ome runs during the regular season, and theyve

PITTSBURGH -- The Chicago Cubs arent going to panic. Not over their suddenly struggling starting staff, and not over their dwindling division lead, either.Josh Bells grand slam in his second major-league at bat was one of four homers by the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 12-6 win over Chicago on Saturday night.The Pirates have won nine of 10 over a stretch coinciding with the Cubs losing nine of 10, meaning Chicagos lead in the National League Central is down to 6 1/2 games.I feel like were fortunate to be (up 6 1/2 games) right now, actually, manager Joe Maddon said. I dont believe its a negative; I think its a positive.Jordy Mercer followed Bells slam with a home run of his own off of Adam Warren (3-2), and Andrew McCutchen and Sean Rodriguez homered earlier off Jon Lester. The National League pitcher of the month for June, Lester has allowed 13 runs in 4 1/3 innings in July, including five in three innings Saturday.Terrible. Unacceptable. Letdown, Lester said, describing his outing. Offense gives me two runs early and then gives me runs again -- and then I give it right back. Obviously a letdown, not only for myself but for the team.Ben Zobrist had a two-run homer and Anthony Rizzo had four hits for the Cubs, whose division lead is as small as its been since May.The biggest reason why? Starting pitchers that have a majors-best ERA but have allowed 41 earned runs in 41 innings during July.It seemed like early on we couldnt do anything wrong, Lester said. And Ill be the first one to tell you that what we were doing early on was pretty impressive. But just like with how we were playing overall and the pace we were on to win, what was it, 120 games or whatever, we all knew that that was not realistic.But at the same time, weve got to be better as a staff, weve got to be better as a whole and that starts with me tonight.Bell slugged a fifth-inning Warren pitch over the seats perched above the 21-foot wall in right for his second pinch-hit in two games since being recalled from Triple-A on Friday.What a fantastic sequence, said the Pirates Clint Hurdle, who has more than 1,000 managerial wins. I got goose bumps; Ive got them probably a dozen times since Ive been a coach or a manager.Chills went down my spine. ... Seemed like the stadium was pretty excited, too.Chad Kuhl lasted only 2 1/3 innings in his third major-league start, surrendering Zobrists 13th home run among seven hits allowed. But Pittsburghs bullpen was much better as Arquimedes Caminero (1-2) struck out three in 1 2/3 innings and Jared Hughes earned his third major-league save by pitching three scoreless innings.At least one run was scored during eight of the first 11 half-innings played on a night in which the city of Pittsburgh celebrated its bicentennial. A 25-minute fireworks display set off just a few hundred yards away at the citys Point State Park provided a soundtrack of regular rumbling booms throughout the fifth inning in which Bell and Mercer thrilled the Pirates third sellout crowd of the season even more.ALL-STAR COMINGS AND GOINGSCubs OF Dexter Fowler backed out of playing in Tuesdays All-Star game as a precaution as he recovers from a strained right hamstring that has him on the disabled list.Pirates OF Starling Marte was announced as one of the NL roster replacements along with the Reds Jay Bruce for Fowler and the Mets Yoenis Cespedes.ROSTER MOVEThe Cubs recalled INF Munenori Kawasaki from Triple-A and Saturdayand optioned INF Jeimer Candelario to Iowa. Maddon said the move was made to give the team a more experienced bat off the bench.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: Maddon said Fowler did not experience a setback in a minor-league rehab appearance Friday. He also said he would have had no problem if Fowler had made his return from the disabled list in the All-Star game and not for the Cubs -- as long as he was well enough to play, and then we got him on Friday.UP NEXTCubs: Sunday starter RHP John Lackey has gone 0-2 with a 7.56 ERA in his past three starts after going 7-3 with a 2.78 ERA in his first 14 startsPirates: LHP Jonathon Niese has lost his past two home starts, allowing 13 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings during them.Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Jakub Voracek Jersey . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. http://www.nhlflyersproauthentic.com/travis-sanheim-hockey-jersey/ . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. Jakub Voracek Flyers Jersey . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. Carter Hart Flyers Jersey . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont.There were a combined 10 runs scored in the two wild-card games to begin this postseason -- nine of them from home runs.In Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers, the Toronto Blue Jays won 5-3, scoring all five runs on home runs. In fact, the Jays knocked out the Baltimore Orioles, then swept the Rangers, scoring 16 of their 27 runs on homers.Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs came into Tuesday?with 11 runs scored in their first three games -- seven of them from home runs.Anybody else seeing a trend here? Indeed, the league has become homer-centric, maybe even homer-reliant, as two seemingly contradictory trends are happening right now in Major League Baseball: (1) Pitchers are harder to hit than theyve ever been, owing in part to increasing velocity; and (2) the game has experienced a home run surge, dating back to around the 2015 All-Star break.We saw a jump in home runs during the regular season, and theyve carried the uttmost importance this postseason; of the 108 runs scored this postseason heading into play Tuesday, half of them were as a result of home runs, the highest percentage in the wild-card era.dddddddddddd And lets not forget, playoff teams normally trot out their best pitchers in the playoffs, not scrubs.And its not a coincidence. Like it or not, this is how the game is played these days. Pitchers are seeing a lot of the worst possible outcome (home run), while also seeing increasing amounts of the better outcomes. Strikeouts are up, walks are down. More long fly balls, fewer easy outs. A bloop and a blast. Or maybe its just the blast; in Game 1 of the AL Division Series between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, nine runs were scored -- six of them on solo homers.Lets take a closer look at whats happening -- and why. ' ' '