PITTSBURGH -- The Chicago Cubs arent going to panic. Not over their suddenly struggling starting staff, and not over their dwindling division lead, either.Josh Bells grand slam in his second major-league at bat was one of four homers by the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 12-6 win over Chicago on Saturday night.The Pirates have won nine of 10 over a stretch coinciding with the Cubs losing nine of 10, meaning Chicagos lead in the National League Central is down to 6 1/2 games.I feel like were fortunate to be (up 6 1/2 games) right now, actually, manager Joe Maddon said. I dont believe its a negative; I think its a positive.Jordy Mercer followed Bells slam with a home run of his own off of Adam Warren (3-2), and Andrew McCutchen and Sean Rodriguez homered earlier off Jon Lester. The National League pitcher of the month for June, Lester has allowed 13 runs in 4 1/3 innings in July, including five in three innings Saturday.Terrible. Unacceptable. Letdown, Lester said, describing his outing. Offense gives me two runs early and then gives me runs again -- and then I give it right back. Obviously a letdown, not only for myself but for the team.Ben Zobrist had a two-run homer and Anthony Rizzo had four hits for the Cubs, whose division lead is as small as its been since May.The biggest reason why? Starting pitchers that have a majors-best ERA but have allowed 41 earned runs in 41 innings during July.It seemed like early on we couldnt do anything wrong, Lester said. And Ill be the first one to tell you that what we were doing early on was pretty impressive. But just like with how we were playing overall and the pace we were on to win, what was it, 120 games or whatever, we all knew that that was not realistic.But at the same time, weve got to be better as a staff, weve got to be better as a whole and that starts with me tonight.Bell slugged a fifth-inning Warren pitch over the seats perched above the 21-foot wall in right for his second pinch-hit in two games since being recalled from Triple-A on Friday.What a fantastic sequence, said the Pirates Clint Hurdle, who has more than 1,000 managerial wins. I got goose bumps; Ive got them probably a dozen times since Ive been a coach or a manager.Chills went down my spine. ... Seemed like the stadium was pretty excited, too.Chad Kuhl lasted only 2 1/3 innings in his third major-league start, surrendering Zobrists 13th home run among seven hits allowed. But Pittsburghs bullpen was much better as Arquimedes Caminero (1-2) struck out three in 1 2/3 innings and Jared Hughes earned his third major-league save by pitching three scoreless innings.At least one run was scored during eight of the first 11 half-innings played on a night in which the city of Pittsburgh celebrated its bicentennial. A 25-minute fireworks display set off just a few hundred yards away at the citys Point State Park provided a soundtrack of regular rumbling booms throughout the fifth inning in which Bell and Mercer thrilled the Pirates third sellout crowd of the season even more.ALL-STAR COMINGS AND GOINGSCubs OF Dexter Fowler backed out of playing in Tuesdays All-Star game as a precaution as he recovers from a strained right hamstring that has him on the disabled list.Pirates OF Starling Marte was announced as one of the NL roster replacements along with the Reds Jay Bruce for Fowler and the Mets Yoenis Cespedes.ROSTER MOVEThe Cubs recalled INF Munenori Kawasaki from Triple-A and Saturdayand optioned INF Jeimer Candelario to Iowa. Maddon said the move was made to give the team a more experienced bat off the bench.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: Maddon said Fowler did not experience a setback in a minor-league rehab appearance Friday. He also said he would have had no problem if Fowler had made his return from the disabled list in the All-Star game and not for the Cubs -- as long as he was well enough to play, and then we got him on Friday.UP NEXTCubs: Sunday starter RHP John Lackey has gone 0-2 with a 7.56 ERA in his past three starts after going 7-3 with a 2.78 ERA in his first 14 startsPirates: LHP Jonathon Niese has lost his past two home starts, allowing 13 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings during them. Authentic Duke Jerseys . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Justise Winslow College Jersey . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. http://www.cheapdukebluedevilsjerseys.com/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Grayson Allen College Jersey . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Cheap Duke Jerseys Authentic . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Aspiring NRL teams like the Brisbane Bombers should enter a team into rugby leagues new-look second tier instead of pushing for direct entry, NRL head of football Brian Canavan says.Canavan has declared expansion of the NRL is off the table, but expansion of the Intrust Super Cup in Queensland and NSWs Intrust Super Premiership is very much up for discussion.Those competitions will take on added importance from 2018 as the NRL phases out the Holden Cup and replaces it with under-20s leagues in each state.By 2022, rugby leagues second tier could include more teams from regional areas, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Pacific Island nations and even a second New Zealand team, all of which have been earmarked as potential new sides by the NRL.But it could also serve as a springboard for new entities like the Bombers, who have been pushing for a spot in the NRL for several years, only to have been repeatedly turned away by a reluctant governing body.Asked if the Bombers would be welcome to apply for an Intrust Super Cup licence, Canavan said: That would be a more appropriate wayy to go about it.dddddddddddd(If you) develop from the bottom up, that ensures sustainability for the future rather than just be a one-out club.It builds the capacity, builds the brand, builds a player base, an administration base - all that ready to go for the next level.Australian Rugby League Commission chairman John Grant said last year the NRLs 17th club would likely come from south-east Queensland.However, the NRL has since gone cold on the idea of expansion in the short term and Canavan said there would be no new additions for several years.Expansion at the NRL level is off the table. Thats not to say it wont come back onto the table at some stage into the distant future, he said.But expansion is on the table at the second-tier, state cup levels, and if we can accommodate affiliate states ... that widens our base.Then, if we wanted to expand way down the track, weve got a bigger base, a bigger pool of players to call upon to advance the competition. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Stitched Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Wholesale NFL White Jerseys Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap Camo China NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Jerseys NFL China ' ' '