The 95th Wrigley Field Opening Day ever, got the sellout crowd into a better mood than the one they showed up with. The Cub bats which were mostly silent on the 2-4 season opening road trip,woke up against Doug Davis and the Brewers. A quiet and scoreless first two and a half innings was abruptly broken open in the Cub third when with two gone and Marlon Byrd and Derrek Lee on base via singles when Xavier Nady belted his first homer as a Cub into the LF Bleachers to make it 3-0,but that wasn’t all. Alfonso Soriano,who was greeted with boos in pre game introductions, lined a clean single and Jeff Baker slammed his first round tripper of the year to finish off the five run rally. The Brewers got on the board in the top of the fourth when Prince Fielder lined a double into the RF corner,took third on a bloop double to right by former Cub Casey McGehee,and scored on Corey Harts single.But Ryan Dempster got Gregg Zaun to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play to minimize the damage. Davis,who has done well at Wrigley in the past,was chased in the bottom of the fourth after walking Ryan Theriot who greeted Claudio Vargas with a stolen base,and he scored with two away on a sharp single by Lee.Aramis Ramirez then belted his second dinger of the season to deep left center to up the Cub lead to 8-1. Lee left the game with inflammation of his right thumb prior to the Milwaukee 5th in which the Crew tried to get back into the game. With two on, Ryan Braun lifted his second homer of the season to close the Cubs lead to 8-4. With Chris Narveson on the mound in the Cub 5th, Geovany Soto reached on SS Alcides Escobar’s throwing error, and scored on a two out double into the LF corner by Byrd which was his third hit of the day.The Brewers closed the scoring with a run in the top of the 7th. Dempster(1-0) worked 6.1 innings with James Russell, Jeff Samardzija,and Carlos Marmol finished the job.

NOTES—Attendance was 41,306…..The Ricketts Family sang Take Me Out To The Ballgame during the 7th inning stretch…..Tuesday is an off day, the series resumes Wednesday.

LES

TORONTO—Mark Teahen tripled home the go-ahead run in the 11th inning and the White Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-7 on Monday night, snapping Toronto’s five-game winning streak and spoiling the Blue Jays’ home opener.Mark Kotsay led off the 11th with a pinch-hit single off Jeremy Accardo (0-1) and was replaced by pinch runner Omar Vizquel. Teahen followed with a triple to right center.Teahen, who tied the game with a ninth-inning homer off Jason Frasor, finished 3 for 5 with three RBI. He also singled home a run in the sixth.Matt Thornton (1-0) worked two scoreless innings and Bobby Jenks pitched around a pair of two-out walks, getting Adam Lind to strike out and earning his second save.The White Sox snapped a 10 game losing streak in Toronto, winning here for the first time since June 1, 2007.Andruw Jones hit his first two home runs of the season off Toronto left-hander Brian Tallet, giving him 390 for his career and moving him into a tie with Graig Nettles for 50th on baseball’s career list.Jones opened the scoring with a two-run shot in the second off Tallet, tying him with Johnny Bench, then added a solo drive in the sixth, giving him his 38th career multihomer game.John Buck answered Jones’ first homer with a two-run blast in the bottom of the second that landed in the fourth deck in left.Jones and Carlos Quentin each hit RBI singles in the top of the third but Toronto scored four in the bottom half. Lind hit a two-run single and Vernon Wells followed with a two-run homer to center, his fifth.After Jones’ leadoff homer cut it to 6-5 in the sixth, former Blue Jay Alex Rios singled, stole second and scored on Teahen’s two-out hit, tying it at 6-all.Lind drew a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk off reliever Randy Williams in the bottom half, but the Blue Jays couldn’t hold the lead as Frasor blew his second save of the season.Tallet allowed six runs and eight hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out three.Jake Peavy allowed seven runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, raising his ERA to 8.44 after two starts. He walked three and struck out two.Rios was booed or jeered every time he came to the plate or made a play. He grinned and slapped hands with manager Ozzie Guillen when he was booed during the pregame introductions, then turned from side to side and tipped his cap as he took his place along the first base line. He finished 3 for 5 with a stolen base.

NOTES—Attendance was 46,321. … Toronto placed 2B Aaron Hill (right hamstring) on the 15-day DL, retroactive to April 8, and called up OF Jeremy Reed from Triple-A Las Vegas. … The Blue Jays marked Opening Day by honoring 14 Canadian medalists from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Gold medal-winning freestyle skier Alex Bilodeau threw out the first pitch.

