Anliegen » Friday at the New York Mets. ..

CHICAGO -- Chris Johnson can rest easy during the All-Star break. He earned a couple days off. Johnson had three hits, including his third homer in two days, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs 10-7 on Sunday to keep pace with Washington at the top of the NL East. Johnson hit a long drive to straightaway centre field for a three-run shot in a four-run third inning against Travis Wood (7-8). Johnson also went deep twice in the Braves 11-6 victory at Wrigley Field on Saturday. "The biggest thing for me is the fact Im swinging at strikes," he said. "When I swing at strikes, I can do some good things." Atlanta (52-43) has won three of four since a four-game losing streak. It heads into the break one percentage point behind the division-leading Nationals, who won 10-3 at Philadelphia. "We had a pretty good first half, better than pretty good," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Now weve got to enjoy this break and come out in the second half and keep firing." The Braves played without struggling second baseman Dan Uggla, who was suspended by the team for the series finale at Chicago. Atlanta announced the punishment on its Twitter feed, with no further explanation, and Gonzalez called it an "internal matter." The last-place Cubs (40-54) have lost eight of 10. Arismendy Alcantara and Chris Coghlan each hit a two-run homer off All-Star Julio Teheran (9-6). It was the first career shot for the 22-year-old Alcantara, who also had a bloop double in the first and is batting .391 (9 for 23) in his first five major league games. "With my ability, Im having fun," Alcantara said. "It can be fast. Im having fun." Chicago scored three times in the eighth, highlighted by John Bakers two-run double, but Jordan Walden got Junior Lake to fly out to centre with a runner on second for the final out of the inning. All-Star Craig Kimbrel then worked the ninth for his 29th save in 33 opportunities. "We put ourselves in a position potentially to even edge closer, and we just fell a little short," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. Teheran pitched seven innings in his first start since a rough outing against the Mets. The right-hander lasted just 3 1-3 innings in an 8-3 loss at New York on Tuesday. Teheran retired 12 in a row after Chicago put runners on first and second with two out in the first. He allowed seven hits while improving to 2-0 in four career starts against the Cubs. "I know that my last outing I didnt have a good outing," said Teheran, who is ineligible for the All-Star game because he started on Sunday. "Just trying to come back like I did twice this year." Wood was charged with seven runs and seven hits in six innings. The left-hander is 0-3 with a 6.49 ERA in his last five starts. Wood issued leadoff walks in the second, third and fourth innings, and the first two were costly. Gerald Laird had a two-run double in Atlantas three-run second, and Jason Heyward singled home a run before Johnson connected in the third. Johnsons sixth homer was part of his 30th multihit game of the season. The third baseman was walked intentionally in the seventh to get to Tommy La Stella, who doubled home three runs to give the Braves a 10-2 lead. The 34-year-old Uggla has played sparingly since La Stella was promoted from Triple-A Gwinnett on May 28. The three-time All-Star is batting .162 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 48 games. Gonzalez said he expects Uggla to be with the team when it resumes play on Friday night against the Phillies. He also isnt worried about the effect of the suspension on his team. "I dont think so. I got a pretty good pulse of our clubhouse," he said. "If anybody wants to talk to me, my door is always open. And they know that." NOTES: Atlanta also promoted INF Phil Gosselin from Gwinnett before the game. ... Wood will start Chicagos second game after the All-Star break. RHP Edwin Jackson (5-10, 5.64 ERA) starts the series opener Friday night, and RHP Jake Arrieta (5-1, 1.95 ERA) pitches next Sunday against the Diamondbacks. ... RHP Ervin Santana (7-6, 4.01 ERA) will start Friday night against Philadelphia in Atlantas first game after the break. But Gonzalez said he wasnt sure just yet how the rest of the rotation would line up. Cheap Predators Jerseys China . No surprise there. Kershaw, who also earned the title after throwing his first career no-hitter in June, had a 1. Cheap Predators Jerseys Authentic .J. - Henrik Lundqvist has done more than set a couple of franchise records for the New York Rangers this week. http://www.adidaspredatorsjerseys.com/ . