|  Wys³any: 2019-03-01 06:15:14 Temat postu: the Cardinals pulled back ahead
CHICAGO -- Once again, the Cardinals relied on Matt Adams clutch bat. Adams drove in four runs, A.J. Pierzynski had three hits in his St. Louis debut and the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 on Saturday to stop a four-game skid. Adams doubled sharply in the first inning, a one-hopper that bounced past first baseman Anthony Rizzo and into right field to score two runs. Adams two-run triple with two outs in the seventh made it 5-2. "He was our guy today," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "If you look at when we started to gain some traction in our division, its when Matt started to go. Not to put the pressure on him, but he was the guy at the time and hes continued to do that, to step up big for us." Helping out Adams was the 37-year-old Pierzynski, who signed with the Cardinals on Saturday, 10 days after he was released by Boston. St. Louis had been looking for a steady presence behind the plate since All-Star catcher Yadier Molina tore a ligament in his right thumb July 9. Molina had surgery two days later and is expected to miss eight to 12 weeks. "That was pretty much a cram session for A.J. there," Matheny said. "He did a nice job coming in, obviously making an impact with the bat, but I felt like he had a nice feel for what Shelby (Miller) was doing." Miller returned to the Cardinals rotation and pitched effectively into the sixth inning. The young right-hander began the game with three perfect innings and retired 16 of his first 18 batters. In his first start since being removed from the rotation July 10, Miller allowed two runs and three hits in 5 2-3 innings. He had given up at least three runs in his previous five starts. Randy Choate (2-2) got the last out of the sixth. Trevor Rosenthal worked around two hits in a scoreless ninth, earning his 31st save in 35 tries. "When you get in a groove and youre feeling pretty good, in a rhythm, you just keep going," Miller said. "Thats kind of what I felt like I did today." Nate Schierholtz hit a solo shot for the Cubs in the sixth, tying it at 2. It was Schierholtzs fourth career pinch-hit homer. Rizzo drove in a run with a groundout in the fourth. Cubs starter Jake Arrieta settled in after the two-run first inning, allowing just three baserunners the rest of the way. He thwarted Cardinals threats in the fourth and fifth, and a diving catch by left fielder Chris Coughlan helped Arrieta escape the sixth. "He did it with not his best stuff, but he was still pretty effective," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "That performance was probably indicative of how much hes grown." With Arrieta out of the game, the Cardinals pulled back ahead in the seventh, scoring four runs against reliever James Russell (0-2). Jon Jay hit a leadoff single, advanced on a sacrifice and stole third before scoring the tiebreaking run on Matt Carpenters grounder. Russells four earned runs allowed marked his worst outing since July 21, 2012, when he gave up six, also against the Cardinals. Ryan Sweeney hit a leadoff homer against Pat Neshek in the eighth, his third home run of the season and second this series. NOTES: Adams had only four RBIs in his previous 23 games against the Cubs. ... Pierzynski, who batted sixth for the Cardinals, was booed loudly by the Wrigley Field crowd during his first at-bat. Pierzynski played seven seasons on the south side of Chicago for the White Sox. ... The Cubs optioned RHP Neil Ramirez to Triple-A Iowa and recalled RHP Blake Parker. The 25-year-old Ramirez has a 0.96 ERA in 33 appearances this season. Renteria indicated the move was made to give Ramirez a rest and was not based on performance. ... Rizzo went 0 for 4, ending his 10-game hitting streak. ... Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright (12-5, 2.02 ERA) pitches the series finale Sunday against Kyle Hendricks (1-0, 2.77), who will make his third big league start. Discount Adidas Shoes .com) - They didnt meet in the regular season, so Sam Houston State might be saying it won the de facto title game between the two Southland Conference co-champions Saturday. Wholesale Adidas Shoes .The Los Angeles Lakers star passed Michael Jordan for third on the NBAs career scoring list Sunday night in a 100-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. http://www.cheapshoesadidas.com/. Ted Ligety, Mikaela Shiffrin, Bode Miller and Tim Jitloff underlined the squads enormous potential on the Rettenbach glacier in Austria. Adidas Shoes From China . His Brazilian opponents said he produced miracles. There is no doubt that Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was the one responsible for spoiling Brazils hopes of another World Cup victory at its home