Jered Weaver enjoyed a stress-free day on the mound in his first start at Wrigley Field.Lou Piniella had a much more aggravating afternoon.Howie Kendrick hit a leadoff homer to start a big outburst by the Los Angeles Angels’ offense and Weaver pitched seven stellar innings in a 12-0 rout of the struggling Cubs on Saturday.Juan Rivera cracked a three-run double to cap a four-run first against Ted Lilly, who took a no-hitter into the ninth inning of his previous start. Torii Hunter added a two-run homer and Kendrick drove in three runs for the Angels, who improved to an AL-best 18-6 since May 24 and earned their 12th victory in 14 road games.Handed a comfortable cushion before he took the ball, Weaver (7-3) yielded only two hits and struck out 11 without issuing a walk. He didn’t allow a runner past first base and has won consecutive starts for the first time this season.The Cubs, who have lost six of nine, had another dismal performance in front of 40,008 at Wrigley Field. Chicago sent 30 batters to the plate, three more than the minimum, and fans who hung around for the Angels’ three-run ninth peppered the home team with boos.After the game Piniella spoke to his club, which is 30-38.

“What am I supposed to do? Yell and scream? That doesn’t work. Criticize people? That doesn’t do any good. You have to go out and play on the field. That’s all you can do. Play on the field. If not then you’re going to get embarrassed like we did today,” Piniella said. “We’ve tried everything we have. We’ve pitched everybody, we’ve played everybody, we changed lineups, we have done everything I can humanly do to get this thing turned around. That’s all I can do.”

A leadoff single in the ninth by pinch-hitter Juan Pierre ended Lilly’s no-hit bid Sunday night during a 1-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. This time, the left-hander gave up a home run to Kendrick on his fourth pitch.Lilly then allowed hard-hit singles to Kevin Frandsen and Bobby Abreu, who finished with four hits. One out later, Mike Napoli walked to load the bases and Rivera cleared them with a double over the head of center fielder Marlon Byrd. Lilly (2-6) labored through a 35-pitch first inning. After allowing Abreu’s third hit in the fifth, he was tagged for a two-run shot by Hunter. His 12th home run of the season and second in two games made it 6-0.Lilly allowed a season-high eight runs, six earned, and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked three.In his previous five starts, Lilly gave up a combined six earned runs. But in his last six starts, the Cubs have totaled seven runs.Scot Shields finished up for the Angels with two scoreless innings and had his first at-bat since 2006. He struck out looking on three pitches. Kendrick, batting leadoff for the third straight game after doing so only one other time in his career, chased Lilly with an RBI single in the sixth. After retiring his first batter, Cubs reliever Jeff Stevens allowed an RBI single to Abreu.Bobby Wilson moved to third on Weaver’s single in the seventh and scored on Kendrick’s single.

NOTES—Angels SS Erick Aybar missed his fourth straight game with a hyperextended left knee. Aybar was hitting .382 in June before the injury. He will be re-evaluated Monday when the club gets back to California. Scioscia said he doesn’t foresee Aybar going on the disabled list…..The Cubs signed their first-round draft pick, RHP Hayden Simpson, who was selected 16th overall out of Southern Arkansas University…..Kendrick is hitting .311 in June after batting .239 in May…..Hunter is hitting .354 in June.