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday. Cheap Adidas Predators Jerseys . Louis Cardinals are one of Major League Baseballs model franchises. Wholesale Predators Jerseys . How foolishly wrong I was. Forget the now inherent corruption and back handed favours that plague the beautiful game. Goal Line Technology? Youre having a laugh. As for them penalty cheating bandits, footballs lawmakers upend them by awarding the penalty to the opponent each time a player attempts to con the referee into awarding ghost penalties.SAN FRANCISCO -- Except for about 30 friends and family in the stands, Sacramento native Vance Worley silenced the announced crowd of 41,794 at AT&T Park with the best performance of his career. Worley tossed a four-hitter for his first shutout, and the Pittsburgh Pirates pounded Madison Bumgarner early in a 5-0 win over the struggling Giants on Monday night. "Just glad I gave them something fun to watch," said Worley, who didnt grow up a Giants fan but heard "a lot of lip" from friends after coming up in the Phillies organization. Worley sure seems to bring his best against San Francisco. Worley (4-1) struck out three and walked one in an efficient 100-pitch outing. His only other complete game came in a 7-2 win over the Giants on July 26, 2011, in Philadelphia. Four players drove in a run off Bumgarner (12-8) in the first, and Josh Harrison hit his seventh homer in the second to provide all of Pittsburghs pop. Worley worked over batters the rest of the way to hand San Francisco its fifth straight loss and 12th shutout this season. The right-hander was acquired from Minnesota on March 25 for a player to be named or cash. He spent time in extended spring training and with Triple-A Indianapolis before being thrust into Pittsburghs rotation because of injuries. Worley has made the most of his opportunities in the majors. He has a 2.54 ERA in eight appearances this season, including seven starts. "He had to fight back. He had to make some adjustments," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Hes been focused. Hes been prepared. Hes not doing anything he hasnt done before. His confidence is playing. The command is whats showing up." Worley didnt allow a baserunner until Pablo Sandoval singled for the first of his two hits. Gregor Blanco hit a swinging bunt single in the sixth before being nabbed trying to steal second. And Hunter Pences two-out triple in the ninth was the only other hit off Worley. The Giants, who were just swept in a three-game home series by the Dodgers to fall out of first place in the NL West, were counting on their All-Star pitcher to help wash away their woes.dddddddddddd Instead, Bumgarner gave up five runs and six hits in four innings. He had allowed one run in 14 innings since the All-Star break and was coming off his best start of the season. All that evaporated in a 41-pitch first. He allowed three hits, two walks and committed one of two San Francisco errors in the inning when he misfired to second trying to pickoff Andrew McCutchen. TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: Left fielder Starling Marte can come off the concussion list Wednesday but likely wont resume baseball activities until a few days after that. Giants: First baseman Brandon Belt passed his concussion test, resumed working out and is expected to return early in the teams 10-game road trip that begins Friday at the New York Mets. ... Backup catcher Hector Sanchez failed his concussion test and said he will be out least another three days. ... Center fielder Angel Pagan (back) will go through his pregame workout routine Tuesday in Arizona, and if everything goes well the Giants will set a date for his rehab assignment. ON DECK Pirates: LHP Francisco Liriano (2-7, 4.18 ERA) looks for his second straight victory. Giants: RHP Tim Hudson (8-7, 2.65 ERA) tries to stop his three-game home losing streak. TURN TWO: The Pirates helped Worley out with two double plays, including a spectacular turn by second baseman Neil Walker in the fourth. Walker grabbed shortstop Jordy Mercers glove scoop barehanded while falling, turned and threw to first to get Michael Morse. "I knew I was going to have to bare-hand the ball, but I just didnt know where it was going to be," Walker said. "It was kind of just instinctual." HOME-FIELD DISADVANTAGE After starting the season 22-9 at home, the Giants are 6-20 in San Francisco since and 28-29 overall. "This is kind of where you make your money at," said Bumgarner, who is 4-6 at AT&T Park this season. "Its really weird." ' ' '