(Sports Network) - Their season-high four-game winning streak is long gone, but that wont stop the Pittsburgh Pirates from playing competitive baseball as they kick off a seven-game road trip tonight against the Chicago Cubs in the opener of a three-game series at Wrigley Field. Pittsburgh has dropped three in a row since a four-game winning streak and fell to 4-9 in the last 13 games with Wednesdays 4-2 loss in 11 innings versus the Atlanta Braves in the finale of a two-game set from PNC Park. The Pirates went 2-3 on the residency and pinned their latest loss on reliever Jeff Karstens, who allowed a two-run homer to Brooks Conrad in the top of the 11th inning. James McDonalds six innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts went to waste, while Steve Pearce led the offense by going 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI for the Pirates, who got two hits apiece from Matt Diaz and Lyle Overbay. Bucs manager Clint Hurdle moved center fielder Andrew McCutchen to third in the lineup and put Jose Tabata in the leadoff spot. Both players went a combined 2-for-8 with Tabata collecting the hits. Weve got nothing to lose, Hurdle said prior to Wednesdays loss about the switch. Were going to try it for a while. Im still trying to find a way to help us become more consistent of an offense. The following statistic should make Hurdle a bit more relieved: McCutchen has reached base safely in each of his last 18 games against the Cubs, going 27- for-66 for a .409 average with two home runs, three triples, four doubles, six stolen bases, 12 RBI and 13 walks. Second baseman Neil Walker also enjoys playing against the NL Central-rival Cubs and has hit safely in all 12 of his career games in this series. In that span Walker owns a .422 average with four homers, seven doubles and 12 runs batted in. Shortstop Ronny Cedeno has gone 33 games without an error and has hit safely in 19 of his last 23 games, recording a .315 average in the stretch. Hurdles club has played nine series on the road this season and has prevailed in six of them. The Pirates won only four road series a year ago and three in the 2009 campaign. They are slated to visit the Mets for four games on the road swing and will hand Kevin Correia the ball today in Chicago. Hes 6-4 with a 3.84 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) this season. Correia ended a personal two-game losing streak in a 6-3 win over Detroit last Saturday, tossing 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball with four Ks and no walks. The right-hander is 3-2 in his last five decisions and has pitched well on the road as evidenced by his 5-1 mark in six starts away from the Steel City. He has won five of Pittsburghs 13 road victories this season. Correia defeated the Cubs on Opening Day, but is 2-2 against them with a 5.10 ERA in nine career appearances, five of which have been starts. Chicago, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses in its last seven games and won two of three matchups with the Mets, including Thursdays 9-3 victory in the series finale from Wrigley Field. The Cubs put the game out of reach with a four-run fourth inning highlighted by Carlos Penas two-run homer and starting pitcher Carlos Zambranos RBI single. Pena has reached base safely in 19 of his past 20 games. Kosuke Fukudome went 3-for-4 with a home run and Alfonso Soriano collected two hits and a pair of runs batted in for the Cubs in the opening series of a nine-game homestand that also includes a visit from Houston. Zambrano and Tony Campana, who was making his first major league start, both had three hits, while Zambrano also scored a run and yielded two runs -- one earned -- in six innings for his fifth win of the season (5-2). Hes a veteran hitter, Cubs manager Mike Quade said on the teams official website. Hes more disciplined. Its funny to me. I dont know if [hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo] has been spending time with him or whatever, but God, he loves to hit. He threw the ball well and we needed that, too. In 30 games and 139 at-bats with Triple-A Iowa this season, Campana was hitting .342 with eight stolen bases before joining the big league club. Chicago acquired Rodrigo Lopez from Atlanta on Thursday and sent left-hander Ryan Buchter to the Braves. Doug Davis draws the pitching assignment for Quades team in tonights series opener with the Pirates and is 0-2 with an 8.31 earned run average in his first two starts. He lost to San Francisco on May 14, then dropped a 15-5 decision at Boston last Friday. Davis was hit hard by the Red Sox, who compiled seven runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings against the lefty. Davis hopes to rebound against a Pirates team he is very familiar with, having posted an 8-6 mark and a 4.91 ERA in 23 career starts. He is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last three starts against the Bucs. It will also be the 300th career appearance for the veteran Davis. The Pirates won two of three meetings with the Cubs from April 1-3 in the Windy City and are 14-6 in the past 20 encounters between the NL Central inhabitants. Pittsburgh is 11-9 against division foes this season with an 0-5 record against Milwaukee. [url=http://www.officialtitansprostore.com/]Titans Jersey . RSL last lost an MLS home game on May 16, 2009 -- a 2-0 loss to Kansas City. "We came into it knowing they had a streak going and we definitely wanted to end it," Neagle said. "We want to be a team that ends other peoples streaks and starts our own. h... . The team announced on Wednesday that Brodeur would be out rehabbing his injured right shoulder but will not need surgery. [url=http://www.officialtitansprostore.com/Authentic_Anthony_Fasano_Titans_Jerse... Fasano Youth Jersey .C. Lions have signed University of Calgary offensive lineman Kirby Fabien. . Garcia improved nine places to No. 10 thanks to his fourth Asian Tour title. The top nine in the rankings remained unchanged with No. 1 Tiger Woods followed by Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson. Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Freddie Freeman had two hits and two RBI to help Atlanta take a 4-3 victory over San Diego and avoid a three-game series sweep. Tommy Hanson (6-4) earned the win after allowing two runs on three hits and two walks. He fanned four through six innings to give the Braves their third win in five games. Braves closer Craig Kimbrel tied the National League rookie record for saves before the All-Star break with his 16th save. He is now tied with the Dodgers Yhency Brazoban, who established the mark in 2005. Clayton Richard (2-6) lasted just 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and four walks as the Padres had their season high four-game win streak snapped. Martin Prado hit a one-out double in the first inning and was followed by an infield single by Chipper Jones to put runners on the corners. Brian McCann then singled to left to bring in Prado and Freeman singled in Jones to give the Braves an early two-run advantage. The Padres answered back in the second with a Kyle Phillips two-run home run that knotted the game at two. McCann led off the third with a double and Freeman followed with a double of his own to score McCann and give the Braves a 3-2 lead. I thinkk too many pitches were just elevated and they took advantage of them, Richard said of his performance.dddddddddddd Atlanta added another run in the sixth on a solo homer by Prado. But San Diego made it a one-run game again in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Jorge Cantu that plated Chris Denorfia. Denorfia started the inning with an infield single, moved to second on a Phillips ground out and advanced to third on a single by Logan Forsythe before getting knocked in by Cantu. Kimbrel took the mound in the ninth and struck out the first two batters he faced before Phillips singled to right. Then Forsythe hammered a ball to deep center field, but center fielder Jordan Schafer made a running grab before slamming into the wall to end the game. I think every day we just need to go out and try to win that day. We cant worry about stuff in the past or worry about tomorrow. We just need to try to go out and win today, and thats what we did, said Hanson. GAME NOTES:San Diego placed outfielder Cameron Maybin on the 15-day disabled list and recalled outfielder Aaron Cunningham from Tucson on Wednesday...Chase Headley extended his career-high hit streak to 11 games...Hanson is now 4-0 lifetime against the Padres. [url=http://www.cheapnfljerseys2015.us.com/]cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheapjerseyswholesale wholesale jerseys ' ' '