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CHICAGO -- Pedro Alvarez stepped to the plate ready to strike in a big spot. Once again, he delivered. Alvarez hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run seventh inning and Jason Grilli retired Emilio Bonifacio on a bases-loaded grounder to end the game, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. The Pirates trailed 4-0 heading into the seventh, but two big drives changed things. Pinch hitter Travis Snider cut the deficit in half with a two-run homer off Brian Schlitter. Alvarez put Pittsburgh ahead with his three-run shot on the first pitch from James Russell (0-1), his third homer in two games and fifth this season. "Just trying to be ready from pitch No. 1, ready to compete and sometimes that first pitch is the best one you see and just trying to be ready to hit as soon as I step in the box," Alvarez said. Chicago threatened in the bottom of the ninth before Grilli retired Bonifacio on a grounder to first. Pittsburgh took two of three at Wrigley Field. That gave the Pirates their third series win -- the most for them to start the season since the 1992 team took its first six. Gerrit Cole (2-0) struck out 10 in six innings. He also allowed four runs, three of them earned. Tony Watson worked a perfect seventh. Mark Melancon retired the side in the eighth before things got tense against Grilli in the ninth. Grilli gave up a leadoff walk to pinch hitter Ryan Sweeney and a single to Starlin Castro, putting runners on first and second. Grilli then struck out Luis Valbuena and Welington Castillo before Darwin Barney walked to load the bases. Bonifacio, who came into the game with a .500 average after going 19 for 38, ended it with that grounder to first baseman Travis Ishikawa, giving Grilli his third save in four chances. Chicagos Travis Wood sailed through six-plus innings, allowing four hits, striking out nine and walking three. He left to cheers with a four-run lead after Neil Walker led off the seventh with a double. Snider, batting for Clint Barnes, then drove a two-run homer to the shrubs in centre off Schlitter, cutting it to 4-2. Schlitter also gave up a single to Starling Marte and walked Andrew McCutchen with two out before Alvarez drove the first pitch from Russell off the roof of a party suite beyond the bushes in centre. "Its tough, especially as well as Woody pitched," Russell said. "You never want to mess up (an outing) that he had. Its one of those deals. Its why we play the game. It happens. We live to see another day." With a 1-0 lead going into the fourth, the Cubs took advantage of a wild pitch while scoring three more runs. Anthony Rizzo and Nate Schierholtz singled leading off. Castro drove an RBI single through the left side with one out, and Schierholtz came home on a wild pitch to Mike Olt. The lead grew to 4-0 when Castro scored on Castillos two-out single. The throw from Marte in left beat the runner by several strides, but plate umpire Mark Carlson called him safe. Carlson told a pool reporter that Castros foot touched the plate before catcher Tony Sanchez had control of the ball. He also said, "If he has the ball securely, he would have been able to block the plate." Manager Clint Hurdle came out of the dugout to discuss the play, but obstruction "never came up." He also chose not to challenge but would not say why. "If I give you any other answer, we got 10 more questions," Hurdle said. NOTES: The Pirates said top pitching prospect Jameson Taillon had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Wednesday. He is expected to miss 12 to 18 months. ... The Cubs open a three-game series at St. Louis on Friday, and manager Rick Renteria was asked if he sees the Cardinals as a model for what Chicagos trying to do. "Its hard to argue with a club, an organization, thats had success over the years," he said. "Youve got to see what it is that they do and dont do. You take things from every organization in baseball, but certainly, theyve had a tremendous amount of success over the last few years -- and over their existence." Jay Buhner Jersey . DeGrom outpitched Jake Peavy in a tantalizing hitless duel that carried into the seventh inning Saturday night before the New York Mets broke loose and beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2. Edwin Diaz Jersey . Beanballs were the theme Friday night as the Red Sox and Rays had another AL East rumble, with Boston earning a 3-2 victory on A. http://www.cheapmarinersjerseys.com/?tag...colome-jersey.C. United on Saturday night and boost the Unions playoff hopes. Nick DeLeon scored in the 36th minute for United (3-23-6), which had ample opportunities to build on its lead but went its 10th straight match without a victory. Felix Hernandez Jersey .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. Dee Gordon Jersey . Aaron Hill and Cliff Pennington hit home runs in the first inning for the Diamondbacks, who beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Friday night. BOSTON -- An associate of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested in a gun trafficking investigation related to the murder case against Hernandez. Oscar Hernandez Jr., 23, of Orlando, Fla. -- no relation to Aaron Hernandez -- was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Boston on charges of obstruction of justice, witness tampering and lying under oath. He appeared Thursday in federal court in Orlando, where a magistrate judge ordered him detained pending his transfer to Boston to face the charges. Aaron Hernandez and two other men are charged in the June 17 shooting death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was found dead in an industrial park about a mile from Aaron Hernandezs North Attleborough home. The indictment against Oscar Hernandez says a grand jury in Massachusetts began investigating the transporting of guns from Florida to Massachusetts after the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives -- at the request of Massachusetts State Police -- traced three guns that had been recovered during the investigation of Lloyds killing. The ATF determined that all three guns were purchased in Florida in April 2013. Massachusetts officials have said they have been unable to find the gun used to kill Lloyd, which theyve identified as a .45-calibre Glock. None of the three guuns mentioned in Oscar Hernandezs indictment is a .dddddddddddd45-calibre Glock. The indictment says one of the three weapons -- a rifle -- was found in a grey Toyota Camry with Florida license plates that was parked in the garage of a residence in North Attleborough. The indictment doesnt identify the owner of the home. The indictment doesnt identify the owner of the home, but Massachusetts state police have said that five days after Lloyds killing they seized an FEG 7.62 mm rifle from a gym bag on the back seat of a Toyota sedan parked inside Aaron Hernandezs garage, according to court records in his case. Aaron Hernandezs lawyers have said a man identified as Oscar Hernandez was interviewed by law enforcement on June 27, 2013, 10 days after Lloyd died. The new indictment accuses Oscar Hernandez of lying to the grand jury when he denied purchasing the Camry and arranging for it to be sent from Florida to the home in North Attleborough. Assistant Federal Public Defender Todd Doss, who represented Oscar Hernandez in court Thursday, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. It was unclear when he would be brought to Boston to face the charges. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on the witness tampering charge, up to 10 years on obstruction of justice and up to five years on the false testimony charges. ' ' '