go. Were going to always test them and say, `Hey, lets try this guy over h

CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo kept fouling the ball off, over and over again. When Steven Matz finally blinked, Rizzo capitalized with one mighty swing.Rizzo hit a three-run homer, Jon Lester pitched 7 2/3 innings and the Chicago Cubs stopped an eight-game losing streak against the New York Mets with a 5-1 victory on Monday night in a rematch of last years NL Championship Series.With one out and two on in the third inning, Rizzo fouled off five straight 2-2 pitches before driving a changeup deep into the bleachers in right-center for his 22nd homer.It was 2-2 for a while there. I dont think he wanted to go 3-2, Rizzo said. He was making good pitches and I was just fighting them off. Just try to grind at-bats, thats what were so good at doing.The crowd of 41,353 cheered wildly as Rizzo rounded the bases on a picturesque night at Wrigley Field. The All-Star slugger is batting .339 with three homers and 10 RBI in July.Hes the anchor of the whole group. Theres no question about it, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.Matz (7-6) blamed himself for poor execution.You really want to grit your teeth and beat this guy, he said. Unfortunately, he won.The last time the Mets visited the iconic neighborhood ballpark, they finished off a sweep of the Cubs to advance to the World Series. They swept Chicago again in New York from June 30 to July 3, roughing up Lester for one of the wins.This time around was much different.Lester (10-4) allowed one run -- Wilmer Flores leadoff homer in the seventh -- and four hits in his first win in a month. David Ross added a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Albert Almora Jr. singled in Matt Szczur in the eighth as the NL Central leaders won for the fourth time in five games since dropping five in a row.We were able to get some quick outs with some well-located fastballs and some well-located cutters, Lester said, so that was huge for us tonight.Hector Rondon replaced Carl Edwards Jr. with two runners on in the ninth and got Travis dArnaud to bounce into a game-ending double play for his 16th save.Matz was charged with four runs and eight hits in five-plus innings. The rookie left-hander dropped to 0-5 in his last nine starts.Even though I thought he threw the ball fine, he didnt have his real Grade-A stuff, manager Terry Collins said. But he battled the best he could.Matz nearly had another run on his line, but left fielder Yoenis Cespedes cut down Willson Contreras with a perfect throw to the plate when the rookie tried to score from second on Szczurs third-inning single.BREAK FOR ZOBRISTCubs second baseman Ben Zobrist rested for the second straight day. Maddon picked Sunday for a day off for the All-Star, and then decided to give him another day of rest.He told me yesterday that he wanted to give me two in a row, Zobrist said. I think it will be good to be able to stay off my feet a little bit and try and get caught up. Just didnt feel like the break kind of helped me get caught up as much as I wanted it to.The 35-year-old Zobrist started at second in the All-Star Game. He is batting .277 with 13 homers and 47 RBI in his first season with the Cubs.TRAINERS ROOMMets: RHP Matt Harvey had season-ending thoracic outlet surgery in St. Louis. ... RHP Jim Henderson (biceps) is throwing 91 to 93 mph during his rehab stint at Triple-A Las Vegas, and Collins said the reliever is nearing a return.Cubs: OFs Dexter Fowler (right hamstring strain) and Jorge Soler (left hamstring strain) were traveling to Iowa and are expected to begin their rehab stints with the Triple-A club on Tuesday. Fowler could return to the Cubs by the end of the week. That would be the optimal situation, Maddon said.UP NEXTAll-Star RHPs Noah Syndergaard of the Mets and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs face off on Tuesday. Syndergaard (9-4, 2.56 ERA) was removed from last start on July 8 due to arm fatigue. I think the rest has been good for him, Collins said. Arrieta (12-4, 2.68 ERA) is looking to get back on track after allowing four or more earned runs in three consecutive starts for the first time since 2012.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenapCustom Kyrie Irving Jersey .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. Kyrie Irving Jersey Large .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. http://www.customcavaliersjersey.com/ .Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. Cheap Custom Cavaliers Jersey . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Wholesale Custom Cavaliers Shirts . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda.EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio doesnt act all that surprised these days when the Spartans beat a big-name opponent on the road.Theyve now done it three times in last 12 months -- against rivals Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame.Were not going to win every football game, but were competitive. I think we understand what were doing, Dantonio said Tuesday. Were able to sort of lift ourselves up sometimes. Right now weve got a culture which expects success. When you have that culture that expects success, good things tend to happen.The eighth-ranked Spartans may expect to win games like these, but there are still plenty of doubters whenever Michigan State takes on some of the top opponents in its region. Michigan was favored by about a touchdown over the Spartans last year, and Ohio State was favored by around two TDs. Notre Dame was favored by about a touchdown Saturday night, but Michigan State won 36-28.Last weekends victory may look like less of an upset as the season progresses, but the Spartans (2-0) went into the game against Notre Dame with some significant questions. Michigan State hadnt been particularly impressive in its season-opening win over Furman.By the third quarter against the Irish, though, the Spartans had served notice that they should not be overlooked as they try to defend their Big Ten title. Michigan State led 36-7 before a late rally by Notre Dame set up an exciting finish.Next up for the Spartans is their conference opener Saturday, at home against No. 11 Wisconsin.Coach D said it I guess best in meetings: You dont get a ring for beating Notre Dame, quarterback Tyler OConnor said. Nonconference games are great, and obviously in a big atmosphere its great, but it really kicks off -- our motto is `back to back and you cant do that without starting out (Big Ten play) 1-0.This is OConnors first season as Michigan States starterr after he waited his turn behind Connor Cook.dddddddddddd He threw an interception in the second quarter Saturday but finished 19 of 26 for 241 yards and two touchdowns.Michigan State outrushed Notre Dame 260-57, and the receiving corps was solid after the Spartans entered the season with some uncertainty there. Freshman Donnie Corley caught four passes for 88 yards and a TD, and R.J. Shelton had eight catches for 80 yards and a score.He was a recruited tailback. We moved him to wide receiver after we saw him catching the football, Dantonio said of Shelton. He made himself a wide receiver over the course of time. You sort of blossom in that respect. Well continue to do that with all of our players as we go. Were going to always test them and say, `Hey, lets try this guy over here, this guy over there, lets see if he can do this or that.On the other side of the ball, linebacker Jon Reschke stood out with a forced fumble and an interception.Jon had a great game. I think he was the player of the game, no question, Dantonio said. Right now hes hitting his stride. I think last year he played very well, as well. Based on this last game, he stepped up in a big game in a prime-time situation and played extremely well. So were looking for more good things from him.After Cook used up his final season of eligibility last season, the Spartans appeared to have a big challenge ahead if they wanted to repeat last seasons success.Last weekend was their first big test, and they passed in impressive fashion.As far as where were at as a program, we took a big step I think this past weekend, Dantonio said. Now we need to get ourselves back locked in. I think I must say -- how many hundreds of times? -- I think we need to move forward. Thats the basis of who we are. ' ' '