ST. LOUIS -- On one hand, sweeping the San Diego Padres at home doesnt sound like a big deal when youre the St. Louis Cardinals, who have been to the National League playoffs five straight years and 12 of the last 16.On the other hand, when you entered the four-game series with a rotten 20-28 home record and hadnt won four straight home games all year, sweeping San Diego is a big deal.We havent played well at home, St. Louis starting pitcher Adam Wainwright said. Were ready for a big (winning) streak here. Were ready to run off about a 12-spot.The Cardinals can add to this success and make up ground on two fronts in the playoff chase Friday night when they welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to Busch Stadium for a three-game weekend series.Thursday nights 6-5 win over the Padres, which led 5-1 after 7 1/2 innings, boosted St. Louis to 51-44 for the year, tying its high water mark of seven games over .500. It also kept it within a game of Miami for the NLs second wild-card spot.Whats more, the Cardinals also pulled within 6 1/2 games of the idle Chicago Cubs for first place in the NL Central, the closest theyve been since beating them 4-3 on May 23 to move within six games of first.So in a season largely bereft of team accomplishments, forgive St. Louis for feeling good about itself for a moment or two.Who said I was joking? kidded Wainwright when asked about joking about a 12-spot. You never know whats going to be your catapult. I just know that we havent had a good long winning streak in a while, and its time for it.Los Angeles (54-43) owns the NLs first wild-card spot by a game over Miami and comes to town fresh off winning two of three at NL East leader Washington, besting previously unbeaten Stephen Strasburg 6-3 Thursday.The Dodgers will have a hot pitcher taking the mound on a hot night, as temperatures might be close to 100 degrees at first pitch. Brandon McCarthy (2-0, 1.69) is coming off six shutout innings Saturday at Arizona, allowing just three hits and fanning eight as he was no-decisioned in a 2-1, 12-inning loss.Hell be opposed by Michael Wacha (5-7, 4.55), who lasted just four-plus innings and 101 pitches Sunday in a no-decision outing against Miami. Wacha, who had his pitch count jacked up by 25 foul balls, gave up seven hits and three runs, walking two and fanning four.Wacha is 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA in three career starts against Los Angeles, absorbing an 8-4 loss on May 13. Hell have to be careful against Justin Turner, who homered twice and drove in five runs against Strasburg Thursday, giving him six homers and 16 RBI in 16 games this month.Im definitely feeling comfortable again, Turner said. I feel good and am obviously getting better results.The Cardinals will send Mike Leake (7-7, 4.00) to the mound Saturday night opposite Kenta Maeda (8-7, 3.25). In Sunday nights matchup, the Dodgers will pitch Scott Kazmir (8-3, 4.30) against a St. Louis pitcher to be determined. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Jerseys NFL China . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. http://www.cheapjerseys.press/ . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. Cheap Jerseys 2020 . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Jerseys Wholesale . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. NEW YORK -- Four young pitchers helped the New York Mets reach the World Series last season.Only one has not spent time on the disabled list this season.Noah Syndergaard can be considered the survivor of the young rotation and he will be on the mound Monday night when the Mets open a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field.Syndergaard is 13-8 with a 2.43 ERA to go along with a 1.12 WHIP and 205 strikeouts. Those are similar numbers to what the Mets thought Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz might individually provide before injuries derailed the trio.Instead, Harvey was limited to 92 2/3 innings and 17 starts before having thoracic outlet surgery in July.DeGrom was supposed to bookend the top of the rotation with Syndergaard until GM Sandy Alderson announced Saturday he was not pitching the rest of the season because of an ulnar nerve in his elbow, which requires surgery.Matz might return from a strained left shoulder that has kept him sidelined since Aug. 14. Even though he had a 30-pitch bullpen session Saturday, its unknown when he will be back.Those three have combined for 373 innings, but none since deGrom pitched five innings on Sept. 1 against Miami. Last year, the quartet combined for 651 1/3 innings during the regular season and postseason.Even without three-fourths of their rotation, the Mets are a game ahead of San Francisco for the first wild-card spot. They have won 20 of 27 after Gabriel Ynoa struck out eight in 4 2/3 innings, Michael Conforto had a two-run single and T.J. Rivera homered in a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.Its a tremendous feeling because Im so proud of the way theyve handled themselves in there because they could have (folded), Collins said. They dont because theyre pros, but at any time when things were really tough, they could have insisted, Oh, Jesus, its not going to happen this year and theyve never done that.I think they realize, theyve played this hard, this long, might as well finish it out. Itd be a tremendous achievement to have that (wild card) game here, but itd be a tremendous achievement to get in.Syndergaard has helped matters by going 3-1 with a 1.06 ERA in his last five starts since a 2-0 win at San Francisco on Aug. 21. He has 34 strikeouts in that span, including 10 on Tuesday at Washington when he pitched seven innings but did not get a decision in a 10-inning win decided by Riveras home run.Atlanta willl be second straight last-place team to visit New York after winning a series from a playoff contender.dddddddddddd The Twins visited New York after getting two games in Detroit and the Braves are making their trip after taking two of three from Washington.The Braves scored 13 runs in their last two wins after dropping the series opener. In Sundays 6-2 victory, Matt Wisler pitched 5 2/3 innings before the game was called because of rain with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.We told him, going back isnt a bad thing all the time, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. A lot of guys that have been successful here have had to do it over the years. Its good when they go down, work on things and put it use. We just want him to trust himself, conviction in his pitches. If he can believe in himself the way we believe in him, hes going to be something.The Braves are hoping Snitker might make similar comments about Aaron Blair at some point. Blair takes a 0-6 record and an 8.28 ERA into Monday.He has been on the disabled list since Sept. 3 with a right knee strain and has not pitched since allowing five runs and eight hits in four innings during a 13-4 loss at San Francisco on Aug. 28.Blair made 11 of his 12 starts before the All-Star break. Three of those starts have been against the Mets and the right-hander is 0-2 with an 8.04 ERA in those outings.Besides seeing if Blair can pitch effectively, the Braves will see if Freddie Freeman can keep rolling.Freeman had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 22 games, tying Minnesotas Brian Dozier for the longest active streak in the majors. He is batting .342 (29-for-85) with four homers and 19 RBI since the streak began Aug. 24 and Atlanta is 12-10 in those games, with the last two after his wife gave birth to their first child.Freeman also has reached base in a career-best 38 straight games. It is the longest by an Atlanta player since Chipper Jones had a 41-game streak in 2008.Freeman often hits the Mets well and this year has a .365 average (23-for-63) in 16 games against New York. During Atlantas three-game sweep in New York on June 17-19, he was 7-for-13.The Mets have won seven of nine meetings this season. They won five of the first six, but the Braves completed a three-game sweep on June 17-19 in New York. Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Gear Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Outlet Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap Jerseys Throwback Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '