Die Macht » 11 games at Great American

ST. LOUIS -- Kyle Lohse was the St. Louis Cardinals ace last season. Maybe they know too much about him. David Freese had an RBI in a four-run fourth inning to go with big plays at third base, and the Cardinals beat their former teammate for the third straight time with a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. "Baseball is a stupid game," said Lohse, who was 16-3 for the Cardinals last season. "Baseball is weird, man. You make some good pitches and they get some good hits." Of course, they have a pretty good idea whats coming from Lohse, who was with St. Louis from 2008-12. "Yeah, well, he was with the Cardinals, if you remember," said Pete Kozma, who contributed an RBI squeeze bunt to the rally. "We kind of know what he has, kind of know his tendencies a little bit, what his ball does." John Gast (2-0) won his second straight start in place of the injured Jake Westbrook and fellow rookie Seth Maness escaped a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the seventh to help the Cardinals win for the 14th time in 17 games. They took two of three from Milwaukee and lead the season series 8-2. Theyre down two starting pitchers, with Jaime Garcia also on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder strain, but havent let it slow them down. "Weve got to pick it up but with the talent we have, it doesnt demand much," Freese said. "The guys we have in Double-A and Triple-A, theyre waiting and theyre hungry and theyre expected to do well." Edward Mujica earned his 13th save in 13 chances after a third rookie, Trevor Rosenthal, gave up a hit in the eighth. Lohse (1-5) left in free agency when the Cardinals opted to go with younger players such as Shelby Miller and save salary. He gave up four runs in six innings, and is 0-4 overall in his last five starts. Yuniesky Betancourt and Jeff Bianchi each drove in a run and Norichika Aoki had three hits and a walk for the Brewers, who have lost 14 of 17. They didnt have much to show for 10 hits and wrapped up a 2-8 trip. "There were a lot of story lines out of our road trip," said Ryan Braun, who grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the seventh. "And none of them good." After getting one hit the first time through the order, the Cardinals jumped on Lohse for six hits in the first seven at-bats in the fourth. Yadier Molina singled for the lead and Jon Jay followed with an RBI double, both coming on first pitches. Freeses opposite-field single through a drawn-in infield was his fifth RBI of the series after totalling four prior to the weekend, and Kozma capped the rally with a perfectly-placed squeeze bunt that Lohse couldnt touch with a diving barehanded attempt. Gast has opened with five scoreless innings in each of his first two career starts, and has allowed a total of six runs in the sixth. "I made a few mistakes in the sixth," Gast said. "Its something to keep an eye on, but I dont think two starts is a big enough sample size to make any conclusions." Maness took over with one out and runners at the corners, and the Brewers got two-out RBIs from Betancourt and Bianchi to cut the deficit to 4-2. Maness finished with a unique pitching line, allowing no runs on five hits in 1 2-3 innings. According to baseballreference.com, hes the ninth pitcher since 1916 to give up five hits and get five outs without allowing a run, and the first since Eric Gunderson of Seattle in 2000. "Im a ground-ball pitcher and that happens sometimes," Maness said. "Its never fun but youve just got to focus and know youre another ground ball away from trying to get out of it." The Brewers opened the seventh with three straight hits and had two of their best hitters due up. Jean Segura, who entered with an NL-leading .361 average, popped up to first and Braun grounded into a double play on a full count on a play started by Freese. Aoki was barely run down at the plate by Freese to foil a double-steal attempt and end the first. The Brewers attempted to manufacture a run with Betancourt down 1-2 in the count while mired in a 3 for 40 slump. Freese faked a few tosses to the plate before flicking his glove to catch Aoki beginning his dive. Freese cut his right thumb on Aokis spikes at the end of the play and got a few stitches after the game, but didnt think it would keep him down. "Ive had plenty of stitches over my days, so well be all right," Freese said. "Its a cut. Toughen up a few minutes here, a few minutes there." NOTES: Aoki is 16 for 30 (.533) his last seven games with four three-hit games and is batting .410 (16 for 39) against the Cardinals. ... Jay has 15 RBIs his last 15 games. ...The Cardinals are 14-7 on the road heading into an eight game trip. Miller (5-2, 1.40) is tied for the major league lead in ERA heading into Mondays start against Jason Marquis (5-2, 3.49) at San Diego. ... The Brewers begin an eight-game home stand Monday with Yovani Gallardo (3-3, 4.50) facing the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (4-2, 1.40). ... Professional wrestler Chris Jericho, in town for an "extreme rules" event Sunday night, threw the ceremonial first pitch. ... Milwaukees Rickie Weeks struck out twice for a four-game total of eight and is batting .170.China Jerseys Cheap . