PHILADELPHIA -- Jeremy Hellickson gave the Philadelphia bullpen a much-needed rest.Cesar Hernandez homered, doubled and singled, and Hellickson pitched seven strong innings in the Phillies 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.Hellickson became the first Philadelphia starter to throw seven innings since July 26.That was just what the doctor ordered, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.Maikel Franco had two hits, including a double and the winning RBI, and Aaron Altherr homered for the Phillies. They have hit home runs in 14 straight games.Great night for us, Mackanin said.Jeremy Hazelbaker homered and Jhonny Peralta had three hits for St. Louis, which had won five in a row. The Cardinals are 1 1/2 games ahead of Miami for the second wild-card spot in the National League.We had a hard time getting anything going against their starter, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. We couldnt get a lot of those late hits weve been accustomed to getting.St. Louis fell short of setting a major league record of 10 straight games with multiple home runs. The Cardinals tied the mark with a pair of homers Friday night.Hellickson (10-7) skipped his last start because of back tightness. The right-hander looked healthy and sharp, allowing two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. He pumped his fist into his glove after striking out pinch-hitter Greg Garcia to finish the seventh.I felt good, Hellickson said. It was good to save the bullpen tonight. I was just getting ahead and kept the fastball down for the most part.Franco put the Phillies ahead for good with a two-out single to left in the fifth that scored Hernandez from third.Jeanmar Gomez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 33rd save in 37 opportunities.The Phillies jumped on rookie Luke Weaver (0-1) with a pair of runs in the first.Hernandez led off by driving an 0-1 pitch into the seats in right field for his fourth homer of the season. The Phillies have gotten Hernandez to level his swing midseason, and he is batting .350 since June 27. He is hitting .500 with a pair of homers in seven games during Philadelphias homestand.Hes really swinging the bat well, Mackanin said. We had a harsh reality check for him -- keep the ball out of the air.Cameron Rupp put Philadelphia in front 2-0 with a broken-bat RBI single to left.The Cardinals tied it in the third. Weaver singled to center for his first career hit and scored on Hazelbakers two-run homer to left.After the Phillies took the lead in the fifth, Altherr made it a 4-2 game by drilling an 0-1 pitch from Jonathan Broxton over the wall in left.YOU AGAIN?Altherrs homer was the first the Phillies have hit off Broxton since Matt Stairs pinch-hit homer in Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS at Los Angeles.WEAVERS OUTINGWeaver, a 22-year-old making his second career start, went five innings and allowed three runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and no walks.I might be trying to make too good of pitches, which pushes the pitch count up, said Weaver, who was lifted after 96 pitches. Its not about making the perfect pitch, just making a quality one.RARE WINThe Phillies won for just the third time in their last 12 games against St. Louis.FAN HITA young fan sitting about 20 rows behind the Cardinals dugout was struck by a foul ball off the bat of Freddy Galvis in the eighth inning. After being treated at the seat for several minutes, the fan was carried out to the concourse by an adult into the waiting arms of medical personnel.TRAINERS ROOMPhillies: Hernandez was back in the starting lineup after a two-game absence due to a sore right foot. He did pinch-hit in Friday nights game.UP NEXTThe teams conclude their three-game series Sunday when Cardinals RHP Mike Leake (8-9, 4.78) faces RHP Vince Velasquez (8-5, 4.14). Dallas Cowboys Jerseys . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. Discount Cowboys Jersesys . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. http://www.dallascowboysjerseyscheap.com/cheap-bo-scarbrough-jersey/ . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Cedrick Wilson Jr. Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Cowboys Jersesys Outlet . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. DETROIT -- The Kansas City Royals began the game by hitting for the cycle as a team, then Whit Merrifield nearly did it by himself.Merrifield hit a triple as part of Kansas Citys four-run first inning, and he later added a single and a double in a 12-9 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. The Royals hit four homers to drop the Tigers in the AL wild-card race -- and avoided elimination themselves.I havent played in the playoffs, but that was as close to a playoff atmosphere as Ive been a part of, said Merrifield, a rookie who made his debut for the defending World Series champions in May. (The Tigers are) fighting for a spot, and theyre going to give you your best shot, so youre going to have to play all 27 outs.Kansas City started the game with a single by Billy Burns, a triple by Merrifield and a double by Kendrys Morales before Salvador Perezs two-run homer made it 4-0. It was the first time the Royals first four hitters combined for a cycle since Sept. 30, 2006, also at Detroit.Tigers starter Matt Boyd (6-5) lasted only one more hitter after Perezs homer, giving up another hit before being pulled. The Tigers fell 1 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the second wild-card spot. The loss cut Clevelands magic number to clinch the AL Central to one -- the Indians start a four-game series in Detroit on Monday night.Boyd said he understood 100 percent why he was taken out so quickly.I might have been able to work myself through it, but the margin of error is zero right now, he said. Every run is important right now and so is every game.The Royals led 7-0 after Cheslor Cuthbert and Raul Mondesi hit consecutive homers in the third.Dillon Gee (8-9) got the win in relief, and Wade Davis pitched the ninth for his 26th save in 29 chances. Miguel Cabrera came up as the tying run but lined out to shallow left field to end it.Plate umpire Dan Iassogna ejected Cameron Maybin from the Detroit dugout during that final at-bat.Victor Martinez hit a grand slam for Detroit in the third to make it 7-4, and the Tigers loaded the bases again that inning, chasing starter Edinson Volquez in the process.dddddddddddd But Andrew Romines bunt attempt with two outs was fielded easily by reliever Peter Moylan, and the force at home ended the inning.Detroit tried several former starters in long relief -- Anibal Sanchez, Shane Greene and Mike Pelfrey all pitched -- in an attempt to keep the game close, but the Royals kept adding runs. Alex Gordons two-run homer in the sixth made it 11-5.Kansas City let the Tigers creep back into it by the end. Justin Upton hit a solo homer in the seventh, and Detroit also scored two runs on wild pitches, the second of which made it 11-9 in the eighth.The Royals held on, though, and theres still a mathematical chance they can catch the Orioles.Maybin had four hits for the Tigers.VERSATILEMerrifield played first base for the first time this season. Hes also played second, third, left field and right field.Its always fun to switch up the angles for me, see the ball from a different perspective, he said. I got a couple balls. I didnt get to pick one.MARATHONSThe 3-hour, 51-minute game was Detroits longest nine-inning contest of the season. The Tigers played 3:50 against the Royals on Saturday.TRAINERS ROOMTigers: RHP Jordan Zimmermann, who has been dropped from the rotation as he struggles to come back from neck problems, pitched for the first time since Sept. 10. He pitched the last three innings in relief, allowing one run and four hits.UP NEXTRoyals: After an off day Monday, Kansas City starts RHP Ian Kennedy (11-10) against Minnesota RHP Jose Berrios (2-7) on Tuesday night.Tigers: Detroit sends RHP Buck Farmer (0-0) to the mound Monday against Cleveland RHP Corey Kluber (18-9).---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Wholesale Jerseys 2019 Cheap Jerseys 2020 Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '