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CHICAGO -- On most days, Kris Bryants three solid plays at third base would have covered the defensive highlights for the Chicago Cubs.This time, Bryant had to settle for a perfect view of Addison Russells sliding grab in the seventh inning.I had a front-row seat and that was one of the best catches Ive seen, Bryant said.Bryant hit his 36th homer and Russell drove in two runs to help the Cubs to a 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night, completing a series sweep. But it was the defense by the left side of Chicagos All-Star infield that stole the show.Andrew McCutchens bases-loaded walk trimmed Chicagos lead to 5-2 with two outs in the seventh before Gregory Polanco hit a flare down the third-base line that looked like trouble for the Cubs.Russell sprinted over from shortstop and made a terrific catch near the home bullpen, drawing a huge ovation from the crowd of 38,137 at Wrigley Field and several swear words from his incredulous teammates.It was an awesome moment for us, Russell said.And a downer for the Pirates (67-64), who closed out a 4-3 trip that began with a sweep in Milwaukee. They trails the Cardinals by 2 1/2 games for the second NL wild card.The play by Russell down the line was fantastic, Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. If that ball gets in the corner you get a couple more runs.Jason Hammel pitched six innings of one-run ball as Chicago equaled the best August in franchise history with a 22-6 record, also accomplished in 1932. It was the Cubs first time with 22 wins in a month since it went 22-10 in September 1945.Heading into the final stretch of the season, the Cubs (85-47) are rapidly closing in on their first division title since 2008. They begin September with the majors best record at a season-high 38 games over .500 and a whopping 15-game lead over second-place St. Louis in the NL Central.You never even could imagine that you would have this kind of a lead at this particular point in the season, manager Joe Maddon said.Hammel (14-7) allowed three hits and struck out six in his first start since he was pulled in the third inning of a 3-2 loss at the Dodgers on Saturday, prompting the frustrated right-hander to meet with Maddon to discuss what he felt was a quick hook by the manager.Jordy Mercer had two hits and two RBI for Pittsburgh, which dropped to 3-12 against Chicago this year. Josh Harrison had two hits and drove in a run.Pitching for the third straight day, Aroldis Chapman worked a rocky ninth inning for his 32nd save in 35 chances. He threw three wild pitches and yielded Francisco Cervellis two-out RBI single before striking out Mercer with two on with his 11th pitch of the at-bat.I wasnt going down without a fight, thats for sure, Mercer said. What do you got to lose, right? He throws the hardest ball ever, so just battle and hope for the best.Bryant went 2 for 4 and reached base three times while extending his hitting streak to 13 games. The second-year slugger is tied with Colorados Nolan Arenado for the NL lead in homers and tops the majors with 111 runs scored.A brisk wind blowing in from left field was no match for Bryant, who drove an 0-1 pitch from Ryan Vogelsong (3-4) into the bleachers in left in the first. It was Bryants 10th homer in August.Bryant made a diving grab to rob Sean Rodriguez of an RBI single in the second. He went behind the bag to take a hit away from Harrison in the third and reached into the stands to retire Josh Bell on a foul popup in the fourth.He just plays well wherever you put him on defense, Maddon said. Hes just a good baseball player.WORTH NOTINGThe Pirates traded LHP Kyle Lobstein to the Baltimore Orioles for LHP Zach Phillips. The 29-year-old Phillips was 9-3 with one save and a 4.45 ERA in 49 appearances for Triple-A Norfolk this season. He will be assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: RHP Joe Smith (left hamstring strain) and OF Chris Coghlan (right rib contusion) likely will be activated from the DL when major league rosters expand on Thursday.UP NEXTPirates: Following a day off, the Pirates begin a 10-game homestand with a weekend series against the Brewers. RHP Jameson Taillon (3-3, 3.39 ERA) takes on Milwaukee RHP Junior Guerra (7-3, 2.93 ERA) in the opener on Friday night.Cubs: LHP Mike Montgomery (1-1, 3.50 ERA) gets the ball when Chicago hosts San Francisco in the opener of a four-game set on Thursday night. RHP Jeff Samardzija (11-9, 4.50 ERA), who played for the Cubs for seven years, pitches for the Giants.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap NMD Sale .