tournament. Adidas Shoes Clearance Store . According to MMAFighting.com, MacDonald needs an x-ray on his right ankle and doctors clearance to fight or he will be subject to a mandatory medical suspension that will end on August 22, 2014. SAN DIEGO -- Years later and some 500 miles to the south, Tyson Ross still considers the San Francisco Giants to be rivals. Born in Berkeley and raised in Oakland, where he later pitched for the As, Ross beat the Giants for the first time in six career appearances by throwing eight scoreless innings to lead the San Diego Padres to a 2-1 victory Friday night. "East Bay, man," Ross said. "That was a lot of fun. I grew up an As fan, so that rivalrys definitely there. The Giants were the rival at heart for me growing up." Ross held the Giants to four hits, struck out nine and walked one. The Padres handed Matt Cain his third straight loss. Ross (2-2) beat Cain five days after topping AL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer and the Detroit Tigers. The right-hander was rarely in trouble, despite allowing a leadoff double to Angel Pagan. Ross then retired the next eight batters. He walked one. "From there he really made pitches. I thought his stuff was outstanding," Padres manager Bud Black said. "He was in a pitching duel with one of the proven National League pitchers in Matt Cain, and matched him. It was a great, great pitching duel." Pablo Sandoval was the only Giants runner to reach third base against Ross, after hitting a single leading off the seventh and advancing on a walk and a double play. Sandoval was stranded when Ross got Brandon Crawford to line to shortstop. Ross has made two strong starts after opening with two shaky outings. Black said Ross made a big mechanical adjustment between his second and third starts. "He just sort of reverted back to sort of muscling the ball with his upper body and not really driving off the mound and keeping his right foot securely against the rubber and pushing off," Black said. "When a pitcher doesnt use his lower half, his stuffs going to suffer." Ross said hes worked to keep his foot against the rubber longer and not rush his pitches. "Since Ive made that adjustment Ive been more consistent in the strike zone and had a better feel for all my pitches," he said. Cain (0-3) allowed four hits and one unearned run in seven innings while striking out eight and walking two. The Giants have played eight straight games decided by one run, their most since another streak of eight in a roww in August 1910, according to STATS.dddddddddddd "Its tough," Cain said. "Any way you lose, its not fun. Tyson threw the ball really good over there and he didnt give us many opportunities to score runs. When we had chances to do it, he (bore) down and got the job done." Chris Denorfia tripled to right-centre with one out in the first and scored on a passed ball by Hector Sanchez, who couldnt hold onto ball four to Jedd Gyorko. "We were trying to throw outside and it cut on him a little bit," Cain said. "I got to a count where I shouldnt have. I should have been a little more aggressive in going after Gyorko and getting him out." Yasmani Grandal, pinch-hitting for Ross in the eighth, homered off Juan Gutierrez, his first. Huston Street got his sixth save in six chances, but not before allowing Brandon Belts homer to right with one out in the ninth, his sixth. Street walked Hunter Pence with two outs before striking out Sanchez. After allowing Denorfias single with one out in the third, Cain retired 11 straight batters until Will Venable singled leading off the seventh. It was Cains second straight start allowing one run and four hits in seven innings. "He couldnt get a win his last two games, with the way he threw the ball," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Giving up one run, and the way he gave up the run, its a shame." NOTES: Plate umpire Jerry Layne was scratched due to an illness, and a three-man crew worked the game. Hunter Wendlestedt took over behind the plate. ... Giants C Buster Posey got the night off. ... The series resumes Saturday when Giants RHP Tim Hudson (2-0, 2.35 ERA) is scheduled to face LHP Eric Stults (0-2, 5.52). ... When the Padres go on the road next week, LF Carlos Quentin, who started the season on the disabled list with a bone bruise in his left knee, will go to extended spring training in Arizona to continue working toward his return. If he does well, itll be the last step before hes cleared to go on a rehab assignment. Black also said RHP Casey Kelly, whos rehabbing from reconstructive elbow surgery, threw a side session and is scheduled to throw another extended spring game Monday. If all goes well, Kelly will go on a rehab assignment to Triple-A El Paso. ' ' ' |
the Cardinals pulled back ahead
