brand has influenced. To put it in perspective, his sponsorships include

CHICAGO -- Kyle Hendricks began the season as the Cubs No. 5 starter. Hes on pace to finish it as the major leagues ERA leader and -- if manager Joe Maddon has his way -- potentially with an even bigger trophy.Hendricks threw seven dominant innings to lower the majors best ERA to 2.09 and Anthony Rizzo homered to lead the Cubs past the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 on Tuesday night for Chicagos 21st victory in August.He has to be in Cy Young contention, Maddon said. Put the radar gun in your back pocket and look at what hes doing. There has to be strong consideration, not just consideration.Hendricks (13-7) allowed three hits and has given up three or fewer runs in 18 straight starts. He didnt allow a hit until Gregory Polancos bloop to left-center in the fifth and faced the minimum 17 batters until John Jasos two-out double in the sixth.Not bad for a guy who doesnt often hit 90 mph with his fastball.Hes not the guy whos getting away with plus-plus stuff. Hes just executing his game plan and he knows how to attack hitters, Rizzo said. He studies hitters and he went to Dartmouth and he has a really good education. So he out-tricks guys.Rizzo belted a two-run homer off Chad Kuhl (3-2) in the first and Miguel Montero added an RBI single an inning later as the Cubs improved to 84-47 despite only five hits.Carl Edwards Jr. worked the eighth and Aroldis Chapman hit 103 mph in a perfect ninth to finished the four-hitter for his 31st save. The Cubs improved to 21-6 this month, one win shy of the best August in franchise history set in 1932.Hendricks is well ahead of No. 2 Madison Bumgarner of San Francisco (2.49) in the ERA race. He only struck out four, but the Pirates had little solid contact as he kept them off-balance with a mix of pitches, including two- and four-seam fastballs.My fastball command was really good, Hendricks said. My curveball may have been the best its been all year. I threw a lot of good ones today.Andrew McCutchens one-out single in the seventh was the other hit off the right-hander. Hendricks is seeking to become the first Cubs pitcher to win the major league ERA title since Bill Lee in 1938.Since Sept. 1, 2015, Hendricks is 18-7 with a 2.25 ERA, Cy Young Award-type numbers.Where I was at last year and my goals coming into this year, what I was trying to do, I definitely didnt see myself as being a part of that, Hendricks said. I had my sights set a little lower.Kuhl, in his ninth major league start, allowed three runs and four hits in five innings as the Pirates lost their second straight after winning four in a row.Jordy Mercer doubled with two outs off Edwards in the eighth before pinch-hitter Matt Joyce flied deep to center to end Pittsburghs best threat.The Pirates fell 2 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second NL wild-card as they flailed away against Hendricks.The command, the execution, manager Clint Hurdle said. I thought I was back in 1987 with Greg Maddux on the mound.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (elbow inflammation) played catch, a day after being put on the 15-day disabled list. He could return as soon as Sept. 9. Hopefully, (the rehab) will go quickly, Cole said. . INF Jung Ho Kang (shoulder), working out with Indianapolis, is expected to begin an official rehab stint with the Triple-A team this week.Cubs: RHP John Lackey (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Thursday. If it goes well, he could start Sunday vs. San Francisco.SUSPECT FIELDA large chunk of the outfield in center and right fields was re-sodded and looks chewed up after Wrigley Field hosted Pearl Jam and Billy Joel concerts while the Cubs were away.Its like a field after a concert, RF Jason Heyward said.UP NEXTRHP Jason Hammel (13-7, 3.21) was moved up to start Wednesday nights series finale against RHP Ryan Vogelsong (3-3, 3.02). LHP Mike Montgomery was pushed to Thursday. Hammel was lifted after allowing three runs in 2 1/3 innings Saturday. He wants to get back out there, Maddon said. Pittsburgh Pirates Pro Shop . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Wholesale Pirates Jerseys . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Custom Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Pirates Jerseys 2020 . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. There was a time when Call of Duty was a staple of Conor McGregors regimen.According to McGregor, his schedule would go something like this: Wake up. Go to the gym. Train for two to three hours. Come home. Play Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Go to sleep when his girlfriend left for work. Wake up when she returned home.To put it in his words, he wasnt training so much as [he] was playing the game.Now the Irish fighter will experience the game in a whole new way: as a featured character for its upcoming installment, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, in which hell play an SDF soldier?in the campaign story. Hes the first fighter to be cast in one of the franchises games.mIts an absolute honor to be part of a franchise so big, and to be leading the way for my fellow competitors in the UFC, he said in a behind-the-scenes interview shared with ESPN.com. I seem to be leading the way a lot, so I am very happy with that.McGregor has a reach unlike many other UFC fighters, adding gaming to the ever-growing list of spaces his brand has influenced. To put it in perspective, his sponsorships include YouTube, Ellectronic Arts, Reebok, Bud Light, Rolls Royce, Monster Energy, Fanatics, BSN and Universal Studios.ddddddddddddI think its a no-brainer relationship and it showed how big Conors brand really is in pop culture as a whole, McGregors agent, Audie Attar, said in a statement to ESPN.com. Call of Duty is one of the leading modern-day video games out there and its a huge honor for them to want to work with Conor. It re-enforces just how high Conors brand has gotten through his athletic success.I know Conor is excited and wants to continue to push the envelope, not only athletically but as a businessman and entrepreneur as well. We have other major deals in the works that will continue to expand Conors reach into other categories with the biggest brands in the world.Pre-order sales for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One combined to reach more than 163,000?in the United States as of Aug. 27, according to the most recent update from vgchartz.com. The game is set to release Nov. 4. ' ' '