one baserunner in all nine innings. McGee, the fourth Tampa Bay reliever, went the final 1 1-3 innings fo

MILWAUKEE -- Jason Hammel threw a sinker early in counts to try to entice groundball outs against an aggressive lineup and mixed things up with a fastball in the low 90s. It was an overwhelming combination for the short-handed Milwaukee Brewers. Hammel had a season-high seven strikeouts and allowed three hits in seven scoreless innings, Starlin Castro hit two solo homers and the Chicago Cubs snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-0 win Sunday. Hammel, one of the few bright spots in a dismal April for Chicago, made his impressive work sound easy afterward. He hasnt given up more than five hits in each of his five starts. "I featured a pretty good sinker down in the zone early to get a lot of ground balls and just attacked the zone," he said. "So, thats really all it was today." Hammel (4-1) didnt allow a hit until Carlos Gomez doubled down the left-field line with one out in the sixth. He then got into trouble after walking Scooter Gennett and making an errant pickoff throw to put runners at second and third. But the righty got a strikeout before Aramis Ramirez bounced out to end the threat. "Great, great job. Mixed all his pitches well. Stayed down," manager Rick Renteria said. Chicago improved to 8-16, the last team in the majors to get to eight victories. Chicago scored twice in the second on Castros first homer and Darwin Barneys RBI fielders choice with the bases loaded off Brewers starter Wily Peralta (3-1). Castros second shot in the eighth off reliever Brandon Kintzler barely cleared the wall in the left-field corner. Castro had his second career multi-homer game in nearly three weeks, having going deep twice April 8 against Pittsburgh. His second-inning homer also just cleared the wall 400 feet away in dead centre and evaded the leaping Gomezs outstretched glove. On the mound, Peralta pumped his right arm in front of his waist in frustration. He thought the Gold Glove-winning Gomez might have had a shot at robbing the homer. "Always," Peralta said. "When GoGo runs back, you think he has a chance to make the catch." Gomez said he had the perfect timing, "but its not even close." He went 1 for 4 on his bobblehead day. Peralta, a right-hander with a 96-mph fastball had trouble spotting pitches in the second. Ramirez stepped on third for an out on Barneys grounder but his throw trying to get Nate Schierholtz at home bounced up the first-base line to allow the run to score. Despite not having his best command, Peralta still just gave up three runs on eight hits in seven innings. He struck out six. "If hes not going to be sharp and thats what he does, its pretty good," manager Ron Roenicke said. Having Ryan Braun and Jean Segura could have helped, but both Milwaukee stars missed the game with injuries. Braun sat with a slight chest muscle strain, while Segura had a partially closed right eye and bruised right cheek after being accidentally hit during a practice swing by Braun on Saturday. Segura said after the game he hoped to return this week during the Brewers seven-game road trip to St. Louis and Cincinnati. Braun might miss three to five days. The remaining Brewers were overmatched by Hammel, who stayed low and away from the Brewers remaining potent right-handed bats. Hammel was lifted after allowing pinch hitter Rickie Weeks single to lead off the bottom of the eighth. Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon held the Brewers hitless the final two innings. Notes: Despite the win, the Cubs lost the three-game series to the Brewers and extended the teams string of winless series to 13 dating to last season. Chicago last won a series after taking two of three from Cincinnati in September. ... C John Baker went 2 for 4 that ended an 0-for-18 stretch. ... Ron Roenicke said the club would hold off on making any roster moves while Braun and Segura continue to be evaluated. ... The Brewers travel to St. Louis to start a seven-game road trip, with Yovani Gallardo (2-0) getting the start Monday. Chicago begins a three-game set in Cincinnati and sends Jeff Samardzija (0-2) to the mound. Penny Hardaway Jersey . -- The guys in green raced off the court and into the locker room where they danced and sang, compared whose shot was most likely to end up featured on "One Shining Moment," and checked Twitter to see who was giving them a shoutout. Evan Fournier Jersey . On Saturday, the paths of Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn cross again as opposing quarterbacks. http://www.cheapmagicjerseys.com/ . -- Jacksonvilles offensive makeover is just getting starting. Aaron Gordon Jersey .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to complete a sweep of the Washington Capitals when the clubs cap a quick home-and-home series Tuesday night in the Steel City. Jonathan Isaac Jersey .Y. - Lou Williams scored 21 points and the Toronto Raptors beat New York 81-76 on Monday night in the Knicks preseason home opener.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Evan Longoria drove in two runs, Jeremy Hellickson went 4 1-3 innings in his season debut, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Tuesday night. The Rays opened the sixth with three consecutive hits, including a two-run single by Longoria off Jason Vargas (8-4), to take a 2-1 lead. Vargas, who allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings, was coming off seven innings in the Royals 4-0 win Wednesday against Minnesota. Hellickson, coming back after arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow in January, gave up one run and six hits. James Loney had an RBI double and Logan Forsythe hit a sacrifice fly as Tampa Bay took a 4-1 lead in the eighth. The Rays were aided when Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar fielded Longorias grounder with no outs, but was beaten to second base by Brandon Guyer, who had a leadoff bunt single. Salvador Perez had three RBIs, including a two-run single off Jake McGee in the ninth that pulled the Royals within 4-3. Kansas City had at least one baserunner in all nine innings. McGee, the fourth Tampa Bay reliever, went the final 1 1-3 innings forr his sixth save.ddddddddddddThe left-hander entered with two on and two outs in the eighth, and got a flyball from pinch-hitter Danny Valencia. Kansas Citys Lorenzo Cain reached base five times — four hits and a walk. The Royals went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position through eight innings. Brad Boxberger (2-1) replaced Hellickson in the fifth with runners on first and third with one out and gave up an RBI grounder to Perez that put Kansas City ahead 1-0. NOTES: The Royals signed LHP Joe Saunders to a minor league deal and will assign him to Triple-A Omaha. ... Rays manager Joe Maddon said OF David DeJesus (broken left hand) should be back by early August, while OF Wil Myers (broken right wrist) could return in mid-August. ... Kansas City manager Ned Yost said OF Nori Aoki (strained left groin) could return just before or right after the All-Star break. ... Tampa Bay SS Yunel Escobar (shoulder) started a rehab assignment with Single-A Charlotte. ... Royals RHP Yordano Ventura (6-7) and Rays RHP Alex Cobb (4-6) are the scheduled starters for the series finale Wednesday night. ' ' '