1 » involving Andrew Bynum for Pau Gasol. Th

ATLANTA -- Ervin Santana almost was knocked out by a rain delay. It was a bigger scare than he ever faced from the Cubs. Santana pitched five-hit ball for seven innings to remain unbeaten, Ryan Doumit snapped a scoreless tie with a pinch-hit double in the seventh and the Atlanta Braves beat Chicago 2-0 on Saturday night. Santana (4-0) overcame that delay of 1 hour, 7 minutes in the third inning and outlasted Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija, who had his long winless streak continue. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he would have pulled Santana if the delay lasted only a few minutes longer. "We were about five to 10 minutes from shutting him down," Gonzalez said. "It was that long. "You dont want guys sitting around for an hour and a half, an hour and 20 minutes. We were that close, really." Santana walked one and struck out seven. "Santana was terrific -- better than terrific, really," Gonzalez said. Samardzija was just as strong. He allowed only two hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in six innings. He lowered his ERA to 1.45, second in the NL, but he is still without a win this season. Samardzijas winless streak was extended to 14 starts. His last victory came on Aug. 24, 2013, at San Diego. He said the long drought wasnt wearing on him. "No. I understand the situation, I understand how things go," he said. "Baseball is a funny sport. Its just one of those things where you learn from it. It usually comes around in the end and it all evens out." Braves left fielder Justin Upton left the game in the sixth with a lower back muscle bruise after being hit by a pitch from Samardzija. He is day to day. Braves closer Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 10th save. Kimbrel, who blew a 2-1 lead in the ninth in the Braves 3-2 win in 10 innings on Friday night, was back in form. He walked Starlin Castro with two outs before striking out Luis Valbuena to end the game. The Braves scored two runs in the seventh off right-hander Brian Schlitter (2-1). Following singles by Chris Johnson and Andrelton Simmons, Doumit pinch hit for Santana and drove in Johnson with his double. Simmons scored on Tyler Pastornickys suicide squeeze bunt. The NL East-leading Braves have won three of four after losing seven straight. "I dont think weve clicked on all cylinders yet from an offensive standpoint, from a defensive standpoint, a pitching standpoint," Doumit said. "I think were starting to show we can and once we do its really going to be scary." Upton ran to first base after being hit by the pitch from Samardzija. After being checked by Braves trainer Jeff Lovell, he walked slowly off the field in apparent pain. Upton had another injury scare in the fourth inning. He appeared to hurt his lower back when he tagged Anthony Rizzo at the end of a long run-down between first and second. Upton ran in from the outfield to help on the play. Rizzo collided with Upton, who then bent over and reached for his lower back but remained in the game. Upton said the pitch from Samardzija hit him in about the same spot as where he felt the pain in the fourth inning. He said he felt a spasm in the back muscle in the sixth. Gonzalez said he likely would give Upton a day off on Sunday. NOTES: The Braves placed RHP Jordan Walden on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 5, with a strained left hamstring. LHP Ian Thomas was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett. Walden has one save and a 2.92 ERA in 14 games. Thomas was sent to Gwinnett on Sunday with instructions to work on his slider. ... The Cubs have lost six of seven. ... The Braves are 12-0 when scoring the first run in a game. ... Gonzalez said LHP Jonny Venters, recovering from his second Tommy John surgery, will report to the teams minor league complex in Orlando and will begin throwing batting practice on Friday. ... The series ends on Sunday with Atlantas Aaron Harang facing Chicagos Edwin Jackson in a matchup of right-handers. John Matuszak Womens Jersey . Brad Malone had the other goal for the Monsters (1-1-0), while Elliott chipped in an assist for a three-point night and the games first star. Bryan Lerg also had two assists. Corban Knight and Max Reinhart scored for the Heat (1-1-0), who opened their season Friday with a 5-2 win over the Monsters in Cleveland. Otis Sistrunk Raiders Jersey . