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Mayers makes major league debut

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda throws during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, July 23, 2016, in St. Louis. The Cardinals are two games behind the Dodgers and would be on the outside looking in if the proverbial “playoffs were to begin today”, as they’re a game behind the Miami Marlins. It was the most runs allowed by a Cardinals starter in his debut since Mike Busby surrendered 13 runs (eight earned) on April 7, 1996, in Atlanta. There’s still a lot of baseball.

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“I was just trying to locate down and away and I just kind of misfired”, Jansen said.

“Our goal is to win the division”.

For now, though, they do have a firm grip on the first wild-card spot in the National League. The Cardinals have scored 12 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in six of their last nine games.

That would certainly provide more drama than Sunday’s nationally televised tribute to humidity.

St. Louis Cardinals’ Alberto Rosario, left, grounds out as he is beaten to the bag by Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Ross Stripling, center, as Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, right, watches during the eighth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 23, 2016, in St. Louis. Mayers will only be the Cards’ sixth starter all season. It was statistically the worst debut ever for a pitcher, one he’d like to soon forget.

MARINERS 14, BLUE JAYS 5 Hisashi Iwakuma pitched six innings to win his fifth consecutive start, Nelson Cruz hit his ninth career grand slam and homered twice, and Seattle routed host Toronto.

Maeda also did his job and then some on the mound through five innings, allowing only one ball to leave the infield. Aledmys Diaz had his string of four straight two-hit performances come to a halt, but the 25-year-old Cuban did record a single Saturday to run his hitting streak to five contests. Throwing in this heat. “It was a tough draw for him”. It was tied for the longest game by innings in Dodgers-Cardinals history. “I think Brandon is the one we’re a little more concerned about with the fact he’s still feeling what he’s feeling on those turns”. It’s a big-boy league. Not even a little bit.

Mayers, however, struggled to find much enjoyment in his first inning of work. Nine scored. He retired only four.

Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam in the first an Howie Kendrick had a two-run homer in the second against Mike Mayers as Los Angeles defeated the St. Louis Cardinals to win three-game series. There’s always the next game! “Hopefully, he’ll get another chance”.

Mayers left the game with a 60.75 ERA.

Turner went 2 for 5, and the double in the third proved to be the winning RBI.

“There’s been some intent to beat the shift and to play the cat-and-mouse game with defensive positioning”, Roberts said of Gonzalez’s career-low power numbers.

The Dodgers sat on that nine-run booster seat the rest of the night.

The Cardinals put together a three-run rally in the seventh, scoring against reliever Adam Liberatore to end his franchise-record run of 28 scoreless appearances.

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Kenley Jansen retired the Cardinals in the ninth inning for his 29th save of the season. “I was able to get deeper into the game, which I was happy with, but coming out when I did, I didn’t really care for. But this is when you want to be clicking on all cylinders, down the stretch”.

St. Louis Cardinals Alberto Rosario left grounds out as he is beaten to the bag by Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Ross Stripling center as Dodgers