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ST. LOUIS -- When it comes to being a hitter, St. Louis rookie Michael Wacha would rather talk about his pitching. Wacha threw seven innings and drove in two runs with a single, helping the Cardinals to a 5-3 victory Thursday over the Chicago Cubs. The 6-foot-6 Wacha (3-3) had lost his last three decisions since an April 13 win over the Cubs. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed seven hits, including a homer, but did not walk a batter. He struck out five. "I was able to pound the strike zone down in the zone and it was pretty effective," Wacha said. "I kept them off-balance, which means its a pretty good day. Its definitely nice to go deep into a ballgame and get a win. It definitely gets your confidence going in the next start thats for sure." Trevor Rosenthal pitched 1 2-3 innings for his 11th save. Rosenthal, who blew a save Tuesday, inherited a one-out, bases-loaded situation and gave up a sacrifice fly, but closed out the inning and retired the side in the ninth. The Cubs have lost nine of their last 11 and are off to the worst start in 39 games (13-26) since 2002. Jason Hammel (4-2) gave up five runs on five hits and two walks in 5 1-3 innings, raising his ERA to 3.06. Hammel had six strikeouts. St. Louis scored four runs in the second inning on Wachas two-run single in between a run-scoring groundout by Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenters RBI double. It was Wachas first hit and RBIs of the season. "Its nice to finally have a batting average," Wacha said. St. Louis manager Mike Matheny noted it was a timely hit. "Mike was good and obviously getting that hit there to drive in a couple runs it was kind of a huge boost to us at that point," Matheny said. With two outs, Hammel might have escaped with little damage but he had to throw a strike on a 3-2 count to Wacha and the bases loaded. "I got behind Wacha with two wild ones," Hammel said. "I came in with a fastball and he hit it." Chicago got two runs back in the fourth on a home run just inside the left-field foul pole by Starlin Castro. He drove in No. 3 hitter Anthony Rizzo, who beat the St. Louis shift to the right side with his second bunt to the left side in two at-bats. Rizzo has three career bunt singles with the Cubs with one coming in his previous 285 games. "If theyre going to give me that, I might as well take it," Rizzo said. "We were able to cash in once. I almost make them pay twice for it. Wacha is a great pitcher but you get him on the stretch and try to get him off his game a little bit. "You know if teams are going to give me that, for the most part, Im going to take it every time." When Rizzo came to bat in the fifth and seventh, St. Louis did not shift. "Rizzo took advantage of the shift until they changed their defence on him," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. "That led to our first two runs when Starlin drove the ball out of the ballpark. Hes really looking at the game from a lot of different angles. Think about it, youre down four runs and a solo home run is not going to do a whole lot for you." The Cardinals made it 5-2 when Molina lined a 3-2 pitch just inside the line in left for a one-out RBI single. Junior Lake hit a sacrifice fly for a run in the eighth, but Rosenthal got out the jam. St. Louis lost a challenge in the third when Matt Holliday was called out on a close play at first after hitting a grounder to shortstop. The time of the review was 2 minutes, 54 seconds. NOTES: Missouris new basketball coach Kim Anderson threw out the first pitch. "It was an honour to throw the first ball out," he said. "I was nervous out there, but its something I will never forget." ... The Cardinals announced the time for making up Wednesdays game with the Cubs that was rained out. It will be played at 1:15 p.m. Aug. 30 as part of a split doubleheader. The second game will start at 7:15 p.m. instead of 6:15 p.m. ... The Cardinals recalled 2B Kolten Wong on Wednesday from Triple-A Memphis and optioned infielder Greg Garcia back to the club. Wong was optioned April 27 after hitting .225 in 20 games. He hit .344 in 10 games at Memphis. He was not in the starting lineup as he was still battling the effects of a stomach virus. Mike Piazza Jersey .com) - The 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes continue a four-game homestand at Value City Arena on Wednesday night when they face off against the High Point Panthers in a non-conference matchup. Mike Piazza Dodgers Jersey . “The fact that he was willing to do the deal the way we wanted it to be done showed that he wanted me to be a part of something great," Lowry said, noting that Ujiri willingness to sign off on the proposal that both Lowry and his agent presented to the GM was the final straw that convinced him to return. http://www.baseballdodgerslockroom.com/ ... ersey/.com) - Minnesota Vikings fans would surely concede Teddy Bridgewater is not Peyton Manning. Howie Kendrick Dodgers Jersey .J. -- Kevin Gilbride retired Thursday as offensive co-ordinator for the New York Giants. Fernando Valenzuela Jersey . -- Creighton apparently has Villanovas number.Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James joined Mark Price at the top of the Cleveland Cavaliers all-time 3-pointers made list in style. James go-ahead triple with 48.1 seconds left lifted the Cavaliers to a 105-101 win over the Toronto Raptors that upped Clevelands winning streak to eight games. The game was tied 99-99 before Kevin Love pump-faked from the left wing beyond the arc, dribbled to the left elbow and dished to James, who knocked down the trey from straightaway for the 802nd 3-pointer in his Cavs career. Kyle Lowry got the much larger Tristan Thompson guarding him on a switch at the other end on the left wing, but Thompson forced him to take a tough fadeaway from the left baseline and Lowrys shot hit the top of the backboard. Lowry was then called for an intentional foul on James Jones near midcourt, and James made the foul shot with 14.2 ticks remaining for a four-point cushion. Cleveland, though, was whistled for a 5-second violation on the ensuing inbounds. Terrence Ross dunk with 4.2 seconds to go cut the gap to 103-101, but Kyrie Irving sunk a pair of foul shots to seal the outcome. Toronto shot 58.1 percent (38-of-62) through the first three quarters and led by as many as 10 in the fourth, but Cleveland held the Raptors to a 30 percent (6-of-20) clip in the final frame. The Cavs outscored them 20-6 in the final 8:37. Final Score: Portland 98, Detroit 86 Auburn Hills, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - LaMarcus Aldridges 23 points and 11 rebounds led the Portland Trail Blazers to another victory, a 98-86 triumph over lowly Detroit that extended the Pistons losing streak to 13 games. Wesley Matthews chipped in 19 points to Portlands fifth consecutive win overall and seventh straight on the road. Damian Lillard and Chris Kaman each finished with 14 points for the Blazers. Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond each recorded double-doubles in Detroits latest setback, the Pistons 10th in a row at home. Monroe tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds, with Drummond racking up 15 boards to go along with 10 points. The Pistons 13-game skid is the franchises longest since it also dropped 13 straight from Dec. 15-Jan. 11 of the 2009-10 season. Final Score: Memphis 114, Dallas 105 Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies withstood 18 Dallas 3-pointers, as Memphis took control in the third quarter and fended off a Mavericks rally en route to a 114-105 win in a Southwest Division showdown. Memphis outscored the Mavs 36-17 in the third frame to turn what was once a 10-point deficit into a healthy lead they never relinquished. Gasol poured in 30 points two days after being limited to two in a win over the Heat. Mike Conley chipped in 22 points, while Zach Randolph added 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who outscored the Mavs 52-26 in the paint. Chandler Parsons shot 6-of-10 from behind the arc and matched Gasol with 30 points, but the Mavs fell for the second time in three games. Jameer Nelson finished with 18 points for Dallas, while J.J. Barea netted 17 off the bench. Dallas usually productive duo of Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis combined to shoot 5-of-28 from the field (17.9 percent) for 13 points. Ellis played through an elbow injury and made only one of his 11 attempts in a two-point effort. The division rivals came into Tuesdays clash with 16 wins apiece and have accomplished their success in different ways. The Mavs were the NBAs highest-scoring team at 110.6 ppg, while the Grizzlies ranked No. 1 in opponents scoring at 93.5 ppg. Final Score: New Orleans 104, New York 93 New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Tyreke Evans poured in 27 points and the New Orleans Pelicans put together a strong fourth quarter to come away with a 104-93 victory over the still-struggling New York Knicks. Evans netted eight points and Omer Asik had seven during a final period in which the Pelicans outscored New York by a 27-20 count to pull away and sent the Knicks to a ninth consecutive lloss and 10th in a row on the road.dddddddddddd Asik finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Anthony Davis put up 18 points and eight boards in New Orleans second straight victory. Amare Stoudemire scored a season- high 26 points for New York, but Carmelo Anthony was held to a relatively quiet 17 and managed just two points in the fourth quarter. Final Score: Oklahoma City 114, Milwaukee 101 Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 51 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the struggling Bucks 114-101 on Tuesday. Westbrook finished with a game-high 28 points, Durant scored 23 and both handed out seven assists in Oklahoma Citys third straight win. The Thunder, who are finally healthy and have won five of their last six games, improved to 4-1 since Westbrook returned to the lineup and 3-1 with Durant. Reggie Jackson donated 18 points off the bench and Serge Ibaka made all five of his shots and free throws for 15 points. O.J. Mayo led Milwaukee with 18 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 17, but the slumping Bucks got destroyed on the glass. The Thunder, who entered the game with a plus-6.5 rebounding margin over their last six games, outrebounded the Bucks 54-31. Milwaukee has lost five of six on the heels of a three-game win streak. Final Score: Miami 103, Phoenix 97 Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Boshs personal seven-point run late in regulation carried the Miami Heat to a 103-97 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Miami had dropped its previous four games -- all by double digits -- and trailed 91-90 after Marcus Morris drained a 3-pointer with 3:17 left in the fourth quarter. Bosh, though, hit a 14-footer, scored in the lane and drained a dagger 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to give the Heat the lead for good. After being limited to 12 points in Sundays loss to Memphis, Bosh poured in 34 on 14-of-21 shooting. Luol Deng chipped in with 23 points and Dwyane Wade netted 16 for Miami, which shot 53.8 percent from the floor and forced 23 turnovers. The Suns were coming off a crushing overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers and have dropped three in a row overall and nine straight to Miami. They made 17 3-pointers and had four players finish in double figures, led by Morris career-high 25 points. Eric Bledsoe followed up his triple-double on Monday with a four-point effort on 2-of-11 shooting. Final Score: Utah 100, San Antonio 96 Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - The Utah Jazz were on the verge of their longest losing streak in 32 years, but took out the defending champs to get back in the win column. Derrick Favors had 21 points and eight rebounds, Enes Kanter added 12 points and 15 boards and the Jazz snapped their nine-game losing streak with a 100-96 triumph over the San Antonio Spurs. Gordon Hayward posted 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Jazz, who hadnt dropped 10 in a row since an 18-game slide from Feb. 24-March 29, 1982. Tim Duncan tallied 23 points and 14 boards, while Kawhi Leonard supplied 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals for San Antonio, which has lost two of its last four on the heels of an eight-game winning streak. Tony Parker missed his second consecutive contest with a mild hamstring strain. Final Score: LA Lakers 98, Sacramento 95 Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kobe Bryant scored 21 of his 32 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings 98-95 on Tuesday night. Bryant is 31 points away from passing Michael Jordan for third place on the NBAs all-time scoring list. His final two points of the night came after he sunk a pair of free throws with 15.6 seconds left for a 98-95 advantage, and the Kings never got a good look from beyond the arc. They settled for a Nik Stauskas step-through 3-pointer from the top of the arc, which clanked off the front of the rim. China Jerseys ' ' '