nd.The As took two of three games from the AL Central leaders. Cleveland went into the day with the best record in the American Le

SAN DIEGO -- Major league ERA leader Kyle Hendricks pitched six effective innings and the Chicago Cubs finished off a three-game sweep, beating the San Diego Padres 6-3 on Wednesday.Hendricks (12-7) gave up two runs and four hits, striking out eight and leaving with a 2.19 ERA. He has allowed no more than three earned runs in 17 straight starts.There Cubs relievers took over for the NL Central leaders, with Aroldis Chapman pitching the ninth for his 29th save in 32 chances.Willson Contreras homered and Ben Zobrist drove in two runs to help the Cubs win for the 22nd time in 27 games. At 81-45, they are 36 games over .500 for the first time since ending the 1945 season at 98-56.The Padres have dropped nine of their past 12. Paul Clemens (2-3) took the loss.YANKEES 5, MARINERS 0SEATTLE -- Rookie Gary Sanchez kept up his torrid stretch with his seventh home run in the past nine games, and Masahiro Tanaka won his fourth straight start in New Yorks victory over Seattle.Tanaka (11-4) threw seven shutout innings and got the better of the Mariners and former Japan League teammate Hisashi Iwakuma (14-9).The Yankees won their third straight road series. They took two of three from the Mariners, one of the teams theyre chasing in the AL wild-card race.Sanchez homered into the second deck in left field in the first inning on the first pitch from Iwakuma, his ninth home run in 18 games since joining the Yankees lineup Aug. 3.Sanchez added a double and his intentional walk in the seventh inning led to Mark Teixeiras RBI single for a 4-0 lead.RANGERS 6, REDS 5CINCINNATI -- Yu Darvish hit only the second homer by a Texas pitcher and Adrian Beltre had a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning in the Rangers 6-5 victory over Cincinnati.Darvishs solo shot to center field was one of three homers by the Rangers, who wasted a three-run lead before rallying late. Beltres double off Blake Wood (5-2) snapped a 5-5 tie.Nomar Mazara had a three-homer, and Ian Desmond followed Darvishs homer in the fifth with one off Tim Adleman. The Reds have given up 10 homers in the last three games, including four sets of back-to-backs.Darvish let a 5-2 lead slip away. He walked a season-high five batters and hit a batter in six innings. A passed ball and an error led to two unearned runs.Jake Diekman (4-2) went one inning and got the win. Sam Dyson pitched the ninth for his 28th save.RAYS 4, RED SOX 3, 11 INNINGSST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- David Ortiz hit his 30th home run in the first inning, but Tampa Bay came back from a three-run deficit to beat Boston to prevent the Red Sox from taking sole possession of the AL East lead.Luke Maile doubled with two out in the 11th and scored after Red Sox pitcher Heath Hembree (4-1) dropped a throw to first base on Kevin Kiermaiers grounder.Brad Boxberger (2-0) got the win with one inning of relief.Boston has won 10 of its last 13 games and remained tied for first with Toronto.Bidding to become the majors first 18-game winner, Rick Porcello allowed Evan Longorias tying homer in the eighth before leaving. It was Longorias 30th homer.ANGELS 8, BLUE JAYS 2TORONTO -- Albert Pujols moved into sole possession of 10th place on the career home run list with 584, Matt Shoemaker pitched six shutout innings and Los Angeles beat Toronto to snap an 11-game road losing streak.Pujols finished 4 for 4 with three RBI. After he and Mike Trout hit back-to-back homers in the first, Pujols hit a sacrifice fly in the second, singled in the fourth and sixth innings, then capped his night with an RBI double in the eighth.For Pujols, the homer broke a tie with Mark McGwire on career list. A three-time MVP and 10-time All-Star, Pujols is two home runs shy of tying Frank Robinson for ninth place.Two pitches after Trout hit his 24th home run, Pujols did the same. Both shots came off Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada (7-6).Shoemaker (8-13) allowed three hits, walked one and struck out three.ORIOLES 10, NATIONALS 8WASHINGTON -- Baltimore closer Zach Britton saw his remarkable streak of 43 straight games without allowing an earned run end, then shut down Washingtons ninth-inning rally.The Nationals scored five times in the ninth, one of them charged to Britton. But after his own mistake helped Washington put runners on first and second with one out, Britton got Ryan Zimmerman to ground into a double play.Manny Machado and Matt Wieters each homered and drove in four runs for the AL wild card-contending Orioles. Baltimore has beaten the NL East leaders three straight times this week.Daniel Murphy hit a grand slam for the Nationals in the ninth, making it 10-7 and bringing Britton into the game with one out in a non-saved situation.Wade Miley (8-10) allowed two runs on seven hits in five-plus innings. Tanner Roark (13-7) gave up five runs in five innings and hit three batters.MARLINS 3, ROYALS 0MIAMI -- Jose Fernandez pitched seven innings and appeared to avoid a serious injury when he tweaked his right leg on his final pitch, helping Miami snap Kansas Citys winning streak at nine.Fernandez (13-7) pulled up after striking out Christian Colon to end the seventh, and rubbed his right knee before limping to the dugout. The Marlins pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the seventh.Fernandez had nine strikeouts to increase his season total to 213, breaking the Marlins record of 209 set by Ryan Dempster in 2000. Fernandez also had the Marlins first two hits, hiking his average to .286.Fernando Rodney pitched around two singles and walk for his 25th save and eighth with Miami.Dillon Gee (5-7) took the loss.CARDINALS 8, METS 1ST. LOUIS -- Matt Carpenter, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty homered off New York starter Jacob deGrom to power St. Louis.Carpenter set the tone, hitting a leadoff home run in the first inning. The Cardinals went on to win for the seventh time in nine games.Piscotty and Yadier Molina each had three of the Cardinals season high-tying 19 hits.Carlos Martinez (12-7) gave up one run and