Kaminzimmer » departing for a crucial game against the United Sta

MILWAUKEE -- After coming off a 15-inning loss at Colorado the night before, another extra-inning affair wasnt what a weary St. Louis Cardinals team needed. Fighting to maintain control of the lead in the NL Central, the Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers Friday night on Carlos Beltrans sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, preserving their roost atop the division. "Getting taken into extra innings isnt what we were looking for, but what a win," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "That would be a pretty tough one to eat when you have the two-run lead. It was just a great, great win." The Cardinals hold a two-game lead over Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The Reds downed the Pirates 6-5 in 10 innings to move into a tie for second place. "That says a lot about this club the way we responded. It was a huge win and we needed that one," said Matt Carpenter, who had three hits and a walk in six plate appearances. "Every game is crucial." Matt Adams, who has been plagued by right elbow soreness and was fitted for a brace before the game, smacked a towering two-run, ninth-inning home run to give the Cardinals a 6-4 lead, but the Brewers rallied for two runs in the bottom of the frame to tie the game. Adams blast to right-centre field came off Brewers closer Jim Henderson, who walked Matt Holliday to start the inning. Former Brewers closer John Axford (7-7), acquired by St. Louis last month, picked up the win. Carlos Martinez got his first save of the year for the Cardinals. "Coming back here to Miller Park, I was definitely nervous in the pen, but when I was out there on the mound I was calm," Axford said. "We needed that win." Michael Blazek (0-1), whom the Brewers received in the deal for Axford, took the loss. Beltrans fly ball to deep right field off Blazek scored Kolten Wong, who led off the 10th with a walk. Matheny was impressed with Axfords composure. "He was sharp, looked good and (got) a real big double play ball for us. It was pretty impressive how he could maintain and do that under that kind of pressure." Trailing by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Brewers got a leadoff double from Jeff Bianchi and he later scored on a single by pinch-hitter Logan Schafer. The Brewers added another run on Aramis Ramirezs slow roller off Axford. Carlos Gomez grounded into an inning-ending double play to send the game to extra innings. "I was just trying to get a groundball and get us back in the dugout," Axford said. "I would have preferred to have gotten the save as opposed to the win, but it worked out." Axford came on in relief of closer Edward Mujica, whom the Brewers tagged for three hits and two runs in one-third of an inning. "We are trying to get our closer right. We are one groundball away from turning a double play," Matheny said. "We turn a double play, he gets a save, we get a win and he is feeling pretty good about himself. It didnt happen tonight. We hurt for him." The Cardinals jumped on Brewers starter Johnny Hellweg for a run in the first inning on Matt Hollidays single. Ramirez hit a three-run home run with one out in the Brewers half of the first off Shelby Miller, who entered the game having given up just three earned runs over 25 innings in four previous starts against the Brewers this season. "It was a hanging breaking ball that didnt finish," Miller said. "Obviously a bad way to start off the first inning. Other than that, we settled in and battled as much as we could. At the end of the day it was a huge win for us." Miller surrendered seven hits and four runs in six innings. He walked two and struck out four. Hellweg gave up seven hits and two runs over in an erratic five-inning stint. He walked five, struck out one, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. "He looked pretty good today," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "He faced a really good lineup. He also got ground balls when he needed them and got double plays. Thats what he does." NOTES: The Cardinals ran their record to 7-1 at Miller Park this season and 13-4 overall against the Brewers. ... Shelby Miller became the first St. Louis rookie pitcher to start 30 games in a season since Rick Ankiel in 2000. ... With four strikeouts, Miller passed Harvey Haddix for third place on St. Louis rookie strikeout list with 166. ... St. Louis wraps up its final regular-season road trip with the three-game series in Milwaukee. Discount Minnesota Vikings Jerseys . Omar Rahou made the discriminatory gesture several times while celebrating scoring a goal against Romania at Antwerp in January, UEFA said. The sanction was double the five-match ban Nicolas Anelka received from an English Football Association independent tribunal last week for the same act. Authentic Minnesota Vikings Jerseys . -- The Green Bay Packers have signed quarterback Graham Harrell to the active roster from the practice squad and placed tight end Andrew Quarless on injured reserve. http://www.cheapvikings.com/.The Ottawa Senators winger was relegated to a corner seat in the locker-room to allow Daniel Alfredsson to return to his regular stall one last time. Stitched Minnesota Vikings Jerseys . -- Ben Brust scored 19 points to lead six Wisconsin players in double figures as the No. Wholesale Minnesota Vikings Jerseys .m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE — Colts by 5RECORD VS. SPREAD — Cincinnati 8-8, Indianapolis 11-5SERIES RECORD — Colts lead 18-10LAST MEETING — Colts beat Bengals 27-0, Oct.CAMPINAS, Brazil -- Cristiano Ronaldo again wore a brace on his troublesome left knee Friday, triggering a new wave of questions over his health as his Portugal team held its final World Cup training session before departing for a crucial game against the United States. The reigning world player of the year took part in some light workouts with the first team, followed by stretching. He was smiling and appeared at ease at practice at the team base in Campinas, northwest of Sao Paulo, as he took part in a playful game of keep away from teammates. The team was set to leave later in the day for Manaus for its matchup with the U.S. on Sunday. Portugal was humiliated in a 4-0 defeat by Germany in their opener. Another loss and the fourth-ranked team in the world could be eliminated even before its final Group G game against Ghana. Ronaldo has been hampered by tendinitis and a muscle injury since before the tournament, creating plenty of speculation about how he would perform in Brazil. He was doubtful to play before the Germany game, but declared himself fit and went on to produce a subdued performance that only added to the usual drama and scrutiny surrounding the player. Team officials dismissed reports suggesting that Ronaldo could be risking his health by playing, saying they were tired of having to deny every rumour about a player many consider to be the worlds best.dddddddddddd. They noted, however, that he often plays with a brace and said hes healthy and would play against the U.S. Teammate Helder Postiga also expressed frustration over the media circus around Ronaldo. "I have already answered so many questions about Cristiano Ronaldo. Actually we speak about him every day. If I am sick of it, imagine how he is feeling," Postiga said. "If he is available enough to train with us thats probably because he is feeling well. Hes been training with us all these days and as usual he always gives his best. Hes just fine." Ronaldo has been one of the best players in the world for about a decade, and last year he even passed Lionel Messi by ending the Argentina forwards streak of winning the FIFA Ballon dOr. He has also excelled on the world stage, helping Portugal reach the 2004 European Championship final and the 2006 World Cup semifinals. The team also advanced out of the group stage at both Euro 2008 and the last World Cup, and then reached the semifinals at Euro 2012. Although he is Portugals all-time record scorer with 49 goals in 111 appearances, Ronaldo scored just twice in the last two World Cups. 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