VANCOUVER—Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks have kept their cool while the Vancouver Canucks have lost theirs.Now they are just one win away from a return trip to the Western Conference finals.Toews scored three power-play goals and added two assists as the Blackhawks beat Vancouver 7-4 on Friday and grabbed a 3-1 lead in the second-round series. The more the Canucks have taken bad penalties and displayed a lack of discipline, the more the Hawks made them pay with a lethal power play.Patrick Sharp also scored on the power play and Tomas Kopecky added a goal shortly after another expired. the Hawks, who went 4 for 8 with the man advantage, has won three straight after dropping the series opener at home.Brent Seabrook scored 18 seconds in, Dave Bolland scored into an empty net with 37 seconds left, and Antti Niemi made 26 saves for the Hawks, who can advance to hockey’s final four with a win at home on Sunday.After talking a lot between games about the need for better discipline and get more bodies to the Hawks net, Vancouver instead spent most of the night marching to the penalty box.

“We lost our composure again,” said Roberto Luongo, who made 27 saves,but continues to play awful in the Vancouver Nets. “I don’t know why it happened. We were all on the same page before the game, and I don’t know.” The Hawks are again inside Luongo’s head.

Dustin Byfuglien, who scored three goals in Game 3, was a big part of it.He combined with Toews to set up Seabrook’s goal on the first shift, and then drew consecutive cross-checking penalties on defenseman Shane O’Brien. The 6-foot-4, 257-pound Byfuglien went straight to the net on the second, screening Luongo while Toews ripped a shot past both of them. It was clear what side of that line the Canucks were on in the second period.Toews, who had three assists in Game 3, added his second power-play goal 33 seconds into the middle period to put the Blackhawks ahead 3-2. Sharp doubled that lead on a power play rebound scramble at 12:47, and the Canucks came apart.Daniel Sedin was penalized for breaking his stick across Kris Versteeg after a whistle, and Alex Burrows cross-checked Byfuglien in the neck during a scramble. Toews converted the 5-on-3 advantage with 4:38 left in the period.Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Kyle Wellwood and Alexander Edler scored for the Canucks, who lost consecutive home games for the second time this season.Luongo has given up 13 goals the last seven periods.

“He’s the second-best goaltender on the ice,” Coach Alain Vigneault said.

NOTES—The Hawks are 7 for 24 on the power play in the series, and converting at 34.6 percent in the playoffs. The Canucks’ penalty-killing is last in the playoffs at 64.3 percent….Demitra led the Olympics with 10 points in seven games. He had six points in nine playoff games, but the Slovakian forward had only one assist against the Blackhawks.

Alex Gonzalez(Not the former Cub) hit the tiebreaking three-run homer in the 12th inning, Buck went deep twice and the Toronto Blue Jays won their sixth straight, beating the White Sox7-4 on Friday night.Toronto has four wins when trailing after seven innings and 10 come-from-behind victories in all.Gonzalez’s shot off J.J. Putz (0-2) came after Vernon Wells walked with two outs and Lyle Overbay singled. He then drove a 1-2 fastball down the middle about 10 rows deep in left field for his ninth homer.Gonzalez’s drive made a winner of Scott Downs (1-3), who pitched two scoreless innings, and made up for a fly to center with the bases loaded to end the eighth.John Buck, who hit a two-run homer off Mark Buehrle, gave Toronto a 4-3 lead with a solo shot in the ninth off Bobby Jenks. Kevin Gregg,who flopped with the Cubs last year, seeking his ninth save in as many chances, gave up a leadoff homer to A.J. Pierzynski in the bottom half that tied it.Mark Kotsay and former Blue Jay Alex Rios homered for the White Sox.Both teams got solid performances from their starting pitchers, with Toronto’s Shaun Marcum going into the eighth and Buehrle finishing eight innings.The game was sailing along until it took a wild turn.The Blue Jays appeared to be in good shape, tying it in the eighth when Buehrle walked Wells with the bases loaded and then taking the lead on Buck’s drive in the ninth. But there was more drama to come.Pierzynski drove Gregg’s first pitch in the bottom half into the right-field seats.Carlos Quentin then walked and was sacrificed to second before Kotsay — who came into the game with a .137 average — was intentionally walked. Alexei Ramirez forced him with a slow roller toward shortstop, putting runners on the corners, before Juan Pierre popped up a bunt attempt to the mound to end the inning.The White Sox got a one-out single from Andruw Jones in the 10th, but he was doubled off on Rios’ liner to short. They also got a dominant relief effort from Matt Thornton, who came on in the top half and struck out five of the six batters he faced over two innings.Buck hit a two-run shot off Buehrle in the fifth before Kotsay hit one off Marcum in the bottom half, and Rios then gave the Sox a 3-2 lead with a solo shot in the sixth. That put Buehrle in position for his first win in about a month, but the walk to Wells with the bases loaded in the eighth spoiled his best start since the season opener, when he threw seven scoreless innings against Cleveland.He allowed three runs and eight hits while tying his longest outing this season after dropping his previous four starts. Still, he’s winless since April 11.Singles by Travis Snider and Freddy Lewis and a one-out walk to Jose Bautista loaded the bases for Wells, who already had two hits. This time, he walked on a 3-1 pitch after Ozzie Guillen visited the mound, tying it at 3.Marcum allowed six hits. He left with two outs in eighth after Omar Vizqel singled and Gonzalez booted Jones’ grounder to short, putting runners on first and second. Shawn Camp came on and retired Rios on a popup to first to end the threat.