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday. https://www.raiderssportsgoods.com/Womens-Dave-Casper-Inverted-Jersey/ . The Durban-based Sharks withstood a furious second-half fightback to beat the Queensland Reds 35-20 for a fourth straight win which gave them a five-point lead atop the championship table. The Hamilton-based Chiefs scored two late tries to beat the Cape Town-based Stormers 36-20 for their third win, after the Stormers rallied from 24-6 down to 24-20 with six minutes remaining. George Blanda Raiders Jersey . -- Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after having an operation on a groin muscle. Josh Jacobs Womens Jersey . The Blue Jackets got goals from Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and R.J. Umberger and Curtis McElhinney posted his first shutout since 2011 in a 4-0 victory on Friday night.CLEVELAND -- The Pacers dont win with artistic beauty. Most times, they simply pummel teams into submission. Indiana plays ugly, and ugly usually wins. "No style points," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "None. Zero." Paul George scored 16 points, Roy Hibbert made a putback and two free throws in the final 1:09 and the Pacers turned to their defence to hold off Clevelands late rally for an 82-78 win over the short-handed Cavaliers. The Pacers led by 16 in the fourth before guard Dion Waiters brought Cleveland back by scoring 12 straight points in a 16-1 run that got the Cavs within 75-74 with 3:35 left. Hibberts free throw with 7.9 seconds left put the Pacers up 81-78, and Indiana got the ball back when Cavs forward Earl Clark stepped on the sideline on a poorly executed inbounds play with 6.9 left. David West made one free throw with 5.4 seconds remaining, and the Pacers escaped with their seventh win in eight games. At 27-6, Indiana has the NBAs best record -- now thats pretty. "We didnt finish the game the right way," West said. "They hung around and made some shots, but our defence held strong." C.J. Miles scored 21 and Waiters had 14 for the Cavaliers, who played their third game in a row without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. He has a bruised knee and his backup, Jarrett Jack, sat with back spasms. The Pacers had to grind this one out after taking control with 14-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters. "I know coach is going to be on us about giving up a big lead, but we know how to play in that situation," George said. "Weve been through that before. The best thing for us is to stay together and we were able to hold them off the last couple of possessions." Lance Stephenson made a 3-pointer as Indiana closed the third with a 7-0 run and then extended the lead to 16 by opening the fourth with another 7-0 burst capped by Danny Grangers 3. Thats when Waiters, the subject of trade rumours for weeks, brought the Cavs back. He reeled off 12 in a row and fed Anderson Varejao with two nice assists to get the Cavs within 79-78. Hibbert split a pair of free throws, but on Cleevelands next trip, Waiters missed a 3 and then forced a layup in traffic.dddddddddddd Hibberts free throw gave the Pacers a two-point cushion, but Cleveland couldnt execute a simple inbounds pass without a turnover and West put it away with his late free throw. "Its another tough loss," Waiters said. "We fought back. We never put our heads down when they went up 16. These kinds of losses hurt because we were right there. Weve been there all year long, and once we find a way to close these games out well be really good." Hibbert added 15 points and West 11 for the Pacers, who shot just 36 per cent from the floor, but played their typically stout defence. Indiana has won nine straight over Cleveland and 15 of 16. Tristan Thompson added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavs, who have reportedly been involved in talks with the Los Angeles Lakers for a trade involving Andrew Bynum for Pau Gasol. The enigmatic Bynum was recently dismissed from the team for detrimental conduct and the Cavs would like to deal or release the 7-footer by Tuesday, when his contract will be guaranteed. The injury-ravaged Lakers would consider bringing back Bynum -- he spent seven seasons with Los Angeles -- so they could cut him, clear salary-cap space and avoid paying the luxury tax. The Pacers, who fell behind by 14 before rallying to beat New Orleans on Saturday, shot only 37 per cent in the first half but used a 9-2 spurt to close the second quarter and lead 44-35 at the break. NOTES: Indiana came in allowing a league-low 88.9 points per game. ... Cavs coach Mike Brown would not comment on the trade rumours swirling around his team, and particularly about Bynum, who was banned from all team activities on Dec. 28. Waiters and Varejao have both been mentioned in various deals. ... Vogel says his team is a target every time it takes the floor. "Its not so much that theyre gunning for us," he said. "I think everybody looks at us and says, If we beat the Pacers, thats going to be a quality win. You do get their best shot from that standpoint. Teams recognize that you have to play a great basketball game to beat us." ' ' '