Liebe, Lust und Leben » five straight birdies from No. 12 through 16.The

CHICAGO -- Jon Lester felt better Friday, after some rough outings. He knows he wasnt perfect in six shutout innings. A pair of pointless, useless walks, as he put it, still bothered him afterward.Not that they mattered, in the end.The Cubs posted their highest-scoring game at home this season, routing the Seattle Mariners 12-1 Friday for their third straight win.The guys swung the bats really well, Lester said. I try to always tell them, 12 runs and an air-tight defense makes a pitchers job a lot easier, so that was good today.Lester (11-4) gave up four hits and struck out seven.The lefty had lasted just 16 innings over his previous four starts, going 1-1 with a 10.13 ERA. That skid came after he had gone 9-3 with a 2.03 ERA in his first 16 starts.Johnnie Lester, I thought, pitched really well again, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. I thought he had a really good fastball today. From the side, to me, it was obvious that his fastball had a lot of jump on it.Jason Heyward and David Ross homered as the NL Central leaders won for the 10th time in their last 15 games after a 1-9 slump. They are 9-5 since the All-Star break.Seattle lost in its first trip to Wrigley since 2007. The Mariners let infielder Luis Sardinas pitch the eighth, and he threw a perfect inning.Lester matched his win total from last season.Jon did a great job settling in after the first couple of innings there and never gave up anything, said Cubs right fielder Ben Zobrist, who doubled for the third straight game. I think all across the board, as a team, its a real feel-good win.Lester was already done when there was a 74-minute rain delay in the seventh.Mike Montgomery, traded last week from Seattle to the Cubs, pitched the final two innings. He gave up a single to Shawn OMalley in the ninth for the Mariners run.Hisashi Iwakuma (11-7) had won his last five starts, but gave up five runs and eight hits in three innings. His arm felt tight when he started warming up in the bullpen and never was on, manager Scott Servais said.He got loose and wasnt sharp, Servais said, missed in the middle of the plate a lot, obviously, against a good offensive club, and it was a rough day.The Cubs already led 5-0 when they scored six times in the sixth inning, with Anthony Rizzo hitting a three-run double.Heyward hit his first homer since June 11 and drove in three runs. He had been just 5 for 45 in his last 13 games.Kris Bryant reached base all five times he came up for the Cubs. He singled twice, doubled and walked twice. It was Bryants team-high eighth three-hit game this season.Sardinas, who played for Texas and Milwaukee the past two seasons, moved from first base to the mound and retired the Cubs on eight pitches.THE PUSHJavier Baez scored Chris Coghlans single in the second inning, then turned to see if Ross needed any guidance coming home. Plate umpire Eric Cooper also needed a clean look, and with Baez lingering outside the batters box, shoved the player out of the way.He pushed me really hard, Baez said, who added it was nothing personal.I guess everyone can laugh about it because Im not making a big deal out of it, he said.Ross scored easily.UPS AND DOWNSThe Cubs activated OF Coghlan (ribs) off the disabled list and optioned infielder Tommy La Stella to Triple-A Iowa. La Stella, who was hitting .295 in 105 at-bats with a .388 on-base percentage, didnt take the news well, according to Maddon.And he shouldnt take it well, Maddon said. Honestly, its just an unusual moment were in right now where we have so many guys. This is definitely an advocacy for a 27- or 28-man roster.La Stella had options remaining, which left him vulnerable in a crowded infield. Coghlan started in LF and the leadoff spot and opened the scoring with a two-run single in the second.NEWCOMERSeattles Guillermo Heredia made his major league debut when he went to right field in the seventh. He struck out in the eighth. The Mariners recalled him from Triple-A Tacoma before the game and optioned LHP David Rollins.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: RF Nelson Cruz returned to the lineup after fouling a ball off his shin Tuesday. He went 0 for 2 with a walk.Cubs: CF Dexter Fowler still has some soreness, Maddon said, so Heyward played center instead of right. Ben Zobrist started in right field for the second straight game.UP NEXTMariners: Its been a streaky season for LHP Wade Miley (6-8, 5.23). He lost his first two decisions, won his next six and has lost his last six starts.Cubs: Jake Arrieta (12-4, 2.76) is 0-2 with a 5.55 ERA in four July starts. He has allowed 20 earned runs over his last five starts after giving up 19 over his first 15 starts. Ultra Boost Canada Sale . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. NMD Canada Sale . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/superstar-cheap-canada.html . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. Ultra Boost 4.0 Canada . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal. Ultra Boost Canada . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas lit up the front nine at Royal Sydney but it was Aussie favourite Adam Scott who proved the closer midway through day two of the Australian Open.The world No. 7 and former Masters winner powered into contention, along with fellow Aussie Aaron Baddeley, with a blistering back nine on Friday which included a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch through holes 6, 7 and 8 resulting in a seven-under 65.And it could have been better if a couple of putts had dropped on his front nine (10-18), particularly at 18 when he left it millimetres short. Still, Scott began with back-to-back birdies on holes 1 and 2 before he rounded out his day in style.Well it was a good second nine holes really, and finally got a bit of rhythm happening out there and a bit of momentum, Scott said.A few putts went in and a few better shots, the good shots finished a little better today. So we had a nice morning for playing around here, the greens were soft; Ive got a feeling they watered them a little bit more expecting very hot temperatures this afternoon, so they were very receptive.And once I kind of figured that out and adjusted to that after a few holes I started playing a little bit better and more aggressively.Scotts sensational three-hole run was highlighted by a spectacular four-iron that set up eagle - a feat matched by Baddeley who played a superb second of his own.Yep, I hit a really good four-iron from 226 yards, Scott said. It was my best shot of the day for suree, to about five feet, and had just an inside right putt and I hit a nice putt there.ddddddddddddIts funny because I hit a lot of nice putts today yet I missed a couple of short ones and I should focus on the long putts I made.Earlier, Vegas thundered up the leaderboard with five straight birdies from No. 12 through 16.The Venezuelan, who is the only other international player of note outside of American Jordan Spieth, found himself on a roll as both Scott and Baddeley struggled early on.But Vegas was left to rue an errant second shot from a perfect position on No. 4, a horrible lie in the sand resulting in a double bogey. He did however pick up two birdies coming in to limit the damage.Baddeley, meanwhile, struggled for consistency early on Friday as he mixed birdies with bogey in equal measure across the front nine. But a superb recovery shot from the trees on No. 1 set the tone for his closing nine five-under.Today I still hit a couple of average shots but overhaul I hit a lot of really good ones, Baddeley said.The more free I play the better I hit it.Recent PGA Tour winner Rod Pampling also enjoyed the morning conditions to sign for a five-under 67 and be level with Scott at six-under, but it was Rhein Gibson (66) who grabbed the clubhouse lead at seven-under.Overnight leader Curtis Luck and Spieth were out in the afternoon wave. ' ' '