WASHINGTON—Stephen Strasburg can hardly throw any better. He set a strikeout record in front of President Barack Obama in another sensational performance.So what rankled him? He didn’t field and bunt as well as he pitched. The baseball holiday known as Strasmas — it comes every fifth day on your calendar right now — was again a spectacle Friday night. The 21-year-old rookie struck out 10 to run his total to an unprecedented 32 through three starts, but he experienced his first no-decision as the White Sox beat the Washington Nationals 2-1 in 11 innings before another sellout crowd.Strasburg’s answers about his strikeout record [“That’s never going to be a goal of mine”] and the president [“Awesome — obviously he’s from Chicago, so he wanted to come watch the White Sox, too”] were mostly obligatory, but he was willing to speak more at length about two mistakes any pitcher might routinely make.The game’s first batter, speedy Juan Pierre, barely beat Strasburg to the bag on a grounder to first and eventually came around to score the first run. Then, in the sixth, Strasburg failed to get a bunt down with a runner on first and one out.With an attitude like that, he’s going to be hard to beat. The White Sox did it by countering with Gavin Floyd, who faced the minimum number of batters through six of his eight innings.Floyd allowed four hits with five strikeouts and one walk but got only one run of support. He has received no run support three times already this season and no-hit the Cubs through 6 2/3 innings before losing 1-0 on Sunday.But Floyd was a bit player to the main attraction. Even the president decided to make an unexpected visit to Nationals Park.Obama’s arrival wasn’t announced inside the stadium, and there wasn’t the stringent security for fans that usually accompanies a public appearance. Joined by daughters Sasha and Malia and sipping a beer in a private box, the president wore a White Sox hat in support of his hometown team — just as he did when he threw out the first pitch at the ballpark on opening day.Obama’s motorcade departed during the ninth inning, but he was part of another Strasburg sellout. The Nationals have filled the stands only three times all season: The first was opening day, and other two are Strasburg’s two home starts. Friday’s attendance was 40,325.Strasburg allowed four hits over seven innings and at one point retired 15 batters in a row, mixing in his now-familiar repertoire of fastballs that occasionally hit 100 mph and curveballs and changeups that leave batters looking bewildered. He lowered his ERA to 1.86 and didn’t walk a batter for the second time in three starts. He threw 85 pitches, 59 for strikes.J.R. Richard held the previous record for strikeouts in his first three major league starts, tallying 29 for the Houston Astros in 1971. Strasburg got his 30th and 31st back-to-back in the fifth inning, both on 92 mph changeups that sent Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham down swinging.The game was decided after both Obama and Strasburg had departed. Mark Kotsay singled and scored on Alex Rios’ infield hit off Drew Storen (2-1) in the 11th for the White Sox, who have won four straight and eight of nine. J.J. Putz (2-2) worked the 10th, and Bobby Jenks the 11th for his 14th save.The Nationals have lost six of seven, with Strasburg accounting for the only victory. Adam Dunn‘s RBI double in the seventh inning drove in Washington’s only run.Strasburg allowed a run in the first inning on Pierre’s infield hit, a bloop double and Rios’ RBI groundout — the first run he has allowed that didn’t score on a home run. Then he settled down and didn’t allow another runner to reach second base.

NOTES—Fans unveiled a huge banner in right-center field before the start of the eighth inning. It read: “MLB: Boycott AZ, Move the 2011 All-Star Game.” The protest of Arizona’s new immigration law was quickly removed…..Washington RHP Jordan Zimmermann (elbow surgery) threw a 35-pitch simulated game Friday and He hopes to begin a minor league rehab assignment soon…..Jake Peavy said his ailing shoulder was fine, and he’ll pitch Saturday. His scheduled start Thursday was moved back two days.

Torii Hunter wasn’t sure what made the ninth inning more terrifying: the rain and thunder or Derrek Lee’s booming home run.After building a five-run lead thanks to homers by Hunter and Howie Kendrick — and the incompetence of Cub error-prone fielders — the Los Angeles Angels held on to win 7-6 Friday with Fernando Rodney finally getting the save. Rodney, who had given up Lee’s two-out solo shot after Francisco Rodriguez had walked two batters and then served up Colvin’s long three-run homer, wiped out the rally by getting Geovany Soto to ground out.While the Angels won for the 15th time in their last 20 road games and have overcome numerous injuries to go an AL-best 23-11 since May 14, the Cubs lost the momentum they had built with two straight victories over Oakland — their first winning streak of any length in nearly a month.The Cubs trailed only 3-2 before errors on consecutive seventh-inning plays by third baseman Jeff Baker led to three unearned runs, including two that scored on Kendrick’s homer off Bob Howry.It was the third time in four games that a Cubs player made two errors in an inning, the kind of lapses that have contributed to the team’s 30-37 record. Lee’s throwing error at first base let in an eighth-inning run that made it 7-2, eliciting boos from the crowd. Playing at Wrigley Field for the first time in their 50-year history, the Angels were only too happy to accept the Cubs’ generosity.Until the Cubs’ late errors and futile rally, the game had featured a pitching duel between Los Angeles’ Scott Kazmir and Carlos Silva.Kazmir (7-5) allowed five hits in six innings and gave up two runs, including one on Lee’s first homer. The left-hander is 4-0 with a 2.35 ERA in June after posting a 6.34 ERA in his first nine starts.Silva (8-2), who has lost his last two starts despite pitching decently, also struggled physically on the muggy, 90-degree day. He gave up three runs on six hits and had to leave after the sixth due to leg cramps.The last hit he allowed was Hunter’s rising liner that sailed into the center-field bleachers for a 3-2 lead. Hunter has 18 RBI in 17 June games and has helped make up for the absence of Kendry Morales, Erick Aybar and other injured Angels.Hideki Matsui and Jeff Mathis drove in the other Los Angeles runs. Mathis’ RBI came on a bunt single, extending his hitting streak to 11 games — every game in which he has played this season. Friday was his first day back after missing two months with a broken wrist.

