g track on a night a stiff breeze from the north kept the outfielders busy. NOT

SHANGHAI, China -- Richard Gasquet was dealt a setback to his chances of qualifying for the elite ATP Finals after a first-round loss to Vasek Pospisil of Canada 6-3, 6-4 in the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday. Trayvon Mullen Jersey . The Frenchman, who played in the year-end championships once before in 2007, sits in ninth place in the standings, a mere 20 points behind Stanislas Wawrinka for the last spot in the eight-man field. Pospisil is having a breakthrough year, reaching his maiden Masters semifinal in Montreal and helping guide Canada to the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time last month. The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Canadian overpowered Gasquet with his forehand and serve, hitting 16 winners to just two for the Frenchman in the opening set and finishing with 10 aces. "The key was to stay aggressive the whole time, even in the big moments, going for my shots," Pospisil said. "Its a huge win for me." Pospisil was joined in the second round by countryman Milos Raonic, who served 16 aces to defeat Polish qualifier Michal Przysiezny 6-4, 6-4. The 10th-seeded Raonic is making a late-season run at qualifying for the ATP Finals, as well, reaching back-to-back finals in Bangkok and Tokyo the last two weeks. He won the title in Thailand but lost to Juan Martin del Potro in Japan. Hes 10th in the standings for the ATP Finals, trailing Gasquet by less than 300 points. "Ive had two great weeks leading into this one and forced myself and pushed myself to do well this week," he said. Former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt jumped out to 3-0 against Andreas Seppi before the Italian reeled off 10 of the next 11 games to win the match 6-4, 6-2. Seppi will play 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the next round. Hewitt is working his way back up the rankings after five surgeries in recent years and was coming off an upset win over del Potro at the U.S. Open. The Australian said his wrist has been bothering him in recent weeks and hell undergo tests to determine the extent of the injury. "Ive just had a bit of a niggle," he said. Play was disrupted for the second straight day by the remnants of Typhoon Fitow, which made landfall in southern China early Monday and dumped 6 inches (15 centimetres) of rain on Shanghai, the highest single-day total since 1961. Matches in the main stadium were played with the roof closed, while those scheduled for outer courts were moved to an indoor facility so organizers could attempt to finish the first round on Tuesday. In other matches, 12th-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan defeated Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-4, Tommy Robredo of Spain beat countryman Albert Montanes 6-4, 6-1, Benoit Paire of France upset 13th-seeded countryman Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-3, and Frenchman Jeremy Chardy ousted Australian Bernard Tomic 7-5, 6-2. Rafael Nadal, who reclaimed the No. 1 ranking this week, and Novak Djokovic are scheduled to play their opening matches on Wednesday. Maxx Crosby Womens Jersey . The announcement was made by the hall on Friday, March 14. She joins Switzerlands Denise Biellmann as this years inductees to the Hall, based in Colorado Springs, CO. Ronnie Lott Jersey . Irving played 10 minutes Sunday night before going to the locker room. He had two points and four assists, missing all five of his shots. The All-Star game MVP is the top scorer among Eastern Conference point guards with 21. http://www.footballraidersmall.com/Youth-Howie-Long-Elite-Jersey/ . - After a back-and-forth battle throughout the season, Alex Guenette has earned the 2013 rookie of the year award for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 by just one point over Ryley Seibert. PITTSBURGH -- Anthony Rizzos miserable second half perked up with one massive swing of the bat. The first baseman slugged a towering go-ahead, two-run homer off Jason Grilli in the seventh inning and the Chicago Cubs rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 on Friday night. Rizzo entered the night hitting just .208 since the All-Star break but turned on an 83-mph slider from Grilli and sent it over the seats in right field to snap Pittsburghs four-game winning streak. "Its huge for him," Chicago manager Dale Sveum said. "Hopefully it carries into these last couple of weeks." Brian Bogusevic went 3 for 4 with his fifth homer of the season for Chicago. Dioneer Navarro added two hits as the Cubs blunted Pittsburghs momentum as the Pirates chase their first playoff berth in 21 years. Carlos Villanueva (6-8) picked up the win in relief. Kevin Gregg collected his 32nd save when centre fielder Ryan Sweeney tracked down Neil Walkers fly ball in front of the wall in the ninth. Pedro Alvarez, Russell Martin and Garrett Jones hit consecutive solo home runs in the fourth for Pittsburgh. Andrew McCutchen went 2 for 4, but the Pirates lost for just the fourth time in 65 games when leading after six innings this season when Grilli (0-2) faltered. Grilli, an All-Star after racking up 29 saves in the first half of the season, is still working his way back from a strained forearm that sidelined him for more than six weeks. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle moved Grilli into a middle relief role when he was activated off the 15-day disabled list earlier this month. Pitching in his first pressure situation since his return, Grilli entered with the Pirates up a run in the seventh. He nearly got out of the inning clean, but Luis Valbuena walked on a borderline 3-2 pitch. Rizzo followed taking a pitch heading for his shoetops and nearly sending it into the Allegheny River. "He threw me a slider down and in, a pretty good pitch, and I tried to just put a good swing on the ball and not try to do too much," Rizzo said. Chicagos bullpen made it stand up, silencing Pittsburgh over the final three innings after the Pirates erased an early 3-0 deficit against starter Jake Arrieta. Arrieta breezed through the first three innings and wwas on his way to doing it in the fourth when Pittsburgh broke out. Hunter Renfrow Jersey. Alvarez hit a fly ball to the wall in right-centre with two outs that neither centre fielder Ryan Sweeney nor right fielder Nate Schierholtz could corral. The 235-pound Alvarez chugged all the way around the bases for his 33rd -- and by far most taxing -- home run of the season. Alvarez was still catching his breath when Martin followed with a shot 10 rows deep into the stands in left to bring the Pirates within one. Jones tied it seconds later by sending a laser into the seats in centre. It marked the first back-to-back-to-back home runs by the Pirates since Jason Kendall, Brian Giles and Reggie Sanders did it on Aug. 20, 2003, in St. Louis. Pittsburgh eventually took the lead in the sixth when reliever Brooks Raley mishandled a lob from Rizzo at first base, allowing McCutchen to race all the way home from second. The Pirates have risen to the top of the NL Central behind the strength of a bullpen led by the irrepressible Grilli. His velocity, however, has dipped since his comeback and Rizzo took advantage. Still, Hurdle has no plans to take Grilli out of the mix as the Pirates head into the final 15 games of a breakthrough season. "Weve got to keep getting him out there on somewhat of a consistent basis if we want to get him better," Hurdle said. "Hes not going to get better not pitching." Pittsburgh starter Charlie Morton struggled keeping the ball down while trying to bounce back from his worst start since returning from reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in June. Morton allowed three runs in five innings, including a two-run homer by Bogusevic in the fourth and saw a handful of balls caught at the warning track on a night a stiff breeze from the north kept the outfielders busy. NOTES: The Pirates will consult with specialist Dr. James Andrews before figuring out the next step for LHP Wandy Rodriguez, who has been out since June with left forearm tightness. Rodriguez threw 67 pitches in a simulated game on Thursday ... The series continues on Saturday when Pittsburghs Gerrit Cole (7-7, 3.48 ERA) faces Chicagos Scott Baker (0-0, 0.00). Baker is making his second start since reconstructive elbow surgery. ------ ' ' '