CHICAGO -- Miguel Montero waited for five hours before he got a chance to play. And then he had to face a crafty left-hander with the bases loaded.One soft liner made it all worth it.Montero hit a game-ending RBI single in the 13th inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied for a wild 8-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.Its a winning team, winning attitude, Montero said. Thats (what) its all about. We never quit. We know we can come back anytime. Weve done it all season long, and we did it again today.Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo set the stage for Monteros clutch swing with consecutive singles against Jeff Locke (9-8), plating the tying run. After Ben Zobrist was walked intentionally, Montero dumped a 1-2 pitch into left for a big pinch-hit single.The major league-leading Cubs (83-47) dropped two of three in Los Angeles over the weekend, and then their flight to Chicago was delayed. They arrived early Monday morning, and still had enough in reserve to outlast the scrappy Pirates.They had to be tired today, but nevertheless played `til post-midnight with energy, manager Joe Maddon said, and I love it.Rob Zastryzny (1-0) got his first major league win despite allowing Josh Harrisons sacrifice fly in the top half of the inning. Jorge Soler and Willson Contreras homered for the Cubs, and Javier Baez collected four hits.Pittsburgh had won eight straight road games. It fell 1 1/2 games back of St. Louis for the second NL wild card.Nothing to hang our heads about, Harrison said. We went out there and gave it everything we had. We got contributions from a lot of different people. We just came up short.Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell helped the Pirates build a 6-3 lead with opposite-field homers against Jake Arrieta, but Contreras belted a two-run shot to center against Neftali Feliz in the eighth and Soler connected for a tying solo shot in the ninth against closer Tony Watson.Baez was thrown out at the plate to end the 10th and 12th innings. Catcher Francisco Cervelli made a nice lunging tag to get Baez on Rizzos inning-ending double play in the 10th, and then corralled left fielder Starling Martes outstanding throw in time to get Baez in the 12th.Youve got to do everything perfectly and in our case it was done, twice, Locke said.Rizzo, one of the leading candidates for NL MVP, also struck out with runners on the corners for the final out of the eighth. But his single in the 13th drove in Fowler with the tying run.Bells one-out shot to left in the fourth was Pittsburghs first hit of the game. With two outs and runners on first and second in the sixth, Polanco drove Arrietas first pitch over the wall in left for a 4-3 Pittsburgh lead.Polanco also hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the sixth inning of the Pirates 3-1 win at Milwaukee on Sunday. He was batting just .138 (4 for 29) against Arrieta before his team-best 21st homer.Arrieta was charged with six runs -- matching a season high, also against Pittsburgh on July 8 -- and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. The ace right-hander went 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA in his first four August starts, recalling his dominant second-half run to the NL Cy Young Award a year ago.I didnt pitch as well as I would have liked, he said. Obviously the two homers were kind of the dagger for me.ON SEPTEMBERActive major league rosters can expand to as many as 40 players on Thursday, and Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said the team isnt ready to discuss in detail what it might do.Weve been working on it and continue to work on it next few days, both our internal decisions and anything that we might consider from outside the organization, too, he said.Asked about Tommy La Stella, who is playing for Triple-A Iowa after initially refusing to report to the minors, Epstein said he thinks the infielder will rejoin the Cubs this week.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: RHP Tyler Glasnow (shoulder) was activated from the 15-day DL and optioned to Indianapolis, where he will make at least one start before the Triple-A season ends next week.Cubs: RHP Pedro Strop (left meniscus tear) is throwing again, and RHP Hector Rondon (right triceps strain) also is making great progress, according to manager Joe Maddon. ... RHP John Lackey (right shoulder strain) threw a side session.UP NEXTCubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (12-7, 2.19 ERA) and Pirates RHP Chad Kuhl (3-1, 3.50 ERA) get the ball for the second game of the series on Tuesday night. Hendricks is 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA in five August starts. Kuhl allowed two runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision in his previous start Thursday at Milwaukee.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Cheap NBA Jerseys Authentic . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Wholesale China Jerseys . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. http://www.jerseysnflcheap.net/ . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Cheap Nike NFL jerseys . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. Wholesale NBA Jerseys . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency.The Rio Olympics and Paralympics are just over six months way and the excitement and tension is rising fast for the Sky Academy Sports Scholars . Sprinter, long jumper and relay runner Olivia Breen is still learning her trade, but shes got a great chance of making Brazil if she continues her form shown since lighting up the 2012 London Paralympics.So how is the 19-year-old coping with this new wave of pressure, whats going to be in her suitcase and how is she staying positive?Here are Olivias thoughts..... 1. WITH SIX MONTHS TO GO, SUM UP YOUR FEELINGS IN THREE WORDSExcited. Nervous. Determined.2. WHO IS YOUR OLYMPIC HERO AND WHY?Jessica Ennis-Hill. She was amazing in 2012 at the London Olympics and since then she has had a baby and has come back even stronger.Shes gone on to win the World Championships. Incredible. Shes a real inspiration and a true athlete.3. WHAT DOES THE OLYMPICS TRULY MEAN TO YOU?It means everything. It is all I have been thinking about for the last four years.Its what gets me to training on freezing cold and wet mornings. Its always at the front of my mind. I want all my hard work to pay off in Rio. Olivia won bronze at the Lonndon Paralympics aged just 16 4.dddddddddddd WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES AN OLYMPIC CHAMPION?You need to be determined, driven, ambitious, strong, motivated, selfish, disciplined, dedicated.You need to really want to succeed and be on that podium.5. WHAT ARE THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS YOU WILL PACK FOR BRAZIL?Spikes, hearing aid batteries so I can hear the gun and my supplements to keep me healthy.6. THERE ARE AROUND 268,000 MINUTES BEFORE RIO. WHAT ARE THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FOR YOU IN THAT TIME?Train hard, stay healthy and GET SELECTED!7. HOW DO YOU TRY TO STAY CALM WHEN THINKING ABOUT THE OLYMPICS?I try to stay really positive and focused and remember all the hard work I have done to get to this point.I tell myself YOU CAN DO THIS.WHATS COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS..............JAN 16 - MARCH 5: Siobhan-Marie OConnor, AustraliaFEB 3-5: Jack Bateson, Bocskai tournament in HungaryFEB 3: Mark English, racing in Dusseldorf FEB 4: Rio Olympics - 6 months to goFEB 6-7: Elise Christie, World Cup in DresdenFEB 13-19: Quillan Isidore, training camp in Zolder, Belgium Also See: About the Scholarship Meet the athletes Blogs Videos Galleries ' ' '