Benatia out injured and Giorgio Chiellini on the bench still w

CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo kept fouling the ball off, over and over again. When Steven Matz finally blinked, Rizzo capitalized with one mighty swing.Rizzo hit a three-run homer, Jon Lester pitched 7 2/3 innings and the Chicago Cubs stopped an eight-game losing streak against the New York Mets with a 5-1 victory on Monday night in a rematch of last years NL Championship Series.With one out and two on in the third inning, Rizzo fouled off five straight 2-2 pitches before driving a changeup deep into the bleachers in right-center for his 22nd homer.It was 2-2 for a while there. I dont think he wanted to go 3-2, Rizzo said. He was making good pitches and I was just fighting them off. Just try to grind at-bats, thats what were so good at doing.The crowd of 41,353 cheered wildly as Rizzo rounded the bases on a picturesque night at Wrigley Field. The All-Star slugger is batting .339 with three homers and 10 RBI in July.Hes the anchor of the whole group. Theres no question about it, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.Matz (7-6) blamed himself for poor execution.You really want to grit your teeth and beat this guy, he said. Unfortunately, he won.The last time the Mets visited the iconic neighborhood ballpark, they finished off a sweep of the Cubs to advance to the World Series. They swept Chicago again in New York from June 30 to July 3, roughing up Lester for one of the wins.This time around was much different.Lester (10-4) allowed one run -- Wilmer Flores leadoff homer in the seventh -- and four hits in his first win in a month. David Ross added a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Albert Almora Jr. singled in Matt Szczur in the eighth as the NL Central leaders won for the fourth time in five games since dropping five in a row.We were able to get some quick outs with some well-located fastballs and some well-located cutters, Lester said, so that was huge for us tonight.Hector Rondon replaced Carl Edwards Jr. with two runners on in the ninth and got Travis dArnaud to bounce into a game-ending double play for his 16th save.Matz was charged with four runs and eight hits in five-plus innings. The rookie left-hander dropped to 0-5 in his last nine starts.Even though I thought he threw the ball fine, he didnt have his real Grade-A stuff, manager Terry Collins said. But he battled the best he could.Matz nearly had another run on his line, but left fielder Yoenis Cespedes cut down Willson Contreras with a perfect throw to the plate when the rookie tried to score from second on Szczurs third-inning single.BREAK FOR ZOBRISTCubs second baseman Ben Zobrist rested for the second straight day. Maddon picked Sunday for a day off for the All-Star, and then decided to give him another day of rest.He told me yesterday that he wanted to give me two in a row, Zobrist said. I think it will be good to be able to stay off my feet a little bit and try and get caught up. Just didnt feel like the break kind of helped me get caught up as much as I wanted it to.The 35-year-old Zobrist started at second in the All-Star Game. He is batting .277 with 13 homers and 47 RBI in his first season with the Cubs.TRAINERS ROOMMets: RHP Matt Harvey had season-ending thoracic outlet surgery in St. Louis. ... RHP Jim Henderson (biceps) is throwing 91 to 93 mph during his rehab stint at Triple-A Las Vegas, and Collins said the reliever is nearing a return.Cubs: OFs Dexter Fowler (right hamstring strain) and Jorge Soler (left hamstring strain) were traveling to Iowa and are expected to begin their rehab stints with the Triple-A club on Tuesday. Fowler could return to the Cubs by the end of the week. That would be the optimal situation, Maddon said.UP NEXTAll-Star RHPs Noah Syndergaard of the Mets and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs face off on Tuesday. Syndergaard (9-4, 2.56 ERA) was removed from last start on July 8 due to arm fatigue. I think the rest has been good for him, Collins said. Arrieta (12-4, 2.68 ERA) is looking to get back on track after allowing four or more earned runs in three consecutive starts for the first time since 2012.NMD R1 Primeknit Canada . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. NMD R2 Canada . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/nmd-r2-cheap-canada.html . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. NMD_R1 Shoes 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. Ultra Boost 4.0 Sale Canada . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division.SEVILLE, Spain -- Leonardo Bonucci and Mario Mandzukic scored late to give Juventus a 3-1 win at 10-man Sevilla on Tuesday and a spot in the Champions League knockout phase.Sevilla took an early lead when Nicolas Pareja struck a long-distance volley that Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon didnt appear to see as the ball skimmed through a crowded area.Sevillas Franco Vasquez was sent off for two yellow cards in quick succession midway through the first half and Claudio Marchisio equalized with a penalty just before the break.Bonucci and Mandzukic then found the net in the final 10 minutes.Juventus, the five-time defending Serie A champion, leads Group H with 11 points, one more than Sevilla, the three-time defending Europa League champion.Lyon is next with seven points after beating Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 in the other group game, while Zagreb is last with none.Sevilla plays its last group game at Lyon while Juventus hosts Zagreb.Weve achieved our first objective of the season. But weve got to win against Dinamo Zagreb also. Nothing is a given in football, Bonucci said. We knew it would be difficult here and they scored with their first shot. But we did well to react and bring home the qualification.The build up to the match at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan was marred when a Juventus fan was stabbed during clashes the night before the game in a confrontation at a bar near the city center.Juventus was without prized forward Gonzalo Higuain due to a minor injury and Sevilla dominated early on, taking the lead when Juventus failed to clear a corner.Buffon is rarely beaten from beyond the area, especially by a volley from a center back, but the goalkeepers view of Parejas shot seemed to have been obstructed by a crowd of players.Parejas only other goal in the Champions Leeague came in his competition debut in 2006 with Anderlecht.ddddddddddddStill, Juventus four-man defense appeared confused.Juventus usually plays with a three-man back line but coach Massimiliano Allegri decided to shake things up with Andrea Barzagli and Medhi Benatia out injured and Giorgio Chiellini on the bench still working his way back to fitness.About 10 minutes later, Sergio Escudero nearly doubled Sevillas lead, shooting just over the bar at the end of a counterattack.Sevilla dominated the opening 20 minutes and it wasnt until Mandzukic shot wide to waste a good look inside the area in the 27th that Juventus even threatened.In first-half added time, Bonucci was held inside the area as he fought for position on a corner, resulting in Marchisios penalty.Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico was well positioned to stop Marchisios poor spot kick but he let the ball go right underneath him.Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli was sent off early in the second half for protesting, having already irritated the match officials about the penalty before the break.Despite the man advantage and dominating possession, Juventus struggled to create opportunities in the second half.But then it was Bonuccis turn to be the center back who scored from long range. He too took advantage of a failed clearance to blast in a long, low effort that was slightly deflected -- a near replica of Sevillas opener.Once they were a man down they closed all of the spaces and we had trouble finding space, Bonucci said. But fortunately, my left foot gave us a hand.Mandzukic sealed it by beating the offside trap and fooling a defender before curling a shot around the onrushing Rico. ' ' '