TORONTO—Derrick Rose scored 26 points, Joakim Noah had 18 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists and the Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors 104-88 on Sunday night to take over eighth place in the Eastern Conference.Luol Deng scored 14 points, Taj Gibson had 11 and Ronald Murray and Hakim Warrick each scored 10 points for the Bulls, who led by 25 points.The Bulls have won eight of 12 since Noah returned from a foot injury that forced him to miss 10 games. The Bulls went 0-10 without him.Sonny Weems and Andrea Bargnani each scored 18 points for the injury-riddled Raptors, who lost their fifth straight. Hedo Turkoglu had a career-high 19 rebounds and nine assists but shot 2 for 12 and scored just six points.The Bulls host Boston Tuesday night then finish the regular season at Charlotte Wednesday. They must finish AHEAD of Toronto in the standings since the Raptors own any tie-breakers.

LES

A shift in strategy worked out well for the White Sox.J.J. Hardy was nailed at the plate for the final out on an unorthodox relay, and the White Sox held off the Minnesota Twins 5-4 Sunday to end a four-game losing streak.Hardy singled with two outs against Bobby Jenks and took off when pinch-hitter Jim Thome lined a shot into the left-center field gap. With the Sox infield drastically overshifted to the right side for Thome, Hardy figured no one would be in good shape to make the relay home.But third baseman Mark Teahen put himself in position to take left fielder Juan Pierre’s throw. Teahen’s strike to catcher A.J. Pierzynski arrived in plenty of time, and Hardy was beaten by so much that he didn’t slide or go barreling home.The speedy Pierre hurried to track down Thome’s drive, which went as a single. Thome had plenty of clutch hits for the White Sox during his four-year stint before signing with the Twins in the offseason, but the Sox decided not to re-sign him and moved to a more contact-hitting team.Pinch-hitter Andruw Jones singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth. Mark Buehrle (2-0) pitched eight innings and Jenks held on for his first save.Paul Konerko hit a two-run homer, and Mark Kotsay and Gordon Beckham had solo shots for the White Sox.Joe Mauer doubled twice for the Twins, who finished a season-opening road trip 5-2 and are set to open Target Field against the Boston Red Sox on Monday.Buehrle settled down after the third inning for another strong start, allowing four runs and eight hits. He walked two and struck out one.Nick Blackburn (1-1) pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing five runs, eight hits and one walk.With two outs in the eighth inning, Blackburn gave up back-to-back singles to Konerko and Carlos Quentin. After left-hander Jose Mijares replaced Blackburn, Jones batted for Kotsay. Jones singled to left and Quentin scored, just beating Delmon Young’s throw.After pitching seven scoreless innings in Monday’s opener against Cleveland, Buehrle gave up two runs in the first inning. With one out, Orlando Hudson singled and moved to third on Mauer’s double, and both scored on Justin Morneau’s single.Blackburn couldn’t hold the lead in the bottom of the first. With two outs, Quentin doubled and Konerko followed with his third homer of the season to tie the score.Denard Span led off the third with a double, and scored one out later on Mauer’s double to left. With two outs, Mauer scored on Michael Cuddyer’s single to put the Twins up 4-2.Blackburn couldn’t hold the lead again.Kotsay homered with two outs in the fourth to pull the White Sox within one, and Beckham tied the score on the first pitch in the sixth inning.

NOTES—Hardy made a nice pickup on Konerko’s grounder in the fourth inning to start a double play. Hardy fielded the ball behind second base and flipped the ball to second baseman Hudson, who barehanded while on the bag and threw to first to get the second out. … Jones broke out of an 0-for-7 slump with his first hit of the season

CINCINNATI—Mike Leake worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the first. He struggled with his control. He collected two hits at the plate.This was one wild major league debut.Leake pitched into the seventh after a rough start, Ramon Hernandez drove in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded walk and the Cincinnati Reds rallied to beat the Cubs 3-1 on Sunday.The Cubs open at Wrigley Field with the Brewers Monday after a 2-4 road trip.The ex-Arizona State star got Aramis Ramirez to pop up, struck out Marlon Byrd and retired Alfonso Soriano on a flyout to end the threat.Derrek Lee drove in the Cubs only run with an RBI single in the fifth.The Cubs left 11 runners on base, frustrating manager Lou Piniella.The Reds loaded the bases in the eighth inning on two singles and a walk against John Grabow (0-2), and Esmailin Caridad walked Hernandez to force in the go-ahead run. Jonny Gomes followed with a sacrifice fly.Nick Masset (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Francisco Cordero finished for his second save in two opportunities.Tom Gorzelanny, acquired from Pittsburgh on July 30th, was sharp in his first start of the season. The left-hander struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings, allowing an unearned run and four hits.Left fielder Alfonso Soriano’s error helped the Reds tie it in the seventh. With runners on first and second and one out, Soriano dropped Gomes’ fly ball into the corner. That loaded the bases for pinch-hitter Miguel Cairo, whose sharp one-hopper glanced off reliever Sean Marshall for the tying infield single.