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. NMD Outlet . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. https://www.cheapnmdoutlet.com/ . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. NMD Online . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. NMD Fake . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. SEOUL, South Korea -- In 2011, one of the more popular television series on North Koreas Central Television channel was Our Womens Football Team, a five-part dramatization of the 2006 Under-20 World Cup triumph. After two similar tournament wins in late 2016, it may be time for a sequel or two.On October 30, the womens Under-17 team won the World Cup in Jordan, defeating Japan in a penalty shootout. On December 3, the Under-20 side did the same with a 3-1 victory over France in Papau New Guinea. It makes the country the first to win those tournaments back-to-back and both teams were given a rapturous welcome on their return to Pyongyang.Sport is very important to the regime and always has been and any success goes down very well, Aidan Foster-Carter, long-time Korea watcher and Honorary Fellow at Leeds University, told The Associated Press.This became even more important since Kim Jong Un succeeded his father Kim Jong Il in 2011.Kim Jong Un has been known to be interested in sport and that became even more apparent when the basketball player Dennis Rodman visited the country, added Foster-Carter. Relations with South Korea have been pretty bad but he has sent teams to sporting events that the south has hosted.One of those was the 2014 Asian Games, held in Incheon, near Seoul. Prior to the tournament, Kim visited the womens training camp to deliver a hand-written letter. The team took gold.Talented children are streamed into schools with special programs and then into sporting academies. Successful stars can receive special benefits.Kim gives people he is proud of apartments, and that includes athletes, said Foster-Carter. They are always looking for young talent and female soccer is particularly good.After the latest triumph, Under-20 team coach Hwang Yong-bong was praised for his performance -- described as mysterious and unorthodox and a tactical genius by FIFAs official website -- during the tournament and for his effective use of substitutes to turn games.I make no distinction between my starting XI and my bench. Whenever I make such switches, its always to try to help the team, said Hwang after defeating hosts Papa New Guinea 7-1 in the group stage.North Korea has long been a competitivve team in the mens and womens games, but in the past that was chiefly due to stamina and effort.dddddddddddd Today, that is allied to a more sophisticated tactics and training as the country now has the means to take in influences from abroad.The North Korean government has also relaxed its isolationist tendencies and allowed young male prospects to play in Europe. Six of the starting eleven that defeated South Korea in the final of the 2014 Asian U-16 tournament had spent time in Italy and Spain.The opening of the Pyongyang International Football School in 2013, built with $800,000 from FIFAs development program, was another landmark development. Of the 200 students who live in at the academy, which invites foreign coaches, 40% are female aged from nine to 15. The girls play in the same teams as the boys for much of the time they are in the academy.Andrei Lankov, a Korean expert and Honorary Fellow at Macquarie University, is not surprised to see such facilities in the country.There is a recognition that they could use foreign consultation and to have more of their players and coaches interact with whats going on elsewhere, said Lankov. Tactics and training methods are always evolving and they know they need to keep abreast of those changes.Their relative isolation is probably more costly at a sub-elite level, where regional schools and things dont have access to the internet and You Tube and other tools. The leadership clearly thinks the benefits outweigh the costs of having few exchanges with the outside world; sports being no exception.The challenge for the triumphant women is to sustain the success up to the senior level and deliver the womens team a first World Cup title. The best showing so far is a quarterfinal spot in 2007 though the team was disqualified for the 2015 edition after two players had failed doping tests at the 2011 tournament.Winning back-to-back youth World Cups is a great start.Its a feat thats never been achieved before, said coach Hwang. Im delighted with our victory, but we cant stop here. We have to keep on working to win more titles. ' ' '