NOTES—Rodney earned his sixth save in as many chances. The first five came when closer Brian Fuentes was on the DL, but Fuentes was warming up in the ninth in case the rally continued…..Angels Mgr Mike Scioscia was encouraged by the progress of Aybar, who hyperextended his left knee Monday in a collision with Milwaukee’s Casey McGehee. Scioscia said the shortstop might not have to go on the DL but the team won’t know for sure for a few days….Batting leadoff for the first time, Colvin went 2 for 4 with a walk. He couldn’t remember ever hitting first in high school, college or the minors…..Bobby Abreu doubled to start L.A.’s two-run fourth and has a career .348 average at Wrigley Field. He wanted to join the Cubs after the 2008 season but they instead signed Milton Bradley, who turned out to be a bust and was traded to Seattle for Silva.

PITTSBURGH—Put an interleague game on the schedule, and there’s no better pitcher than Mark Buehrle.Especially when he’s opposing a team like the Pirates, who couldn’t be playing much worse.Buehrle allowed two runs over 7 1/3 innings to become the winningest pitcher since interleague play began, and the White Sox ran the Pirates’ losing streak to 11 games by holding on to win 5-4 Thursday.Buehrle’s 22 victories since interleague play began in 1997 top the 21 each by Mike Mussina and Jamie Moyer. Buehrle’s 22-6 record and .786 winning percentage are easily the best of the five pitchers who have won at least 20 games against the opposing league.Buehrle (5-6) was in control until being pulled with the White Sox leading 5-1 in the eighth, when the Andrew McCutchen and Lastings Milledge had RBI singles as the Pirates scored three times against three pitchers.Pedro Alvarez, the Pirates’ much-awaited rookie who made his major league debut Wednesday, struck out for the third time with runners on first and third to end the comeback. Alvarez went hitless in four at-bats, also grounding into a double play after the Pirates put two on with one out while trailing 3-0 in the fourth.Alvarez received the first boos of his big league career after his final strikeout, although though the fans appeared to be reacting to the missed opportunity and the losing streak rather than to him.Some Pirates players thought the boos for Alvarez were a bit much, even with the Pirates stuck in their second-longest losing streak in 55 years. The 2006 team lost 13 in a row.With Bobby Jenks pitching the ninth inning for his 13th save in 14 opportunities, the White Sox swept the three-game series and won their seventh in eight games. Left fielder Juan Pierre made an excellent sliding catch of pinch-hitter Delwyn Young’s drive down the line with one out in the ninth.Buehrle wasn’t scheduled to start against the Pirates despite his 4-0 record in five starts against them, but was moved up a night because of Jake Peavy’s sore shoulder. He gave up six hits.Carlos Quentin, extending his offensive surge, had a pair of doubles and drove in a run against Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf (0-5), who is winless in 13 starts since Aug. 18. Ohlendorf gave up five runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings, including Quentin’s RBI double during a two-run third inning and Juan Pierre’s RBI triple in a two-run seventh.Quentin boosted his average from .201 to .213 by getting four hits and driving in three during the final two games of the series.Gordon Beckham, who began the series with a .204 average, had a sacrifice fly in the second for his fourth RBI of the series and doubled to start the seventh.Pittsburgh’s latest loss occurred a few hours after team president Frank Coonelly revealed that the club extended general manager Neal Huntington contract through 2011 and picked up manager John Russell’s option for 2011 during the offseason.

