CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs go for a four-game sweep of Milwaukee on Thursday as they send their ace right-hander against a rising Brewers star.A revived Jake Arrieta (14-5, 2.55 ERA) seeks his third consecutive win since shaking out of a three-loss slump. He will oppose Milwaukee right-hander Zach Davies (9-5, 3.80 ERA).Arrietas focus remains on the big picture as the Cubs set their sights on the National League Central title and a lengthy postseason run.We know what were capable of, Arrieta said following his last victory, a 13-2 decision over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday. Regardless of how many games you win the division by ... once you get to October, the slates clean. Thats the focus.The Cubs (76-43) enter Thursday with a 12 1/2-game lead over second-place St. Louis, the defending division champ, and 13 1/2 games over the Pittsburgh Pirates.Arrieta faced the Brewers once this season, throwing five innings of one-run ball in a 7-2 victory at Wrigley Field on April 28. For his career against Milwaukee, he is 5-3 with a 2.31 ERA in 10 starts.Arrietas rebound comes at a time when the whole starting staff is performing well.Cubs starters have allowed two or fewer runs in 12 consecutive games, the longest single-season streak in team history. The rotation owns a 1.11 ERA in that stretch, and it is 11-0 with a 1.13 ERA in 15 games this month.Milwaukee, meanwhile, hopes to break out of a three-game losing streak in the series finale behind Davies.Davies, in his second big league season, has been the bright spot in the Brewers rotation. He is the lone current starter with a winning record as he makes his 22nd start of the season and second against Chicago. The 23-year-old beat the Cubs on July 23 at Miller Park, allowing one run on three hits in 6 1/3 innings.Since going 0-3 in his first three starts, Davies is 9-2 over his past 19 appearances, and he has 11 quality starts for the year. He is 2-0 all-time against the Cubs.When he gets into a groove, he runs through the lineup pretty good, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said recently.Davies is coming off a loss to Cincinnati on Saturday, when he allowed five runs on eight hits in five-plus innings during the Brewers 11-5 defeat.The Chicago club Davies opposes will have some different faces from the one he saw last month, as the Cubs made a series of roster moves Wednesday.They placed outfielder Chris Coghlan (right rib contusion) and right-handed pitcher Joe Smith (left hamstring strain) on the 15-day disabled list. The Cubs also called up right-hander Spencer Patton from Triple-A Iowa. Patton was 1-1 with a 5.11 ERA in nine relief appearances for Chicago earlier this season. He shined with Iowa, recording 11 saves and a 1-0 record with a 0.77 ERA in 34 relief outings.Trevor Cahill, activated from the disabled list to serve as the Cubs 26th man for the Tuesday doubleheader, remained on the roster in one of the vacancies created Wednesday. He worked five scoreless innings during a 4-0 victory over the Brewers (52-67) in Game 1 of the doubleheader.Chicago won the nightcap 4-1, then cruised to a 6-1 victory Wednesday.The Cubs also likely will be without right-hander John Lackey for their weekend series at Colorado. Lackey experienced shoulder tightness in his last start against the Cardinals, so left-hander Mike Montgomery is scheduled to pitch on Saturday in Lackeys place. Cheap Nashville Predators Jerseys . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. 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BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics took their defense from solid in the first half to stifling in the second.Isaiah Thomas scored 16 of his 26 points after halftime and Al Horford had 18 points and five blocked shots as Boston beat the Charlotte Hornets 96-88 on Friday night to stop a three-game slide.Coach just told us we needed to step up our level of energy a little more on the defensive end, Horford said. We did that and that was the big difference.Getting Thomas back after he missed four straight games with a groin strain didnt hurt, either.Thomas scored nine in the third quarter as the Celtics fought back from a 12-point deficit. He added seven in the fourth to help Boston put away the Hornets.We got stops and got running, Thomas said. The one thing we did in the fourth quarter is we just spaced the floor and made plays for each other. Guys hit big shots.Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder added 12 points apiece for the Celtics, who held the Hornets to 13 field goals in the second half.Charlotte played without leading scorer Kemba Walker, who did not travel with the team due to personal reasons, and lost its fourth straight.Although the Hornets outrebounded Boston 54-46, the Celtics outscored them 38-30 in the paint as Charlotte had trouble converting inside.We have to finish some of these plays, coach Steve Clifford said. You get these point-blank ones and you dont have the floor balance in there back the other way. There were two or three of those that were huge plays.Nicolas Batum led the Hornets with 22 points and 10 rebounds.Ramon Sessions had 13 points and six assists, Marco Belinelli scored 11 and Jeremy Lamb added 10 points for the Hornets.Crowder hit a 3 with 6:11 left to put Boston up 80-79 after Charlotte scored seven straight points. Thomas drew a flagrant foul by Belinelli and hit both free throws. Boston retained possession because of the flagrant, and Crowder drew another foul and added two more free throws to put Boston ahead 84-79.Cody Zeller missed from inside for Charlotte, and Thomas came back with a 3-pointer to make it 87-79 with 4:52 left. Charlotte turned it over right awaay after the inbounds play and Bradley added another 3 that gave Boston a 90-79 cushion with 4:24 to go.ddddddddddddAfter a basket by Belinelli with 6:32 left completed their 7-0 run, the Hornets went scoreless until his layup with 2:20 remaining cut it to 92-81.Boston held Charlotte to five field goals in the third quarter, when the Hornets were 5 of 23.Charlotte closed the second on a 14-4 run and took a 50-41 lead into halftime. The Hornets led 60-48 early in the third when the Celtics started their surge. Kelly Olynyk hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 62 with 3:57 left, and it was tied 69-all at the end of the third.MISSING KEMBASessions started for Walker and had six assists, but the Hornets offense appeared lost without Walker.Hes one of the best in the league, so we missed him a lot tonight, Batum said. We played better tonight overall. But we should have won that game, anyway. No excuses.COLD OUTSIDEAfter shooting 2 of 14 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Celtics started hitting from outside in the third period. They went 7 of 14 on 3-pointers in the second half and held Charlotte to 19 points in each of the final two quarters.WELCOME BACKThomas hadnt played since scoring 20 points against Houston on Dec. 5. The Celtics went 1/3 in the games he missed and were happy to have him leading the offense once again.It helps all of us just because it opens the floor even more. Teams have to play us a little more honest, said Horford, who also had eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Its just good to have him back.TIP-INSHornets: Walker is averaging 22.6 points per game. He missed his first game this season, but was expected to return when the Hornets visit Atlanta on Saturday night. Walkers absence made Belinelli and Sessions the only Charlotte players to appear in all 27 games this season.Celtics: Jonas Jerebko scored nine points to lead Bostons reserves.UP NEXTHornets: At the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.Celtics: At the Miami Heat on Sunday night. ' ' '