PITTSBURGH -- Anthony Rizzos miserable second half perked up with one massive swing of the bat. The first baseman slugged a towering go-ahead, two-run homer off Jason Grilli in the seventh inning and the Chicago Cubs rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 on Friday night. Rizzo entered the night hitting just .208 since the All-Star break but turned on an 83-mph slider from Grilli and sent it over the seats in right field to snap Pittsburghs four-game winning streak. "Its huge for him," Chicago manager Dale Sveum said. "Hopefully it carries into these last couple of weeks." Brian Bogusevic went 3 for 4 with his fifth homer of the season for Chicago. Dioneer Navarro added two hits as the Cubs blunted Pittsburghs momentum as the Pirates chase their first playoff berth in 21 years. Carlos Villanueva (6-8) picked up the win in relief. Kevin Gregg collected his 32nd save when centre fielder Ryan Sweeney tracked down Neil Walkers fly ball in front of the wall in the ninth. Pedro Alvarez, Russell Martin and Garrett Jones hit consecutive solo home runs in the fourth for Pittsburgh. Andrew McCutchen went 2 for 4, but the Pirates lost for just the fourth time in 65 games when leading after six innings this season when Grilli (0-2) faltered. Grilli, an All-Star after racking up 29 saves in the first half of the season, is still working his way back from a strained forearm that sidelined him for more than six weeks. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle moved Grilli into a middle relief role when he was activated off the 15-day disabled list earlier this month. Pitching in his first pressure situation since his return, Grilli entered with the Pirates up a run in the seventh. He nearly got out of the inning clean, but Luis Valbuena walked on a borderline 3-2 pitch. Rizzo followed taking a pitch heading for his shoetops and nearly sending it into the Allegheny River. "He threw me a slider down and in, a pretty good pitch, and I tried to just put a good swing on the ball and not try to do too much," Rizzo said. Chicagos bullpen made it stand up, silencing Pittsburgh over the final three innings after the Pirates erased an early 3-0 deficit against starter Jake Arrieta. Arrieta breezed through the first three innings and was on his way to doing it in the fourth when Pittsburgh broke out. Alvarez hit a fly ball to the wall in right-centre with two outs that neither centre fielder Ryan Sweeney nor right fielder Nate Schierholtz could corral. The 235-pound Alvarez chugged all the way around the bases for his 33rd -- and by far most taxing -- home run of the season. Alvarez was still catching his breath when Martin followed with a shot 10 rows deep into the stands in left to bring the Pirates within one. Jones tied it seconds later by sending a laser into the seats in centre. It marked the first back-to-back-to-back home runs by the Pirates since Jason Kendall, Brian Giles and Reggie Sanders did it on Aug. 20, 2003, in St. Louis. Pittsburgh eventually took the lead in the sixth when reliever Brooks Raley mishandled a lob from Rizzo at first base, allowing McCutchen to race all the way home from second. The Pirates have risen to the top of the NL Central behind the strength of a bullpen led by the irrepressible Grilli. His velocity, however, has dipped since his comeback and Rizzo took advantage. Still, Hurdle has no plans to take Grilli out of the mix as the Pirates head into the final 15 games of a breakthrough season. "Weve got to keep getting him out there on somewhat of a consistent basis if we want to get him better," Hurdle said. "Hes not going to get better not pitching." Pittsburgh starter Charlie Morton struggled keeping the ball down while trying to bounce back from his worst start since returning from reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in June. Morton allowed three runs in five innings, including a two-run homer by Bogusevic in the fourth and saw a handful of balls caught at the warning track on a night a stiff breeze from the north kept the outfielders busy. NOTES: The Pirates will consult with specialist Dr. James Andrews before figuring out the next step for LHP Wandy Rodriguez, who has been out since June with left forearm tightness. Rodriguez threw 67 pitches in a simulated game on Thursday ... The series continues on Saturday when Pittsburghs Gerrit Cole (7-7, 3.48 ERA) faces Chicagos Scott Baker (0-0, 0.00). Baker is making his second start since reconstructive elbow surgery. ------ cheap nfl jerseys .ca! 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EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Eskimos punched their ticket to the CFL West Division final by capitalizing on a bizarre turnover Sunday to beat the Calgary Stampeders 33-19. Eskimo linebacker Damaso Munoz said he couldnt believe his eyes when Calgary quarterback Drew Tate, with the Stampeders up 8-3 in the second quarter and threatening to score again, just dropped the ball as he prepared to throw it. Munoz scooped it up and rumbled 77 yards for a touchdown to give the Eskimos a lead they would never relinquish. "Up front they were getting after Tate, putting all that pressure on him and we got him rattled early, man" said Munoz. "He just dropped the ball and I just picked it up and I took it in for the score." He said that was the turning point in the West Division semifinal, played before 30,183 fans on a chilly afternoon at Commonwealth Stadium. "We took the breath out of them on that play. We kept the momentum and we got the W." Tate, speaking to reporters as he left the field, agreed. "If I dont fumble we probably win this game -- bottom line," he said. The Eskimos will travel to Vancouver next Sunday to play the B.C. Lions for the right to represent the West in the Grey Cup. The Eskimos rolled to a 25-9 halftime lead and then the defence took over, holding the Stampeders to three field goals and a single in the second half to seal the victory. "I can truly say that our defence stepped up to the plate tonight," said Edmonton head coach Kavis Reed. The win spoiled Tates playoff debut. The 27-year-old Texan was starting in his first CFL post-season game after taking over from starter Henry Burris with three games left in the regular season. He completed five passes on 10 attempts with one interception before being pulled for Burris at the start of the second half. "We changed quarterbacks to try to change some momentum on offence," said Calgary head coach John Hufnagel. "We just werent making plays, a mixture of protection breaking down a bit, a bad throw, things you cant do against a good football team and still win." The first 30 minutes told the tale. Edmonton took an early 3-1 lead but Calgary answered back late in the first quarter on a four-play, 78-yard drive that was ignited by a perfect 58-yard strike from Tate to a streaking Romby Bryant. The Stamps then ran running back Jon Cornish up the middle on three straight plays for nine yards, six yards and then finally five yards as he rumbled into the endzone standing up. The drive seemed to deflate the Eskimos. On the ensuing drive, quarterback Ricky Ray was sacked twice before Edmonton punted. The Stamps then took over from their 32 and, with two long runs from Cornish, were deep in Edmonton territory threatening to score again with 11 minutees to go in the half.dddddddddddd. Tate took the snap from centre. But as he switched the ball to his throwing hand, he fumbled it, leading to the Munoz score. The Eskimos padded the lead five minutes later on a five-play, 94-yard drive that was sparked by 56-yard catch-and-run from Ray to receiver Adarius Bowman. On the play, Bowman caught a swing pass and appeared to be caught for no yards. But instead of wrapping him up, Calgary defensive back Brandon Smith dove weakly at Bowmans ankles, barely touching him, springing him free for the long run. On the next play, running back Jerome Messam ran seven yards untouched over the goal line to extend the lead to 18-8. Bowman said he felt something on his foot, brushed it off and ran to daylight. "I felt the guy grabbing the ankles but he didnt take me down and my receivers were up blocking," said Bowman. "It was a great play." Edmonton added one more major as time expired in the half on a drive that had stalled at midfield, but gained new life when Stampeder Junior Turner ran into punter Damon Duval for a penalty. That resulted in an Edmonton first down. The Eskimos then marched down the field, collecting three first downs. With just seconds to go on the play clock, Ray threw a four-yard quick out pass to receiver Jason Barnes for the major to extend the lead. Ray was 14 for 17 for 217 yards and one touchdown. Calgary was poised to make a game of it midway through the fourth quarter. They were on Edmontons 16, but the drive stalled when Burris threw a strike to an uncovered Nik Lewis on the goal line only to have the ball slip through Lewis hands, bounce off his chest and hit the turf. Calgary had to settle for a 23-yard Rene Paredes field goal and never threatened again. Edmonton kept Calgarys big guns in check. Cornish ran for 86 yards on eight rushes while receiver Lewis had one catch for 17 yards. Lewis came up limping after taking a helmet to the knee from Eskimo defensive back Weldon Brown in the first half and appeared to be hampered by it for the rest of the game. The Stamps returned the favour as time ran out in the third quarter. Messam caught a swing pass only to have Calgary defensive back Demetrice Morley dive in and spear his knee with his helmet, sending him cartwheeling to the turf. Messam stayed down, grimacing in pain, and didnt return to the game. Messam said his knee will be evaluated Monday to see if he can play against the Lions. It was the Green and Golds first home playoff game in seven years. The Eskimos missed the playoffs in 2010 but finished second in the West in the regular season this year with an 11-7 record. The Stamps also finished the regular season at 11-7 but Edmonton beat them two out of three games in the regular season to capture the tiebreaker. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '