PITTSBURGH -- John Lackey fielded phone calls from plenty of interested teams in the offseason. Wholesale Flames Jerseys . Yet the veteran pitcher opted for the Chicago Cubs.Sure, the money was good. The opportunity was even better.I had some pretty good offers from other people and I chose this one for a reason, Lackey said. Its all here.Looks like it.Lackey worked through five innings, Chris Coghlan hit a three-run triple and the Cubs held off the staggering Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 on Tuesday night. Coghlans second-inning drive off the wall in right-center against Ryan Vogelsong (3-7) gave the NL Central champions all the offense they would need to win for the seventh time in their last eight games. Chicago improved to 101-56, the clubs highest victory total since it won 104 games in 1910.Pittsburgh was eliminated from postseason contention when San Francisco won later Tuesday, ending a run of three-straight playoff appearances.Dexter Fowler added an RBI double for the Cubs. Lackey (11-8) worked around five hits and three walks to win his last regular season start. The 37-year-old finished his 14th season 11-8 with a 3.35 ERA and has looked fresh since a stint on the disabled list to rest his right shoulder. Lackey is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA since coming off the DL earlier this month.The rest was good for him, manager Joe Maddon said. Hes going into the postseason well rested. Just got to keep these guys sharp.Lackeys next start will be in the playoffs, a time of year the two-time World Series champion knows well. Hes 8-5 with a 3.11 ERA in the postseason and doesnt think Maddon will need to do anything too extravagant to keep him engaged during the lengthy downtime.I dont know about (simulation) games, Lackey said. I can throw a bullpen and be just fine. I dont need to see somebody up there. I know how to throw the ball over the plate.Felix Pena recorded the final two outs for his first career save after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run single off Justin Grimm to get the Pirates within two. Pena struck out Sean Rodriguez with the bases loaded to end it.Overall we did play pretty well, Maddon said. We got everybody involved, which is good. Theres a lot to be happy with.Vogelsong allowed four runs in five innings and fell to 0-3 with a 9.55 ERA in September. The 39-year-old managed to get out of a two-on situation in the first but couldnt in the second. A hit batter and two walks loaded the bases for Coghlan. The outfielder narrowly missed his first career grand slam when the ball landed just below the top of the fence. He sped to third for his second triple since rejoining Chicago in a trade with Oakland in June.Just an unacceptable start, Vogelsong said. No excuses. Just unacceptable.Lackey made sure it stood, though not without some shaky moments. He needed a double play to thwart a potentially big inning in the second and his defense bailed him out when Jordy Mercers line drive with the bases loaded in the fourth went straight to second baseman Munenori Kawasaki, who flipped to second to double off Rodriguez.The Pirates went 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position -- both hits coming in the ninth -- and left 11 men on base.STREAK ENDSPittsburgh reliever Juan Nicasio gave up two runs in the ninth and failed to record a strikeout for the first time in 34 appearances, ending his club-record streak.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: OF Jorge Soler remained in Chicago while dealing with tightness in his side but could rejoin the team in Cincinnati on Friday. Maddon said an MRI on Soler came back negative, but with the division already clinched theres no rush to get Soler back on the field. Side bothers him, nothing horrible, nothing to be highly concerned about, Maddon said. I dont know what we think right now, except that it wasnt bad.Pirates: LF Starling Marte remained out of the starting lineup with back stiffness and grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the fifth. The All-Star has just three plate appearances -- all as a pinch hitter -- since Sept. 5. My brothers are out there battling and I wish I could get out there with them, Marte said.UP NEXT:Cubs: Jake Arrieta (18-7, 2.85 ERA) makes his final start of the regular season. The 2015 Cy Young Award winner is 9-1 with a 1.46 ERA in 12 career starts against the Pirates.Pirates: Rookie Jameson Taillon (4-4, 3.49) faces the Cubs for the second time this season. Chicago touched him for four runs in four innings of a 10-5 loss on June 19. Calgary Flames Gear . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Flames Jerseys 2020 . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. https://www.cheapflames.com/ . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season.WEST ALLIS, Wis. -- As the Andretti Autosport teams clogged the qualifying leaderboard, it sure looked as if the fix was in at the Milwaukee Mile. Andretti drivers have won four of the last eight IndyCar races at Milwaukee, and Michael Andrettis marketing group is in its second year promoting the event. So when his son, Marco, jumped to P1 in Fridays qualifying session, followed by all three of his teammates, he could chuckle that perhaps something was awry. "We get extra horsepower here," Michael Andretti joked. In the end, Will Power of Penske Racing prevented an Andretti sweep by wedging himself in the middle of the four Andretti cars. When the field goes green Saturday, it will be Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe starting on the front row, followed by Power and then Andretti drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay, the defending race winner, and E.J. Viso. Asked what was up with the Andretti domination, Hinchcliffe had an answer far more entertaining than a claim of extra horsepower. "Pixie dust," Hinchcliffe said. "We were cleaning out the attic at the shop and came upon this little bag, and we spread the dust over all the cars." All jokes aside, its shaping up to be a race for an Andretti driver to lose in Saturdays 250-mile event. Marco Andretti won the pole with a two-lap average speed of 170.515 mph around the mile oval. Its his second career at Milwaukee, and third overall, and he beat Hinchcliffes average of 170.418 for a front row sweep for the Andretti cars. "Thats as good as I could have done," said Andretti, who scoured the qualifying order after his lap. "Im dying to see who is out there who can beat me." Power was third at 170.212, followed by Hunter-Reay and Viso. Sebastian Saavedra was sixth and Tony Kanaan was seventh as Chevrolet drivers swept the top seven spots. Josef Newgarden was the highest qualifying Honda at eighth. Calgary Flames Store. Helio Castroneves, last weeks winner at Texas, qualified 18th. His car failed post-race inspection Saturday night and IndyCar this week fined Penske Racing $35,000 and docked Roger Penske 15 owner points. But Castroneves maintained his lead in the IndyCar Series standings, which is 22 points over Marco Andretti. Marco Andretti, though, has his eye on the winners circle Saturday. Hes finished inside the top seven in seven of the eight IndyCar races this year and is eager to grab his first victory since 2011. "Man, I am so hungry to get the monkey off my back because once I do, I think they (wins) are going to steamroll from there," Andretti said. "Were knocking on the door and thats all weve got to do. Hopefully it will come through." And the pressure is on for Andretti to do it this weekend at Milwaukee as a Fathers Day gift to Michael. "It would be huge, and I told him hopefully this is only part of his Fathers Day gift," Marco said. "We have the car to do it, we have four great shots. I also have to credit Andretti Autosport as a whole, four out of the top five is pretty awesome." Especially considering how far off Hinchcliffe was in both practice sessions Friday. He smacked the wall in Turn 2 in the first session, damaging his car, and was far off of his teammates pace. "Change after change didnt seem to make it any better and it was tough," Hinchcliffe said. "We were scratching our heads wondering what we should do, and our teammates were first, second and fourth, just making us look stupid. We went through the whole car and my head was in the wrong place. "But everybody did a good job. The team did its job in getting the car sorted, and I pulled my head out to forget about practice and here we are." ' ' '