CHICAGO -- The Pittsburgh Pirates had one successful weekend at Wrigley Field. It was so good that even Gerrit Cole had a big swing at the plate. Cole pitched six-plus innings and hit his first career homer, and the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 10-4 on Sunday to move into the second wild-card slot in the National League. "Yeah, its pretty sweet," Cole said. "Everybody wants to hit a home run in the show, and it happened at Wrigley, which is really cool." The Pirates swept the three-game series against the last-place Cubs to improve to 12-4 against Chicago this season, including 7-2 at Wrigley Field. Coupled with Milwaukees 9-1 loss to St. Louis, they moved a half-game ahead of the Brewers for the last wild card. Cole hit a two-run shot in the seventh for the last of Pittsburghs four homers. Neil Walker hit a two-run shot in the first and Jordy Mercer and Andrew McCutchen connected in consecutive at-bats in the second. "Offensively, we showed up early," manager Clint Hurdle said. "We got some pitches out over the plate and we elevated some and got good swings on them. We played defence, we pitched and we hit a little bit. It was a good weekend for us." Cole (8-5) allowed four runs, three earned, and nine hits. He struck out eight and walked none in his first victory since July 4 against Philadelphia. Chicago had won three in a row before the visit from Pittsburgh. Travis Wood (8-12) was tagged for seven runs and nine hits in 1 2-3 innings, making the left-hander just 1-7 with a 5.86 ERA in his last 15 starts. "Wasnt Woodys day today, obviously," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "They came out swinging." The Pirates scored five times in the second to open a 7-0 lead. They strung together six straight hits with two outs, highlighted by the homers for Mercer and McCutchen. "He was throwing his heater and leaving a lot of stuff over the middle of the plate," McCutchen said of Wood. "You cant really do that in this game. We were able to key on that." Pittsburgh finished with 19 hits. Walker, McCutchen and Gaby Sanchez had three apiece. Sanchez hit an RBI single off Eric Jokisch to make it 8-0 in the fourth. The Cubs had a 19-inning scoring drought before Mike Olts RBI single in the fifth. Welington Castillo added an RBI double in the sixth. Olt went 3 for 3 with a walk, and Matt Szczur had a two-run single in the seventh. Chris Coghlan had two hits and scored a run. "The offence exploded early and allowed me to try some things out there," Cole said. "When youre pitching with a lead like that, you can take some risks here and there. I made some pitches early." TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: INF Josh Harrison was out of the lineup for a second straight game after aggravating a left ankle injury in the completion of a suspended game on Saturday. ... The Pirates are concerned that INF Pedro Alvarezs left foot injury is not improving as much they would have hoped. Alvarez is expected to travel with the team to Philadelphia, but the Pirates are considering sending him back to Pittsburgh for further tests. Cubs: OF Jorge Soler got the day off after playing 14 innings on Saturday. The Cuban rookie missed a major part of the season in the minors with recurring hamstring injuries and the plan is to give him regular rest in hopes that it will help him stay healthy. UP NEXT Cubs: RHP Jacob Turner (5-8, 5.54 ERA) goes for his second straight win when he faces RHP Marcus Stroman (9-5, 3.83 ERA) in the first of three games at Toronto on Monday night. Pirates: LHP Jeff Locke (6-4, 3.75 ERA), who is 4-1 in his past six starts, starts on Monday in Philadelphia. Locke is 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA in three career starts against the Phillies. Rigoberto Sanchez Jersey . -- The NFL Players Association wants to determine if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaked information about quarterback Josh Freeman being in the NFLs substance abuse program. Adam Vinatieri Jersey . A question that was repeatedly posed last season, and the season before that and in the 2011 campaign before that. http://www.nflcoltsgearsshop.com/John-S ... ?cat=914.C. Lions signed cornerback Dante Marsh to a contract extension on Friay and released receiver Paris Jackson. Scott Tolzien Jersey . At times during a solid but not spectacular season, they looked all three. Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant. Marlon Mack Jersey . Weise will have his hearing with the NHL head office over the phone, while the league has requested an in-person hearing with Kassian. Oilers centre Sam Gagner suffered a broken jaw after getting hit with a high stick from Kassian in Edmontons 5-2 win.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Rob Manfred knows hell get pounded now that hes baseball commissioner — his name is printed in blue script on the sweet spot between the seams of every big league ball.Probably good if I get hit hard, he said, smiling and laughing, during an interview with The Associated Press. A little more offence. We dont have to deal with that issue.Manfreds desk on the 31st floor of baseballs Park Avenue offices was tidy on Monday morning, the first business day after he succeeded Bud Selig and started a five-year term as commissioner. Having worked for MLB since 1998 as an executive vice-president and then as chief operating officer, he didnt have to move into a new office.The issues are piled up, perhaps not physically, but the to-do list is lengthy: Oakland and Tampa Bay want new ballparks; negotiations are ongoing with players over pace of play and domestic violence; Baltimore and Washington are fighting in court over broadcast revenue; there is widespread agreement initiatives must be undertaken to develop young fans and players.A pitch clock must be considered and decreased offence scrutinized along with increased defensive shifts.Tighter balls? Shorter fences? A lower mound? Banning defensive shifts?Perhaps they