NOTES—The Pirates are winless since June 5 and are 2-12 this month…..The 1955 Pirates also lost 11 in a row from May 11-22…..The Pirates didn’t commit an error after having more errors (6) than hits (5) during a 7-2 loss on Wednesday…..The White Sox hadn’t swept a three-game road series since June 29-July 1 in Cleveland. They didn’t homer in the series…..The Sox have won 23 of its last 31 interleague games.

 　

LES

Derrek Lee made up for his shaky performance from a night earlier with a home run and a great defensive stop at first base.That Lee would rebound so quickly was not a surprise for the Cubs in a 6-2 victory over Oakland on Wednesday.What was a bit startling was a sacrifice bunt from Alfonso Soriano — his first ever in a Cubs uniform and first overall in four years.What Soriano and all of the Cubs, including winning pitcher Ryan Dempster, really want is to shake this season-long funk before it’s too late. The win Wednesday night was only the Cubs seventh in the last 19 games.Dempster (5-5) gave up eight hits and two runs, striking out seven in 6 2/3 innings.A’s starter Gio Gonzalez (6-5) surrendered eight hits and a season-high six runs in five innings.Lee, in a 1-for-13 slump, led off the bottom of the second by lining his eighth homer of the season into the left-field bleachers, tying it at 1. Soriano walked one out later and moved to third on Geovany Soto’s liner to center that was scored a double when Ryan Sweeney fell down fielding it. Starlin Castro followed with an RBI single to left and Soto was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on a strong throw from Conor Jackson. Castro hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 in the fourth. It followed singles by Lee and Xavier Nady and the sacrifice bunt by Soriano — his first since he was with the Nationals in 2006 and only the ninth of his major league career — and an intentional walk to Soto. Nady had a two-out RBI single, a hard smash that went past third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and made it 4-1 in the fifth, and Soriano followed with a two-run double down the right-field line.But it was his bunt that had his teammate talking.The A’s got a run in the first when Jackson, was acquired Tuesday from Arizona, and Daric Barton opened with back-to-back singles and Sweeney delivered a sacrifice fly. But with two runners still on, Dempster escaped the big inning by getting Kurt Suzuki to hit into a 1-4-3 double play.Dempster, who had a baserunner in each of the first five innings, was backed by three nice defensive plays from third baseman Jeff Baker.Barton had an RBI grounder in the seventh when Lee made a nice stop to keep the ball from getting through for a single.

NOTES—Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said before the game it’s too early to plan whether the team will be subtracting or adding as the trade deadline approaches at the end of next month. “We’re not 17 back, we’re 7½. I like to think these guys know the spot we’re in,” Hendry said. “You can’t defend how we’ve played. We just have to fight our way out of it.” After the win, the Cubs were within 6½ games of the lead…..A’s OF Coco Crisp had his first rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday and went 2 for 3. Crisp, on the DL with a strained chest muscle, is on a 10-day program and will not be activated on the current roadtrip, Geren said…..Kouzmanoff had his 15-game hitting streak end, going 0 for 3.　

