season, converted two free throws for a 105-101 l

CHICAGO -- Yadier Molina had a simple goal for his ninth-inning at-bat with the bases loaded and the score tied on Sunday. "I was looking not to strike out," he said. After fouling off some tough two-strike pitches, Molina hit a ground-ball single up the middle to drive in two runs and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped out of an offensive funk with a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. "I got a little lucky that they were playing me to pull," Molina said. "It was a good at-bat. I was able to put the ball in play and good things happened." The defending National League champions had lost four of five to fall a game below .500. The Cardinals scored all their runs with two outs. Molina, moved into the No. 2 spot to jump start the lineup, was 0 for 4 before coming through in the ninth. But it was a wild pitch in the seventh inning that allowed the Cubs to tie the score at 3 that had Molina more frustrated. The pitch from reliever Carlos Martinez was in the dirt and trickled through Molinas legs, allowing Luis Valbuena to score. "I was there," Molina said. "I dont know. Its one of those things. I was ready for it and the ball still goes through my legs." Kevin Siegrist (1-1) got the win in relief, while Trevor Rosenthal picked up his eighth save in as many opportunities despite a scare in the ninth inning. Hector Randon (0-1) took the loss for the Cubs, who were attempting to win four straight games for the first time since July. While Cardinals manager Mike Matheny had looked for Molina, one of his hottest hitters, to get the offence going, it was a couple of struggling batters at the bottom of the lineup that got things started early. With two outs in the second inning and Jhonny Peralta on first base, Randal Grichuk drilled a triple into the right-centre field gap for a 1-0 lead. Mark Ellis, who went 3 for 4, followed with a double to left-centre to make it 2-0. Both Grichuk (.167) and Ellis (.143) entered hitting well below .200. St. Louis stretched the lead to 3-0 in the third as Matt Adams doubled home Matt Holiday. The Cubs pulled within 3-2 in the fourth with some clutch two-out hitting. With one out, Ryan Kalish singled and John Baker walked. After a groundout moved the runners to second and third, Cubs starter Jason Hammel singled to right to drive in both. Molinas go-ahead single to centre came on the sixth pitch of the at-bat from Randon. "I thought I made a good pitch today, but something happened," Randon said. Molina seemed more relieved that the wild pitch wasnt a factor than he drove in the game-deciding runs. "(Molina) does a good job of not wearing his emotions and how frustrating that is for him," Matheny said. "Its hard to count the number of balls he keeps in front of him, the number of runs he saves. Its something we dont take for granted." Valbuena doubled in a run with two outs in the ninth to make it 5-4, but Rosenthal got Anthony Rizzo to ground out to end the game. "Guys kept grinding it out," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "We just fell a little short." NOTES: The ESPN broadcast team of Dan Shulman and John Kruk worked from the bleachers. ... While making a rehab start Sunday with Double A Springfield, LHP Jaime Garcia (shoulder) was hit by a pitch on the left elbow and left after two innings and 28 pitches. "I think they went in and took precautionary X-rays," Matheny said. "I havent heard anything back yet." ... In the same game, RHP Jason Motte threw a scoreless inning, striking out three, in his first rehab outing. ... Rizzo entered with a .429 on-base percentage, which was fifth-best in the National League. ... The Cards open a series in Atlanta on Monday, with RHP Shelby Miller (3-2) facing RHP Aaron Harang, while the Cubs host the crosstown White Sox with RHP Jeff Samardzija (0-3) going up against LHP Jose Quintana (1-2). Manny Pina Jersey .The result meant Juventus will spend the winter break three points clear of Roma after the league leader beat Cagliari 3-1 on Thursday.Milan remained seventh ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures, but was provisionally two points behind third-place Napoli in their duel for the final Champions League spot. Taylor Williams Jersey . You can listen to the game live on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal or on TSN.ca/Montreal. Also, TSN.ca features live streaming of the post-game news conferences from the Bell Centre. The Rangers grabbed a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final after Sundays 3-2 overtime victory against the visiting Habs. