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LOS ANGELES -- After four innings of watching Yasiel Puig, manager Don Mattingly had seen enough. The Cuban rookie was pulled from the game, and he then met with Mattingly and general manager Ned Colletti behind closed doors after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-0 on Wednesday. Mattingly wasnt willing to specify exactly why he pulled Puig for Skip Schumaker, saying only, "I felt I was going to get a better effort out of Skip." Puig didnt slide into second base to try to break up a double play in the first inning and got upset after striking out in the third, slamming his bat. He is hitting .346. "I wasnt prepared well for each pitch. It was a good decision," Puig said through a translator about being removed. "He mentioned Skip could come in and do a better job." Schumaker went 1 for 1 with a walk. "I wanted to finish the game, but I agreed with the explanation," Puig said. "The meeting went well. We talked about what every player needs to do to prepare for every pitch." The Dodgers are off Thursday, and Mattingly said Puig would be in the lineup Friday when the San Diego Padres come to town. The manager wouldnt say whether any discipline was involved Wednesday. "What he did today wasnt acceptable," Dodgers starter Ricky Nolasco said about Puig. "Hes young, hes going to have to learn. Its not going to be a distraction. Hes going to help this team way more than what he did." Last week, Puig was held out of the starting lineup for a game in Miami, but Mattingly reiterated that the 22-year-old outfielder was simply given a day off that had already been planned. Puigs removal overshadowed a second straight dominating performance by Nolasco, who pitched eight innings of three-hit ball. Nolasco (11-9) struck out a season high-tying 11, walked one and permitted only one runner to reach third base. Acquired in a trade with Florida in early July, the right-hander won his sixth straight start in August. "I know whats at stake pitching here and the chase were in now," Nolasco said. "My breaking stuff was pretty good. I just try to keep attacking the zone and put a lot of pressure on them." Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier hit solo homers for the first-place Dodgers, who earned their 21st victory in August to tie the Los Angeles record for most wins in a calendar month. They avoided a second straight series loss by taking two of three from the last-place Cubs. The Dodgers 19th shutout of the season leads the majors, and is their most since 1989, when they also had 19. "It was a battle from the first pitch," said Brian Bogusevic, who was 0 for 3 against Nolasco. "He never got into a pattern with certain pitches and certain counts or situations. You could never really look for anything in particular. Hes pitching as well as anybody for them right now." Edwin Jackson (7-14) gave up four runs -- two earned -- and six hits against his old team. He struck out five and walked two. "Thats a tough lineup, and the pitching staff is doing well, too," Jackson said. "You have to limit the amount of mistakes you make when youre playing against them." The Cubs have lost nine of 12, and went 2-4 on their West Coast trip. Manager Dale Sveum was ejected in the bottom of the first for arguing a checked swing by Puig with first base umpire Lance Barksdale. "It wasnt a good call," Sveum said. "Obviously, you dont want to get thrown out on something like that in the first inning. We said our piece, and then he just kept his head in our dugout for 30 seconds, waiting for somebody to say something else. Unfortunately, I did. I just dont think thats right." Playing their only midweek home day game this season, the Dodgers scored their first two runs on the homers by Ramirez with two outs in the first and Ethier in the fourth. The 88-degree heat and searing sun had fans crowding under the overhangs in the outfield pavilions and upper deck. The Dodgers extended their lead to 4-0 in the fifth. After a pair of leadoff singles, Nolasco bunted and Jackson threw the ball past third base. One run scored on the error and Skip Schumaker, who replaced Puig in right field, hit an RBI single. Kenley Jansen struck out three in a hitless ninth for the Dodgers. NOTES: Mattingly said slugger Matt Kemp would play a rehab game at Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday, possibly as the DH. Kemp has been on the DL since July 24 with a sprained left ankle. ... The Dodgers franchise record for wins in a calendar month is 25, set by Brooklyn in July 1947. ... Chicago fell to 9-17 in Jacksons 26 starts. ... After giving up just 11 homers in his previous 144 innings, Jackson allowed two in his first four innings against the Dodgers. ... The Cubs concluded their schedule against NL West teams with their final road game outside their division. They will travel exclusively within the NL Central in September for the first time since 1997. ... The Cubs return to Wrigley Field on Friday having lost 16 of their last 19 games at home. Cheap Air Jordan Free Shipping .75 million contract for the 2014 season and avoided arbitration. The team announced the agreement on Tuesday. Air Jordan China . The top-ranked Spaniard won his fourth Madrid Open on Sunday after Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw with a hip injury when trailing 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in the final. And Nadal, who is coming off to