MONZA, Italy -- Sebastian Vettel is odds on to extend his big Formuala One lead over Fernando Alonso after qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix in pole position. Vettel already leads Alonso by 46 points and will be confident of moving further clear of his rivals, given that Alonso starts Sundays race from fifth on the grid and Lewis Hamilton -- who is third overall in the title race -- from a lowly 12th. "The car was fantastic, better than what we could expect. We had a strong pace yesterday and we were able to take that into qualifying," Vettel said. "This year were obviously in strong position. Were able to match other cars down the straight and we know that in corners we have a strong car." Five of the past six winners -- including Vettel in 2008 for Toro Rosso and 2011 for Red Bull -- have started from pole, and such is the speed Vettel showed on Saturday and Friday that it appears only a mishap will stop him from securing his sixth win this season. "Weve seen in the past that a lot of things can happen," Vettel said, referring to Sergio Perezs second place last year from 12th on the grid. "Race pace is very important, but today we did our homework." It was Vettels fourth pole of the campaign -- the first since the Canadian GP in June -- and 40th of his career. He shares the front row with Red Bull teammate Mark Webber. "Bit of a surprise to have both cars on the front row in a place where historically weve had bad years," said Vettel, whose 2011 triumph is Red Bulls only podium at Monza. "Hopefully well have a good race tomorrow, too." Webber, who retires from F1 at the end of the season, competes for the last time in Europe. "I said to the boys I was looking for a qualifying PB (personal best)," the Australian said. "It hasnt been the best place for me, so its a nice step toward a good result." Alonso needed a strong performance but finished fifth behind his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa and Saubers Nico Hulkenberg, who was a surprising third. "I didnt expect it especially after a very difficult Friday," Hulkenberg said. "The guys have done a fantastic job to turn the car around and give me such a competitive car." It was Hamiltons worst qualifying since last years Spanish GP, while Kimi Raikkonen also recorded his poorest qualifying run this year for 11th. Hamilton, last years winner from pole, took the Parabolica turn too wide on the left. After his Mercedes went into the gravel, he was unable to generate any speed. "Thats the worst Ive driven for a long, long time. Im sorry to the team," Hamilton said. "I just didnt drive well." Vettel was in top form as he posted the leading time in Q1 and then Q2, with his team saying "right Sebastian, thats quick enough" over race radio. The German earned the first of his 31 career victories in Monza and won here from pole two years ago. Rain is expected for Sunday and that may be his rivals best hope. Vettel clocked the fastest time in the mornings third and final practice -- ahead of Alonso -- having also been best in Fridays second practice. Frenchman Romain Grosjean, who struggled with the grip in the third practice, locked his front wheels and qualified 13th on a poor afternoon for Lotus. Alonso has also won the race twice -- for Ferrari in 2010 and for McLaren in 2007 -- but was wobbling all over toward the end of Q3 and appeared to berate his team over race radio, although the Spaniard later played down the incident. He has not qualified higher than third all season and will now be up against it on a Monza track regarded as the quickest in F1. Ferrari has given him two races -- here and Singapore in two weeks time -- to close the gap before they abandon their hopes and start focusing on developing next years car. To beat Vettel, and delight the thousands of Ferrari tifosi, he needs to match Rubens Barrichellos win from fifth spot on the grid in 2009. jerseys from china . Hes just trying to make better pitches. Volstad gave up a three-run homer to Brett Wallace and remained winless in 23 starts, the Chicago Cubs 10-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday night. nfl jerseys china . Monfils will meet top-seeded Tomas Berdych, who beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-4. Simon rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the final set, levelling at 4-4, but he dropped serve again to lose the all-French match. http://www.cheapchinajerseynfl.us.co... . -- Two days after a victory that for this franchise was downright historic, the Detroit Lions are facing another dose of adversity. [url=http://www.cheapchinajerseynfl.us.com/]cheap nfl jerseys . Dortmund started strongly only to go behind in the 13th minute when Karim Haggui scored with a header from the visitors only corner. But Sokratis equalized six minutes later in similar fashion, three minutes before Marco Reus made it 2-1 with a fine solo effort. wholesale nfl jerseys . His ninth-inning grand slam couldnt have been bigger for the San Diego Padres on Thursday night. Amaristas first major league home run capped a six-run rally in the ninth inning off Houston closer Brett Myers and lifted the Padres to a 7-3 win over the Astros.ATLANTA -- Justin Upton cant explain why he hit only one homer in July and then hit two on the first day of August. Fredi