omplete control, both when ducking under the ball and when playing the pull shot. It is not easy to leave a few bouncers and then pounce on one thats hitta

CHICAGO -- It took the Chicago Cubs 14 innings before they finally found a way to beat Cincinnati at home. Pinch-hitter Julio Borbon singled home the winning run with two outs in the 14th and Chicago beat the Reds 6-5 on Thursday to end Cincinnatis record 12-game winning streak at Wrigley Field. "I was ready from probably the ninth inning on, probably even a little earlier, just trying to get that opportunity to go up there and help in any way possible," Borbon said. "It feels pretty good." The Cubs hadnt beaten Cincinnati at home since last Aug. 9. With the win, Chicago avoided a four-game sweep and improved to 3-10 against the Reds this season. Hector Rondon (1-0) pitched two innings for the victory and Chicagos bullpen finished with 13 strikeouts over eight scoreless innings in a game that lasted 5 hours, 7 minutes. David DeJesus homered and Nate Schierholtz became the first player this season to hit two triples in a game for the Cubs, who had lost eight of 10 to fall a season-high 13 games below .500. They scored at least five runs for the first time since June 5. "I think we needed that win today," Rondon said. Jonathan Broxton (2-2) took the loss in the longest game for both teams this season. The previous record for consecutive victories by a visitor at Wrigley Field was 10, by the St. Louis Cardinals (1943-44) and matched by the New York Giants (1950-51) and Montreal Expos (1982-83), according to STATS. Chicago had lost 25 of 31 to the Reds dating to Sept. 13, 2011. Starlin Castro led off the 14th with a single against Broxton and stole second when Anthony Rizzo struck out. Castro went to third on Alfonso Sorianos groundout to first base, and Schierholtz was intentionally walked before Borbon came through. Castro went 3 for 7 after entering in a 4-for-48 slump. He was back in the second spot in the lineup after dropping to seventh last week and hitting sixth on Wednesday, and came within a few feet of ending the game in the ninth when his double off the wall in left was knocked down by a stiff wind blowing in. "That was by far, obviously, the best day hes had all year," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "He should have had a walk-off home run. He crushed that ball. That was a shame. We would have been in New York by now." The Cubs open a three-game series Friday night against the Mets. Instead of using closer Aroldis Chapman in the 14th, Reds manager Dusty Baker went to Broxton. Baker said he didnt want to use Broxton because of a sore right elbow and had him "penciled in as a no" but tried to "sneak" him through one inning. "(Chapman) was my last pitcher to close out the game," Baker said. Mat Latos was trying to win his seventh straight decision to start the season for Cincinnati. He allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings. Latos has won his last 10 regular-season decisions since losing to the Cardinals on Aug. 24, and the Cincinnati bullpen has blown saves in five of his games this season. This time, however, Reds relievers did a nice job after Latos left. They allowed two runs over 7 2-3 innings. "I felt good, because I was throwing my pitches for strikes for the most part," said Curtis Partch, who tossed four scoreless innings. "It definitely helped me out to get some quick outs. Definitely helped me to go those four innings and not throw too many pitches." Jeff Samardzija pitched six innings for Chicago, allowing five runs and a season-high 10 hits in six innings. He walked four and struck out six. Since beating the White Sox with a two-hitter on May 27, Samardzija is winless in three starts. Chicago tied the score at 5 in the eighth Darwin Barneys two-out single off Sam LeCure. Cincinnati scored twice in the second on RBI singles by Devin Mesoraco and Shin-Soo Choo and added two in the fifth on run-scoring singles by Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips. Jay Bruce had four hits for the Reds. Choo reached base three times and scored twice. Zack Cozart reached on Castros second error at shortstop leading off the 14th and advanced to third on Bruces two-out single. Rondon struck out Derrick Robinson to end the threat, Cincinnatis first in extra innings. NOTES: Baker and Sveum were both impressed by the pace of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals Wednesday night, won 4-3 in triple overtime by the Chicago Blackhawks. Baker went to United