>>Padres Best Cardinals
(San Diego, CA) -- Alexi Amarista laced a two-run triple to help the Padres down the Cardinals, 6-4. David Freese drilled a solo homer for the Cardinals, who hold a one-game lead on the Dodgers for the final NL Wild Card spot. Adam Wainwright allowed five runs, two of which were earned, in six innings to fall to 13-and-13. Kyle Lohse [[ lowsh ]] takes the ball against Clayton Richard in this evening's series finale.
>>'Stros Shut Out Chicago
(Houston, TX) -- Justin Maxwell's sac-fly in the third inning accounted for the game's lone run as the Astros shut out the Cubs, 1-0. Justin Germano allowed one unearned run during five innings of duty to suffer the tough-luck loss for Chicago. Cubs rookie first baseman Anthony Rizzo left the game in the top of the third inning with a sore neck and right shoulder after a collision at first base. The Northsiders had won their last four games. Travis Wood gets the start against Fernando Abad in tonight's series finale.
>>Tigers Top White Sox, Cut Lead In AL Central
(Chicago, IL) -- Austin Jackson hit a two-run homer and Miguel Cabrera added a solo shot as the Tigers dropped the White Sox, 5-3, last night at The Cell. With the win, Detroit cut Chicago's lead in the AL Central to two games. Jake Peavy surrendered three runs in five-and-two-thirds innings to suffer the loss for the Sox. Dewayne Wise and Gordon Beckham each hit a solo homer and Alejandro De Aza added an RBI single in the loss. Gavin Floyd is expected to toe the rubber against Max Scherzer [[ SURE-zer ]] in tonight's third installment.
>>Rams Back To Practice
(Earth City, MO) -- The Rams are back to work today in preparation for their home opener against the Washington Redskins this Sunday. St. Louis dropped a 27-23 decision in Detroit on Sunday to start the season 0-and-1. The team made a move yesterday in re-signing left guard Quinn Ojinnaka while placing center Scott Wells on the injured reserve/designated for return list.
>>NFL Scheduling Replacement Refs Through Week Five
(New York, NY) -- It looks like the NFL's replacement officials will be working games through at least October 8th. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the NFL has devised its schedule to include the stand-in refs through Week Five of the regular season. The league and the NFL Referees Association remain at odds over a new labor contract. The NFL locked out its regular refs in June after the previous labor agreement expired.
>>Mizzou, Illinois Prep For Weekend Games
(Undated) -- Missouri and Illinois are preparing for weekend games. The Tigers will host Arizona State in Columbia. Mizzou suffered a 41-20 loss in its SEC debut to seventh-ranked Georgia last week. The Illini are home to face Charleston Southern. Illinois lost on the road to Arizona State on Saturday, 45-14.
