CHICAGO -- John Lackey and Aroldis Chapman outperformed Chris Sale in his return from a jersey-trashing suspension.The Cubs did just enough against the White Sox ace in his six innings and rode their own pitching to a 3-1 victory Thursday night in Chicagos rivalry series.Chapman earned his first save for the Cubs since being acquired from the Yankees, leaving the crowd buzzing by consistently throwing 102 mph.It was fun to be in the dugout and check that out, Lackey said of Chapmans sizzling fastballs. Its definitely something you want to tune in to see for sure.Sale faced dozens of reporters after the game, heaping praise on his teammates, sidestepping questions about the jersey-tearing and expressing gratitude to be back.It felt like I was out on an island, really, Sale said of his suspension.Sale (14-4) served a five-day ban for tearing up 1976-style uniforms he didnt want to wear before his previous scheduled start. He had command issues, but worked out of trouble while allowing two runs and six hits.Lackey (8-7) allowed one run in six innings for his first win since June 8. Chapman, in his second appearance since being acquired from the Yankees, struck out two and consistently hit 102 mph in his first save for his new team.It makes me feel proud when I go out there and the fans are cheering, Chapman said through catcher Miguel Montero, who served as his translator.Kris Bryant, who homered against Sale in the All-Star Game, hit an RBI double off the center field wall in the first inning off Sale.Ben Zobrist added an RBI single in the third and doubled and scored in the eighth as the Cubs earned a split of the four-game series and spoiled Sales night.The lefty was scratched from his start Saturday, sent home and then suspended for cutting up a number of collared throwback jerseys the team was supposed to wear for the game. Sale said they were uncomfortable and became enraged when the team wouldnt switch them out, feeling the team was putting marketing over winning.Were here to win games and from this point forward I think thats our main focus, Sale said. I hope it is, too.The incident provided plenty of fodder for heckling Cubs fans at Wrigley Field. The Cubs tweeted out their lineup before the game with the line Throwback Thursday, anyone?Several teammates hugged a smiling Sale when he arrived in the clubhouse before the game.I knew who they were before this, but I found out who they really are and what theyre about, he said.Sale, pitching for the first time since July 18, didnt seem fazed by the controversy in his 111-pitch outing. He also improved to 2 for 16 at the plate when his slow grounder up the middle hit second base and bounded away for a single.The White Sox scored in the first when Melky Cabrera doubled and Tim Anderson ran through third base coach Joe McEwings stop sign, stopped, then continued home and beat an offline throw.Tyler Saladino doubled off former closer Hector Rondon in the eighth. But Chapman came in with two outs and struck out Cabrera on a 102 mph fastball.Big moment there, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.Chapman struck out Todd Frazier and got two groundouts in the ninth as the crowd buzzed as the radar gun reading flashed on the scoreboard.After a rough introductory news conference when he struggled to answer questions about a previous domestic violence case, Chapman said he was ecstatic about the environment.TRAINERS ROOMWhite Sox: Manager Robin Ventura said he hopes LHP Carlos Rodon (wrist) will be able to start Sunday at Minnesota.Cubs: With OF Jorge Soler (hamstring) close to returning, the team will have a difficult roster decision. Going back and forth on a lot of different thoughts and ideas, Maddon said.HEYWARD SITSJason Heyward, who signed a $184 million contract with the Cubs in the offseason, didnt start as Maddon went with a righty-heavy lineup vs. Sale. Heyward, hampered by a sore wrist, is hitting .229 with four homers and has a .315 slugging percentage.Man, I dont know that anybody could handle it better than the way he has, Maddon said of his struggles. I really believe were due for a nice run out of him shortly.UP NEXTWhite Sox: DH Justin Morneau, who won the AL MVP with the Twins in 2006, returns to Minnesota on Friday. LHP Jose Quintana (8-8, 2.97 ERA) faces Twins RHP Ricky Nolasco (4-8, 5.40).Cubs: LHP Jon Lester (10-4, 3.09 ERA) starts Friday at Wrigley Field to begin a three-game interleague series with Seattle and RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (11-6, 3.96). Cheap Hydro Flask For Sale . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Cheap Hydro Flask Sale . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. http://www.discounthydroflaskcheap.com/ . PAUL, Minn. Discount Hydro Flask Cheap . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Cheap Hydro Flask Free Shipping .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Denver NuggetsOverall: 101 Title track: 116 Ownership: 95 Coaching: 85 Players: 94 Fan relations: 104 Affordability: 66 Stadium experience: 89 Bang for the buck: 87 Change from last year: +18In 2013, George Karl was let go by the Nuggets after 57 wins and an NBA Coach of the Year award. Denver has not won more than 36 games in the three seasons since. Gone are Ty Lawson and Andre Iguodala, staples under Karl. Long gone is Carmelo Anthony, who was traded during the 2010-11 campaign after six first-round playoff exits in seven full seasons in the Mile High City. Man, even the first round sounds pretty good right about now, doesnt it?Whats goodWhich Nuggets player would you pay to see? Sure, Emmanuel Mudiay, a former seventh overall pick, has promise. Kenneth Faried is fun. And theres new lottery pick Jamal Murray. But that trio isnt filling seats. No one is packing the house to see Nikola Jokic or Danilo Gallinari (sorry, fellas) like they did to see Melo. But to its credit, Denver has adjusted, keeping its costs low to get fans in seats. That was reflected in a 19-spot improvement in affordability. An average ticket to the Pepsi Center is slightly below NBA average, and the average cost per game is only $60.32 (less than half what it takes just to get in the building in New York).Whats badPut it this way: There are only six teams below the Nuggets in title track (116th), and two of them are the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions.dddddddddddd Even the Brooklyn Nets, whose next first-round pick comes at the end of the decade, are two spots ahead of Denver. Sadly for Coloradans, that makes sense. Since cutting ties with Karl, the Nuggets have hired and fired Brian Shaw and replaced him with Mike Malone. They have yet to identify their next franchise cornerstone. Mudiay landed on the All-Rookie second team but wasnt a knockout, and the teams leading scorer was Gallinari, who has played a combined 112 games the past three seasons. As a result, the Nuggets have landed squarely in the NBAs Siberia: not good enough to contend ... and not bad enough to win the lottery.Whats newCoaching (at No. 85) and players (at 94) improved 22 and 25 spots, respectively. Although its true the Nuggets arent on a title track, as we say in these rankings, they have made some positive changes. Malone is a veteran NBA coach who is defense-first and looks to instill a more functional environment than Shaw, who underperformed relative to expectations that he would be the NBAs next hot coach. Alongside Mudiay, the Nuggets have added Murray, the lottery pick out of Kentucky who declared himself the best player in the draft prior to his being selected. The good news for Denver fans? He just might be right.Next: Philadelphia 76ers?| Full rankings ' ' '