PITTSBURGH—John Danks held down Alvarez and the Pirates by limiting them to four hits over eight innings and Pittsburgh committed six errors during the White Sox 7-2 victory Wednesday.The Pirates ran their losing streak to 10 in the major league debut of Alvarez, their top power prospect since Barry Bonds. Pedro Alvarez contributed one of the Pirates’ four ninth-inning errors, mishandling a throw at third base.It was only the 15th game in club history with as many as six errors. The Pirates’ record is seven, which occurred four times.The White Sox looked sharp again while winning their sixth in seven games. The left-handed Danks was in control throughout and Carlos Quentin drove in two runs with a single and double. Paul Konerko had three hits and drove in a run.Before the Sox road trip began, general manager Kenny Williams stressed the importance of winning both interleague series this week, against NL tailenders Pittsburgh and Washington. The White Sox are assured of taking the three-game Pirates series after winning the first two games.The Pirates are enduring their third double-digit losing streak in 42 years. The 2006 Pirates lost 13 in a row under manager Jim Tracy and Russell’s first team in 2008 dropped 10 in a row.Alvarez, the No. 2 pick in the June 2008 draft, impressed the White Sox by hitting several long home runs during batting practice, causing several players to interrupt their pregame stretch and let out some audible “o-o-o-hs” during one deep drive. Once the game started, Danks (6-5) kept Alvarez in the park, much to manager Ozzie Guillen’s relief. Danks struck Alvarez swinging on a high fastball in the second, then worked carefully before walking him in the fifth. Alvarez then scored on Lastings Milledge’s double. The left-handed hitting Alvarez got around on a pitch by the left-handed Danks in the seventh, driving it to the warning track in left before Juan Pierre ran it down.So far, Pittsburgh hasn’t caught Alvarezmania the way Washington is embracing rookie Stephen Strasburg, who, coincidentally, faces the White Sox on Friday. The crowd of 15,218 was only slightly larger than Tuesday night’s turnout of 12,693, despite gorgeous weather and a day’s worth of buildup.Danks wasn’t as dominating as he was in limiting Detroit to one hit in seven shutout innings during a 3-0 victory on June 10, but was in control throughout while striking out six and walking two. Danks has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10 of 13 starts.As usual, one bad inning did in Pirates starter Zach Duke (3-8), who has lost four in a row while winning only once in 12 starts. The first five White Sox batters reached base in the fourth, with Alexei Ramirez tripling after Pierre’s leadoff single. Alex Rios and Quentin followed with run-scoring singles. Rios and Quentin doubled around Konerko’s single during a two-run sixth.

NOTES—Pirates starters have won once in 26 games since Duke beat Phillies ace Roy Halladay 2-1 on May 18. … The Pirates have lost 16 of 19. … Pirates RHP Ross Ohlendorf, who starts Thursday, is winless in 13 starts since Aug. 18. … The White Sox are 6-2 in interleague play, while the Pirates are 0-5. The Sox are 30-14 against the NL since 2008. … Jake Peavy will miss his scheduled start Thursday due to shoulder soreness, with Mark Buehrle replacing him.

PITTSBURGH—The White Sox are finding a way to focus the attention away from constantly feuding manager Ozzie Guillen and general manager Kenny Williams. Namely, win some games.Gordon Beckham drove in three runs and the White Sox spoiled former first-round draft pick Brad Lincoln’s first start at home, beating Pittsburgh 6-4 Tuesday and extending the last-place Pirates’ losing streak to nine games.Ramon Castro doubled in a run while reaching base four consecutive times and the White Sox bullpen pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings following Freddy Garcia’s uneven start. The Sox won their fifth in six games and sixth in eight games.Williams is making his first road trip of the season, and Guillen said the two — who often disagree over personnel matters and other issues, including the recent drafting of Guillen’s son — had a constructive talk during the flight to Pittsburgh.The Pirates, losers of 10 of 11 and 15 of 18, have plenty of problems while they’re stuck in their longest losing streak since they also dropped nine straight from Aug. 28-Sept. 5. Maybe that’s why they’re calling up top prospect Pedro Alvarez, a third baseman and the No. 2 pick in the June 2008 draft, for Wednesday night’s game.Andrew McCutchen tried to provide one, matching his career high with three stolen bases and getting three hits and a walk. Ahead 5-4, the Sox were so preoccupied with McCutchen after he singled in the seventh, reliever Matt Thornton made 14 pickoff throws to first in a span of two batters to try to prevent him from stealing second — which McCutchen eventually did, although he didn’t score.The Pirates tied it at 4 in the fifth after McCutchen singled in a run before stealing second and third on successive pitches and coming home on Ryan Doumit’s two-out single. Lincoln (0-1) followed up a 7-5 Pirates loss to Washington in his major league debut on Wednesday by again allowing five runs in six innings. The Pirates’ top pick in 2006 twice created runs by walking the leadoff batter, and he walked three overall, hit two batters and allowed six hits.Sox starter Freddy Garcia (7-3) was only slightly more effective – he gave up eight hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings — but won his fourth in a run when Beckham singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth.In the second, Castro’s double preceded the light-hitting Beckham’s RBI grounder that tied it at 2. Beckham, who came in batting .204, followed Castro’s leadoff walk with a run-scoring double in fourth and scored on Juan Pierre’s perfectly executed suicide squeeze bunt to make it 4-2.The suicide squeeze is rarely seen these days, which might be why the unconventional Guillen called for it.Bobby Jenks finished up in the ninth for his 12th save in 13 opportunities despite giving up McCutchen’s third hit in as many at-bats. Thornton and J.J. Putz pitched a scoreless inning each, and Sergio Santos struck out Neil Walker in the sixth with runners on second and third.Alex Rios’ run-scoring single gave the White Sox an insurance run in the top of the ninth after reliever Octavio Dotel walked Juan Pierre, then threw wildly for a two-base error on a pickoff attempt.

