PITTSBURGH -- Anthony Rizzos miserable second half perked up with one massive swing of the bat. The first baseman slugged a towering go-ahead, two-run homer off Jason Grilli in the seventh inning and the Chicago Cubs rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 on Friday night. Rizzo entered the night hitting just .208 since the All-Star break but turned on an 83-mph slider from Grilli and sent it over the seats in right field to snap Pittsburghs four-game winning streak. "Its huge for him," Chicago manager Dale Sveum said. "Hopefully it carries into these last couple of weeks." Brian Bogusevic went 3 for 4 with his fifth homer of the season for Chicago. Dioneer Navarro added two hits as the Cubs blunted Pittsburghs momentum as the Pirates chase their first playoff berth in 21 years. Carlos Villanueva (6-8) picked up the win in relief. Kevin Gregg collected his 32nd save when centre fielder Ryan Sweeney tracked down Neil Walkers fly ball in front of the wall in the ninth. Pedro Alvarez, Russell Martin and Garrett Jones hit consecutive solo home runs in the fourth for Pittsburgh. Andrew McCutchen went 2 for 4, but the Pirates lost for just the fourth time in 65 games when leading after six innings this season when Grilli (0-2) faltered. Grilli, an All-Star after racking up 29 saves in the first half of the season, is still working his way back from a strained forearm that sidelined him for more than six weeks. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle moved Grilli into a middle relief role when he was activated off the 15-day disabled list earlier this month. Pitching in his first pressure situation since his return, Grilli entered with the Pirates up a run in the seventh. He nearly got out of the inning clean, but Luis Valbuena walked on a borderline 3-2 pitch. Rizzo followed taking a pitch heading for his shoetops and nearly sending it into the Allegheny River. "He threw me a slider down and in, a pretty good pitch, and I tried to just put a good swing on the ball and not try to do too much," Rizzo said. Chicagos bullpen made it stand up, silencing Pittsburgh over the final three innings after the Pirates erased an early 3-0 deficit against starter Jake Arrieta. Arrieta breezed through the first three innings and was on his way to doing it in the fourth when Pittsburgh broke out. Alvarez hit a fly ball to the wall in right-centre with two outs that neither centre fielder Ryan Sweeney nor right fielder Nate Schierholtz could corral. The 235-pound Alvarez chugged all the way around the bases for his 33rd -- and by far most taxing -- home run of the season. Alvarez was still catching his breath when Martin followed with a shot 10 rows deep into the stands in left to bring the Pirates within one. Jones tied it seconds later by sending a laser into the seats in centre. It marked the first back-to-back-to-back home runs by the Pirates since Jason Kendall, Brian Giles and Reggie Sanders did it on Aug. 20, 2003, in St. Louis. Pittsburgh eventually took the lead in the sixth when reliever Brooks Raley mishandled a lob from Rizzo at first base, allowing McCutchen to race all the way home from second. The Pirates have risen to the top of the NL Central behind the strength of a bullpen led by the irrepressible Grilli. His velocity, however, has dipped since his comeback and Rizzo took advantage. Still, Hurdle has no plans to take Grilli out of the mix as the Pirates head into the final 15 games of a breakthrough season. "Weve got to keep getting him out there on somewhat of a consistent basis if we want to get him better," Hurdle said. "Hes not going to get better not pitching." Pittsburgh starter Charlie Morton struggled keeping the ball down while trying to bounce back from his worst start since returning from reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in June. Morton allowed three runs in five innings, including a two-run homer by Bogusevic in the fourth and saw a handful of balls caught at the warning track on a night a stiff breeze from the north kept the outfielders busy. NOTES: The Pirates will consult with specialist Dr. James Andrews before figuring out the next step for LHP Wandy Rodriguez, who has been out since June with left forearm tightness. Rodriguez threw 67 pitches in a simulated game on Thursday ... The series continues on Saturday when Pittsburghs Gerrit Cole (7-7, 3.48 ERA) faces Chicagos Scott Baker (0-0, 0.00). Baker is making his second start since reconstructive elbow surgery. ------ Cheap Jets Jerseys .com) - Eric Fehrs goal 42 seconds into overtime lifted the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Columbus, halting the Blue Jackets seven-game win streak. Wesley Walker Jersey . 15 in Hamburg. The fight was originally slated for Sept. 6 but had to be postponed after Klitschko tore a bicep in sparring and was forced to miss four weeks of training. http://www.cheapnewyorkjetsjerseysauthen...nis-byrd-jersey. Louis against the Blues. The Canucks picked up their second straight victory in the swings opener on Tuesday in Calgary before getting routed in Minnesota last night, 5-1. Trevon Wesco Jersey . Johan Franzen had two goals and two assists, Gustav Nyquist a goal and three assists and David Legwand a goal and two assists in the Red Wings 7-4 win over the New Jersey Devils. Quinnen Williams Jersey . Napoli beat high-flying Hellas Verona 3-0 to keep up the pressure on the top two while AC Milan had another disappointing night as four goals from teenage forward Domenico Berardi saw relegation-threatened Sassuolo come back from two goals down to win 4-3. GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Lambeau Field faithful will be able to scream Kuuuuuuuuuhn! at the top of their lungs for at least another year. Veteran fullback and local folk hero John Kuhn re-signed with the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, general manager Ted Thompson said in a statement. The one-year deal is expected to be worth just over $1 million, including signing, roster and workout bonuses, agent Kevin Gold said. The 31-year-old Kuhn joined the Packers in 2007 when he was claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh. Hes played in 107 regular-season games with the Packers and hes become a fan favourite. Hes also one of quarterback Aaron Rodgers closest friends on the team. "Great player, great teammate," Rodgers said at the end of the 2013 season. "(Theres) nobody I trust more on the field than John. Hes an exceptional guy, I love playing with him, and Id be really sad if we werent able to walk out of that tunnel together." In 2013, Kuhn carried 10 times for 38 yards and a touchdown, and caught 13 passes for 81 yards in regular-season play. For his eight-year NFL career, Kuhn has only 165 carries for 506 yards and 12 TDs. What role Kuhn will play next season is unclear. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said last week he wants all his running backs to be able to play all three downs. In addition to Kuhn, the Packers have NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Eddie Lacy returning for his second season; James Starks coming back after signing a two-year, $3.dddddddddddd166 million deal ($725,000 guaranteed signing bonus); and DuJuan Harris (knee) and Johnathan Franklin (neck) both expected to return to full health. They also brought back Michael Hill, who spent time on both the 53-man roster and the practice squad last year before signing with Tampa Bay late in the year. The Packers are loaded in the backfield. "Its important for all of them to be three-down players," McCarthy said. "For the way we want to play on offence, we want players to be three-down players, we want to keep our substitution limited. Thats an off-season goal of ours." At this point, no one pass protects for Rodgers like Kuhn, who helped save the Packers season by getting enough of a block on now-teammate Julius Peppers to allow Rodgers to side-step the Chicago defensive end and throw the winning touchdown pass to Randall Cobb in the regular-season finale. That road victory over the Bears sent the Packers into the playoffs. Asked what it takes to be an effective third-down back, McCarthy made it clear what still matters the most. "A-No. 1, it is pass protection. We protect the quarterback," McCart