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PITTSBURGH -- Josh Bell gave his veteran manager goose bumps. He fired up a sellout crowd at PNC Park, too.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 the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night.Bell slugged a 1-1 pitch from Adam Warren (3-2) 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.Jordy Mercer followed Bells slam with a home run to make it a five-run fifth for the Pirates, who have won nine of 10 and 12 of their last 15 to move within 6 1/2 games of Chicago in the National League Central.Andrew McCutchen and Sean Rodriguez homered earlier off suddenly struggling Cubs starter 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 Chicago, which has lost nine of 10 and seen its division lead dwindle to as small as its been since May.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.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.Over the past 10 days, the Pirates have scaled more than half of the 14-game hole it had dug in the NL Central. Before Saturdays game, Maddon said that he learned from former mentor John McNamara long ago that once a division lead became fewer than seven games, it was no longer safe.We werent walking away with our heads down, feeling sorry for ourselves when we were getting beat through June, Hurdle said, and were not going to do backflips now. Were going to keep playing.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.Pirates: OF Gregory Polanco did not play a day after being removed from a win because of an aggravation of nagging left hamstring tightness. Manager Clint Hurdle indicated Polanco likely wont start Sunday, either. ... 2B Josh Harrison was lifted from the game in the third inning. The team termed the reason as left foot discomfort. Harrison drove in a run the inning prior when he was hit with a fastball in the foot.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.Kyle Schwarber Cubs Jersey .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Ryne Sandberg Jersey . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. http://www.cubsauthentic.com/cubs-billy-williams-jersey/ . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Kosuke Fukudome Jersey . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Ben Zobrist Jersey .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6.Maybe the Utah-BYU basketball series wasnt as toxic as believed.Although they wont meet this season for the first time since World War II, the Beehive Classic has helped bring them back together. The event will run from 2017 to 2019 and take place in Vivint Smart Home Arena, which is home to the NBAs Utah Jazz. The classic will have a double header format including Weber State and Utah State and each school will face its in-state rivals once during three years in Salt Lake City.The Utes and Cougars will face each other in 2018 in the Beehive and the two schools have also agreed to play at alternating home sites in 2017 and 2019 when they dont play in the event.Back in January, the 116-year-old rivalry seemed in danger of having a much longer hiatus. Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said the game had turned into a venomous and toxic environment after chippy play throughout the past four seasons culminated with BYU guard Nick Emery beingg ejected from Utahs 83-75 win in December for punching Utes guard Brandon Taylor.ddddddddddddKrystkowiak announced then that the Utes would buy out their appearance in Provo, Utah, for the 2016-17 season and, according to The Salt Lake Tribune, paid $80,000 of his own money to do so. It marks for the first time since 1944 that the Cougars and Utes did not play each other in basketball.The cancellation wasnt a very popular decision. It prompted elected officials in Utah to weigh in on their displeasure including the governor.Thursdays announcement that the series would return, at least through the 2019-20 season, even got Krystkowiak back on board.Dr. (Chris) Hill has come to an agreement, scheduling an event between these four in-state schools, Krystkowiak said in a release. And I support his decision.[url=http://www.authenticwholesalejerseys.net/]Cheap Jerseys[ement that the series would return, at lea