ST. LOUIS -- When it comes to being a hitter, St. Louis rookie Michael Wacha would rather talk about his pitching. Wacha threw seven innings and drove in two runs with a single, helping the Cardinals to a 5-3 victory Thursday over the Chicago Cubs. The 6-foot-6 Wacha (3-3) had lost his last three decisions since an April 13 win over the Cubs. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed seven hits, including a homer, but did not walk a batter. He struck out five. "I was able to pound the strike zone down in the zone and it was pretty effective," Wacha said. "I kept them off-balance, which means its a pretty good day. Its definitely nice to go deep into a ballgame and get a win. It definitely gets your confidence going in the next start thats for sure." Trevor Rosenthal pitched 1 2-3 innings for his 11th save. Rosenthal, who blew a save Tuesday, inherited a one-out, bases-loaded situation and gave up a sacrifice fly, but closed out the inning and retired the side in the ninth. The Cubs have lost nine of their last 11 and are off to the worst start in 39 games (13-26) since 2002. Jason Hammel (4-2) gave up five runs on five hits and two walks in 5 1-3 innings, raising his ERA to 3.06. Hammel had six strikeouts. St. Louis scored four runs in the second inning on Wachas two-run single in between a run-scoring groundout by Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenters RBI double. It was Wachas first hit and RBIs of the season. "Its nice to finally have a batting average," Wacha said. St. Louis manager Mike Matheny noted it was a timely hit. "Mike was good and obviously getting that hit there to drive in a couple runs it was kind of a huge boost to us at that point," Matheny said. With two outs, Hammel might have escaped with little damage but he had to throw a strike on a 3-2 count to Wacha and the bases loaded. "I got behind Wacha with two wild ones," Hammel said. "I came in with a fastball and he hit it." Chicago got two runs back in the fourth on a home run just inside the left-field foul pole by Starlin Castro. He drove in No. 3 hitter Anthony Rizzo, who beat the St. Louis shift to the right side with his second bunt to the left side in two at-bats. Rizzo has three career bunt singles with the Cubs with one coming in his previous 285 games. "If theyre going to give me that, I might as well take it," Rizzo said. "We were able to cash in once. I almost make them pay twice for it. Wacha is a great pitcher but you get him on the stretch and try to get him off his game a little bit. "You know if teams are going to give me that, for the most part, Im going to take it every time." When Rizzo came to bat in the fifth and seventh, St. Louis did not shift. "Rizzo took advantage of the shift until they changed their defence on him," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. "That led to our first two runs when Starlin drove the ball out of the ballpark. Hes really looking at the game from a lot of different angles. Think about it, youre down four runs and a solo home run is not going to do a whole lot for you." The Cardinals made it 5-2 when Molina lined a 3-2 pitch just inside the line in left for a one-out RBI single. Junior Lake hit a sacrifice fly for a run in the eighth, but Rosenthal got out the jam. St. Louis lost a challenge in the third when Matt Holliday was called out on a close play at first after hitting a grounder to shortstop. The time of the review was 2 minutes, 54 seconds. NOTES: Missouris new basketball coach Kim Anderson threw out the first pitch. "It was an honour to throw the first ball out," he said. "I was nervous out there, but its something I will never forget." ... The Cardinals announced the time for making up Wednesdays game with the Cubs that was rained out. It will be played at 1:15 p.m. Aug. 30 as part of a split doubleheader. The second game will start at 7:15 p.m. instead of 6:15 p.m. ... The Cardinals recalled 2B Kolten Wong on Wednesday from Triple-A Memphis and optioned infielder Greg Garcia back to the club. Wong was optioned April 27 after hitting .225 in 20 games. He hit .344 in 10 games at Memphis. He was not in the starting lineup as he was still battling the effects of a stomach virus. Comprar Nike Vapormax Baratas .Y. -- The Montreal Canadiens have had few reasons to celebrate this season as they have been mired near the basement of the Eastern Conference. Nike Vapormax Baratas . -- Jane Kish stopped all 25 shots she faced as the Weyburn Gold Wings blanked the Sudbury Lady Wolves 3-0 on Friday to advance to the gold-medal game at the Esso Cup. http://www.baratasvapormax.es/. Maximilian Arnold put Wolfsburg ahead in the eighth minute, when the stationary Fallou Diagne allowed him to guide Patrick Ochs cross beyond the helpless Freiburg goalkeeper, and Ivica Olic doubled the lead three minutes later after Luiz Gustavo did well to set him up. Nike Vapormax España . -- With Tony Allen back, the Memphis Grizzlies were able to turn up their defence pressure and hold off the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch. Nike Vapormax Comprar Online . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City.So, is this the year of Buck Showalter, Bryce Harper and a Beltway Series? Or perhaps Albert Pujols, Yasiel Puig and a Freeway Series? Maybe a Bay Area matchup or something from the Show Me State.Plenty of World Series possibilities this year. And a lot to enjoy way before we get there, now that the playoff brackets are set.It took Game 162 to settle three races Sunday, a final afternoon that featured Derek Jeters farewell and Jordan Zimmermanns no-hitter.Just an epic day for an epic season, Nationals outfielder Denard Span said.A look ahead:FRESH FACES: Mike Trout, Stephen Strasburg and Adam Dunn all get their first playoff chance. Favored for the AL MVP after two near-misses, the 23-year-old Trout can boost his stature even more when the Angels host the AL wild card in the best-of-five division opener Thursday. Strasburg is rarin to go after Washington held him out of the 2012 post-season because of a pitch limit, a decision that still rankles some in D.C. a€” the Nats host the NL wild card Friday. Dunn has played 2,001 games, the most by any active big leaguer never in the playoffs. The slugging DH tries to help Oakland advance in the AL wild-card game Tuesday night at Kansas City, while the Royals make their first playoff appearance since 1985.LATE LIFTS: Jon Lester, David Price and Huston Street each got traded in midseason, deals designed with big games in mind. Price delivered the AL Central crown to Detroit on Sunday, and will pitch again when the Tigers take on Baltimore. Lester tries to extend his post-season brilliance when he starts for the As against James Shields in the wild-card game a€” the former Boston lefty is 3-0 vs. the Royals this season. Street has smoothly fit into the closers role for the Angels.ddddddddddddMOST VALUABLE PLANS: Buster Posey and Andrew McCutchen split the last two NL MVP awards, but the San Francisco catcher has a couple of things the Pittsburgh centre fielder really wants a€” namely, a pair of World Series rings. By Wednesday night, only one of the stars will have a chance to earn the jewelry this year. Posey and the Giants visit McCutchen and the Pirates in the NL wild-card Wednesday night, with San Franciscos Madison Bumgarner set to start against Edinson Volquez.BANGED UP: Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina each spent time on the disabled list this year. Healthy now, they meet in a neat Game 1 Friday in Los Angeles a€” itll be 20-game winner Adam Wainwright vs. Kershaw, fresh off becoming the first pitcher to lead the majors in ERA for four straight years.Still to be determined: How much will Josh Hamilton play for the Angels? The former MVP has been limited to just one game since Sept. 4 because of side and shoulder injuries.Definitely out: Orioles third baseman Manny Machado and catcher Matt Wieters, both gone after season-ending surgery.THE DRUG CLOUD: Someday, maybe PEDs wont be so intertwined with HRs, RBIs and ERA. But performance-enhancing drugs are still a part of the conversation. Orioles slugger Chris Davis, the major league home run champ last year, was suspended 25 games in mid-September after a positive test for an amphetamine. Hes out at least through the division series. Baltimores Nelson Cruz led the majors with 40 homers this year and Jhonny Peralta hit a team-leading 21 for St. Louis a€” both players were suspended for 50 games last year in Biogenesis investigation. ' ' '