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CHICAGO -- After giving up three runs on five hits in throwing only 39 pitches Saturday in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs are moving Jason Hammel up one day in the rotation to start Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.I didnt even pitch today in my mind, Hammel told the Chicago Sun-Times after the game Saturday. I barely threw 40 pitches. It was a side day for me pretty much.Now Hammel, who is 3-2 in August with two straight losses, will get a chance to make amends.The Cubs made the last-minute rotation switch Tuesday, moving originally scheduled starter Mike Montgomery to Thursday.Montgomery, 27, acquired on July 20 from Seattle, was to make his third start with the Cubs and first against an NL Central foe. He allowed only three runs despite walking four and giving up six hits in a no-decision outing Friday at the Dodgers, a 6-4 Cubs win in extra innings, but threw a season-high 90 pitches.We want to get Hammer back out there a little sooner, and Montgomery, coming off 90 1/8pitches 3/8 in his last outing, gives him an extra day, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Tuesday, via MLB.com. It makes all the sense in the world to do it.Hammel will face 39-year-old right-hander Ryan Vogelsong in a series finale at Wrigley Field.Hes performed very well, said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle of Vogelsong. (Hes) given us a chance to win every game hes pitched. Hes been pitch-efficient.He reminds me of the generation that I kind of grew up with and played with. Hes still got the core values. Hes done what he need to do to improve himself and get better and hes had a very consistent and strong system in his own skill set.Vogelsong (3-3, 3.02 ERA) makes his 18th appearance and eight start of the season in the finale of Pittsburghs seven-game road trip.Wednesdays appearance would be Vogelsongs sixth this month. Hes 2-2 with a 2.48 ERA in that span, including a 5 1/3 inning outing and win against the Brewers last Friday in Milwaukee.Vogelsong rejoined the Pirates in 2016 after five seasons with the San Francisco Giants and three seasons prior to that in Japan.He suffered a left eye injury when he was hit by a pitch from Rockies starter Jordan Lyles on May 23. Vogelsong had surgery in early June to repair damage from facial fractures and was on the disabled list until Aug. 4.I dont think hes the same guy, Hurdle said. Theres probably a little bit of a velocity gap from what he was able to do. However the experience, the makeup on the mound, awareness of the league, knowledge of hitters, belief in himself and his skill set plays up very well.The Cubs remain home following Wednesdays game, hosting another series with a NL Wild card contender. The San Francisco Giants, currently leading the wild card standings, visit Wrigley Fielder a four-game series.The Pirates return home for a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers starting Friday. Edmonton Oilers Store . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks. Custom Edmonton Oilers Jerseys .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. https://www.cheapoilers.com/ . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Edmonton Oilers Shirts . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Oilers Jerseys China . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. SUNRISE, Fla. -- In the past two games, the Florida Panthers have been beaten, in essence, on third-period goals by two superstars -- Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.Those are two of the top five players in the NHL, according to a recent list posted on an NHL website.Perhaps fortunately for the Panthers, the Colorado Avalanche -- their next opponent on Saturday night at the BB&T Center -- do not have any players of that caliber. The closest the Avs have are forwards Nathan McKinnon and Matt Duchene, who are top-50 guys.The Panthers (2-1-1), the defending Atlantic Division champs, are off to a decent start. After winning their first two games, the Panthers were 5.5 seconds away from going 3-0-0 before a Stamkos goal forced overtime and an eventual Florida shootout loss.Then on Thursday against the Capitals, the Panthers had battled back from a two-goal deficit to tie the score 2-2. And thats when Ovechkins deflection created the 90th game-winning goal of his career.Colorado (3-1-0) is off to an even better start than Florida, including an impressive 4-0 win at the Lightning on Thursday.Goalie Semyon Varlamov, who joins McKinnon, Duchene and forward Gabriel Landeskog as Colorados four representatives on the NHL top-100 list, seems to already be in peak form.When we need a save, Varly is there, Colorado coach Jared Bednar said ThursdayWhen the Panthers need a save, they turn to goalie Roberto Luongo, who made the espn.com list along with young defenseman Aaron Ekblad, center Aleksander Barkov and injured winger Jonathan Huberdeau. Defenseman Keith Yandle could also merit attention on any such list.The Panthers are a curious blend between old and young.In Thursday nights loss too the Capitals, Floridas two goal-scorers were 44-year-old Jaromir Jagr and a man half his age, rookie defenseman Michael Matheson, 22.dddddddddddd. It was career goal No. 2 for Matheson while Jagr has 750, which ranks third in NHL history behind record-holder Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe.Jagr is one of the keys to the Florida power play, which got off to a slow start this season -- 0-for-10 -- before finally converting on Thursday. Jagr said Panthers coach Gerard Gallant made adjustments.We put two defensemen on our (power play) unit, Jagr said. They are a little more comfortable on the blue line, and we moved the puck pretty well.The Panthers also made a roster move on Friday in anticipation of the Avalanche game, recalling forward Kyle Rau, 23, from the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League.Rau isnt big -- just 5-8 and 178 pounds -- but the Panthers like the Minnesota natives quickness and his feisty attitude. He was their third-round pick in 2011, and they are hoping he can now provide a spark.It isnt as if the Panthers are playing poorly, though. They badly outplayed the Capitals for a long stretch on Thursday -- the last 10 minutes of the first period and the entire 20 minutes of the second all went to the Panthers, who piled up shot totals and scored two unanswered goals during that span.For the game, Florida had more shot attempts 57-45 and also won the face-offs battle with Washington, 31-24.But the Panthers have to do what all teams must do -- rely on a short memory, shaking off a loss and getting ready for the next challenge, which, in this case, is the red-hot Avalanche. ' ' '