Neues » Rizzo, the first baseman

ROME -- Mario Balotelli set a personal record with his 14th goal of the Serie A season and set up another score as AC Milan beat visiting Livorno 3-0 Saturday for its fifth straight win. Still, Milan remained five points behind city rival Inter Milan in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League berth, after Inter beat 10-man Parma 2-0. Meanwhile, Paul Pogba led the way as Juventus stayed on course for a third consecutive title with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Bologna. Pogba, the France international and former Manchester United midfielder, scored with a long, low shot from beyond the area in the 64th minute. Juve remained eight points ahead of second-place Roma, which won 1-0 at fourth-place Fiorentina with a 26th-minute goal from Radja Nainggolan. Former Fiorentina forward Adem Ljajic set up the goal by evading a bunch of defenders and slipping the ball through to Nainggolan. With 90 points and four matches remaining, Juventus has a chance to become the first Serie A club to break the 100-point barrier. Inter set the record of 97 in 2007. Serie A began awarding three points for wins in the 1994-95 season and the current 20-club format was instituted in 2003-04. Roma secured second place and a direct Champions League berth. At the San Siro, Balotelli scored with a textbook header from the centre of the area in the 43rd following a cross from Kevin Constant. Midfielder Adel Taarabt doubled Milans lead in the 51st after dribbling past a defender, and substitute Giampaolo Pazzini finished off in the 84th after taking a pass from Balotelli that left him with only the goalkeeper to beat. Balotellis previous best output was 13 goals, with Manchester City in 2011-12, and City and Milan combined last season. "Hes improving and maturing mentally and that permits him to do better on and off the pitch," new Milan coach Clarence Seedorf said. It was also Balotellis 18th goal in all competitions this season, another personal record, which should give the striker confidence entering the World Cup as Italys leader in attack. "Im happy to have reached the record but I have to improve, because there are players that score 40 in a season," said Balotelli, who did not celebrate after his goal. The win was also a relief for Seedorf, amid reports his job was at risk. "I didnt know anything about that," Balotelli said. "The coach has given a big hand to the squad. ... But this is still nothing. Its just a great result. Were playing to qualify for the Europa League." After the loss, relegation-threatened Livorno fired Domenico Di Carlo and rehired Davide Nicola as manager. Elsewhere, third-place Napoli was held to 1-1 at Udinese, while Torino and Lazio remained level eighth after a wild 3-3 draw that saw Ciro Immobile score his league-leading 20th goal. Also, it was: Atalanta 1, Hellas Verona 2; Catania 2, Sampdoria 1; Chievo Verona 0, Sassuolo 1; and Genoa 1, Cagliari 2. In Parma, Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic stopped a penalty from Antonio Cassano by tipping it off the post in the 44th. The hosts were then reduced to 10 men when Italy international Gabriel Paletta picked up his second yellow card in first half added time for a foul on Rodrigo Palacio. Defender Rolando put Inter ahead in the 48th with a header, and substitute Fredy Guarin sealed the victory by scoring on his first touch in the 89th from beyond the area. Authentic NHL Jerseys Cheap . PETERSBURG, Fla. NHL Jerseys From China . Schaub will start for an injured Case Keenum and try to help the Texans end a 12-game skid. Schaubs last action in Houston came when he took over late in a game against Oakland on Nov. 17 as Keenum was struggling. http://www.cheapnhlcustomjerseys.com/. Rookie Marek Mazanec made 39 saves for his first NHL victory and the Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-2 Saturday night. Fake NHL Jerseys . Toronto has lost six of its last eight games but is coming off Thursdays 7-3 victory at Kansas City. Juan Francisco and Colby Rasmus both went deep for the Blue Jays, who are second in the American League with 34 home runs on the season. Fake Adidas NHL Jerseys .m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE — Packers by 3RECORD VS. SPREAD — New England 7-4, Green Bay 5-5-1SERIES RECORD — Tied 5-5.NEW YORK -- When Zack Wheeler put the first two batters on in the second inning, he dialed it up with three strikeouts. When he saw how his pitch count was a bit high, he threw more to contact. Either way, everything is starting to work for the rising star. Wheeler struck out 10 in a gritty performance, Eric Campbell hit a three-run homer and the New York Mets beat the free-swinging Chicago Cubs 3-2 Friday night. "When he gets you in certain situations, those guys, they dont know whats coming," said manager Terry Collins, complimenting Wheelers assortment of pitches. "They just cant sit on one pitch." Wheeler (8-8) threw a career-high 120 pitches in 6 2-3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits. He walked four and hit a batter but overpowered the Cubs in winning his fifth consecutive decision. "The big thing is trying to keep my pitch count down and I really havent been able to do that," Wheeler said when talking about going deeper in games. The Cubs entered having struck out 77 times in their previous seven games, including 16 on Thursday in a loss to Milwaukee. Five of their first six outs Friday came by the K, and they fanned 14 times overall. Pitching with a hernia, Jenrry Mejia fanned one in a perfect ninth for his 18th save. "We have been facing some pretty good pitching. This guy today was pretty good, too," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "When you face arms like that, it happens. I thought we had a lot of really strong at-bats in terms of driving his pitch count up." Travis Wood (7-10) gave up three runs and four hits in 5 1-3 innings to drop to 0-5 in his last 11 starts. The Mets rebounded from a dreadful three-game sweep at the hands of the NL East-leading Washington Nationals to beat the Centrals last-place Cubs for just the first time in four meetings between the teams this season. Chicago swept three games at Wrigley Field in June. "We need to start playing better, theres no doubt about it," Campbell said. The Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the third -- the one inning Wheeler did not record a K -- behind Anthony Rizzos run-scoring groundout and Staarlin Castros RBI single.dddddddddddd Campbell hit the second homer of his career an out after Wood walked David Wright and Lucas Duda. "Walks killed me," Wood said. TRAINERS ROOM Cubs: Luis Valbuena is being held out of the starting lineup Friday and Saturday. Renteria thinks the scuffling infielder needs a break. Valbuena also has a cold. He grounded out as a pinch-hitter to end the game to fall to 1 for 30. Mets: Right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka (elbow inflammation) will make a rehabilitation start for Double-A Binghamton on Saturday. Collins says he is not sure where Matsuzaka will fit when he returns. UP NEXT Cubs: Right-hander Dan Straily, obtained in the trade that sent Jeff Samardzija to Oakland on July 5, will make his Cubs debut. Renteria said Straily is being called up from Triple-A Iowa to give the rest of the rotation an extra days rest. The team is in a stretch of having a game on 20 straight days. OF Junior Lake is being sent to Iowa. Mets: Jonathon Niese (6-8) is 2-4 with a 5.26 ERA against the Cubs. Castro is 5 for 16 (.313) with a homer and five RBIs against the left-hander WISHFUL THINKING Some Mets fans recently have called for their beleaguered team to make a deal with the shortstop-rich Cubs for Castro. If Castro, who is signed with Chicago through 2019, has his say, hell stay right where he is. "I know a lot of teams could have me and want me, but Im here and I dont want to leave here," Castro said. THAT DIDNT WORK When Juan Lagares hit a one-out fly to right field in the sixth, Campbell took off running. Collins said he was given a steal sign, but Campbell was at third base before he turned back. Ryan Sweeney made an easy throw into the infield for the double play. Rizzo, the first baseman, dropped the ball and catcher Wellington Castillo had to pick it up and step on the base for a rare 9-3-2 double play. ITS OFFICIAL The Mets gave OF Chris Young his unconditional release. Young, who is making $7.25 million this year, was designated for assignment last week after hitting .205 with eight homers and 28 RBIs in 254 at-bats. ' ' '