WHITE SOX-ORIOLES
White Sox pound Saunders in 8-1 win over Orioles
BALTIMORE (AP) — White Sox rookie Dylan Axelrod took a three-hitter into the eighth inning and Chicago spoiled the Baltimore debut of Joe Saunders, scoring seven runs off the left-hander in an 8-1 victory over the Orioles last night.
Gordon Beckham had three hits and three RBIs to help Chicago snap a five-game road losing streak. Alexei Ramirez went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and scored twice for the White Sox, who will seek a split of the four-game series today.
Omar Quintanilla drove in the lone run for the Orioles, whose four-game winning streak ended. Baltimore remained 3½ games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East.
BREWERS-CUBS
Fiers works 7 1-3 innings as Brewers beat Cubs 3-1
CHICAGO (AP) — Mike Fiers tossed 7 1-3 solid innings to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-1 win over the Cubs yesterday, their eighth straight victory against Chicago.
Fiers (8-6) held the Cubs to four hits and struck out six, helping Milwaukee beat its division rival for the 13th time in 16 games this season. The Brewers have won eight of nine overall and moved within five games of .500 for the first time since July 21.
Fiers sent down 14 straight batters at one point and won his second straight start.
John Axford finished up for his 22nd save in 30 chances.
Jeff Samardzija (8-12) gave up seven hits and three runs — two earned — in seven innings for the Cubs. He struck out 10.
Jean Segura stroked a go-ahead single in the seventh for Milwaukee.
CARDINALS-PIRATES
Alvarez stays hot, Pirates top Cardinals 5-0
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pedro Alvarez stayed hot, blasting his 26th homer of the season and driving in three runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates rolled to a 5-0 victory over St. Louis last night.
The third baseman — who hit two homers on Tuesday — continued his season-long dominance of the Cardinals. His three-run shot in the third gave him seven home runs and 23 RBI in 15 games against St. Louis this year as Pittsburgh moved within one game of the NL's second wild card spot.
Wandy Rodriguez (9-13) worked six tidy innings for Pittsburgh to pick up his first victory as a starter since being acquired in a trade last month. Rodriguez walked three and struck out three while helping the Pirates shut out the Cardinals for the second straight night.
Joe Kelly (4-6) battled control problems during five rocky innings, giving up five runs on eight hits.
CARDINALS-MOLINA
Cardinals C Molina out of lineup after collision
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals held catcher Yadier Molina out of the lineup yesterday against the Pittsburgh Pirates a day after injuring his back, neck and shoulder in a violent home plate collision with Pittsburgh second baseman Josh Harrison.
Molina left Tuesday night's 9-0 loss at the end of the second inning after Harrison bowled him over while trying to score from second on a single to right field by Jose Tabata. Harrison's left shoulder slammed into Molina's helmet, sending Molina tumbling to the ground.
Tony Cruz caught the rest of the game and started in place of Molina. The team also recalled catcher Bryan Anderson from Triple-A Memphis as insurance. Molina is listed as day-to-day. The Cardinals travel to Washington to begin a four-game series today.
BEARS-MOVES
Bears sign WR Crump
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears have placed linebacker Dom DeCicco on the waived/injured list and signed receiver Terriun Crump.
The team announced the moves yesterday.
DeCicco appeared in all 16 games as a rookie last season and was second on the team with 17 special teams tackles. He had been sidelined the past few weeks by a groin injury.
Crump joined the Bears as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Western Illinois. He was waived on Sunday.
RAMS-WELLS
Rams C Scott Wells back after busy offseason
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Scott Wells has had a busy offseason.
After signing a four-year, $24 million contract with the St. Louis Rams, the former Green Bay Packers center had knee surgery that kept him from most of the team's activities.
While rehabbing, Wells and his wife recently finalized the adoption of three orphans from Uganda. It was a process that took nearly 18 months.
As the Rams prepare for their final preseason game tonight against Baltimore, Wells is settling into his new role. He made his Rams debut last week and is expected to see more time against the Ravens.
ILLINOIS-SCHEDULE
Illinois schedule shaping up with Hawaii dates
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — The University of Illinois will play a non-conference schedule that includes Colgate, Hawaii and Gonzaga as well as previously announced matchups against Georgia Tech and Auburn.
The Illini announced yesterday that new head coach John Groce's team will open Nov. 9 at home against Colgate. A Nov. 12 home game with St. Francis will be followed by four games in Hawaii. The first will be Nov. 16 against Hawaii. Then the Illini will be part of the EA Sports Maui Invitational field.
The Nov. 28 Georgia Tech game in Champaign is part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Illinois will travel to Spokane, Wash., to play Gonzaga on Dec. 8 and face Missouri in St. Louis on Dec. 22.
The Auburn game is Dec. 29 in Chicago.
NORTHWESTERN-LIBERMAN
Northwestern adds 6-10 Liberman for upcoming year
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Northwestern has added 6-foot-10 walk-on Aaron Liberman for the upcoming season.
A forward/center from Los Angeles who wears a yarmulke during games, Liberman averaged 17.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 8.7 blocked shots for Valley Torah High School as a senior in 2010-11. He studied and played in Israel last season.
In a statement yesterday, Wildcats coach Bill Carmody says he "has made excellent strides to develop his body and to hone his skills" and will be "a great addition to our revamped frontcourt."
Northwestern has plenty of size up front after adding the 7-2 Chier Ajou, 7-footer Alex Olah, 6-9 TCU transfer Nikola Cerina and 6-8 Louisville transfer Jared Swopshire in addition to Liberman.