NOTES—Leake lined a single to center field with one out in the third for Cincinnati’s first hit and started the sixth with a soft liner up the right-field line. He is the first Reds pitcher to get two hits in his major league debut since Benny Frey on Sept. 18, 1929, against Philadelphia. Leake’s game cap was headed for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown….Lee has reached base at least once in each of the Cubs first six games…..Ryan Theriot was doubtful for Sunday’s game after he pulled a right calf muscle advancing to second on a wild pitch on Saturday. Pregame tests convinced Piniella that Theriot was OK to start the series finale….James Russell, son of Cincinnati native and former Reds RHP Jeff Russell, got the final out of the eighth inning for the Cubs.

CINCINNATI — Carlos Zambrano recovered from his horrific opening day start by pitching seven solid innings, and pinch-hitter Jeff Baker hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning Saturday, sending the Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Zambrano (1-1) managed only four outs during the Cubs’ 16-5 opening day drubbing in Atlanta. He held the Reds to six hits, including Brandon Phillips’ homer, and struck out nine. Carlos Marmol fanned the last three batters for his second save in as many chances.Baker hit his solo shot off left-hander Arthur Rhodes (0-1), the Cubs third homer of the game. Kosuke Fukudome and Alfonso Soriano also connected off Aaron Harang.Both starters were coming off tough times in their season openers. Harang usually gets the better of these matchups — Zambrano was 1-5 in seven career starts against the Reds’ ace coming in.This time, they ended up essentially even, each giving up three runs in seven innings. Baker’s homer — his first hit in five at-bats this season — put Zambrano in line for the win.The Cubs’ lineup has been overly reliant on homers so far, scoring 12 of its 17 runs that way. Five of Saturday’s starters came in batting .200 or less — Aramis Ramirez (.200), Marlon Byrd (.167), Geovany Soto (.167), Soriano (.143) and Ryan Theriot (.125).The homer-or-nothing trend continued. Fukudome hit a two-run shot in the fourth, and Soriano led off the fifth with a homer that tied it at 3.The Reds scored in the second when Chris Dickerson doubled to left — Soriano turned the wrong way initially and couldn’t recover — and Ryan Hanigan singled. Phillips broke an 0 for 11 slump with a two-run homer in the third, raising his right arm in jubilation when the ball cleared the wall in center for his first homer.Harang lasted only five innings of a season-opening 11-6 loss to the Cardinals on Monday, throwing a lot of pitches. This time, he wasn’t messing around. Harang’s first seven pitches were strikes. He retired the first nine Cubs in order, throwing 29 strikes in 38 pitches.The two homers made him come up empty again.

NOTES—Zambrano threw 110 pitches. … Reds 3B Scott Rolen got a day off. He’s a .182 career hitter against Zambrano. … RH Mike Leake, the Reds’ top draft pick last June, will make his debut on Sunday. Leake pitched for Arizona State last year. He’ll be the 21st player since the draft began in 1965 to make the jump without appearing in a minor league game. The last was Xavier Nady with San Diego in 2000. … Reds LHP Aroldis Chapman is scheduled to make his pro debut for Triple-A Louisville against Toledo on Sunday.

Jason Kubel hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning and Scott Baker pitched seven sharp innings, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 2-1 victory over the White Sox 2-1 on Saturday.Trailing 1-0 in the seventh inning, Jim Thome drew a leadoff walk against his former team. Thome was replaced for pinch-runner Alexi Casilla, but the move became unnecessary when Kubel connected on White Sox starter Freddy Garcia’s 0-1 fastball and drove it into the center field seats for his first homer of the season. Jesse Crain got two outs in the eighth and stranded Mark Teahen at second, and Jon Rauch pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth save in four opportunities as the Twins won their fifth straight after losing to the Los Angeles Angels on opening day.Baker (1-1) rebounded after struggling through only 4 2-3 innings on opening day. On Saturday, he allowed one run on five hits. He struck out three and walked one.Teahen doubled in the only White Sox run, who lost for the fourth straight game.In his first start of the season, Garcia (0-1) made one mistake, to Kubel. He allowed just two runs on three hits. He struck out four and walked five.The Twins had a chance to tack onto their lead in the eighth. They loaded the bases with no outs against reliever Randy Williams, but Scott Linebrink came in and got Michael Cuddyer to hit a soft liner to second baseman Gordon Beckham, he struck out Casilla and Kubel ended the inning with a groundout to first.A.J. Pierzynski led off the fifth with a liner to center, Twins center fielder Denard Span tried to make a sliding catch, but the ball got by Span and allowed Pierzynski to go into second for his first double of the season. After Alexei Ramirez moved Pierzynski over on a groundout, Teahen broke an 0 for 10 start with a double to the center field warning track to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead.