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/ . -- Ben Brust scored 19 points to lead six Wisconsin players in double figures as the No. Ryan Braun Brewers Jersey . The 22-year-old slugger, who is no stranger to adversity, made up for it at the end. Paul Molitor Brewers Jersey . Toronto (11-12) gave up leads in 10-8 and 11-4 losses to the Baltimore Orioles this week. It was never close Friday as the Boston Red Sox got to Mark Buehrle early en route to an 8-1 win.MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Andrew Wiggins of Thornhill, Ont. had six points in just under 19 minutes in his NBA debut as his Minnesota Timberwolves dropped a 105-101 decision to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. Wiggins, who was picked first overall in June by the Cleveland Cavaliers and then traded to Minnesota as part of the Kevin Love deal, started for the Timberwolves after Kevin Martin was sidelined by an ankle injury. I was nervous, but not crazy nervous, Wiggins said after his debut. I calmed down after the tip. Wiggins was 2-for-5 from the field and made one three-pointer. He also had one assist, three rebounds, and two steals. With Wiggins and 2013 top pick Anthony Bennett, the Timberwolves became the first team in almost 30 years to open the season with the top picks from the previous two drafts. The last time was the 1984-85 season when the Houston Rockets had Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. The win by the hometown Grizzlies marked their first season-opening win since 2000, when the franchise was still located in Vancouver Marc Gasol scored a career-high 32 points for the victors. We didnt talk about it as in like We need this, but moreso like Man, can you believe we havent won since theyve been here? said point guard Mike Conley, who scored 16 points. Its an unbelievable thought. Zach Randolph added 25 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis, which had dropped its last 13 openers. Gasol also had nine rebounds, and Courtney Lee finished with 14 points. That was a good game to start the season, Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. We made some mistakes, but we fought and we fought and we fought. Gasol and Randolph helped Memphis outscore Minnesota 58-34 in the paint, but the Timberwolves outrebounded the Grizzlies 47-33 in their first game since they traded star forward Kevin Love to Cleveland in the off-season. Minnesotas total included 19 offensive boards. Thaddeus Young had 26 points in his first game with the Timberwolves, going 10 for 18 from the field. Mo Williams scored 18 points and Shabazz Muhammad finished with 13. Ricky Rubio had 112 points and seven assists, but also committed seven of Minnesotas 23 turnovers.dddddddddddd We have to take care of the ball, especially me, Rubio said. I got maybe too crazy at the end of the third quarter. The Timberwolves used a 9-0 run to take an 87-85 lead in the fourth quarter. Anthony Bennett scored five points and Muhammad had four in the spurt. The game was close for the next couple minutes before Memphis created some space. Gasol made a 21-footer for a 101-96 lead with 1:23 left. In the midst of that key stretch late in the game, there was an out of bounds call in front of the Minnesota bench with 2:20 left that went Memphis way — a decision with which the Timberwolves heartily disagreed. I thought for sure that was off of (Randolph), Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. That was kind of a momentum change because we had the game momentum. The Timberwolves still were within one possession when Vince Carter, signed by Memphis in the off-season, converted two free throws for a 105-101 lead with 7.3 seconds to go. If I cant make the shots, I might as well make the free throws that count, said Carter, who missed six of his seven shot from the field. TIP-INS Grizzlies: Memphis extended its regular-season home winning streak to 15. ... Rapper Yo Gotti led the Grizzlies starters in for the introductions. ... Gasols previous career high was 30 points against the Sixers in 2009. Timberwolves: The game marked the first time in 14 seasons Minnesota opened the season away from the Target Center. LOOK WHOS HERE Grizzlies controlling owner Robert Pera, who has made few appearances at games since buying the team two years ago, was on hand for the opener. INJURY REPORT Timberwolves reserve centre Gorgui Dieng injured his right thumb in the second quarter. X-rays were negative, and he returned in the second half with the thumb taped. ... In addition to Martin sitting, Ronny Turiaf missed the game with right hip soreness. UP NEXT Grizzlies: At Indiana on Friday. Timberwolves: Home opener Thursday against Detroit Pistons. ' ' '