HOUSTON -- With 21 games left in this dreadful season, the Chicago Cubs are eyeing a magic number. Kevin Faulk Patriots Jersey . No, not the number playoff contending teams are looking at to seal their trip to the post-season. With 86 losses, this club is determined to avoid becoming the first Cubs team to lose 100 games since 1966. On Monday night they moved a bit closer to that goal with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros -- owners of the only record in baseball worse than theirs. Dave Sappelt scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch and had three RBIs to lead the team to the victory. "Oh yeah, we count down every day -- our magic number to not get 100," Sappelt said. "So we definitely have that in the back of our minds." Sappelt, who was recalled from Triple-A Iowa on Sept. 1, drove in his first run for the Cubs with a double to the left field corner to put Chicago up 1-0 in the second inning. The game was tied 1-all in the sixth before Sappelt scored on a wild pitch by Fernando Rodriguez (1-10) that bounced in the dirt and rolled between catcher Jason Castros legs. Sappelt came through again in the seventh, knocking a double off the wall in centre field just short of the home run line to score a pair of insurance runs. The Cubs won their fourth straight, matching their season high. "Those guys are starting to understand how close that 100 losses is," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "Thats the goal. Thats the talk now and obviously theyre responding now." Justin Maxwell tripled on a ball that rolled up onto Tals Hill in centre field to start Houstons fourth. Castro tied it at 1 with a single to right field on a night when the Astros played with Minute Maid Parks retractable roof open for the first time since May 9. Chicago starter Chris Volstad (3-10) allowed four hits and a run in five innings for his first win on the road in eight starts this season. Carlos Marmol gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth for his 19th save. Volstad is 3-3 since being recalled from Iowa on Aug. 1. "I feel like since Ive come back Ive been a different pitcher, starting with that L.A. game," he said. "I feel good. Ive just got to continue it and keep it going -- that whole consistency thing." This was an ugly game which included 14 walks, two hit batters, three wild pitches and 24 left on base. By the time the 3 hour, 50 minute game ended, there were only few hundred fans left and most of them were chanting, "Lets go Cubbies!" "It seemed like there was a 2-hour rain delay. It was kind of funny how long it took," Sveum said. The Cubs missed several chances to score before finally taking the lead. Welington Castillo got things going in the fourth inning with a single to centre field. Volstad singled with two outs before Joe Mather singled to left. Castillo raced toward home on the play, but left fielder J.D. Martinezs throw beat him to the plate to end the inning. Houston starter Dallas Keuchel was lifted for Chuckie Fick in the fifth inning and he allowed a single by Darwin Barney before plunking Anthony Rizzo. His defence helped him out when the Astros turned a double play on a ball hit by Alfonso Soriano that left Barney at third. Fick intentionally walked Starlin Castro, but escaped the jam by striking out Castillo. The Astros also missed opportunities in this one. Jimmy Paredes hit a stand-up triple to the corner of right field to start the fifth inning before two walks left the bases loaded with two outs. The Astros came away empty when Matt Dominguez grounded out. "We had opportunities in the first and the fifth," Maxwell said. "We had (Volstad) on the ropes all night, but we werent able to push many across." Houston interim manager Tony DeFrancesco was disappointed that his team didnt capitalize on its chances. "Im glad the guys are getting opportunities to prove they are major league hitters, but at some point, the guys have to be accountable for their at-bats and try to grind them out," he said. Keuchel yielded six hits and a run with two walks in four innings in his first start since returning from Triple-A Oklahoma City. NOTES: The Astros released RHP Francisco Cordero and purchased the contract of RHP Enerio Del Rosario before Mondays game. ... These teams continue the series on Tuesday when Houstons Jordan Lyles opposes Justin Germano. Rob Gronkowski Black Jersey . Milwaukee placed six players in double figures. The Bucks pulled ahead in the second quarter and led by double figures for most of the second half. C.J. Miles paced Cleveland with 18 points. Chandler Jones Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills safety Jairus Byrd has a swollen right foot, but is not expected to miss any playing time. http://www.... . Burris threw for 326 yards and five touchdowns in the Tiger-Cats 41-28 win over the Montreal Alouettes on the weekend as Hamilton got a crucial win. The Ticats are 5-8, third in the CFL East and tied with potential crossover team Edmonton. [url=http://www.patriotsofficialteamstore.com/stevan-ridley-jersey/]Stevan Ridley Red Jersey .C. Sabathia. Hes still coming through when it counts for the New York Yankees. Rob Gronkowski Game Jersey . Diving Canadas chief technical officer says the team would be content with two medals but would love to leave London with three.This year, the fact that free agency in the CFL opened at noon Eastern instead of midnight, combined with some interesting names on the list, led most to believe that there would be a frenzy of activity out of the gate. Canadian offensive linemen and receivers are valuable commodities in the CFL and with names like Brendan LaBatte from Winnipeg and Andy Fantuz from Saskatchewan at the top of the list, there were much higher expectations than years past. However, free agency is much different than a trade deadline. With free agency, contract offers are sent out and and within reason, there are no strict time limits placed on the players to sign by a certain time or the contract will be pulled. Top players will have multiple deals in front of them and will essentially be able to weigh their options, talk to their families and in most cases, sleep on it before making a final decision. Not exactly an environment that would create a frenzy of activity and Wednesday was proof of that. This years league changes and big names did, however, make for interesting discussion and chats on many different social media platforms. I stopped counting the questions and comments on my personal twitter account at around one hundred and thought that the best way to address some of the questions was to answer them in a blog like this. So here are some thoughts on a few questions asked on Wednesday. I intentionally avoided specific player questions because that news may change by the time you read this. 1. How long does a team leave an offer on the table, especially top players? As mentioned earlier, within reason, there really arent strict time limits put on players. It goes without saying that teams should be organized enough with regards to their budgets that they are ok if all offers handed out are accepted, although eventually teams will have to make tough cap decisions. For instance, if one team has signed upper-end contracts they may have to rethink making the neext one. Dane Fletcher Jersey. But once offers are out there, it is bad form to pull one. 2. Should what is accomplished or not accomplished during free agency make or break a general manager? Football in general is a little different with regards to free agency than other sports due to the fact that it is such a team game with so many puzzle pieces to put together. Unlike hockey where a guy like Rick Nash could push a team over the top, in football unless there is a big name quarterback on the free agent list, one player picked up in FA cannot single-handedly take a team to the next level. Due to the size of the rosters and the diversity of athletes needed, it takes a combination of some key veteran free agents combined with a solid Canadian College draft and the signing of some future stars dug up from a serious of off-season tryouts to make a difference on a football team in one year. 3. With Brendon LaBatte rumored to become the highest paid offensive lineman in the league (not confirmed), was the price to high for a guard in that tackles have historically been the highest paid lineman on the field? In the short term, no. As a 25-year-old Canadian offensive lineman who has been an all-star, it is not surprising that LaBatte got some real good offers. It may, however, make things difficult down the road if, for instance, a rookie tackle playing beside him next year has a great season and then walks in to the GMs office with contract in hand looking for a bump up when comparing his salary at tackle to LaBattes at guard. But I guess one could also look at it in another way, like how many of us look at that big purchase that we really want and put it on our credit cards, thinking that we will worry about paying it off somewhere down the road. There were many of questions about individual players which will be answered by team announcements over the next day or two, but thanks for the discussion and questions on Free Agent Wednesday in the CFL. ' ' '