NOTES: After a pinch-hitting Friday night, Thome was in the starting lineup against his former team. He was 0 for 2 with a strikeout and a walk. …Carl Pavano will start in the Twins home opener at the new Target Field on Monday.

Chris Gould booted a 20-yard field goal as time expired to give the Rush a thrilling 59-56 victory over the Cleveland Gladiators in front of 8,075 fans at Allstate Arena Friday evening. The home-opening win moved the team to 2-0 in its 2010 return to the Arena Football League.Gould’s game-winning kick was the conclusion to a see-saw game that saw no team hold a lead of more than seven points the entire 60 minutes.In fact, the final kick came only after Gladiators quarterback John Dutton connected with WR Ben Nelson on a 13-yard touchdown to tie the score at 56-56 with just 45 seconds remaining. But 45 seconds was more than enough time for the Rush, as QB Russ Michna led the team down the field in six plays, setting up the game-winning kick.Michna was sharp all night for, connecting with Samie Parker on a 42-yard touchdown on the game’s first play en route to a game that saw him complete 22 of 27 passes for 315 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns – without throwing an interception. For the second week in a row, Parker was Michna’s favorite target, catching nine passes for 148 yards and three TDs. But despite the great offensive performance, it was the defense that helped turn the game around. With the game tied 42-42 late in the third quarter, an interception by Chris Martin and an ensuing facemask penalty gave the Rush the ball at its 15-yard line. Two plays later, Nichiren Flowers scored on a 25-yard TD reception to give the Rush a 49-42 lead and the Rush would not trail again.

NOTES—The Rush defense had three more interceptions this week, giving them eight in two games … FB Robert Boss again had an impact on the offense, catching an 18-yard TD pass and rushing for five yards …Gould’s game-winning kick might have been outdone by his tackle of Gladiators kick returner Brent Holmes with 3:30 remaining in the game. Gould hit Holmes in such a way that Holmes went spinning up in the air, resulting in a huge ovation from the crowd.

DENVER— The Blackhawks were stumbling two weeks ago. Six straight wins later they’re confident and on the verge of having home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.Colin Fraser scored twice, Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist and the Hawks moved closer to clinching first place in the Western Conference with a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.Antti Niemi had 30 saves, Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg also scored and Tomas Kopecky had two assists for the Blackhawks who moved into a tie with San Jose for first in the Western Conference with 111 points and both teams have one game remaining.Thw Hawks can clinch the No. 1 seed with a win Sunday against Detroit or by tying the Sharks in points. The Blackhawks hold the tiebreaker by having more wins than San Jose. The Sharks host Phoenix on Saturday.A win by the Coyotes in regulation would make Sunday’s game meaningless for the Blackhawks, but they’re not worried about the Sharks’ outcome because they control their fate.The Blackhawks are peaking after dropping three straight at the end of March. Since then they’ve won six in a row, four of them coming on the road.If the Blackhawks hold on to the top seed, Friday’s game was a preview of their first-round opponent. The Avalanche are locked into the eighth and final playoff spot, a big improvement from last year when they finished in the conference cellar.Although Chicago won the season series 3-1, the four games between the teams have been close. The first three games went to a shootout, with Colorado winning one at home and the Blackhawks both games at the United Center.Thw Hawks made sure the final game between the clubs didn’t reach a shootout with an early flurry of goals. Fraser scored 6:20 into the game when he took a rebound off the back boards and beat Peter Budaj to make it 1-0.Toews made it 2-0 4:35 later when he scored on the power play, his 25th goal of the season. It was the Hawks first power-play goal since March 25, a span of seven games.Sharp made it 3-0 with his 25th goal 7:21 into the second period before the Avalanche struck. Ryan O’Reilly was stopped on a point-blank shot on the power play before Ryan Stoa got Colorado on the scoreboard with his first NHL goal with 2:24 left in the second and the teams skating 4-on-4.Tucker made it 3-2 with 7:11 left, but Fraser scored his sixth goal of the season and second of the game 38 seconds later to make it a two-goal game. Versteeg scored an empty-net goal with 1:21 left to seal the win.The Avalanche could be limping into the playoffs after losing rookie Matt Duchene to a torso injury in the first period and he didn’t return.