uncharacteristic quarterfinal losses on clay, said his mental strength is still lacking just two weeks ahead of the French Open. https://www.jordanchina.us/ . -- During Kansas shootaround on Wednesday before the Jayhawks faced Oklahoma, coach Bill Self told Wayne Selden Jr. Cheap Jordan From China . The Reds will host the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in the opener of a four-game series at Great American Ball Park, and the debut matchup will feature a pair of pitchers whose recent resumes have included a fair number of bases-clearing hits. Clearance Air Jordan Store . The star receiver certainly isnt celebrating it with the Texans mired in a franchise-record 13-game skid.6am Bar ClosingsYour partner just left you for your best friend and took the cat. You lost your job. Your folks are getting a divorce. You drive a 93 Hyundai Elantra. You like Coldplays new album. Life could not get much worse. This is what it feels like when your teams season ends prematurely. This is how we feel in Montreal, and our new Mayor, Denis Coderre, has pushed through legislation that will allow some bars to call last call at 5:45am. Bars will close at 6am. Corderre wanted David Desharnais benched or traded or lynched in November, so Im not sure why hes allowed to make laws, but either way three extra hours of drinking do not bode well for a city of broken hearts already adept at drowning its sorrows until the wee hours.Reliving the PastIn the quiet aftermath of a series lost, one can be driven to madness through contemplation and consideration of responsibility and complicity. Im not talking about the players, or management, or coaching staff. Im talking about each fan, individually, wrapped in the curious superstitions of sport; adults who believe their habits and regiments supernaturally affect those of their team. For example, during game two of the Bruins-Habs series I had a cocktail with a woman who has no interest in hockey but may have interest in me. Did my shunning of the 1st period adversely affect the balance of the Habs universe? The other day, in anticipation of seeing my mother, I very discreetly and almost unnoticeably trimmed my beard. Did I bring on some bad juju? Ive watched the last two games on CBC. Had I watched RDS, would Price be okay? Would the Habs be up two games? Would Henrik Lundqvist be mortal? Well never know…No Nos AmoursAt no time is it more apparent that the Expos are gone than right after the Habs disappoint. And this summer, the cut runs a little deeper, a little more steeped in vinegar and salt, after a weekend in April of Expos nostalgia and games at the Big O. Sure it was just the Blue Jays and Mets, but it was as close to Major League Baseball as weve seen on the Island of Montreal in a decade. The tricolore hats were everywhere, and not just on Brooklynites in town for Osheaga. Larry Walker, Marquis Grissom, Felipe Alou, and the 94 team spent the weekend. We were reminded of what once was, and for a moment gleaned hope that it could be again. But then the playoffs started, and we forgot all about it. Now on the precipice of an abrupt end to the postseason, what are we to do? Cheer for the Blue Jays? That kind of talk will get you kicked out of the bar at 4:45.ddddddddddddTouristsTheres a brief respite in the Montreal calendar in May and June. Its right after the students have left to their parents basements in Mississauga, a convoy of minivans heading west, Ikea skeletons ominously freckling the McGill ghetto, and the arrival of tourists. Its a peaceful time. A time for quiet contemplation, for being able to find a seat at Starbucks, for going through alleys looking for a new couch. But then the tourists settle in. Unwanted aliens in your favourite haunts, fratish bachelor party weekends, and F1 fans, who make Bruins fans look quaint. That late spring void is best when filled with Habs reverie, double overtimes, Boston-hate, and large crowds in early evening bars yelling at Glenn Healy. We had that for a while this spring. Not long enough.ResponsibilityEverything is forgotten during a Habs playoff run. Debts are excused. Infidelities are forgiven. Commitments are eschewed. As Montrealers we are focused on the mirth and minutiae of Les Glorieux. We live in the echoing resonance of Ginette Renos final notes. We are oblivious to all else. But, in the absence of that distraction, we are left to tend to the discard and detritus that is our lives. Have I filed my taxes? How long has that stain been on my pants? Have I paid my rent? Did Aunt Wreatha pass away? Are these evenmy pants? Was it Mothers Day recently? When the last time I showered? Did laundry? Ate a vegetable? The humbling truth of reality sets in, and it can be early August before weve trimmed our playoff beards, made amends for our indiscretions, and recovered from our revelry.Im still hopeful for a miracle. AsBarDowns Twitter feed noted, I am a glass half-full type of guy. Game three in New York could very well be where a legend is born, where a Humboldt, Saskatchewan native becomes this generations Ken Dryden, or Steve Penney, or Patrick Roy. And maybe Carey Prices knee recovers, and all of this worry, this fretting over what might have been returns to the hope of what just might be. And maybe spring stretches out a few more weeks. Until then there is only Dustin Tokarski and prayer. Or Peter Budaj. Frankly, I dont care who it is as long as they hold off summer just a little bit longer. ' ' '