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PITTSBURGH -- All eyes were supposed to be on Gregory Polanco. But thanks to his new-found success against left-handed pitchers, Anthony Rizzo stole the show. Rizzo homered, doubled twice and drove in three runs to lead the Chicago Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3 Tuesday night, spoiling Polancos much-anticipated debut. Rizzo hit a two-run homer in the first inning off lefty Francisco Liriano, who came out in the fourth with discomfort on his right side. Rizzo also doubled and scored in the fourth and hit an RBI double in the seventh, a drive to deep right-centre that struck Polancos left wrist as the touted Pirates rookie tried to make the catch. Rizzo has five home runs and a .344 batting average in 61 at-bats against left-handers this season. Last year, he batted .189 with seven homers against southpaws in 189 at-bats. "I feel more comfortable against them now and its the best Ive ever hit left-handers at any level," Rizzo said. "I dont know if Ill ever figure lefties out -- or right-handers, either -- but I do feel confident against them." Rizzo has every reason to feel confident. He has five homers in his last 10 games, raising his season total to 13. "You can talk about mechanics and scouting reports and everything else, but the biggest thing in this game is confidence," Rizzo said. "If you step into the batters box with confidence, then youre giving yourself a much better chance to hit." Polanco went 1 for 5 after getting called up from Triple-A Indianapolis, where the right fielder was leading the International League with a .347 batting average and 49 RBIs in 62 games. "It was a lot of fun," he said. "It was exciting. I was a little nervous at first but then I relaxed and had fun." Pinch-hitter Luis Valbuenas two-run double off Casey Sadler (0-1) broke a 3-all tie in the sixth and put Chicago ahead for good. Travis Wood (6-5) allowed three runs and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings. "It was a grind at times but I got through it," Wood said. Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer for the Pirates, his ninth of the season and fifth in nine June games. Valbuena and Junior Lake each had two hits for the Cubs, as did Pittsburghs Russell Martin and Starling Marte. Rizzo scored on a single by Starlin Castro in the seventh to push Chicagos lead to 7-3. Rizzos homer put the Cubs up 2-0, but the Pirates tied it on McCutchens drive in the third. In the top of the fourth, Rizzo led off with a double and scored on Darwin Barneys double. Pittsburgh tied it again in the bottom half on pinch-hitter Jose Tabatas RBI double. "Rizzos blast there in the first inning kind of got us rolling and we did a good job of adding on runs after that," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. Liriano allowed two runs in three-plus innings. He bent over and held his back after throwing a pitch to Rizzo, then left the mound after a few warmup pitches. After leading the Pirates with 16 wins last season, Liriano has struggled this year. He is 1-6 with a 4.60 ERA in 14 starts. Liriano will almost certainly miss his scheduled start Sunday in Miami and could land on the disabled list. Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole (right shoulder fatigue) went on the DL on Sunday and second baseman Neil Walker (appendectomy) followed him Tuesday. NOTES: The Cubs released RHP Jose Veras, one week after designating him for assignment. He was 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in 12 relief appearances while going 0 for 2 on save chances. ... Pittsburgh 3B Pedro Alvarez got the night off. He is 1 for 18 against Wood. ... Chicago RHP Jason Hammel (6-3, 2.53 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday night against RHP Brandon Cumpton (1-2, 6.51). Wholesale Nike Air Max Shoes . For Sweed, a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, this will be his second go around in the CFL after previously having spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Black Air Max 95 2018 . -- The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets will forever be tied together for making the same spectacular misjudgment on budding NBA sensation Jeremy Lin. http://www.discountairmax.com/. Claude Noel will be the man behind the bench when the team hits the ice of the MTS Centre to begin its inaugural season. Official Air Max 2018 Shoes . -- Manager Bob Melvin shuffled the Athletics batting order and got the type of production he was looking for from the top of the lineup. Cheap Air Max 95 VaporMax . Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate.Republic of Ireland boss Martin ONeill insists he will listen to James McCarthy when deciding if the Everton midfielder is fit to start Thursdays World Cup qualifier against Georgia. McCarthy, who missed the opening qualifier in Serbia after undergoing groin surgery, has not featured for Everton since August 23 and Toffees boss Ronald Koeman has urged ONeill to be cautious with the 25-year-old.ONeill admits he understands Koemans concerns and says he will not risk McCarthy unless he is convinced he is fully fit. I would listen to the player, and the player has come over here and trained. He hasnt played for a couple of weeks, ONeill said.Would fitness be a concern? Of course. Lasting the match would be a concern. But if the injury has cleared up, I wouldnt see that as a problem. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ?￡6.99. No contract. Ive been involved in club management for quite some considerable time, less so as an international manager. I have never played anyone who has arrived and not been properly fit, against their will to play.That has never been the case and, in fact, as an international manager, Ive been pretty lenient about those particular things. Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane talks about the recent newspaper allegations of corruption in football After hosting Georgia at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday, the Republic face a trip to Moldova three days later.ddddddddddddfter needing a late Daryl Murphy equaliser in Belgrade to secure a 2-2 draw with Serbia in their opening game, the pressure will be on the Irish to take six points from these two games to avoid losing ground to leaders Wales and Austria in Group D. They took six points from Georgia during the last campaign, but played two closely-fought encounters and ONeill is expecting another battle on Thursday.ONeill said: Anyone who watched the matches over the last couple of years will know its a difficult game. Georgia will take points from teams, without doubt.Every result is important, every game is important and we have got to be ready. We have never been in a position to treat any team lightly, and we certainly wont treat Georgia like that because they have got some excellent players.You can watch Republic of Ireland v Georgia, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: McClean: Boo-boys inspire me Injury concerns grow for ONeill ONeill, Keane sign new deals Transfer Centre ' ' '