an RBI for Pittsburgh, which had snapped a nine-game slide in Los Angeles by winning the first two games of this series. Minnesota Twins Pro Shop . At 11:06 of the first period, Neal struck Marchand with his knee when Marchand was down on the ice. Marchand remained in the game. Neal was assessed a kneeing penalty for his hit on Marchand. Jorge Polanco Twins Jersey . Smith, an eighth overall pick, had two goals in only 276 minutes of playing time over 16 appearances last season. The left side midfielder played only 43 minutes in three games this season. https://www.cheaptwins.com/1882t-michael-pineda-jersey-twins.html . -- Lara Gut of Switzerland regained the overall World Cup lead with Sundays super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta.CHICAGO -- The Washington Nationals hit the halfway point of the season tied with Atlanta for the NL East lead. Adam LaRoche will take that. "I like our position in the standings and I like how our team is playing," LaRoche said after Washington swept a day-night doubleheader from the Cubs on Saturday. LaRoche and Wilson Ramos homered, Blake Treinen earned his first major league win and the Nationals beat Chicago 7-2 in a rainy nightcap. Gio Gonzalez pitched two-hit ball over seven innings in the opener for a 3-0 victory. In the second game, Washington tagged Jeff Samardzija (2-7) for six runs over five innings to salvage a four-game series split. LaRoche led off the second with a long drive to right for his 11th homer, and Ramos connected to start the fifth, sparking a four-run rally that made it 6-2. Making his fifth major league start, Treinen (1-3) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings. The right-hander was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse as the 26th man on the roster for the doubleheader. "It means a lot," he said about the win. "Im definitely excited, thats for sure." Ross Detwiler pitched three perfect innings for his first career save. The only runs for the Cubs came on a two-run homer by Luis Valbuena that tied it at 2 in the fourth, right about when the rain started falling. With two outs in the inning and Nate Schierholtz batting, play was stopped for 55 minutes. Once the game resumed, it didnt take long for the Nationals to regain the lead. Ramos connected on the first pitch of the fifth for his second homer, and Washington sent up nine batters in the inning. With two outs and a man on first, three straight singles by Anthony Rendon, Kevin Frandsen and Jayson Werth resulted in two more runs. First baseman Anthony Rizzo then let LaRoches hard smash get by him for an error, bringing in Frandsen to make it 6-2. "Coming out of the rain delay they jumped on me right off the bat, and then they hit some fastballs over the plate and hit them up the middle," Samardzija said. "Made me keep throwing pitches. Like I said, they did a good job. They were ready out of the break." In the first game, Gonzalez dominated in his third start back from the disabled list, outperforming Dalllas Beeler in the rightys major league debut. Taylor Rogers Twins Jersey. Rendon had three hits, including a two-out double against Beeler in the sixth before scoring the games first run on a wild pitch. Rendon added an RBI triple off Justin Grimm and came home on a sacrifice fly by LaRoche against Wesley Wright in a two-run eighth. Denard Span chipped in with two hits and scored a run, and the Nationals snapped a three-game losing streak. Gonzalez (5-4) struck out seven and walked two while improving to 2-0 in three starts after missing a month because of inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Tyler Clippard worked the eighth and Rafael Soriano finished for his 19th save in 21 chances. "Obviously, coming (off) the DL and trying to work your way back is going to be a process," Gonzalez said. "Its not going to happen overnight. Its good to see, little by little, using fastball and changeup at the same time. Its good to know when you need them theyll be there." Beeler was about as good as Gonzalez. Called up from Triple-A Iowa as the 26th man, he pitched four-hit ball while allowing an unearned run in six innings. Beeler also singled in his first at-bat when he lined the first pitch he saw up the middle in the third, drawing big cheers from the crowd. "I was a lot calmer than what I thought Id be," he said. "I walked out there, took a deep breath, threw my warmup pitches, kind of looked around again, exhaled and I was like, All right, same game Ive been playing for the last 20 years." NOTES: Nationals OF Bryce Harper hit three homers and drove in five runs in a rehab game for Double-A Harrisburg. The 2012 NL Rookie of the Year is working his way back from a torn ligament in his left thumb. He went 4 for 5 as the DH against the Cleveland Indians Akron affiliate. Washington manager Matt Williams said hes not sure if Harper will play another game for Harrisburg on Sunday. The Nationals are optimistic he will return early in the week, if not Monday, when they open a three-game series against Colorado. ... The Cubs have their first scheduled Sunday off in 82 years because of the annual Pride Parade in Chicago. The last one was on June 19, 1932. Chicago played the Giants in New York on a Saturday and then went to Philadelphia on a Monday. ' ' '