CHICAGO -- Pedro Alvarez stepped to the plate ready to strike in a big spot. Nike Vapormax Uomo . Once again, he delivered. Alvarez hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run seventh inning and Jason Grilli retired Emilio Bonifacio on a bases-loaded grounder to end the game, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. The Pirates trailed 4-0 heading into the seventh, but two big drives changed things. Pinch hitter Travis Snider cut the deficit in half with a two-run homer off Brian Schlitter. Alvarez put Pittsburgh ahead with his three-run shot on the first pitch from James Russell (0-1), his third homer in two games and fifth this season. "Just trying to be ready from pitch No. 1, ready to compete and sometimes that first pitch is the best one you see and just trying to be ready to hit as soon as I step in the box," Alvarez said. Chicago threatened in the bottom of the ninth before Grilli retired Bonifacio on a grounder to first. Pittsburgh took two of three at Wrigley Field. That gave the Pirates their third series win -- the most for them to start the season since the 1992 team took its first six. Gerrit Cole (2-0) struck out 10 in six innings. He also allowed four runs, three of them earned. Tony Watson worked a perfect seventh. Mark Melancon retired the side in the eighth before things got tense against Grilli in the ninth. Grilli gave up a leadoff walk to pinch hitter Ryan Sweeney and a single to Starlin Castro, putting runners on first and second. Grilli then struck out Luis Valbuena and Welington Castillo before Darwin Barney walked to load the bases. Bonifacio, who came into the game with a .500 average after going 19 for 38, ended it with that grounder to first baseman Travis Ishikawa, giving Grilli his third save in four chances. Chicagos Travis Wood sailed through six-plus innings, allowing four hits, striking out nine and walking three. He left to cheers with a four-run lead after Neil Walker led off the seventh with a double. Snider, batting for Clint Barnes, then drove a two-run homer to the shrubs in centre off Schlitter, cutting it to 4-2. Schlitter also gave up a single to Starling Marte and walked Andrew McCutchen with two out before Alvarez drove the first pitch from Russell off the roof of a party suite beyond the bushes in centre. "Its tough, especially as well as Woody pitched," Russell said. "You never want to mess up (an outing) that he had. Its one of those deals. Its why we play the game. It happens. We live to see another day." With a 1-0 lead going into the fourth, the Cubs took advantage of a wild pitch while scoring three more runs. Anthony Rizzo and Nate Schierholtz singled leading off. Castro drove an RBI single through the left side with one out, and Schierholtz came home on a wild pitch to Mike Olt. The lead grew to 4-0 when Castro scored on Castillos two-out single. The throw from Marte in left beat the runner by several strides, but plate umpire Mark Carlson called him safe. Carlson told a pool reporter that Castros foot touched the plate before catcher Tony Sanchez had control of the ball. He also said, "If he has the ball securely, he would have been able to block the plate." Manager Clint Hurdle came out of the dugout to discuss the play, but obstruction "never came up." He also chose not to challenge but would not say why. "If I give you any other answer, we got 10 more questions," Hurdle said. NOTES: The Pirates said top pitching prospect Jameson Taillon had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Wednesday. He is expected to miss 12 to 18 months. ... The Cubs open a three-game series at St. Louis on Friday, and manager Rick Renteria was asked if he sees the Cardinals as a model for what Chicagos trying to do. "Its hard to argue with a club, an organization, thats had success over the years," he said. "Youve got to see what it is that they do and dont do. You take things from every organization in baseball, but certainly, theyve had a tremendous amount of success over the last few years -- and over their existence." Nike Air Max 97 Ultra 17 Uomo . Coverage on TSN is underway now while action resumes on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. TSN GO also offers TSN subscribers bonus online coverage, with live streams of all four venues. Air Max 97 Uomo Nere . Napoli hit two home runs, Jonny Gomes and prized rookie Xander Bogaerts also connected, and the Red Sox kept up their dizzying scoring spree at Yankee Stadium by bashing New York 13-9 Saturday for a fifth straight win. http://www.airmaxshopitalia.it/vapormax-scontate/vapormax-plus.html .com) - Demario Richard posted four touchdowns and Kweishi Brown came up with a key late interception as No.(SportsNetwork.com) - It took over a year and a half to do it, but the New Jersey Devils finally broke through with a shootout victory. The Devils hope to build off Thursdays win when they welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets in Saturdays Metropolitan Division clash at Prudential Center. Jacob Josefson ended the Devils NHL-record string of 18 consecutive shootout losses, beating Winnipegs Ondrej Pavelec with a head fake for New Jerseys first SO win since March 10, 2013, also against the Jets. The clubs breakaway woes loomed large last season when the Devils finished only five points out of a playoff spot while losing all 13 of its shootouts. The 2-1 win over the Jets also marked New Jerseys first home win of 2014-15, as it improved to 1-1-2 as the host. It was our first home win of the season, and first shootout win in what feels like 10 years, said Devils head coach Peter DeBoer. So we got a couple monkeys off our back and can move forward; it was a big two points. Josefson was the second shooter for New Jersey in the decisive phase of Thursdays game. After Damien Brunner hit the post for the Devils on their first attempt, Josefsons fake sent Pavelec to the ice and gave him plenty of net to shoot at and the 23-year-old Swede calmly wristed the puck over Winnipegs netminder for the lead. It was a classic head fake, Josefson said of his winner. I went to the side and just tried to get it up. Devils goaltender Cory Schneider followed Josefsons tally by stopping both Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little to get Jersey an elusive shootout victory. Michael Ryder tied the game with 3:27 remaining in regulation, and Schneider made 24 saves through overtime. Schneider will get the call in net on Saturday and is 7-2-1 with a 2.05 goals against averrage in 10 career games against Columbus. Air Max 97 Ultra 17 Scontate. The Devils will close their three-game homestand Tuesday when St. Louis visits Newark. The Blue Jackets are hoping for a win tonight after losing their fourth straight games in regulation on Friday. Columbus has been plagued by injuries in the early going and the ailments are clearly affecting the club on the ice. The Blues Jackets have played the whole season so far without forwards Brandon Dubinsky, Nathan Horton and Boone Jenner and top goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky recently went down with a fractured finger. And thats only the tip of the iceberg for the Jackets, as Artem Anisimov, Matt Calvert, Mark Letestu and James Wisniewski are also among Columbus walking wounded. The injury list could be even longer tonight as forward Corey Tropp is questionable for Saturday with an illness. The hobbled Blue Jackets hosted Toronto on Friday and were dealt a 4-1 setback by the Maple Leafs. Phil Kessel and Daniel Winnik both had a goal and two assists to allow Toronto to breeze past Columbus at Nationwide Arena. Curtis McElhinney allowed four goals on 27 shots as Columbus lost for the sixth time in eight games since beginning the season 2-0. We didnt generate nearly enough 5-on-5, said Blue Jackets head coach Todd Richards. Richards could go with Anton Forsberg in net tonight. The 21-year-old Swede has served as the backup to both Bobrovsky and McElhinney this season, but has yet to make his NHL debut. Jersey has won six of the last nine meetings against the Blue Jackets, but Columbus did win the first three encounters of 2013-14 before the Devils notched a 5-2 home win on Feb. 27. The Blue Jackets are 1-4-1 with a tie in seven all-time trips to the Garden State. ' ' '