GrobberNET

　 WASHINGTON—Starlin Castro hit a run-scoring double in the eighth inning to break a scoreless tie and Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run homer to lift the Cubs to a 4-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.Ryan Dempster (12-8) threw seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight.Washington’s Jason Marquis (0-7) remained winless this season despite his best pitching performance of the year. He gave up one run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings, walking three and striking... (more...)

With limited options left in his bullpen, Ozzie Guillen had to call on closer Bobby Jenks again.Gordon Beckham hit a three-run home run in the seventh, Gavin Floyd pitched seven strong innings and the White Sox held on to beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-5 on Tuesday night.The Sox won for just the fifth time in 15 games, moving within 3 1/2 games of first-place Minnesota in the AL Central.But the win came at a cost for the Sox bullpen. The White Sox will lose relievers Matt Thornton (sore left forearm)... (more...)

　 WASHINGTON—With every pitch he threw against the Washington Nationals, Carlos Zambrano thought of his critically ill 11-year-old nephew, who is hospitalized in Venezuela with a serious infection.Alfonso Soriano and Tyler Colvin homered, Zambrano continued his resurgence since rejoining the Cubs rotation and he beat the Nationals 5-4 on Tuesday night.After dispatching Washington, Zambrano was scheduled to board an overnight flight to his homeland so he can visit the youngster in intensive... (more...)

　 WASHINGTON—There were two baseballs in the wooden tray that sits on the desk in the visiting manager’s office at Nationals Park. One was the last ball thrown in the game, a swinging strikeout that finished off an eight-run victory. The other was a game ball saved by the home plate umpire.They were souvenirs from Mike Quade’s first game as a major league manager, the Cubs’ 9-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Monday night.The post-Piniella Cubs are off to quite... (more...)

An emotional Lou Piniella waves to the Wrigley Field faithful as he bows out as he brings an end to his career. (AP) Lou Piniella waved goodbye Sunday, bowing as out the Cubs manager and ending a career that spanned five decades after the Atlanta Braves routed the sinking Northiders 16-5.Piniella, 66, announced before the game that he leaving to be with his ailing mother. Third base coach Mike Quade was promoted to interim manager.He joins the likes of Jim Essian and Bruce Kim who were... (more...)

KANSAS CITY—Jason Kendall hit a game-ending single with two outs in the 10th inning, giving the Kansas City Royals a 3-2 victory over the White Sox on Sunday in the teams’ third extra-inning game in less than 24 hours.Gregor Blanco walked with two outs and stole second and third before Kendall delivered the hit to left-center off Scott Linebrink (1-1).The Royals and White Sox played three games totaling 9 hours, 32 minutes and 31 innings. They split a doubleheader Saturday night, the... (more...)

The Bears and Oakland Raiders both played their starters for the most part for most of the first half.The Bears know they still have some work to do,mostly on the offensive line. Oakland won the game 32-17 as Jay Cutler again had to run for his life and Brian Urlacher hurt his calf muscle.The Raiders won the toss,and unlike the Bears of the past couple of seasons, they chose to take the ball. Oakland,as they have done in their long time tradition had a quick holding penalty and a false start,but... (more...)

Yuniesky Betancourt came up with clutch hits to help the Kansas City Royals split a doubleheader with the White Sox.Juan Pierre’s two-out RBI double in the 10th lifted the Sox to a 7-6 victory over the Royals in the second game after Betancourt tied it with a two-out single in the ninth.In the first game, Betancourt hit a grand slam in the seventh inning, then delivered a two-out single in the 11th that gave the Royals a 6-5 win over the White Sox. His two-out RBI single in the ninth inning... (more...)

　 After getting swept by the division-leading Reds and Padres at Wrigley Field, Tom Gorzelanny wanted to make something clear after a win over another first place opponent.Aramis Ramirez had three hits and two RBI, Gorzelanny pitched seven strong innings and the Cubs held on to beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 on Saturday.The win didn’t come without another scare for the Cubs. Reliever Sean Marshall entered with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning. After striking out pinch-hitter... (more...)

　   TULSA—Tiffany Jackson scored 17 points, former Olympic sprinter Marion Jones finished her rookie season with a career-high 14 points and the Tulsa Shock snapped a six-game losing streak Saturday night by beating the Sky 84-71.The Sky finished their fifth season in last place,missing the playoffs in each season of exsistence.The Shock, who relocated from Detroit in the offseason, had lost 25 of their last 27 games before finishing their first season in Tulsa with a victory.Jones made... (more...)