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. Cheap Jerseys From China . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/ . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal. China Jerseys Wholesale . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. China Jerseys Stitched . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over .CINCINNATI -- Bartolo Colon got an early start on New Yorks trip to Cincinnati, and it paid off in a big way for the Mets.Colon pitched six innings of five-hit ball and Matt Reynolds homered to the lead the Mets to a 5-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.We had a man on the mound today, New York manager Terry Collins said. Nothing fazes him. Gave us what he always does, quality innings. Hes an amazing guy.Colon (13-7) improved to 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his last seven starts. The Reds put a runner on third with nobody out on two occasions, and Colon wiggled out of the jam each time.Kelly Johnson also went deep as the Mets won for the sixth time in eight games. It was New Yorks 12th straight victory over Cincinnati.The Mets remained one game back of St. Louis for the second NL wild card after the Cardinals won 12-6 at sliding Pittsburgh.New York had a short turnaround after a 5-1 victory over Washington on Sunday night, arriving in Cincinnati early Monday morning. Four regulars -- outfielders Curtis Granderson and Yoenis Cespedes and infielders Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabera -- were out of the starting lineup.But the 43-year-old Colon got plenty of rest after traveling to Cincy on Sunday.Never had any pressure at all. I knew a lot of the veterans were getting a day off today, Colon said through a translator. Getting ahead of the hitters was key for me.Jay Bruce went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in his first game in Cincinnati since the Reds traded him to the Mets on Aug. 1.It was a bit odd, coming over to the visiting side for the first time, Bruce said. Definitely odd being on the other side, but once the first pitch is thrown, its just baseball.Robert Stephenson, one of Cincinnatis top prospects, struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs and six hits, but fell short in his bid to become the first Cincinnati pitcher since Wayne Simpson in 1970 to win each of his first three major league starts.The 23-year-old Stephenson (2-1), who beat Philadelphia and Colorado in a pair of spot starts in April, said feels less pressure in thee majors than he did in the minor leagues.ddddddddddddIts just confidence, he said. Im not trying to get back to this level. Im already here. Now Im just trying to have fun.Reynolds, recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas before the game, hit his third homer of the season with one out in the third inning. He also had an RBI single in New Yorks three-run seventh and finished with three hits.Reynolds checked into the Mets Cincinnati hotel at 9:15 Monday morning after flying all night from Salt Lake City.Its everything I can ask for, Reynolds said. I just want to help the team win. It just happened I had a couple of big hits.Johnson led off the fifth with his 10th homer.The Mets have hit 18 home runs in their last 11 games at Great American Ball Park and 185 overall this season for their best total since the 2006 team set the franchise record with 200.GRACIOUS HOSTSThe Reds honored Bruce and his wife, Hannah, in a pregame ceremony for his contributions to the team on the field and the couples work in the community during his nearly nine seasons with Cincinnati.AMBITIOUSNew Yorks Wilmer Flores was thrown out by left fielder Adam Duvall trying to stretch hits in each of his first two at bats, at second in the first inning and at third in the fourth. Duvall is the first Cincinnati outfielder with two assists in one game since Bruce on Aug. 5, 2014, at Cleveland, according to the Reds.DOUBLE TROUBLEAfter tying their season high by hitting into four double plays in a 5-2 loss to St. Louis on Sunday, the Reds hit into double plays in each of the first two innings on Monday against the Mets.TRAINERS ROOMReds: 2B Brandon Phillips returned to the starting lineup after being scratched each of the previous two days with a sore left foot.UP NEXTMets RHP Rafael Montero (0-0) and Reds LHP Brandon Finnegan (8-10) are scheduled to start on Tuesday. Finnegan has limited opposing batters to a .132 average (9 for 68) over his last three starts. ' ' '