NOTES—The White Sox kept 1B Paul Konerko out of the lineup for the second straight game because of a sore neck and held out struggling 2B Gordon Beckham….The Blue Jays held OF Adam Lind out of the lineup with the lefty Buehrle starting.

CINCINNATI—Starlin Castro got awakened by a call to the majors on Friday and arrived in style, hitting a three-run homer in his first at-bat and driving in a record six runs during the Cubs 14-7 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.The 20-year-old became the youngest shortstop in Cubs history when he stepped onto the field. Then, he became a sensation.His homer off Homer Bailey (0-2) made him the sixth player in Cubs history to connect in his first at-bat. He added a bases-loaded triple, sliding headfirst into the record books with six RBIs, the most ever in a modern day debut – one more than the previous mark shared by four players.The last player to drive in five runs in his debut was Ben Grieve in 1997.The rookie’s impressive arrival staked the Cubs to a 9-0 lead after five innings. Carlos Silva (3-0) struggled anyway, lasting only five innings. He gave up a two-run homer by reliever Micah Owings in the fifth, when the Reds batted around for four runs.Not nearly enough on a night when the newcomer named Starlin became a star. The victory snapped Chicago’s three-game losing streak and became one of those reference-point moments in not only franchise history but baseball history as well.No one saw it coming.Castro was asleep at Double-A Tennessee after a night game when he got the call at 7 a.m. telling him to head for Cincinnati. At first, he didn’t believe it. Once it sunk in, he called relatives and friends back in the Dominican Republic to relay the surprising news.He found himself in the starting lineup, batting eight because manager Lou Piniella wanted to break him in slowly.He’d have none of that.Wearing the No. 13 that former Reds shortstop Davey Concepcion made famous, Castro came to the plate and worked Bailey to a 2-2 count in the second inning, then drove the next pitch over the wall in right field. No Cub had done that in his first at-bat since Jim Bullinger in 1992.Castro lined out to Drew Stubbs the next time up, forcing the center fielder to make a sliding catch to rob him of another hit. He came up again in the fifth with the bases loaded and lined a ball into the gap in left-center, making it all the way to third with a headfirst slide.Won’t be the last time he kicks up dust in the majors.Marlon Byrd added a two-run homer for the Cubs and narrowly missed another. His eighth-inning drive smacked off the yellow line at the top of the padding in left field. Third base umpire Mike Winters ruled the ball in play, a call that was upheld after a review that took 2 minutes, 24 seconds.Mike Fontenot made it 14-4 with a pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning off Carlos Fisher.

NOTES—Castro surpassed Marty Shay as the youngest Cubs shortstop to make his big league debut. Shay was 100 days older when it made it to the majors in 1916. … Castro’s promotion meant that Ryan Theriot had to move to second base. Theriot became the Cubs’ everyday shortstop in 2007. He has played 80 games at second base during his career. … Orlando Cabrera batted leadoff for the Reds for the first time. Drew Stubbs was dropped from first to seventh.

