omething untoward was afoot. "Im in one of the top-tthree cEarnhardt Jr., who originally said he was

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. Devonte Graham Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15. Tony Parker Jersey .com) - Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar and New York Islanders right wing Kyle Okposo were named the NHLs players of the week on Monday. http://www.cheaphornetsjerseys.com/ . - Kyle Wood and Barclay Goodrow scored second period power-play goals to provide all of the scoring for the North Bay Battalion in a 2-0 victory over the Erie Otters in Ontario Hockey League action on Thursday. Cheap Hornets Jerseys China . - Free agent defensive end Will Smith has signed with the New England Patriots. Cheap Charlotte Hornets Jerseys . -- A 25-year-old freelance journalist from British Columbia was formally charged on Thursday with a felony, five days after she was arrested in the United States over allegations she threatened to kill her hockey player boyfriend.MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Being told he couldnt race last weekend because of an eye and vision problem will not make Denny Hamlin less likely to seek the help of medical staffs available at NASCAR tracks every weekend, he said Friday. Hamlin let Sam Hornish Jr. drive his car last weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., after he sought the assistance of the on-site medical team when his face swelled up and his vision blurred. Initially thought to be a sinus infection, it turned out to be a small piece of metal in his eye, Hamlin said at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin said he doesnt blame the two doctors who examined him for failing to see the rusting metal, and it wasnt until he saw an optometrist that it was discovered, removed, and he started feeling better. "It took someone who was in the business of eyes to find it," he said. Hamlin has been cleared to return this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, where he has won four times, and he took umbrage at the notion that his reputation might have been tarnished when he missed the race. "People who think negatively of me or think that we side-stepped some sort of drug test or something is ridiculous," he said, adding that he was making an effort not to get angry at the suggestion that something untoward was afoot. "Im in one of the top-tthree cars in NASCAR.ddddddddddddI would have to be an absolute moron — moron — to risk that." Dale Earnhardt Jr., who originally said he was concerned about Hamlins point of view about how he wound up being told he couldnt race, said his concern wasnt for the medical teams competency, but for his fellow driver. "I feel great about the process and what NASCAR has had in place for years," Earnhardt said. NASCAR travels with two registered nurses who have access to each drivers medical records each week, and tracks work with local doctors and hospitals to staff a full trauma unit when cars are on the track. Hamlin, 34, said hes frustrated by spending so much time answering medical questions. The Fontana race was where he sustained a broken back a year ago, and he rushed back into competition hoping to make the playoffs, but came up short. "I feel better than I ever have," he said. "Pilates has changed my life as far as my back is concerned. My back is no longer an issue — knock on wood. Everything — you hate getting attention for those reasons, but a lot of it is because we havent won a whole lot over these last year and a half. "Were going to change that this weekend." ___ Follow Hank on twitter at: http://twitter.com/hankkurzjr ' ' '