CHICAGO -- Jake Arrieta is doing his part to fill the gap left by Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. Danilo Pereira Jersey . Arrieta pitched well into the eighth inning and Justin Ruggiano hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning Friday that sent the Chicago Cubs over the Atlanta Braves 5-4. Arrieta gave up three runs and four hits in 7 2-3 innings. He struck out six and walked three. The right-hander is 4-0 with a 1.30 ERA in his last seven starts. Arrieta said he has taken more of a leadership position after Samardzija and Hammel were traded to Oakland last week. "I am pretty comfortable with the responsibilities that come along with a role like that. Its something I embrace and look forward to continue to be in this role, to help guys establish themselves and combat the struggles that take place at this level," he said. "Hopefully, help guys start to take off and produce at a high level for us," he said. Arrieta figures to be one of the few mainstays along with All-Stars Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro as the Cubs continue to rebuild within the system. Arismendy Alcantara singled with two outs off Jordan Walden (0-1) in the Cubs ninth and stole second. Ruggiano then got a hit that slipped past shortstop Andrelton Simmons to win it. "The future is bright. That is very apparent. Guys like Alcantara and we have guys in the pipeline that can definitely help us in the future," Arrieta said. The Braves, who scored the tying run in the top of the ninth on Christian Bethancourts two-out single, have lost five of six following a nine-game winning streak. Jordan Schafer stole three bases for Atlanta and was caught stealing once. "Schafer had a great day. He stole three bags, he got on base, played nice defence. And BJ (Upton) been doing nice in the leadoff spot. Im happy with those guys at the top of the order. Now we need to keep the line moving, and we will," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. Arrieta left with a 4-3 lead but wound up with a no-decision when Cubs closer Hector Rondon (2-3) couldnt hold the lead in the ninth. Rondon allowed a leadoff double to Jason Heyward in the ninth. After retiring the next two batters, Rondon gave up Bethancourts single. It was Rondons third blown save of the season. The Cubs have won two straight after losing six in a row. "We were probably a little down a little bit after losing those two guys. They were two big guys in the clubhouse. But we have a tight group and we all pull for each other. We will be all right," Ruggiano said. Freddie Freeman drove in two runs for Atlanta. Braves starter Alex Wood pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on five hits and three walks. The 23-year-old left-hander struck out six. "I battled through some stuff. I thought we battled hard and scraped for some runs. I thought we played pretty well," Wood said. After retiring the first six batters, Wood gave up a leadoff double to Chris Coghlan in the third inning. Coghlan stole third and scored on Arrietas perfectly executed squeeze. With two outs, Ruggianos single drove in Mike Olt to make it 2-0. Arrieta was unable to hold the lead. He walked Schafer in the fourth and gave up his first hit of the game, a double to Simmons. Freeman and Justin Upton had RBI grounders. In the sixth, Wood reached on an infield single, his first hit in the majors, and moved up on Schafers sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Freeman doubled off the ivy in centre field for a 3-2 lead. The Cubs loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth. Junior Lake struck out and broke the bat over his knee. Coghlan hit a tying single and Braves reliever Shae Simmons walked Luis Valbuena on four straight pitches to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead. NOTES: Cubs INF Emilio Bonifacio started his rehab assignment in Arizona. Hes been on the DL with an oblique strain since June 13. ... Rizzo appreciated all the support he got in the push by the team that made him the final NL All-Star voted in by the fans. "Walked over to the offices, thanked all the front office and the people working behind the scenes to pump it up, to promote it. Very, very appreciative. My familys ecstatic. Come along way, altogether -- me, myself, everyone else around me thats coached me, thats helped me out through good times