PITTSBURGH—For the Pittsburgh Pirates, a 10-run margin isn’t all that unusual this season. Only there was a big difference: This time, they won.Lastings Milledge drove in four runs, Garrett Jones added three RBI and the Pirates finally won a one-sided game, beating the Cubs 11-1 on Thursday night for their first sweep of their NL Central rival in nearly four years.Brian Burres (2-1), roughed up in three consecutive appearances before pitching 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a spot start April 29 against Los Angeles, allowed three hits over seven shutout innings to win his second straight. Before that, he hadn’t won in nearly two seasons.The Pirates are winning nearly every close game but losing lots of blowouts; they’ve lost 11 times by six runs or more. And their minus-86 run differential through 27 games was easily the worst in either the NL or AL. However, they are 6-1 in one-run games.For a change, they put this one away early — and easily — following a two-hour pregame meeting with a communications coach designed to build their social skills and boost their image. A five-run first inning against Cubs starter Randy Wells (3-1) no doubt accomplished that.Wells (3-1) didn’t walk any in his previous two starts, only to walk Akinori Iwamura and Andy LaRoche in succession in the first. Andrew McCutchen and Jones followed with RBI singles and Ryan Doumit doubled in a run. Milledge, who came in with six RBI in 93 at-bats, finished it off with a two-run double.Asked what happened, Wells said, “Too cocky, too confident” — and he didn’t have a pregame morale-boosting session, either. “Terrible, unacceptable,” he said. “In the bullpen, I don’t think I missed a pitch. Get in the game, and there was a lot of whacking. I let it get out of hand. I got lackadaisical.” Wells lasted at least six innings in each of his first five starts, but yielded seven runs, six earned, in two innings to halt his four-game winning streak.Lou Piniella didn’t say anything to his players after they were outsccored 18-5 during Pittsburgh’s first sweep of the Cubs since Aug. 28-30, 2006.Milledge added another two-run double in the fourth against reliever Jeff Gray. Even if he thought it was a home run.As fireworks went off prematurely, Milledge’s drive deflected off the base of the left field wall rather than clearing the fence. Milledge was tagged out as he jogged between second and third — a potentially costly error in a close game.Burres gave the Pirates something they’ve rarely had all season — successive strong starts by the same pitcher. The left-hander struck out four and walked three, lowering an ERA that was 9.31 before the Dodgers start to 4.09.Burres will stay in the rotation even after right-hander Ross Ohlendorf comes off the disabled list on Monday.

NOTES=-The Cubs committed three errors. … Pittsburgh has swept two of its past three series at home, but was outscored 36-1 while losing three to the Brewers in the other. … The Pirates have scored in the first inning in seven of their past eight games.

Dane Eveland adjusted to the cold conditions in a hurry. Then he made sure the White Sox’ bats never warmed up.Toronto’s lefty allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings Thursday night, sending the Blue Jays to a 2-0 win and their fifth straight victory.Using his changeup effectively to keep the White Sox off balance, he gave up an infield single to leadoff hitter Juan Pierre and another single to Alexei Ramirez in the fourth inning. Mark Kotsay drove a long ball to center in the second, but Vernon Wells made a nice running, over-the-shoulder catch before hitting the fence.Eveland (3-1) outpitched John Danks (3-1), who also lasted seven innings.The Blue Jays broke through against Danks with one out in the fifth when John Buck singled, Travis Snider doubled into the right field corner and Freddy Lewis drove a two-run double into left center for a 2-0 lead.But the White Sox are going to have to thaw out their bats before they fall too far behind in the AL Central.Second-year second baseman Gordon Beckham, who batted .270 with 14 homers last year in a strong rookie season, went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and also made two errors. His average dropped to .198 and manager Ozzie Guillen had a talk with his struggling young star after the game.Toronto’s Scott Downs pitched a spotless eighth. Alex Rios got a double when Blue Jays shortstop Alex Gonzalez couldn’t hold his high pop behind ond with one out in the ninth, but Kevin Gregg then struck out Carlos Quentin and Ramirez to get his eighth saves in as many chances. Danls gave up eight hits and two runs in his seven innings. Sergio Santos pitched a scoreless eighth and the converted infielder has still not allowed a run in his first 12 appearances — a record for a White Sox pitcher starting his major league career.

