erson pushed it to 100-95. New

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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. .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to complete a sweep of the Washington Capitals when the clubs cap a quick home-and-home series Tuesday night in the Steel City. . - The Green Bay Packers got back to work on Friday without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. http://www.brownsauthoritystore.com/Aut ... ns-Jersey/. "Yes, Id like to get them in," Detroits rookie manager said. "Mother Natures going to have a say in that." Sure enough, the Tigers had their game against the Kansas City Royals postponed because of rain on Thursday. .com) - After Tom Brady added to an already illustrious legacy, Malcolm Butler established his by leaving the Seattle Seahawks, well, deflated. . The defending champions’ roller coaster season included trading offensive star Percy Harvin in the midst of the team’s 3-3 start. That move that reportedly irked several Seahawk players, but one management saw necessary to save the team’s chemistry.NEW YORK -- Nearly halfway through their homestand, more than halfway through their season, and the only move the New York Knicks are making is backward. Evan Turner scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Thaddeus Young made a key 3-pointer on a play the Knicks admittedly botched, and the Philadelphia 76ers send New York to a fifth straight loss with a 110-106 victory on Wednesday night. Blowing a favourable portion of their schedule, the Knicks fell to 15-27, a season after losing 28 games total in winning the Atlantic Division. "This is the time right here to make up ground and were not," guard J.R. Smith said. "Were playing better on the road than we are at home and it should be the other way around if anything." Michael Carter-Williams and Young each added 19 points for the 76ers, who won for just the second time in nine games. James Anderson finished with 18 points as Philadelphia outrebounded New York 54-39 to snap a three-game skid. "Our team was good tonight. We played good team defence and we ended it with rebounds," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "So Im happy that we came in here and found a way to get a win and it was through our defence." Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points after a slow start for the Knicks, who were at least competitive after losing the previous four by a combined 75 points. They are 0-3 on an eight-game homestand that matches a franchise record. But its not helping the Knicks at all, as they started their second half with another loss after going 15-26 through the midpoint of their schedule. With that in mind, Brown said he expected to see an "angry team" that wanted to fix things. Instead, the Knicks started slowly and finished poorly. "I really dont know what it is, why we cant play well on our own home court," Anthony said. "This should be the time where we gain some momentum, gain some confidence as a team playing here on our own home court, but that dont seem like its the case right now." After trailing most of the game, the Knicks ran off 10 straight points to open the fourth quarter and take a 90-84 lead on Tim& Hardaway Jr.dddddddddddds three-point play. Philadelphia then held New York without a basket for more than 5 minutes and moved back into the lead at 96-92 on consecutive 3-poiners by Carter-Williams and Turner. "Really big for us to come back," Carter-Williams said. "We stayed together, stayed as a team, shared the ball at the end and we executed down the stretch." Smith ended the Knicks drought with a 3-pointer, but baskets by Young and Anderson pushed it to 100-95. New York had one last chance when it got within two, but Young made a wide-open 3-pointer and Turner followed with a basket for a 107-100 cushion that sent fans for the exits. The Knicks said they knew what the Sixers would do on the possession that ended with Youngs open look from the top of the key, but coach Mike Woodson said they "botched it up." Andrea Bargnani scored 20 points for the Knicks in his return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench Monday in a loss to Brooklyn. Woodson wanted to return to the bigger lineup similar to the one that beat the 76ers in the last meeting. But the Knicks also had Amare Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin for that game, and both are out now with sprained left ankles. The loss to the Nets was a tumultuous holiday for the Knicks, as their blowout loss was followed by quotes from Anthony that seemed critical of his teammates effort and Chandler that appeared to question coach Woodsons defensive strategy. They probably didnt feel much better after this one, losing to a team they had defeated eight of the previous 10 times. "Weve got to believe that we can win a game," Woodson said. Anthony missed all four shots and had just one point in the first quarter while the 76ers hit 56 per cent for a 33-26 lead. He came back with 13 in the second, helping the Knicks pull to 61-56 at halftime. NOTES: Sixers F Brandon Davies had surgery for a broken right small finger. The Sixers said Davies, hurt Saturday against Chicago, will be re-evaluated in two weeks, though Brown said hes expected to be out longer. ... The Knicks are worth a league-high $1.4 billion, according to a ranking in Forbes. ' ' '