can be talked about in the future.I do think its important for the game to continue to modernize, he said. That modernization has to proceed at a pace that allows us to be very respectful of the traditions of the game and keeps us from making a hasty error, as they say.He opened his regime Sunday by releasing an open letter to fans, promising development in urban areas and increased emphasis on partnering with high school, college and amateur ball.He left his home early on a snowy Monday and took the commuter train from Tarrytown to Grand Central Terminal, as he has most days since he was hired by MLB after 11 years as an outside counsel with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.Born Sept. 28, 1958, Manfred grew up in Rome, New York, and is thought to be the first commissioner to have played Little League Baseball. He started when he was seven and quit when he was 12 or 13 because it conflicted with tennis.It was a painful and not-particularly successful experience, he said. I played some shortstop, some second base.He attended his first big league game on Aug. 10, 1968, sitting in the lower deck between home plate and first base at Yankee Stadium for New Yorks 3-2 loss to Minnesota. Mickey Mantle went deep twice in his last multihomer game.It was a big trip for us as a family, Manfred said.He wears conservative suits and has a gap-toothed smile and a receding hairline, looking every bit the corporate lawyer he was. His Cornell undergraduate and Harvard Law School diplomas are on the wall behind his desk, to the side of his computer. A flat-screen television on another wall broadcasts sports news.The contrast between the 56-year-old Manfred and the 80-year-old Selig is clear. The longtime Brewers owner ruled baseball from Milwaukee with grandfatherly charm. Selig claims to have never sent an email during his 22-plus years in charge.Bud I and are actually very different, Manfred said. Buds not much of a technology guy. I am the original plugged-in technology guy. Bud is an expert at the politics of managing owners. He does it with an art of persuasion. I think I can effectively manage the owners as well, but my style will be more based on information, rational persuasion, argument, than just politics.Labor strife remains the biggest danger. Following five strikes and three lockouts from 1972-95, baseball negotiated three strraight deals without a stoppage and is ensured labour peace through the 2016 season.ddddddddddddA labour disruption would be a real setback for this game, Manfred said. I think that weve taught people to expect that we can solve our problems or issues with the players in a constructive way without disrupting the play of the game on the field, and I think a failure to be able to do that would be a step backwards for us, obviously.The ever-increasing speed of high-tech innovation is the No. 2 issue. Regional sports networks and national broadcasting contracts have helped pushed baseballs revenue to nearly $9 billion last year, a more than fivefold increase under Seligs reign.Obviously, the cable model has served us well, Manfred explained. We hope it lasts a very long time. But its something you have to be concerned about.One change could be a 20-second pitch clock. While Selig ruled it out for the big leagues this year, it will be experimented with at Double-A and Triple-A.Manfred said MLB executive Joe Torre and Atlanta Braves president John Schuerholz both approved after watching an experiment in the Arizona Fall League.Im a fan of the pitch clock, he said. I think the best endorsement of it is that some of the people involved in the game that you would regard to be on the more traditional spectrum were converts.He also wants stricter interpretation of the rule-book strike zone, a process that began with computer evaluation of umpires ball-strike calls starting in 2001.A lack of strike zone uniformity is kind of like dandelions, Manfred said. If you dont pay attention, it comes back.The big league batting average dropped to .251 last year, its lowest level since 1972. Manfred told ESPN in an interview released Sunday that he was open to banning defensive shifts.I said somewhere down the road its something Id be prepared to have a conversation about. Nothing more, he said Monday,Still, MLB forwarded the players union a list of radical ideas, Fox reported Monday, such as tinkering with the ball, mound, fences and strike zone, and extending the DH to the NL. Manfred also says he doesnt see a DH change happening, but the height of the mound could be open to debate. It was cut from 15 inches to 10 after the 1968 season.I dont see that as a revolutionary idea, he said.He does want to push ahead with international play, saying Id like to play on a more sustained basis outside the United States if thats possible. But games in Asia and Europe are difficult because of travel.The Western Hemisphere is probably more realistic in that regard, he said.And baseball is monitoring the U.S. governments opening to Cuba.Its a great source of talent, and whenever you have a talent source, our people are very interested, he said. Obviously the president has announced an important policy change. What that means at the nuts-and-bolts level that we operate, were just not sure yet.On his first day at the office, New York prepared for a blizzard. Not exactly baseball weather.Manfred beamed when discussing his plans. And when talking about the new baseballs with his name on them.He sent the first one that arrived to his father.It really is a very interesting and exciting, tangible evidence that you are in fact the commissioner of baseball, Manfred said.Howard Smith, MLBs senior vice-president of licensing, made him sign Robert D. Manfred Jr. over and over and over with different pencils and pens. More than a million balls will be manufactured this year.I actually can write if I take the time to do it, Manfred said proudly. It turned out OK. Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '