liminating pinch-runner Luis Manzo, left-handed hitting shortstop J

CHICAGO -- In his second game with the Chicago Cubs, Jake Arrieta showed exactly why theyre putting him in the rotation for the rest of the season. The hard-throwing right-hander dominated the potent St. Louis Cardinals lineup for seven innings to lead Chicago to a 7-0 victory Friday. "Thats the kind of stuff the power arms can do when theyre throwing strikes and making pitches and you have a 91 mph cutter, slider or whatever you want to call it," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "He made some really good pitches in some key situations of counts. When you thought you might be losing good hitters, he made some key pitches on the black at 95, 96 mph." Arrieta (1-0) allowed two hits and two walks while striking out seven. After yielding an infield single to Carlos Beltran in the second, he got rookie Kolten Wong to ground into a double play. That started a streak of 13 straight outs (including five strikeouts) until Arrieta walked St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook (7-8) in the sixth. The next batter, Matt Carpenter, also walked to give the Cardinals their first threat of the game. But Jon Jay grounded into a fielders choice and Matt Holiday struck out looking to end the inning. In his only other start with Chicago, Arrieta allowed one run and two hits in six innings July 30 against Milwaukee. Hes thrown 13 innings in a Cubs uniform and allowed one run. Thats a far cry from the struggling pitcher who went 1-2 with a 7.23 ERA for Baltimore this season before he was traded to the Cubs on July 2. So which one is the real Jake Arrieta? The struggling power arm or the dominant pitcher he was on Friday? "Thats what Im capable of," Arrieta said. "Its just a matter commanding the ball and limiting my walks. Thats really whats gotten me in the past was too many free passes, letting guys get away when Im in favourable counts and pretty much keeping my foot on the gas and staying on the attack. "Ive made a conscious effort to get better at certain things and its starting to show." The Cubs got Arrieta all the runs he needed in the first inning. After Westbrook walked the bases loaded, cleanup batter Nate Schierholtz hit a two-run single to centre. Donnie Murphy added a two-out RBI single to make it 3-0. Chicago had been shut out in four of its past five home games. "We got some big hits. I think the biggest was Nates," Sveum said. "Weve had chances like that this year when we couldnt come away with one (run) and to come away with the big hit there and then Murphys two-out hit ... to get three runs on the board there was key in that game." The 27-year-old Arrieta should be entering the prime of his career, but hes still trying to establish himself in the majors. He thinks the trade to the Cubs has given him a fresh start free of his struggles of the past. "For me, theres no question that this change of scenery and this trade was huge for me in my career -- not only for me, but for the Cubs as well," he said. "I couldnt be more excited to be here and Im thankful to the front office for wanting me and bringing me into this organization." The Cubs snapped a four-game losing streak and are 7-7 this season against the Cardinals, who began the day trailing first-place Pittsburgh by two games in the NL Central. Westbrook finished with five walks but managed to grind through 6 2-3 innings to save the bullpen. He allowed seven runs -- six earned -- and eight hits with two strikeouts. "I was pretty much all over the place and the walks hurt you, especially when theyre in a row with no outs," Westbrook said. "It wasnt very good. Its always frustrating when you dont give your team a chance to win and do your job, which I havent been able to do the last couple outings." Since coming off the disabled list June 14, Westbrook is 5-7 with a 5.86 ERA. After the loss, he said his arm feels fine. Asked if Westbrook is certain to make his next start, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny was non-committal. "Well see how he feels tomorrow," Matheny said "Thats not what any of us were looking for," he added. "Talked about it before: Sometimes he just has trouble finding the release point for his sinker and he couldnt find it today until it was too late." NOTES: Wong started at 2B and went 0 for 3 in his major league debut. His arrival relegated 3B David Freese, the 2011 World Series MVP, to the bench. All-Star leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter moved from second base to third. "I would say its a day-by-day situation," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. "Im not saying (Wong) has to play every day. There are going to be times when we want to get David back in the lineup, so I imagine theres going to be some split playing opportunities." ... Cubs RHP Matt Guerrier was scheduled to have surgery on the flexor mass (near his elbow and forearm) of his throwing arm Friday. The surgery, performed by Dr. Timothy Kremchek, is expected to sideline Guerrier six to eight months. ... Joe Kelly (3-3) faces Cubs LHP Travis Wood (7-9) in the second game of the series Saturday. Air Max 270 React Canada . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. Nike Air Max 93 Canada . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. http://www.clearanceairmaxcanada.com/air-max-97-canada-sale.html . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Nike Air Max Canada Replica . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. Nike Air Max Flair Canada . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night.SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Grant Holman almost gave away a crucial victory with his arm, then took it back with his bat. After being victimized for a three-run homer that put his Chula Vista, Calif., team in a hole on Wednesday night, the tall right-hander hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth, and California rallied for a 6-3 victory over New England champion Westport, Conn., to earn a berth in the U.S. championship game at the Little League World Series. "All I wanted to do was hit it hard," Holman said, his right arm in ice after a 10-strikeout performance and winning reliever Rennard Williams smiling at his side. Micah Pietila-Wiggs laced a one-out single to left, his third hit of the game, to start the ninth and Jake Espinoza followed with a double to right-centre before Holman connected off reliever Alex Reiner. Chula Vistas bullpen came up big, shutting down Westport over the final five innings. "It was fabulous," Chula Vista manager Rick Tibbett said about his relief corps. "Thats what they do." Matt Brown hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth for Connecticut, and the Northeast champions seemed headed for a big victory. But California shortstop Nick Mora hit his second homer of the game to make it 3-2 with one out in the top of the sixth and Chula Vista tied it when Reiner threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded. The victory snapped Connecticuts 20-game winning streak. "Its disappointing, of course, to lose," Westport manager Tim Rogers said. "Its painful to be so close to winning and lose. Obviously, theyre a very talented team. Theres no holes in their lineup whatsoever. Well play tomorrow." Westport plays Northwest champion Sammamish, Wash., on Thursday. Sammamish (3-1) moved on to the matchup in the U.S. bracket by eliminating Nashville, Tenn., 6-5 on Tuesday. Westport was coming off a 9-7 victory over Sammamish on Sunday. Holman pitched 3 2-3 strong innings. Chasing his second no-hitter of the World Series, Holman had struck out nine -- including the first six batters he faced, swinging -- and was cruising when Max Popken drew a leadoff walk to start the fourth. Harry Azadian broke up Holmans no-hit bid with a single to right field and Brown then homered. TOKYO, JAPAN 5, TIJUANA, MEXICO 2 The big bats of Tijuana, Mexico, were silenced by Tokyo, Japan, in the first game Wednesday. When Brandon Montes crushed a home run off Japan starter Kazuki Ishida, the big bats of Mexico seemed ready to rumble again. "I definitely felt chills," Ishida said. "But I made sure to keep my composure and keep on throwing." And hitting. Taken out after three innings with an eye on a future game, Ishida slammed a tie-breaking home run in the bottom of the fifth inning and unbeaten Tokyo rallied past powerful Tijuana 5-2 on Wednesday to earn a berth in the international championship game at the Littlle League World Series.dddddddddddd. Westport, Conn., faced powerful Chula Vista, Calif., under the lights in Wednesdays other game in the double-elimination tournament. Ishidas blast came off Tijuana starter Ramon Mendoza. Kouyou Mizushima followed with an RBI single and pinch-hitter Kyousuke Kobayashi capped the winning rally for Japan (3-0) with an RBI double off the left-centre field wall. "Im glad that we won. Everybodys starting to get their groove back," said Seiya Nishino, whose pinch-hit home run tied it at 2 in the fourth. Mexico (2-1) still has a shot. It will play Aguadulce, Panama, on Thursday in a rematch. Mendoza hit two of Tijuanas five home runs in a 13-0 four-inning win over Panama on Sunday in the winners bracket. That game was stopped because of Little Leagues 10-run rule, the second time Mexico had done that in the World Series. Not on this day, though. Ishida and winning reliever Ryutarro Takeo kept the Mexican players off-balance with a variety of off-speed pitches, never allowing the Tijuana offence to get untracked. Mexico, which also beat Perth, Australia, 12-0 in 4 innings last week, managed just five hits against Japan. "They handle their pitchers well," Tijuana manager Francisco Fimbres said. "They paint the corners, a lot of breaking balls down low. Ill have to congratulate Japans pitchers. The first two games we hit great. It might have been a little bit of nervousness with the importance of the game." Mexico took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Axcel Mandujano reached on an error by third baseman Shunpei Takagi, who bobbled Mandujanos bouncer and threw wide of first as the Mexican player ducked under the tag. The call stood as ruled after a challenge by Japan, and after Jorge Romero bounced into a fielders choice, eliminating pinch-runner Luis Manzo, left-handed hitting shortstop Jorge Rodriguez doubled down the left-field line over the outstretched glove of Kobayashi to score Romero from first. Japan evened the score in the bottom of the second. Kouyou Mizushima had a hustling double to right centre and scored on a two-out single up the middle by Ryusei Hirooka. Montes, who homered on the fifth pitch of the game in Mexicos rout of Panama, struck again in the top of the third. He slammed an 0-1 delivery well over the fence in left-centre for a 2-1 lead. Mendoza got out of a big jam in the bottom of the inning as his pitch count mounted. He walked Ishida to start the inning and Sho Miyao followed with an infield single that caromed off Mendozas glove. That gave Japan two men on and nobody out, but first baseman Jorge Rodriguez robbed Shunpei Takagi with a beautiful stop behind the bag as the runners moved into scoring position and Mendoza induced two weak popups to escape. Mendoza ran out of luck in the bottom of the fourth when Nishino crushed a 1-0 pitch far over the fence in centre to tie it again. ' ' '