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ST. LaMichael James Jersey . LOUIS -- Mark Ellis knew that he might not see a whole lot of playing time when he signed a free-agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals in December. "I figured theyd want me to come off the bench and Im fine doing that," he said. "I just want to be on a winning team." Ellis has gotten the best of both worlds. The 37-year-old infielder drove in two runs, including the go-ahead score with a bunt, and the Cardinals got a scoreless effort from their bullpen to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 Sunday. The Cardinals have won two in a row and seven of 10. Philadelphia has lost two straight after a season-high five-game winning streak. Ellis, who has received increased playing time due to injuries, broke a 3-all tie with a safely squeeze bunt in the fourth. He added an RBI single in the sixth. He is hitting .193 with 12 RBIs in 41 games. "We talked about it and the opportunity came up," he said of the bunt. "The ball up is an easier pitch to get that ball down. We were able to execute it." St. Louis manager Mike Matheny appreciates Ellis professional approach at the plate. "Two big at-bats," Matheny said. "Mark did a real nice job of getting that bunt down. He was thinking and really preparing ahead of time. Hes done a lot of good things in this game for a long time." Starter Carlos Martinez (1-3) allowed three runs over five innings. Martinez, who has 31 relief appearances, was making his second start of the season, replacing Michael Wacha in the rotation. "I just focused on throwing strikes, not throwing the ball so hard," Martinez said. "As a starter, Im learning to use all of my pitches." Nick Greenwood, Sam Freeman, Pat Neshek and Trevor Rosenthal combined for four innings of two-hit scoreless relief. Rosenthal got his 22nd save in 25 chances. Freeman struck out three in 1 2-3 innings. "I thought the pen was terrific, too," Matheny said. "Those guys are doing a good job getting through the game when our starters may not be able to go too deep." Cody Asche drove in all three Philadelphia runs with a bases-loaded double in the second. Asche, who grew up in nearby OFallon, was playing his first series in front of family and friends. "Its fun to step in and contribute," Asche said. "I wish we could have taken the last two games and completed the perfect road trip. But weve got some confidence." The Phillies won the first five games of the seven-game swing. Jimmy Rollins had a 15-game hitting streak snapped. Kyle Kendrick (3-7) allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings. He gave up just one hit over the first three innings before St. Louis scored four times in the fourth. "That one big inning hurt," Kendrick said. "They got some hits and I wasnt able to minimize the damage." Jon Jay got the inning going with an RBI single with the bases loaded. Jhonny Peralta followed with a tying, two-run single and Ellis bunted home the go-ahead run. "I like the way they went about putting together some tough at-bats," Matheny said. "Just nice consistent approaches at the plate, not trying to do too much." NOTES: The Phillies announced after the game that RHP Ethan Martin (0-0, 4.50) has been sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley of the International League. RHP B.J. Rosenberg will be recalled. Rosenberg is 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA. Manager Ryne Sandberg said Martin just "needs to get some innings in."... Matheny had the No. 57 written on his left arm to honour former St. Louis pitcher Darryl Kile, who died 12 years ago Sunday. ... The Phillies begin an eight-game homestand Monday with the first of four games against Miami. Roberto Hernandez (3-5, 4.52) will face Nathan Eovaldi (4-3, 3.76) in the opener. ... St. Louis starts a 10-game road trip Monday with the first of three games in Colorado. Lance Lynn (7-5, 3.15) will take on Jhoulys Chacin (2-2, 4.65). ... The previous three St. Louis games prior to Sunday lasted exactly 2 hours and 48 minutes. This one took 2:54. ... St. Louis OF Matt Holliday hit in the No. 2 spot in the batting order for the first time this season. The Cardinals have used 11 different players in that slot this season. Jason Fox Jersey . Cassano has been at the Policlinico facility since Saturday, when he was taken for tests after suffering what the club described as a brain problem on the team plane following the teams 3-2 victory over Roma. LaMichael James Womens Jerseys . During their talk, Lemieux was reported to have discussed with Crosby how a captains erratic behaviour can negatively impact the team.Lemieuex told Crosby... "You cant behave the way you did at the end of the game, it gives off a bad vibe to your teammates, it gives off a vibe that might be portraying you in a negative light, especially when youre struggling.DALLAS -- Milan Lucic scored his first goal in 10 games and assisted on another goal to lead the Boston Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday. All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Lucic passed from the right corner to David Krejci, whose goal gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 19:56 of the second period. Krejci also had a goal and an assist. Dallas tied it at 1:18 of the third when Erik Cole tipped Tyler Seguins shot past Bruins goalie Chad Johnson. Boston took a 2-1 lead two minutes later, when Brad Marchand put in his own rebound. Jamie Benn scored at 18:49 to pull Dallas within 3-2, but Bostons Patrice Bergeron scored into an empty net with 16 seconds left. Boston (30-15-2) took over sole possession of first place in the NHLs Atlantic Division, pulling one point ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who lost to the New York Islanders in a shootout. In losing for the seventh time in eight games, Dallas dropped to 21-19-7. All seven losses have been against Eastern Conference teams. Boston appeared to have a goal barely three minutes into the game, but a review of the play ruled that Gregory Campbell had kicked the puck past Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen. The Bruins had a better chance to score some 11 minutes later.. Jamar Taylor Jersey. . Boston was short-handed, but Brad Marchand had a breakaway. Lehtonen made a pad save. Dallas appeared to score from a scramble at 18:09 of the first, but a referee said he had blown his whistle before the puck crossed the goal line. Campbell had another chance on a short-handed 2-on-1 rush, but the Stars Erik Cole hustled back to hit Campbells stick as he shot. During that power play, Dallas had a 5-on-3 advantage for the last 35 seconds of the first period but couldnt score. The period ended scoreless, but the Stars had an 11-6 advantage in shots on goal. Boston took the upper hand in the second, with 11 of the first 12 shots. The game was stopped a short time later when Bostons Zdeno Chara inadvertently hit Johnson with a stick. Blood flowed from a cut near his left eye, but the goalie stayed in the game after receiving medical attention. Krejci ended the scoreless tie with just 4 seconds remaining in the second on a shot from the right circle. NOTES: The Bruins and Stars have completed their season series. Dallas won the game at Boston in a 3-2 shootout to finish 1-1; Boston was 1-0-1. ... Stars assistant coach James Patrick missed the game because of his fathers death. Stephen Patrick played for the Canadian Football Leagues Winnipeg Blue Bombers. ... Tennis player John Isner, who retired from his first-round match at the Australian Open, attended the game.cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