NOTES—Eveland also beat the White Sox at Toronto in April…..Major league home run leader Paul Konerko of the White Sox was scratched with a sore neck but is expected back Friday. Konerko has 12 homers……A fan ran on the field in the bottom of the sixth but instead of leading security on a long chase, he slid down in shallow right center and surrendered…..The Blue Jays are now 10-3 on the road.

VANCOUVER—Dustin Byfuglien was all over the Vancouver Canucks, creating havoc in the crease and on the score sheet.Byfuglien banged in a pair of power-play rebounds and completed his hat trick in the third period to lift the Blackhawks to a 5-2 win over the Canucks and a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series on Wednesday.Dismissed by the Canucks before the series as a non-factor despite scoring two of his three career playoff goals against them last season, Byfulgien was the biggest factor in putting the Hawks ahead in the series for the first time. Moved back up front and onto the top line after playing defense in Game 2, the 6-foot-4, 257-pound Byfuglien went hard to the net all night, tucking in power-play rebounds in the first and second periods. He was credited with his third goal with 6:02 left after pushing Roberto Luongo into his net, leaving the goalie upset and the Canucks pledging retaliation.The Canucks seemed most worried about clearing Byfuglien out of Luongo’s face. Byfuglien doesn’t expect that to happen.If not, Luongo would like to see his teammates at least make life just as difficult for his counterpart. Antti Niemi made 16 of his 31 saves in the first period, but didn’t have to fight through nearly as much traffic.Kris Versteeg opened the scoring 5:19 in as the Blackhawks picked up where they left off with a third-period comeback in Game 2. Hannik Hansen and Alex Burrows scored for the Canucks, who will try to even the series when they host Game 4 on Friday night. Vancouver will have to do a better job on special teams and against Byfuglien.Byfuglien started the series on the fourth line and moved to defense in Game 2, but he shifted to the top line with Toews and Patrick Kane. But as he did in last year’s series against Vancouver, Byfuglien took his usual position in front of the net on the power play and made the Canucks pay.Pointless in his first eight playoff games, he lifted in a power-play rebound with 3:13 left in the first period after Toews won a faceoff cleanly and Luongo bobbled Duncan Keith’s unscreened shot from the point. Hansen pulled the Canucks within a goal midway through the second, but Burrows took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty two minutes later. Byfuglien then lifted in another rebound after Toews drove to the net along the goal line.Burrows made up for the undisciplined penalty by snapping a wrist shot from the slot under Niemi’s blocker off the rush with 54 seconds left in the period. But any hope of Vancouver adding to an NHL-leading 13 third-period comebacks ended when Hossa beat Shane O’Brien to a rebound for an easy goal at 7:45. Byfuglien, who skated along the end boards taunting the crowd after his second goal, was back in the spotlight — and on top of Luongo — for the third. Luongo was in position to make the save before Byfuglien pushed him into the net, but the goal — orginally given to Kane — was upheld after a video review. Byfuglien doesn’t think he is getting Luongo off his game, but he admitted that seeing the goalie talking to the officials could mean he is getting close.

NOTES—To make room for Byfuglien, the Hawks scratched Vancouver native Troy Brouwer, who scored 22 goals in the regular season but was pointless in eight playoff games…..Jordan Hendry, who played Game 1 but sat out Game 2, took Byfuglien’s place on the third defense pairing alongside Brent Sopel.