Gonzalez said he just hopes to see more of the Braves offensive surge that led to a perfect homestand. Upton drove in five runs with two homers, Julio Teheran matched his career high with 11 strikeouts, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 11-2 on Thursday night for their seventh straight win. Upton hit 12 homers in April, becoming the fastest player in franchise history to reach that mark, but he had a power decline for the next three months. He has 18 homers for the season. "It comes and it goes," Upton said. "Youve got to enjoy it when its going well for you and the ball is carrying out of the park for you. Youve got to ride it out." Jason Heyward added a two-run homer and Chris Johnson had three hits as the Braves completed a four-game sweep of the Rockies. Atlanta had 14 hits, giving the team five straight games with at least 10 hits. "I feel like this is the best Ive seen us play consecutively so far," said shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who called the teams offensive roll "a little crazy." "I really felt like no matter how many runs they scored, we were going to outscore them," Simmons said. Atlantas 7-0 homestand also included three wins over St. Louis. The NL East-leading Braves stretched their lead over Washington to 11 1/2 games. The Braves outscored the Rockies 31-5 in the last three games of the series. "This was a rough series, no way around it," said Rockies manager Walt Weiss, whose team was close only in a 9-8 loss in 10 innings in the series opener. "Other than the first one, the other three were ugly," Weiss said. "Ill make sure that we still compete. I dont question these guys in that respect. I dont think thats going to be a problem. We need to do that regardless of how were playing and where were at. Thats something that is expected all the time." Upton hit .400 in the homestand with 10 hits 25 at-bats. His surge came after Gonzalez tweaked the lineup, moving Heyward to leadoff and Upton to the No. 2 spot. "I think its just that were swinging right now and hopefully its contagious," Gonzalez said. The Rockies were without outfielders Michael Cuddyer and Carlos Gonzalez. The middle of their lineup took another hit when Troy Tulowitzki was ejected in the second inning. Weiss said Cuddyer was away on a family emergency. Carlos Gonzalez was held out after aggravating his sprained right middle finger on Wednesday night. Teheran (8-5) struck out the side in the third and fifth innings. He lasted only five innings, allowing one run and five hits and two walks, in his third straaight start of allowing no more than one run.dddddddddddd Colorados Chad Bettis (0-1), called up from Double-A Tulsa for his major league debut, allowed five runs and six hits and five walks in five innings. "I liked what I saw from Chad," Weiss said. "He got a ball up that got hit out early, but I thought there was a lot to like there. A lot of power, a lot of poise. Hes got plenty of stuff." The Braves led 2-0 before Bettis recorded his first out. Heyward walked and Upton followed with his first homer since July 9. Upton added a three-run shot off Edgmer Escalona in the eighth. Escalona gave up five runs while getting only one out. Teheran had two hits, including a second-inning double to drive in Simmons. Teheran singled to lead off the fourth and scored on Heywards homer. Colorado loaded the bases in the first when Dexter Fowler walked, Corey Dickerson beat out a dribbler to the mound and, with one out, Wilin Rosario had another infield single. Teheran ended the inning by striking out Todd Helton and Nolan Arenado -- each on three pitches. The Rockies frustrations continued in the second when they managed only one run after again loading the bases with one out. Charlie Blackmon doubled and had to hold up before seeing DJ LeMahieus double could not be caught by Upton in right field. Fowler walked with one out, loading the bases, before Upton made a leaping catch of Dickersons fly ball in front of the wall. Blackmon scored on the play. Tulowitzki took a called third strike on a slow curveball from Teheran to end the inning. As his teammates began to take their defensive positions, Tulowitzki remained at home plate, arguing the call with umpire Marvin Hudson. First base coach Rene Lachemann attempted to intervene, but Tulowitzki was ejected by Hudson. With two strikeouts in his two innings, Tulowitzki was 0 for 12 in the series. Jonathan Herrera, who replaced Tulowitzki, drove in LeMahieu with a single in the seventh. NOTES: Colorado optioned LHP Jeff Francis to Triple-A Colorado Springs to clear a roster spot for Bettis. Colorado Springs RHP Josh Sullivan was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. ... The Braves had a 9-0 homestand in 2000. ... Atlantas last four-game sweep of Colorado came in 2011, also at Turner Field. ... Braves C Gerald Laird was unavailable following a procedure on Wednesday to remove a kidney stone. ... Johnson has a 10-game hitting streak. ... Teheran also had 11 strikeouts on June 5 against Pittsburgh. ... The Braves open a series at Philadelphia on Friday night when RHP Kris Medlen will face Phillies rookie Ethan Martin. The Rockies will travel to Pittsburgh where RHP Jhoulys Chacin will face RHP Gerrit Cole. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '