Offtopic/fun » Baltimore in the wild-card game to

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Danuel House Jersey . -- Cardinals manager Mike Matheny could have come up with more promising road trips than one against the red-hot Cubs and World Series champion Royals, with a long flight to Seattle smashed right in between.The fact that St. Louis won five of eight left him grinning like a schoolboy.Thats a good trip. This was a tough ask, Matheny said after an 8-4 victory over Kansas City on Tuesday night evened their four-game, two-city series. This has been a tough month, a lot of games on the road.Just about everybody in the Cardinals lineup contributed to the offense, while Michael Wacha (4-7) allowed four runs over six bumpy innings -- he served up nine hits and three walks.His bullpen nearly gave away the win, too: Seung Hwan Oh loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before getting pinch-hitter Alex Gordon to pop out and inducing Eric Hosmer into a routine fielders choice.I dont want to put the team in that situation, Oh said through a translator.Meanwhile, Yordano Ventura (6-5) allowed seven runs on seven hits, three walks and a hit batter in 5 1/3 innings for Kansas City. Ventura had only allowed one run over his last two starts, both of which came before an eight-game suspension for his role in a benches-clearing brawl during a game June 7 in Baltimore.As if things werent bad enough for Kansas City, Lorenzo Cain grabbed his left hamstring while trying to beat out an infield hit in the seventh inning. The All-Star outfielder left the game and declined to speak to reporters in the clubhouse, though he was walking without much of a limp.I wish I had an answer for you but it doesnt happen that quick, Royals manager Ned Yost said. Well have an MRI soon as they can get him in. Well determine how much fluid is on it and what the extent is.The cross-state series shifts to St. Louis for two more games beginning Wednesday night.Ventura actually breezed through the first inning on just 12 pitches, but trouble came promptly in the second. He gave up three hits, walked two and Yadier Molina, Kolten Wong and Greg Garcia drove in runs.He appeared to settle down over the next couple innings before more trouble hit in the fifth.Matt Carpenter started it with a homer to center, the 48th allowed by a Kansas City pitcher this month -- the club record is 51 in May 2006. Matt Adams added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to make it 5-2.Venturas night was done in the sixth, when another hit and walk brought Yost ambling from the dugout. Carpenter provided an RBI double and Brandon Moss and Matt Holliday made it 8-2 before reliever Brian Flynn finally got the Royals out of the inning.Kansas City tacked on two runs in the bottom half before its comeback collapsed in the ninth.We had some opportunities. We capitalized in the second inning, Yost said. We had a couple of more opportunities. We made it exciting in the ninth inning, but couldnt make anything happen.YOURE OUTTA HEREPlate umpire Tim Timmons tossed Royals RHP Edinson Volquez from the bench during the third inning, though it was unclear what prompted the ejection. It was the second time Volquez has been ejected in his career.ROSTER MOVESThe Cardinals activated C Brayan Pena (left knee surgery) from the DL and designated C Eric Fryer for assignment. Pena signed a $5 million, two-year deal to backup Yadier Molina but has not played this season.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals SS Aledyms Diaz had no structural damage after fouling a ball off the ground Monday night that ricocheted back off his forehead. He experienced blurry vision in his right eye and visited the hospital after the game, but manager Mike Matheny said Tuesday that Diaz should be back in a few days.UP NEXTRHP Carlos Martinez takes the mound for the Cardinals while Kansas City counters with Volquez on the mound at Busch Stadium. Martinez is 3-0 in his last five starts. Clyde Drexler Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. James Harden Jersey . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. https://www.rocketsrookiesshop.com/Rober...Edition-Jersey/ . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants.ARLINGTON, Texas -- There was Jose Bautistas emphatic bat flip after his tiebreaking homer in the ALDS-clinching game last October, and then Rougned Odors punch in May that ignited a bench-clearing brawl the last time the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays played.Now comes the rematch in another AL Division Series between teams clearly with some bad blood between them.I dont think its fabricated, Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar said Wednesday.We knew it was going to happen, Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus said of facing Toronto again. Thats baseball.The years best-of-five ALDS starts Thursday in Texas, where on May 15 second baseman Odor punched Bautista. The scuffle began after Bautista, on base after getting hit in the ribs by a pitch, made a late and hard slide trying to break up a double play at the end of a contentious series.Its unfortunate that it got out of hand last time, but it did, so its in the past and hopefully stays there, Bautista said. Im not looking for revenge, Im looking to win ball games. Thats entirely what my focus is on, and hopefully I get to keep it there.With all that recent history , close attention will be paid to every inside fastball, hard slide or any emotional outburst.But these are also two teams with much more on the line than retribution after falling short of their World Series goal last year, and now with another chance.Games are too important. I wouldnt expect anything, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. But nobody seems to want to let it go. ... Every time you turn on the TV, its a replay after replay after replay. But too much at stake. Two great ball clubs, two very competitive ball clubs, two emotional ball clubs. But in no way I would expect anything like that.After their 5-2 wild-card game victory over Baltimore on Tuesday night when Edwin Encarnacion hit a game-ending three-run homer in the 11th inning, the Blue Jays had a brief workout Wednesday at the Rangers ballpark. It was their first time there since that Sunday afternoon fight more than 4 1/2 months ago.There could be some edgy moments when both teams are on the field with the postseason adrenaline flowing.I think its going to bring a lot more excitement to the games, Andrus said. Its easy right now to say nothings going to happen or might happen. But when youre out there and playing, and all the emotion any inning can bring, anything can happen.Major League Baseball disciplined 14 players and sttaff over the melee in May, with Odor (seven games), Bautista (one game) and Andrus (one game) the only players suspended. Ben McLemore Jersey. Odor, who was playing ping-pong when the Rangers clubhouse was first open to reporters Wednesday, repeatedly said that he was focused on helping his team win the series. He said the Rangers would play like they have all year in winning an AL-high 95 games.When asked how much what happened in May would be a distraction, Odor responded, I think thats over already. I dont worry about that.Asked if that was the best punch he had ever thrown, he said, I dont worry about that.And, yes, Bautista has looked forward to being back in Texas, but not for the reasons many people would expect.In this situation, yeah, Bautista said of the playoffs. Other than that, I havent really given it much thought.FOR STARTERS: Game 1 matches a pair of All-Star pitchers, with left-hander Cole Hamels (15-5, 3.32) going for the Rangers, and right-hander Marco Estrada (9-9, 3.48) for the Blue Jays. Hamels, the 2008 World Series and NL Championship Series MVP with Philadelphia, didnt face Toronto during the regular season. Estrada started twice against Texas, going six innings for no-decisions in both extra-inning games (1-1).ON THE LINE: Toronto had to win its last two regular-season games against Boston just to make the playoffs, then had to beat Baltimore in the wild-card game to advance. Texas clinched the AL West title with eight games left in the regular season.CHOO COMEBACK: Rangers RF Shin-Soo Choo has been on the disabled list four times this season and missed 39 games with a fractured left forearm before returning for the teams final regular-season series last weekend. He also took part in a simulated game Tuesday, and worked out again Wednesday. Choo is in a good place right now, Texas manager Jeff Banister said. I think he answered the question three games in a row, outfield, where his body is. Hes in shape. His legs are good.CLOSING TIME: Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna left the AL wild-card game with a sore shoulder. Gibbons said Osuna was feeling better Wednesday, but the manager wasnt sure about the 21-year-old right-handers availability for ALDS Game 1. We dont think its a big deal but its probably wise to be a little cautious this time of year, Gibbons said. ' ' '