NOTES—Former White Sox reliever D.J. Carrasco struck out three during two scoreless relief innings….Steelers coach Mike Tomlin attended, wearing a Pirates jersey…..The White Sox are 5-2 in interleague play, the Pirates are 0-4.

After playing one of their better games in beating the White Sox 1-0 Sunday, the Cubs turned in a complete stinker Tuesday in a game that would have been better had it been rained out.Rajai Davis and Kevin Kouzmanoff had three hits apiece, and the Oakland Athletics took advantage of four errors in a 9-5 victory over the Cubs on a rainy Tuesday night.Davis drove in two runs. Kouzmanoff extended his career-high hitting streak to 15. And the Athletics rebounded from a three-game sweep at San Francisco, taking this one after a 1-hour, 41-minute delay at the start.They had plenty of help from the Cubs.Three-time Gold Glove first baseman Derrek Lee committed back-to-back errors in a four-run fourth and right fielder Tyler Colvin added two more in a three-run seventh that broke open the game, making it 8-4.Trevor Cahill (6-2) got the win despite allowing four runs and six hits over 5 2-3 innings, improving to 5-0 in his last six starts. He left after an RBI double to Chad Tracy that made it 5-3, and Jerry Blevins then gave up a run-scoring single to Koyie Hill that pulled the Cubs within one.The Athletics regained control against Jeff Stevens in the seventh, although Colvin didn’t help matters.He let a single by Kevin Kouzmanoff get past him, putting runners on second and third with none out before Jack Cust walked to load the bases. Mark Ellis grounded into a double play, forcing the runner at the plate, but the Athletics got some more big breaks to pad their lead.Stevens threw a wild pitch, allowing Kouzmanoff to score. Then, Pennington drove in Cust on a triple to deep right and scored when Colvin overthrew the cutoff man to make it 8-4.Lee’s errors in the fourth didn’t help a shaky Carlos Zambrano (2-5), who gave up five runs – two earned – in six innings.The A’s already had a run in on Mark Ellis’ bases-loaded single in the fourth when Lee had his lapses. With one out, Lee came in on Trevor Cahill’s roller and booted the ball, allowing Cust to score from third, and things were about to get worse. Lee dropped the throw after shortstop Starlin Castro fielded Davis’ chopper toward the middle, as Ellis and Pennington scored to make it 4-0.Fans showered Lee with boos, then cheered sarcastically when he caught the throw from Ryan Theriot on Suzuki’s inning-ending grounder to second.The Cubs got run-scoring singles by Zambrano and Castro to cut it to 4-2 in the fifth, but Theriot got caught off second trying to steal third before Byrd grounded into a force to end it.The sloppy game came on the heels of one of the most memorable at Wrigley Field.On Sunday, the Cubs’ Ted Lilly took a no-hitter into the ninth and the White Sox’s Gavin Floyd matched him for 6 2-3 innings.

NOTES—The A’s acquired OF Conor Jackson from Arizona for minor league closer Sam Demel. The also reinstated Suzuki from the bereavement list and optioned OF Matt Carson to Triple-A Sacramento. … The Cubs activated John Grabow from the 15-day disabled list and optioned RHP Mitch Atkins to Triple-A Iowa.