Cards clinch playoff berth despite loss to Cubs

But the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday were able to avert disaster Sunday by salvaging the finale of their road trip.

Molina whipped off his mitt as Rizzo had collided with his wrist, but he remained in the game after being tended to by the team’s athletic trainer. Right fielder Jason Heyward had a throw from right field that cut down what would have been the tying run at home plate.

“It hurt”, Molina said.

Offending pitcher Matt Belisle and manager Mike Matheny are tossed by the homeplate umpire, but the Cubs are not amused. So, for now, Matheny, Cardinals team members; and, Cardinals fans will await to find out what the diagnosis is for Molina; and, the prognosis going forward. “[Russell] just willed his glove on the ball at the end of it”.

Veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski singled in the winning run in the ninth inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Berry was nailed by Tony Cruz, who came in for an injured Yadier Molina, trying to steal second.

Despite falling short in this one, the Cubs won four of their final six regular-season games against the Cardinals.

“I would have done the Bloody Mary had I’d been given the opportunity”, Maddon said.

“I wanted to make it emphatic that he was not playing today”, Maddon said.

St Louis had sealed a post-season berth on Saturday, despite losing to the Cubs, when San Francisco lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Milwaukee Brewers look for some momentum when they face the Cubs to kick off a weekday series. Rookies Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty homered. Martinez went 6.1 innings, had six strikeouts, taking out the side in three of his innings pitched.

Lester was 1 for 2 at the plate.

St. Louis’ front office has done a masterful job of building a deep, talented roster to not only withstand all of those blows, but continue to thrive.

Called upon to hit No. 3 or 4 in the lineup often this season due to injuries elsewhere, shortstop Jhonny Peralta has seen his average slip to.223 since the All-Star break and he’s produced only two extra-base hits in his previous 96 at-bats.

In Cleveland, Carlos Rodon allowed one run while pitching into the eighth inning.

“We’ve evolving”, center fielder Dexter Fowler said.

Pineda (11-8) allowed four singles in 5 1-3 innings to win for just the second time since the All-Star break. Teheran’s bid was spoiled by Freddy Galvis’ leadoff single in the seventh.

Trevor Cahill (1-3) pitched 3 1-3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Travis Wood. Jonathan Papelbon got his 24th save.

He is also third in the NL in holds with 26, a number that leads the Cubs. He’s batting.347 in that stretch with five home runs and 14 runs batted in. Justin Upton had three of the Padres’ 15 hits and drove in three runs. Do you believe the Cardinals have enough to win their 12th World series title?

David Price starts for the AL East-leading Blue Jays when they open a three-game set against the second-place Yankees at Rogers Centre. The Angels and Twins also are ahead of them. Adam Warren pitches for New York, taking on the team that tops the majors in home runs. These two have split the first two games in this series, but the Pirates have won six of their last seven against the Dodgers.