PITTSBURGH -- Gerrit Cole has picked the right time to start winning -- in the midst of a pennant race. Carlos Carson Jersey . Cole won consecutive starts for the first time since early June, National League batting leader Josh Harrison had three hits, and the surging Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 Friday night for their seventh win in eight games. Cole (9-5) improved to 5-0 against the Cubs, allowing three runs, five hits and one walk in six innings with six strikeouts. He also won at Wrigley Field last weekend. Coles only other consecutive winning starts this year were April 4 and 10, and May 29 and June 3. He also spent two stints on the disabled list, totalling 70 days. Though he wasnt at his best, Cole was able to escape a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning after Welington Castillos RBI single had pulled the Cubs to 4-3. Cole got Arismendy Alcantara to foul out to the catcher to end the inning. "He has been able to slow himself down and focus on making the next big pitch," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Cole. "He did a good job of the big pitch when he had to." Pittsburgh is 14-7 since Aug. 20, moving a season-high nine games over .500 at 78-69. The Pirates, who were eight games under as late as May 21 (18-26), maintained a 1 1/2-game lead over Milwaukee for the second NL wild card. "Were playing really good baseball right now," shortstop Jordy Mercer said. "Even though weve been scoring runs, it always comes down to pitching and defence and that was the difference." Harrison raised his average to .318 while scoring a pair of runs from the leadoff spot. Mercer also had three hits and drove in three runs, including a two-run single in the sixth that made it 6-3. Neil Walker had a pair of RBI singles for the Pirates, who had 14 hits. Alcantara and fellow rookie Javier Baez homered for the Cubs, who have lost seven straight in their longest skid since 2012. Baez had hit .103 in his previous 10 games and Alcantara batted .130 in his past 14. Tsuyoshi Wada (4-3) gave up four runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings. "I thought we put in some pretty good at bats," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "I thought, overall, we played a little bit better than we had the previous six games." TRAINERS ROOM Cubs: 1B Anthony Rizzo (lower back strain) took batting practice and ran the bases during a pregame workout but missed his 16th straight game and likely wont return until Monday, when Chicago hosts Cincinnati. Pirates: LF Starling Marte (bruised left elbow) sat out after leaving Thursday nights win at Philadelphia when he was hit by a pitch. RHP Charlie Morton (right hip inflammation/sports hernia) threw 42 pitches in a bullpen session and hopes to pitch in relief. His last major league appearance was on Aug. 15 when he started and lost at Washington. UP NEXT Cubs LHP Felix Doubront (3-5, 5.43) is to make his third start Saturday night since being acquired July 30 from Boston in a trade, facing Pirates LHP Jeff Locke (7-4, 3.60). Doubront went 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his first two starts. Locke is 5-1 with a 3.29 ERA in his last seven starts. FATHERHOOD AWAITS Cubs rookie RF Jorge Soler is expected to miss the three-game series after travelling to Miami for the birth of his first child. He has hit .356 with four home runs and 13 RBIs in his first 12 big league games. Reggie Ragland Jersey . -- Its been 21 years since Joe Gibbs Racing celebrated its only Daytona 500 victory. Dave Krieg Jersey . According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. http://www.customchiefsjersey.com/custom-mack-lee-hill-jersey-large-916n.html .com) - Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 12 points in the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats 70-55 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.Manchester Uniteds tour of China took another turn for the worse as their International Champions Cup clash with Manchester City was called off due to concerns over the state of the pitch in Beijing. Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiolas sides were due to play at the Birds Nest Stadium at 12.30pm, but the pitch was deemed unplayable after rain overnight.It was the latest stroke of bad luck for United. From their heavy defeat to Borussia Dortmund to the abandoned Manchester derby, we look at whats gone wrong... Dortmund defeat United were beaten 4-1 by Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai Uniteds tour started with a 4-1 thrashing by Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai on Friday. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ousmane Dembele and Gonzalo Castro were on target for the Bundesliga outfit, with Uniteds consolation goal coming from their new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan.The scoreline was far from ideal for their first major friendly under Mourinho, but the new manager put it down to differences in preparation. Dortmund had already played four summer friendlies, while Uniteds only match action had come with a 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic.I know that in pre-season the team that is in the advanced stage of preparation looks far better than the other team, he said. If we did not know, I think after 10 minutes we know that one team started training 10 days ago and played one match and the other team started one month ago and already played four matches.Emergency landing The first Manchester derby outside of England has been called off United chartered two flights from Shanghai to Beijing for the second leg of their tour on Saturday, but their plans were disrupted when one of the planes was forced to make an emergency landing due to adverse weather conditions around Beijing.The events were described in a video posted by Memphis Depay on Facebook. Were lost somewhere, he said. We had to make a quick landing. We tried to fly to Beijing but the weather is a little bit bad so we had to land somewhere else. Now were waiting until the weather gets a little bit easier so we caan land. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Jersey. While the first group landed on schedule to have their evening meal in the hotel, Mourinho later revealed the second group did not arrive until 1am on Sunday.Venue change Mourinho was forced to conduct a chaotic pitchside press conference in Beijing United were scheduled to train at the Birds Nest Stadium on their first day in Beijing, but in order to protect the playing surface they were hastily moved to the Olympic Sports Centre some four miles away.This caused further complications, with Mourinho forced to hold his pre-match press briefing on the side of the stadium pitch due to stifling heat inside the overcrowded conference room where journalists were waiting to hear from the United manager.Mourinho then voiced his concerns over the Birds Nest pitch. I think Beijing is unlucky because the pitch is very bad, he said. My only objective is to take the players home safe and without injury. These are no conditions to play a good game of football.He also admitted he couldnt wait to return to Manchester and begin training with his full squad.Game called off After more torrential rain, the decision was taken to call off the game on Monday morning, with United confirming the news on their website. Due to recent weather events, tournament organisers and participating clubs have made the decision to cancel the International Champions Cup fixture to be played in Beijing tonight, 25 July, it read.United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward added: Its extremely disappointing not to be able to play the game in this amazing stadium but the recent torrential rain would have caused problems anywhere in the world and has left the pitch unplayable.We know our fans in China will, like the players and staff, be saddened by the cancellation of the match but I am sure they appreciate that the player safety has to be the top priority. I am sure we will return to the Birds Nest in the future to give them the chance to see the team in action.United will fly back to Manchester on Sunday evening having only played one game in China. Their next fixture is a friendly against Galatasaray in the Swedish city of Gothenburg on Saturday, with Wayne Rooneys testimonial against Everton on August 3 their only other game before the Community Shield against Leicester on August 7 and the Premier League kick-off against Bournemouth on Sunday, August 14. Win Sky Q Ultra HD with Sky Sports 43 LG TV plus a Sky Q Ultra HD package including Sky Sports to be won EVERY DAY - enter now! Also See: Utd v City in China called off Carrick: All eyes on Manchester ' ' '