CHICAGO -- Nick Markakis preserved the lead on defence and then enlarged it at the plate. Haloti Ngata Eagles Jersey . The right fielder hit a two-run homer after preventing one with a leaping catch, sending the Baltimore Orioles to an 8-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night. While offence usually is the focus, Markakis didnt hesitate when asked which moment felt better. "Robbing a two-run homer," he said, "especially in that situation." Nelson Cruz and J.J. Hardy each added a solo shot as the Orioles upped their AL East lead to 7 1/2 games over the idle New York Yankees. Cruz hit his 32nd homer, passing White Sox rookie Jose Abreu for the American League lead. Cruz is tied with Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins for most in the majors. Markakis was 3 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs, but everyone in the Baltimore locker room was talking about his clutch catch. "That was big," manager Buck Showalter said. "The score wont look like it, but obviously it was a big play." The Orioles entered the bottom of the seventh with a 3-0 lead after starter Bud Norris (11-7) retired 17 of his first 18 batters. But he quickly found himself in trouble in the seventh after hitting Alejandro De Aza with a pitch and giving up a double to Alexei Ramirez that put runners on second and third with the heart of the Chicago lineup coming up. Abreu flied out to shallow centre and Adam Dunn struck out. It appeared Norris might escape with his shutout intact, but Avisail Garcias two-run single made it 3-2. Conor Gillaspie followed with a drive to deep right field, where Markakis raced back to the fence and made a leaping grab. "I thought I had a shot at it all the way," he said. "I was going after it. I was doing everything I can to catch it, with the situation of the game and the way Bud was pitching. "It helped us out tremendously and kind of took the wind out of their sails a little bit." The Orioles then broke it open with a five-run eighth. Jonathan Schoop doubled in three runs and Markakis hit a two-run homer to cap the rally. Chicago ace Chris Sale (10-3) took the loss, yielding three runs and eight hits in six innings. He has dropped two straight decisions. The Orioles are the only AL team he hasnt beaten in his career. "We were a great outfielder away from potentially winning that game," Sale said. TRAINERS ROOM Orioles: 3B Manny Machado will miss at least another week with a sprained right knee he sustained while taking a swing last Monday. Theres no timetable for his return. Machado didnt play this season until May 1 because of surgery on his left knee in the off-season. White Sox: CF Adam Eaton (strained right oblique) continues to make progress and the hope is hell be ready to return when hes eligible to be activated from the 15-day disabled list Sunday. Eaton, though, is likely to go to the minors for a rehab stint before then. UP NEXT In the second game of the series Tuesday night, Orioles RHP Chris Tillman (9-5, 3.68 ERA) faces LHP Jose Quintana (6-9, 3.14). ALL DUNN? Adam Dunns four-year, $40 million contract is up at the end of this season and the White Sox slugger hinted Monday there is a possibility he could retire. Dunn, who turns 35 in November, has 459 homers and could move way up the career list by sticking around a few more years (hes just three from tying Jose Canseco for 34th place). But he said numbers, even the possibility of hitting 500 homers, wont be a determining factor. "Its going to be a decision where Im going to sit down with the people who are important to me and make a quick decision," Dunn said. "Whether its tomorrow (or) whether its February, I dont know." WAITING GAME RHP Miguel Gonzalez, sent to the minors Aug. 9, is expected to be back with the Orioles this weekend to start against the Cubs. Gonzalez threw a simulated game in the minors Monday -- Double-A Bowie had the day off -- to prepare for the potential assignment. Custom Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys . Joakim Nordstrom and Garret Ross also scored for Chicago and Corey Crawford made 30 saves. Tomas Tatar scored twice for Red Wings (2-3-0), Jonathan Ericsson added a goal and Gustav Nyquist had three assists. Josh Sweat Eagles Jersey . Starters, when they struggle, have to live with it for five days. For Sergio Santos and Steve Delabar, two of the three men who authored one of the ugliest pitched innings in Blue Jays franchise history on Thursday night, the bounce-back chance came right away. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Mike-Wallace-Jersey/ .40 metres at the Drake Relays. Drouin, from Corunna, Ont., bested his own record of 2.38 metres set in Aug.MILWAUKEE -- Jason Hammel studied up on the Milwaukee Brewers. He passed a tough test Saturday. The Cubs right-hander watched from the dugout the previous night as the Brewers pounded out 16 hits against his fellow Chicago pitchers, and he was determined not to let that happen again. Lesson learned: Hammel had a season-high eight strikeouts in seven strong innings, and Anthony Rizzo hit two two-run homers to lift Chicago to an 8-0 win. "Theyre aggressive. ... Theyve really been working the ball the other way," Hammel said. "So, I made sure they knew that I was throwing in. Today, I had a pretty good slider. I kept them off balance." Hammel (6-3) also hit two batters, but otherwise allowed just four hits to an opponent that came into the day with at least 10 in nine straight games. On Saturday, Rizzo provided the offensive highlights. Both of Rizzos homers came on full-count pitches and went deep to right, the second one into the second deck to give the Cubs a four-run lead in the sixth. The Cubs chased Brewers starter Wily Peralta (4-5) in the five-run sixth that started with a single from Hammel, who later scored on Rizzos homer. "He had a couple bad pitches to Rizzo, and Rizzo gives him trouble," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. "He makes mistakes to him and Rizzo does not miss them." The homers delighted a healthy showing of Cubs fans that made the short trip north from Chicago. They cheered and whistled their last-place team on a warm, bright afternoon that made for ideal conditions for baseball. Many of those out-of-towners wore No. 44 shirts for Rizzo, the left-handed first baseman who returned to the lineup Saturday after getting his first day off of the season. The rested Rizzo rewarded his backers with his fifth career multi-homer game, and first since Aug. 21, 2013 against Washington. "It was nice just to be able to watch the game yesterday ... slow life down a little bit while Im on the bench," Rizzo said. "Todays obviously a good day for myself and our club." His first homer in the fourth Saturday came two batters after a safe call on runner Emilio Bonifacio at second was confirmed following a Brewers replay challenge. Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys. Milwaukee was hoping Bonifacio would turn into the front end of a double play. Peralta had one his worst outings of the season after being charged for six runs and five hits. His ERA rose from 2.12 to 2.73 following an outing of 5 2-3 innings. Peralta was also on the losing end in the Cubs 4-0 win over Milwaukee on April 27 at Miller Park, when Hammel held the Brewers scoreless over seven innings and struck out seven. Hammel was just as tough Saturday in helping to snap Chicagos three-game losing streak. "He commands his emotions and is meticulous in his preparations and thats how hes able to attack hitters the way he wants to," manager Rick Renteria said. Hammels fastball was clocked in the low 90s, and he mixed in the challenging slider. The shadows creeping across the infield didnt help Brewers hitters either. "I think in the fourth or fifth inning it was sun to the shade. Thats the time you want to pick up the off-speed. It was a little tougher then," said Scooter Gennett, who had two hits. NOTES: The replay review took about 1 minute, 45 seconds. ... Renteria said RHP Hector Rondons wife gave birth to a boy Friday, when Rondon was placed on the three-day paternity list. Renteria left open the possibility that his closer could return for the series finale Sunday afternoon against Milwaukee. ... After stealing second, the Brewers Carlos Gomez was awarded third on an interference call by second base umpire Paul Emmel on Cubs 2B Darwin Barney, who was in the way while Gomez tried to advance on an errant throw. ... Brewers 3B Aramis Ramirez (hamstring) is scheduled to begin a two-day rehab stint Sunday at the teams Class-A affiliate in Appleton and could be activated off the 15-day disabled list either Tuesday or Wednesday. ...... Cubs RH Jeff Samardzija (1-4) faces the Brewers Kyle Lohse (6-1) on Sunday. Wholesale Spain Jerseys Cheap Juventus Jersey Cheap Cristiano Ronaldo Jersey Wholesale AC Milan Jerseys Cheap Arsenal Jerseys Cheap A.S. Roma Jerseys Cheap Atletico Madrid Jerseys Cheap Chelsea Jerseys Cheap Barcelona Jerseys Cheap Bayern Munich Jerseys Cheap Borussia Dortmund Jerseys Cheap Inter Milan Jerseys Cheap Juventus Jerseys Cheap Leicester City Jerseys Cheap Liverpool Jerseys Cheap Manchester City Jerseys Cheap Manchester United Jerseys Cheap Paris Saint-Germain Jerseys Cheap Real Madrid Jerseys Cheap Sevilla Jerseys Cheap Tottenham Hotspur Jerseys ' ' '