Freddy Garcia pitched out of several jams to beat Kansas City for the first time in nearly five years, and Andruw Jones and Alex Rios hit home runs Wednesday night, helping the White Sox to a 9-2 victory against the Royals.It was only the Sox second series win so far this season.Since last beating the Royals on July 25, 2005, Garcia (1-2) had gone 0-7 with a 7.40 ERA in eight starts against them. He allowed 10 hits in six innings this time but gave up only two runs. He walked none and struck out four.The 33-year-old right-hander earned his fourth victory in 14 starts since rejoining the White Sox last August. Garcia had 40 victories for them from 2004-06 — including the AL Central clincher in ’05, when he went 3-0 with a 2.14 ERA in the postseason to help the franchise to its first World Series title in 88 years.The White Sox gave him a big lead Wednesday, roughing up Brian Bannister (1-2) for seven runs in three-plus innings.Bannister, who has an 8.22 ERA in 13 career starts against the Sox, walked Gordon Beckham in the first inning before giving up Jones’ homer. It was Jones’ 397th career shot, moving him past Joe Carter into 49th place.Rios doubled with two outs, A.J. Pierzynski walked and Carlos Quentin and Mark Teahen followed with RBI singles to make it 4-0. Quentin entered the game in a 6-for-53 slump while Teahen had been 4 for 28.Paul Konerko doubled home a run in the second and the White Sox scored twice in the fourth when Jones drew a bases-loaded walk from Bruce Chen and Rios had a sacrifice fly.Garcia allowed a run in the fifth and another in the sixth but kept the Royals from big innings that would have gotten them back in the game.After Chris Getz’s RBI single put two on with nobody out in the fifth, Garcia retired Willie Bloomquist on a liner and David DeJesus on a grounder and then struck out Scott Podsednik.Alberto Callaspo’s run-scoring single made it 7-2 in the sixth and Jason Kendall followed with a two-out double, but Garcia snagged Getz’s line drive to end the inning.Rios hit a two-run homer off Brad Thompson in the sixth.

NOTES—While the White Sox won only their second series of the season, the Royals have taken only one. …Juan Pierre got his 474th stolen base, tying him with Roberto Alomar for 40th on the career list. … The Royals called up 1B Kila Ka’aihue from Triple-A Omaha to fill the roster spot created when OF Rick Ankiel (strained quad) went on the disabled list Tuesday. …The Sox are 42-17 at home against Kansas City since 2004. … White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on Konerko, who leads the majors with 12 home runs: “Every time this guy’s a free agent [to be], the baseball gods help him.” Konerko parlayed a huge 2005 season into a five-year, $60 million contract.

PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Pirates have stuck with Charlie Morton in their starting rotation despite his awful start.On Wednesday night, Morton showed why.Morton was effective for the first time this season, allowing two runs in six-plus innings, and the Pirates beat the Cubs for the second straight night, 4-2.Morton (1-5), who entered the game as the worst starter in the majors in terms of ERA (12.57) and was tied for worst with five losses, did not allow a hit in five of his six innings and did not walk a batter to win for the first time since shutting out the Cubs Sept. 30.Ted Lilly didn’t walk a batter and there were no free passes in the game.Ryan Church homered for the second consecutive game, Garrett Jones had two hits and two RBI, and Octavio Dotel earned his fifth save in seven opportunities for Pittsburgh, which improved to 9-1 in games decided by two runs or fewer.Slumping Aramis Ramirez was moved down to the No. 6 spot in the order but had a hit and an RBI.Morton retired the first eight Cubs before hitting Lilly with a pitch with two outs in the third. He allowed four hits in a two-run fourth but retired the next seven before being lifted when Ramirez singled to lead off the seventh.In his previous five starts, Morton hadn’t allowed fewer than six runs and had completed at least four innings only once.Three of the first four Pittsburgh batters of the game had hits against Lilly (1-2), but the Pirates pushed across only one run, Bobby Crosby scoring on Jones’ single.The Pirates began the third with three straight doubles, taking a 3-0 lead when Andrew McCutchen and Jones drove in Andy LaRoche and McCutchen.Church’s homer was on an 0-1 pitch to right with one out in the sixth. He has reached during all eight games he has appeared in at PNC Park this season — despite the fact he’s had a case of the stomach flu the past two days when he homered.Lilly was charged with four runs and nine hits with two strikeouts in six innings. He was making his third start since being activated April after offseason shoulder surgery.The Cubs, 3-2 losers here Tuesday after a three-game winning streak at home, got all their runs in the fourth on Ramirez’s sacrifice fly and Mike Fontenot’s RBI single.