Center but left after regulation and said watching the game was an inspiration to return to the World Series. Sveum watched the entire game on TV. ... The Reds said its possible RHP Johnny Cueto could start Sunday against the Brewers. Cueto has been on the disabled list since June 1 with a strained right shoulder. ... Cubs RHP Shawn Camp, on the DL since May 22 with sprained right big toe, is expected to work two innings in a rehab assignment Friday for Class-A Kane County. ... Bronson Arroyo (6-5, 3.35 ERA) starts Friday for the Reds against Milwaukee RHP Kyle Lohse (2-6, 4.03). ... Cubs RHP Edwin Jackson (2-8, 5.76) opposes Mets RHP Shaun Marcum (0-7, 4.96) on Friday night. Hydro Flask Online Sale . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. Rei Hydro Flask Clearance . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. http://www.cheaphydroflask.net/ .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. Rei Hydro Flask Sale . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. Hydro Flask Ombre Sale . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. Following the ballKane Williamson followed the ball for the first few overs. Wherever the ball went, fielders followed. Gautam Gambhir hit one square cut for four and that was enough for Matt Henry to place a fielder manning the point boundary. The ball that went to the fence was short and wide but, instead of altering the length, New Zealand placed a fielder for a bad ball. Trent Boult also employed an interesting new tactic for M Vijay - a couple of pleasing cover drives by the batsman led not just to the placement of a deep point but also to the bowler varying angles by changing between over and around the wicket a few times in his first three overs. This is the first time in the series that New Zealand have changed their plans so swiftly in a such a short time span.Gambhirs new stanceGambhir has changed his stance to prevent his front foot from going too far across, opening up his stance from the feet to the shoulders. This new stance has opened up the on side for him, both off the front foot and back foot. It has also allowed him to play the short ball well on both sides of the pitch. Gambhirs comfort against short balls was evident right from the start of his innings. The only flip side to such a stance, as highlighted by Gambhirs wagon-wheel, is that it limits the batsman from playing the full ball through covers and mid-off. Bafflingly, New Zealands fast bowlers did not bowl full enough to Gambhir on a consistent basis.Data sets the fieldIn years gone by, it was considered preposterous not to have a fielder at deep square leg or deep midwicket. But, in todays era, tactics are driven by the available data. Cheteshwar Pujara neither sweeps, nor plays the slog sweep and, therefore, Jeetan Patel opted to leave that entire area in the deep unmanned. That not only alllowed the bowler to cut off an easy single, but also challenged Pujara to go out of his comfort zone.dddddddddddd Since Pujara often steps out to hit down the ground, the fielder at mid-on was pushed back. Kohlis demonstration of technique against spin...On the fourth ball of the 46th over, Mitchell Santner dropped short and Virat Kohli went back to half-flick, half-punch the ball to the midwicket fence. When a spinner drops short, a batsmans natural tendency is to go deep inside the crease and play a horizontal-bat shot through midwicket. Instead, Kohli played the shot with a straight bat, which is the right way to play spin off the back foot on subcontinental pitches. Other batsmen would do well to take a cue from this shot for the rest of the game....and against the bouncerKohlis handling of the short ball has been impeccable thus far. Ever since he got out to Neil Wagner in Kanpur, there has been a concerted effort from New Zealand to bowl a few bouncers to Kohli early on. Today, he looked in complete control, both when ducking under the ball and when playing the pull shot. It is not easy to leave a few bouncers and then pounce on one thats hittable. As a result, New Zealands seamers did not overdo the bouncer trap against Kohli.By contrast, it took some time for Ajinkya Rahane to find a workable strategy against the bouncers. He tried both pulling and riding the bounce in the initial stages of his innings but found himself in trouble on both occasions. Only when he decided to abandon all attempts to play the bouncer did his life become easier. He took a couple of blows on the body and looked more assured once his mind was uncluttered. ' ' '