Sonstiges » trick as Owen Sound downed the Steelheads.

ST. LOUIS - It didnt take Tony Cruz long to consider all of his home runs and rank his latest. Hes only had three in his 100-game career and the first two came on the road. Cruz hit a three-run homer and the St. Louis Cardinals connected three times, beating the Cincinnati Reds 8-4 on Saturday night and moving closer to their fourth straight playoff berth. "It was a really good feeling," said Cruz, who also had the first curtain call of his career. "The first one of the year is always a really good feeling and my first one at home. You know you hear the crowd. Its amazing." Milwaukee beat second-place Pittsburgh 1-0 on Saturday to give the St. Louis a 3 1/2-game lead in the NL Central. The Cardinals cut their magic number to one for clinching a post-season berth, and five for their second NL Central title in a row. Kolten Wong and Randal Grichuk also homered as St. Louis won for the seventh time in eight games. The Cardinals have hit five homers in the past two games, but have just 104 for the season — among the lowest total in the majors. Their lack of power has provided an ongoing issue manager Mike Matheny has had to address. "I like the home runs," Matheny said in his postgame interview. "You guys always accuse me of not liking them, but especially those three-runners that Tony did. We know we have the kind of team that can do that and its nice to see them." Cincinnatis four runs were as many as it scored in the previous five games. The Reds have lost six in row and has been outscored 30-8 in that stretch. They are 20-40 since the All-Star break. "Youre seeing us having to go out there and really struggle so mightily to try to find a way to win a ball game," manager Bryan Price said. "Certainly nobodys enjoying this current portion of our schedule. The way weve played for the last 60 games has been miserable." Jason Motte (1-0) needed just three pitches and one out to earn the win. He came in relief of starter Michael Wacha and got Todd Frazier to foul out to right. Wacha didnt qualify for the win because he lasted just 4 2-3 innings. He was seeking his first win since June 17 before going on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. Wacha gave up two runs and six hits on 78 pitches, the most since returning at the start of the month. "I felt a lot better, today," he said. "More secondary stuff was working for me. My command was a little bit better. I felt it was a step in the right direction." Mike Leake (11-13) allowed six runs in five innings. He also walked two and hit a batter, all of whom scored. He gave up two homers and has surrendered 22 this season. Cruz hit his first homer in more than a year, connecting in the second. His last home run was Aug. 4, 2013, at Cincinnati. Wong hit his 12th, a two-run shot in the third. Grichuck added a pinch-hit homer in the sixth — it was his third of the season and his second in two nights. Grichuck later added an RBI bloop double. Zack Cozart homered for the Reds and Kris Negron doubled twice. TRAINERS ROOM Cardinals: 1B Matt Adams and 3B Matt Carpenter both were out of the starting lineup with a stomach virus. Matheny said they were "quarantined," though it wasnt clear if they were at Busch Stadium and available or sent home. ... Star C Yadier Molina got his first start of the season. Reds: C Devin Mesoraco was pulled in the sixth inning because of a stomach bug. Price said Mesoraco could have continued but the manager didnt think it was worth it. UP NEXT Reds: RHP Alfredo Simon (14-10, 3.35) has given up five hits in seven innings during each of his past two starts, including in a 4-2 win against St. Louis on Sept. 10. The Cardinals have batted .228 in 101 at-bats against Simon over 22 2-3 innings. Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (15-9, 2.68) has given up two runs over his past 15 innings and went 0-1 in those games, including a 1-0 loss at Cincinnati on Sept. 11. 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Nikolay Goldobin scored two goals and set up one more for the Sting (0-1-0) as Daniel Nikandrov and Craig Duinick added single goals. Danial Altshuller made 27 saves for the victory while Brodie Barrick stopped 25-of-30 shots in a losing cause. Duinick opened the scoring 4:46 into the first period to give Sarnia a 1-0 lead. Hughes responded with a short-handed goal at 9:23 to tie the game, however Goldobin scored at 14:05 to give the Sting a one-goal edge after 20 minutes of play. Dal Colle scored the only goal in the second period, which came by way of the power play with only four seconds left on the clock. Nikandrov and Latour traded goals midway through the third period before Dal Colle gave the Generals their first lead of the game at 15:31. Goldobin looked to force overtime for Sarnia when he tied the game 4-4 with only 37 seconds remaining in the period, however Smith scored the eventual winner on the next shift for Oshawa. Oshawa went 1 for 6 on the power play while Sarnia failed to score on ten chances with the man advantage. --- Storm 4 Otters 3 (OT) GUELPH, Ont. -- Zac Leslie scored 13 seconds into overtime and added two assists in regulation as the Storm edged Erie. Jason Dickinson had a goal and an assist for the Storm (1-0-0) while Robby Fabbri and Tyler Bertuzzi each scored once. Stephen Harper, Connor Brown and Michael Curtis supplied the offence for the Otters (0-0-1). Justin Nichols made 36 saves for the win as Oscar Dansk turned aside 33 shots in defeat. --- Rangers 4 Spirit 2 KITCHENER, Ont. -- Darby Llewellyn scored twice as the Rangers doubled up Saginaw. Justin Bailey andd Matia Marcantuoni also scored for the Rangers (1-0-0) and Brent Pedersen had two assists.dddddddddddd. Tyson Teichmann made 25 saves for the win. Cody Payne scored both goals for the Spirit (0-2-0) and Jake Paterson stopped 52-of-55 shots to give his team a chance for the two points. --- Knights 3 Whalers 0 LONDON, Ont. -- Anthony Stolarz stopped all 30 shots he faced as the Knights blanked Plymouth. Kyle Platzer scored twice for London (1-0-0) while Dakota Mermis had a goal and an assist. Francesco Vilardi was a team worst minus-2 for the Whalers (0-1-0) while Alex Nedeljkovic made 37 saves in a losing cause. --- Attack 5 Steelheads 3 MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- Gemel Smith recorded his second career hat trick as Owen Sound downed the Steelheads. Holden Cooke and Daniel Milne each scored for the Attack (1-0-0) and Kyle Hope chipped in with three assists. Trevor Carrick, Sam Babinstev and Bryson Cianfrone scored for Mississauga (1-1-0). Brandon Hope made 28 saves for the win as Spender Martin turned aside 17 shots in defeat. --- 67s 5 Bulls 4 OTTAWA, -- Taylor Fielding scored twice and Mike Vlajkov had a goal and two assists as the 67s came from behind to defeat Belleville. Joseph Blandisi and Sam Studnicka also scored for Ottawa (1-0-0), which trailed by two goals in the third period, and Jacob Blair made 17 saves for the win. Brady Austin and David Tomasek had a goal and an assist each for the Bulls (0-1-0) while Garrett Hooey and Scott Simmonds rounded out the offence. Charlie Graham stopped 34 shots in a losing cause. --- Frontenacs 5 Battalion 2 KINGSTON, Ont. --Ryan Kujawinksi and Darcy Greenaway had two goals each as the Frontenacs beat North Bay. Billy Jenkins also scored for Kingston (2-0-0) and Matt Mahalak stopped 32-of-34 shots for the win. Mark Raycroft and Mike Amadio scored for the Battalion (0-1-0) while Jake Smith made 26 saves in defeat. --- Greyhounds at Wolves SUDBURY, Ont. -- Game was postponed at the 1:21 mark of the first period due to fog in the arena. A new date has yet to be determined. ' ' '