four hits over eight innings. He also got two hits himself.Roughed up for the second straight start, deGrom (7-7) allowed five runs on 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings. He was tagged for a career-worst eight runs and 13 hits in his previous outing against San Francisco.ATHLETICS 5, INDIANS 1OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kendall Graveman pitched into the seventh inning to become Oaklands first 10-game winner this season, and the Athletics beat Cleveland.The As took two of three games from the AL Central leaders. Cleveland went into the day with the best record in the American League, but was held to one run for the third consecutive game.Khris Davis tripled and scored as part of Oaklands five-run second inning off Trevor Bauer (9-6).Roberto Perez homered, and Jose Ramirez and Lonnie Chisenhall had two hits apiece for Cleveland.Graveman (10-8) extended his scoreless streak to 16 innings before Perez homered in the seventh.Graveman allowed six hits in 6 2/3 innings and won for the ninth time in his last 11 decisions.ASTROS 5, PIRATES 4PITTSBURGH -- Evan Gattis hit his 20th home run, leading Collin McHugh and Houston over Pittsburgh for the Astros fifth victory in six games.McHugh (8-10) gave up three runs in five innings, ending an 0-4 rut in his last five starts. Ken Giles closed for his fifth save. Gerrit Cole (7-9) allowed five runs in five innings.Jordy Mercer homered for Pittsburgh.BREWERS 7, ROCKIES 1MILWAUKEE -- Ryan Braun hit two home runs and Milwaukee tied a season high with its fourth straight victory, beating Colorado.Braun hit a solo drive off Tyler Anderson (4-5) in the fourth inning. He connected for his 24th homer, a two-run shot, off Chad Qualls in a four-run seventh.Colorados Nolan Arenado hit his NL-leading 34th homer in the first. The Rockies went on to load the bases, but Zach Davies (10-6) escaped further trouble.TIGERS 9, TWINS 4MINNEAPOLIS -- Miguel Cabrera hit his 28th home run and had four hits, Justin Upton added a three-run homer and Detroit beat Minnesota.Matt Boyd (5-2) tied his career high with seven strikeouts in six innings to win his fifth straight decision.Cabrera had his fifth four-hit game of the season and was a triple shy of the cycle. He opened the scoring with a deep blast to straightaway center field in the first inning.Brian Dozier hit his career-high 30th homer for Minnesota, but starter Tyler Duffey (8-10) allowed six runs in three innings. The Twins have lost sixth straight.PHILLIES 5, WHITE SOX 3CHICAGO -- Tommy Joseph and Cesar Hernandez homered to back Jerod Eickhoff, and struggling Philadelphia beat Chicago.Joseph and Hernandez each had two hits and went deep against James Shields (5-16). Aaron Altherr added two RBI singles.Eickhoff (9-12) allowed two runs and four hits over six innings. Jeanmar Gomez worked the ninth for his 34th save in 38 chances. Nike Shoes Black Friday Discount . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Cheap Nike Shoes Black Friday . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/ .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Wholesale Nike Shoes Black Friday . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Nike Shoes Black Friday Online . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. INDIANAPOLIS -- NBA Central Division rivals will square off Saturday night as the Chicago Bulls visit the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.The Pacers are 2/3 to start the season but have won both games theyve played at home.Indiana has struggled on the defensive end in the early going. Through five games, the Pacers have the second-to-worst defensive efficiency in the league.Weve yet to be a strong defensive team, Pacers guard Paul George said. We havent shown that dominance on that side of the ball. Im concerned by it. Weve got the guys to do it. We just havent done it.That defense will be put to the test on Saturday against the Bulls, who have averaged 109 points per game.Forward C.J. Miles echoed Paul George with his comments: I cant say were not playing hard, but were just not playing the way we should be playing as a group.Miles knows the combination of Wade and Rondo can provide a tough matchup for anybody. Theyre playing like Wade and Rondo. Theyre smart. Theyre veteran guys. They know how to play the game.The teams met last Saturday, with the Bulls defeating the Pacers 118-101 at the United Center. That matchup was the second night of a back-to-back for Indiana. This time around, it will be Chicago playing their second game in as many nights.Doug McDermott came off the bench to score 23 points in their first game against the Pacers. He returned to action against the Knicks on Friday after missing time with a concussion earlier this week.Michael Carter-Williiams will still be out for the Bulls (left knee bone bruise), and Rodney Stuckey will be out for the Pacers (right hamstring strain.dddddddddddd)The Bulls won their first three games of the season, but have dropped their last two. Like the Pacers, theyve faced some defensive struggles of their own lately, giving up 107 points to Boston and 117 points to the Knicks.After Fridays game, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg was not pleased with the effort. We didnt get back on defense, Hoiberg said. Inexcusable things. No real urgency coming out of the gate.In recent years, the Bulls and Pacers engaged in low-scoring games. But at least in the early part of this season, the teams have now become more offensive-minded.Both teams rank among the best in the NBA in 3-point shooting to start the season. Dwyane Wade has found his stroke from behind the arc. He already has made more 3-pointers this year in five games than he made all of last season in Miami. He was 5 of 7 from 3-pointer against the Knicks on Friday on the way to 35 points.Paul George and Jimmy Butler are a few of the best two-way players in the game and they always provide an interesting matchup when these teams gsvr off.Butler gave props to his former teammates on Friday. I wish D-Rose and Noah all the best, he said. They played well against us. We just want to bounce back on Saturday against Indiana. ' ' '