and bad times. Its an accomplishment Ill cherish forever," the first baseman said. ... Cubs 2B Darwin Barney was activated from the paternity list. The Cubs recalled Zac Rosscup from Triple-A Iowa and relievers Kyle Hendricks and Blake Parker were optioned to Iowa. ... Braves starter LHP Mike Minor is scheduled to make his second career start against the Cubs on Saturday. In his previous start, he gave up one run in 7 1/3 innings. Renato Sanches Jersey . - Veteran Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr, sidelined since Game 1 of the Anaheim series, says hes close to returning. Jose Fonte Jersey . Roy says he will know more about Duchenes potential playing status Sunday. Duchene has been out since damaging the MCL in his left knee when he ran into a teammate against San Jose on March 29. Hes been skating on his own all week, before joining the team Saturday hours before a pivotal game in a series tied at 2. http://www.soccerportugalproshop.com/c-9-bruno-alves-portugal-jersey.aspx .com) - Ben Lovejoy tallied a goal and an assist as the Anaheim Ducks cruised into the All-Star break with a 6-3 victory against the Calgary Flames.MINSK, Belarus -- Defending champion Sweden prevailed in a shootout to edge the Czech Republic 4-3 at the ice hockey world championship on Sunday and Russia handed Finland a 4-2 defeat for its second straight win. Germany and Norway also made it two wins in two games, while France failed to build on its upset victory over Canada as it lost 2-1 to Italy. Joakim Lindstrom scored the winning penalty for Sweden when he found the space between the pads of Alexander Salak. The Czechs took the lead after just eight seconds when Tomas Hertl beat Swedish goaltender Anders Nilsson, and were up 3-1 in the second period. Jiri Hudler scored on a power play and Ondrej Nemec also had a goal for the Czechs. Sweden tied it for 1-1 in the first through Oscar Moller, who scored again on a power play to reduce the Czech lead to 3-2 in the second. Lindstrom made it 3-3 on a power play in the third to force overtime. In another attacking display, Viktor Tikhonov and Alex Ovechkin put Russia 2-0 up less than 5 minutes into the first period. Juuso Hietanen pulled one back for Finland, but Nikolai Kulyomin scored a short-handed breakaway goal and Sergei Kalinin made it 4-1 in the second. "We had fast goals which gave us confidence," Russia coach Oleg Znarok said. Jere Karalahti scored the second goal for Finland. Finnish forward Pekka Jormakka left the ice on the stretcher after receiving a big hit from Vadim Shipachyov in the second period. Finland coach Erkka Westerlund said Jormakka was taken to a hospital for exams. Germany beat Latvia 3-2 after Thomas Oppenheimer scored the winner on a penallty in the third period. Adrien Silva Portugal Jersey. Germany took the lead with goals from Marcel Noebels and Frank Mauer but Georgijs Pujacs and Mikelis Redlihs helped Latvia come back each time. Norway held off Denmark 4-3 after rallying from an early 2-0 deficit. Morten Poulsen and Frederik Storm had given the Danes the lead with two goals in 20 seconds, before Norway rallied with goals from Jonas Holos, Ken Andre Olimb, Per-Age Skroder and Mats Trygg. Jannik Hansen pulled one back for Denmark. Host Belarus earned its first win of the tournament by beating Kazakhstan 4-1. Kazakstan took the lead through Andrei Gavrilin, but Andrei Stepanov equalized and then set up Nikolai Stasenko for the winner in the second period in front of 15,000 roaring and jumping home fans. Sergei Kostitsy added a short-handed goal in the third and captain Alexei Kalyuzhny scored the fourth into an empty net. Russia has six points in Group B, Germany has five after two matches while Latvia and Belarus have three each and Kazakhstan has one. Finland "I have to be happy with my teams performance," Germany coach Pat Cortina said. "That was a step into the right direction after yesterday." Markus Gander gave Italy its first victory of the tournament by scoring the winner with 58 seconds remaining against France. "It was great to get our first win and get our confidence going," Italy coach Tom Pokel said. Norway has six points in Group A, followed by Sweden on five while the Czechs and Italy, a newcomer to the top division, have three points, France is on two and Denmark has zero. 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