NOTES—Ramirez, batting .149 coming in, had batted third, fourth or fifth all season. … The Pirates are 7-4 at home, 10-1 when scoring at least four runs and 9-0 when leading after four. … Pittsburgh 1B Steve Pearce made his season debut after being recalled from the minors Tuesday. He went 0 for 3. …Alfonso Soriano failed to tie a club record by homering in his fifth consecutive game. He went 1 for 4.

AUSTIN—The Wolves and Texas Stars traded goals for 50 minutes before Texas took the lead for good, 3-2, and picked up the win in Game 4 of the West Division Finals at Cedar Park Center Wednesday night. The best-of-seven series is now tied at two games apiece.Left wing Brett Sterling scored both Wolves goals, while center Travis Morin tallied two of the Stars three markers.Texas (6-2) got on the board first, 6:23 into the contest, when Morin intercepted the puck and beat goaltender Peter Mannino on a breakaway.the Wolves (6-5) needed just nine seconds on their first power play of the game to even the score, 1-1, at 11:12 of the first frame. Defenseman Nathan Oystrick fired a shot from the blue line and Sterling was able to beat Stars netminder Brent Krahn by redirecting it in front of the net.Krahn (6-2) posted 21 saves on 23 shots for the Stars.The Stars inched ahead, 2-1, at 6:06 of the third period. Center Greg Rallo threw a shot on net from high in the zone and Morin slammed home the rebound.Sterling had the answer for the Wolves, 2:31 later, to knot the score 2-2. Defenseman Noah Welch sent the puck down into the Stars zone with Jason Krog chasing it and Anthony Stewart and Sterling streaking in behind him. Krog knocked the puck bounced back to Stewart, who sent a pass across for Sterling to deposit into the empty left side of the net.Texas regained the lead for good, 3-2, at 13:43 of the third period with a power-play goal from defenseman Dan Jancevski. Rallo cranked a shot on net from the blue line and Jancevski scooped up the rebound and put it past Mannino.Mannino (6-4) recorded 20 saves on 23 shots for the Wolves.Game 5 will be played at Cedar Park Center on Fri., May 7, at 7:30 p.m.

Jose Guillen hit a two-run homer and Luke Hochevar pitched six sharp innings as the Kansas City Royals defeated the White Sox 7-2 on Tuesday night.Mike Aviles had three hits, including a solo homer in the ninth, and Scott Podsednik had two hits, including an RBI triple against his former for the Royals, who had 16 hits.Hochevar (3-1) allowed just one unearned run on three hits and pitched around four walks. He rebounded after he was tagged for nine runs and 11 hits over just 2 2-3 innings Thursday in an 11-1 loss at Tampa Bay.A.J. Pierzynski homered for the White Sox, who had their home four-game winning streak snapped. Overall, the White Sox have lost five of its last eight games and are already seven games behind the first-place Twins in the AL Central. Gavin Floyd (1-3) continued to struggle, allowing six runs and a career-high 13 hits in 6 1-3 innings. In his last start at Texas on Thursday, it appeared Floyd was about to turn it around after a strong seven-inning victory over the Rangers, but Floyd was in trouble from the start Tuesday.David DeJesus led off the game with a double and scored on Billy Butler’s double-play grounder.Jason Kendall led off the second inning with a walk and Aviles and Mitch Maier followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. Chris Getz followed with a bloop RBI single to left, but the Royals left the bases full as Floyd retired the next three batters in order.The Royals had the bases loaded with no outs in the third, but failed to score. Aviles hit a sharp grounder to first baseman Paul Konerko, who stepped on the bag and then threw home to Pierzynski, who tagged out Jose Guillen. Maier flied out to center to end the inning. The Royals left six on base in the first three innings.Hochevar got some insurance in the seventh. Getz led off with a single, one out later, Podsednik tripled and scored on Butler’s single. Guillen followed with his eighth homer of the season to put the Royals up 6-1. Alberto Callaspo chased Floyd with a single.In the third inning, Juan Pierre bunted for a single and Gordon Beckham followed with a walk. Pierre and Beckham pulled off a double steal, and Pierre ended up scoring on Kendall’s errant throw to third.

NOTES—Pierzynski’s home run, his first of the season, came in the seventh…..Ozzie Guillen managed his 1,000th game for the White Sox. … Before the game, the Royals placed OF Rick Ankiel on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right quad.