because hes a competitive young man, Priefer said Thursday. When you bring in guys that are potentially going to take your job, guys that want your job, thats the way you want him to react. If he didnt

PHILADELPHIA -- Next to all of that St. Louis power, Mike Leakes single mightve looked puny.But it scored two runs and those helped, too.Leake pitched seven strong innings and contributed at the plate, and the Cardinals homered four times Sunday to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-0.Jedd Gyorko, Stephen Piscotty, Brandon Moss and Jeremy Hazelbaker went deep.Its not the only way we can score runs but its our main way, Moss said. Weve got a lot of guys in the lineup that can do a lot of damage. Its nice to have guys in the lineup who can change a game like that.The Cardinals had hit multiple home runs in nine straight games, tying a major league record, before failing to connect twice Saturday night in a 4-2 loss. Manager Mike Matheny was happy to see the bats get going again.We needed that to continue to watch these guys stay in a good rhythm, he said.Jhonny Peralta added three hits as the Cardinals finished a 6-3 road trip. They remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Miami for the final wild-card spot in the National League.The Cardinals got six extra-base hits to set a club record of 14 straight games with at least three extra-base hits.Leake (9-9) gave up seven hits and struck out eight. Philadelphia had homered in 14 straight games before getting blanked by Leake and two relievers.He needed that, we needed that, Matheny said. It was a great outing for him. Youre seeing some strange swings because the ball was moving a lot for him today, and I thought he used his changeup well. And the breaking ball was there for strikes when he wanted it.Vince Velasquez (8-6) fell to 0-4 with a 6.23 ERA in his last seven starts.He wasnt locating his secondary pitches, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. Hes going to be real good at one point. Hes got to keep working on it.Moss hit his 23rd homer and Leake added his single later in the fourth for a 4-0 lead.Piscotty connected in the fifth, the eighth home run Velasquez has allowed in three games.Im trying to figure it out, Velasquez said. I cant give a solid answer because I dont know what it is.Velasquez struck out 16 in a game earlier this season, but big league hitters have caught on to his fastball.I didnt have electric stuff early and next thing you know everything goes south when you dont have your secondary pitches, he said. Im not figuring it out and havent found that turning point yet.In the eighth, Gyorko hit his 20th homer and Hazelbaker had a pinch-hit drive.FOULS HIT FANSA day after a young girl was taken to the hospital when she was struck by a foul ball behind the Cardinals dugout, a young woman was hit in the face by Leakes foul in the sixth. She held an ice pack as she was helped to the concourse from her seat about 10 rows behind the dugout.Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis, who hit the foul that injured the fan Saturday night, said before the game that the team should extend the netting from behind home plate all the way to left field.The fans give you the money, so you should protect them, right? Galvis said. Were worried about speeding up the game. Why dont you put up a net and protect all the fans?FORE!Asked how he was going to fix things, Velasquez said he was going to take some swings -- with his clubs.Im going to play a round of golf and take my mind off baseball, he said. I think a round of golf is going to solve it.IN A PINCHThe Cardinals tied a big league record with their 14th pinch-hit homer of the season. Hazelbaker matched a club mark for pinch-hit homers in a season with his fourth.UP NEXTCardinals: After Mondays day off, they begin a six-game homestand with the Mets. St. Louis RHP Jaime Garcia (10-8, 4.11) opposes LHP Jonathon Niese (8-7, 5.30). Garcia has won three straight games and is 2-2 with a 1.58 ERA in six career starts against the Mets.Phillies: Start a five-game road trip on Tuesday night at the White Sox. RHP Jake Thompson (1-2, 8.79) faces Chicago LHP Carlos Rodon (3-8, 4.26). Stephen Johns Jersey . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Alexander Radulov Jersey . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. http://www.cheapstarsjerseys.com/ . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. Esa Lindell Jersey . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Devin Shore Jersey . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings kept Blair Walsh on their roster after his third missed extra point of the season last week. It remains to be seen whether theyll keep him after his fourth.Coach Mike Zimmer said Monday that the Vikings will again consider their options at kicker after Walsh missed another extra point in Sundays 26-20 loss to the Washington Redskins. The team worked out six kickers Tuesday after Walsh missed an extra point and had a field goal blocked in an overtime loss to the Detroit Lions, but the Vikings decided to stick with the fifth-year kicker, whod signed a four-year contract extension with the Vikings in 2015.The latest miss from Walsh, though, will apparently cause the Vikings to revisit the kicker situation.Were going to see what all the options are, Zimmer said. Were going to see what the options are at tackle [after Jake Long injured his left Achilles tendon Sunday]. Well see what the options are at kicker, and then make a determination and go.The Vikings worked out Kai Forbath, Randy Bullock, Zach Hocker, Travis Coons, Aldrick Rosas and Marshall Koehn last week, but didnt sign any of them.dddddddddddd Special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer said last week that he believed the tryouts would light a fire under Walsh.He got ticked off in a good way, I think, because hes a competitive young man, Priefer said Thursday. When you bring in guys that are potentially going to take your job, guys that want your job, thats the way you want him to react. If he didnt react that way, I would be really worried, and we probably would be looking for another guy. He got -- I dont want to say angry, but he got a little fired up in a very respectful way, just like he always is. I expect him to go out and kick well for us this weekend and the rest of the year.Walsh was in the Vikings practice facility Monday afternoon, working out by himself, but was not in the teams locker room during media access. China NFL Hoodies Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '