Dein erstes Forum » home winning streak in team history

ST. LOUIS -- If the Chicago Cubs bought champagne at any point during this nine-game road trip, its going back to Wrigley Field with them after Wednesdays series finale with the St. Louis Cardinals in Busch Stadium.St. Louis 4-2 victory Tuesday night not only kept it a half-game behind the New York Mets for the National Leagues second wild-card spot, it kept Chicagos magic number for clinching the NL Central at three.That means the Cubs (92-52) cant celebrate a division title on the field of their biggest rivals, although theres no reason to worry about a 16-game lead with 18 games remaining.Its going to happen, center fielder Dexter Fowler said. Its just a matter of when. So we just have to keep winning games.Chicago shoots for its 93rd victory Wednesday behind left-hander Jon Lester, who has been on some roll in the last month. Lester (16-4, 2.51 ERA) fired seven shutout innings Friday night in Houston, posting a 2-0 win.It was the fifth straight game that Lester had allowed one or no runs. Lester, who faced the Cardinals last month at home and was no-decisioned after allowing two runs in six innings, is 1/3 with a 2.62 ERA in seven regular season outings against them.St. Louis counters with its top starter this year, right-hander Carlos Martinez (14-7, 3.05). Hes won his last four decisions, including a 4-3 verdict Friday night over Milwaukee in which he didnt have his best stuff, striking out only one in seven innings.Martinez gave up three runs (two earned) and nine hits, inducing two more double play balls to give him an NL-high 32 for the year. Hes faced the Cubs three times this year, going 1-1.With every game meaning so much, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny didnt exactly address the subject of trying to prevent a clinching party by Chicago on Monday or Tuesday night.We havent ever gone there, he said. We just have to go and play the game, not think about anything but what we have to do.While the odds favor New York and San Francisco, both of whom have easier schedules, St. Louis is getting some key reinforcements for the final three weeks. Shortstop Aledmys Diaz returned to the starting lineup Tuesday night and promptly belted a two-run homer in his first at-bat, becoming the seventh Cardinal with 15 or more homers.At some point before the week is over, St. Louis is expected to activate right-hander Trevor Rosenthal, right-hander Michael Wacha and left fielder Matt Holliday off the 15-day disabled list. Those moves could beef up its bullpen and add depth to the outfield, depending on Hollidays readiness to play without being able to go on a rehab assignment.The Cardinals also got a breakout game from Brandon Moss, who was 1-for-41 prior to singling and homering Tuesday night. Moss two-run homer in the sixth, his 26th of the year, was the game-winning hit.You could tell he had a good rhythm going tonight with his early at-bats, Matheny said. When he gets hot, hes fun to watch. Wholesale Sports Jerseys . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. Discount Sports Jerseys . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. https://www.discountsportsjerseyscheap.com/ . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. Sports Jerseys . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Sports Jerseys From China . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Receiver or running back -- Ronald Cleveland doesnt know how to classify himself.How about this: Burgeoning playmaker.Cleveland rushed for a score and caught a 62-yard TD pass as Air Force beat Abilene Christian 37-21 on Saturday for its 13th straight win at home.The sophomore plays a hybrid position in the Air Forces triple-option offense. His 33-yard TD run in the second quarter began a spurt of 21 straight points to help the Falcons (1-0) pull away from pesky Abilene Christian (0-1). Cleveland entered the game with one career carry.I dont want to be one of those guys if I come in the defense can key on me, said Cleveland, a football, basketball, track and soccer standout during his high school career in Franklin, Tennessee. I want to focus on getting stronger and being able to make those blocks you need to make on the linebackers and defensive ends. Do whatever I need to do.Hes certainly getting stronger. He can already bench about 60 pounds more than he could a season ago.Tremendous athlete. Highly skilled, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. The thing hes done -- finally has arms. When he first got here, this (microphone) cord right here was thicker than his arms. Hes added a little bit that way. It was good to see him contribute.Quarterback Nate Romine guided the offense in his return from a knee injury that sidelined him most of last season. He finished with two TD passes as Air Force improved to 21-0 all-time against Football Championship Subdivision teams.But he didnt play late in the fourth quarter, with backup Arion Worthman taking some snaps. Worthman threw a 17-yard TD pass to Jalen Robinette with 5:27 remaining.Asked if Romine was banged up, Calhoun simply responded: We chose to put Arion in there. We thought we needed to get him out there.Abilene Christian kept it close for most of the game thanks to a defense that recovered two early fumbles. Dallas Sealey threw three TD passes, including a 76-yard strike to Tracy James with 4:14 remaining that made it 37-21.We always say around our place, whenn you get squeezed the real you comes out, Wildcats coach Ken Collums said.dddddddddddd You saw the real us and I like what I see.Air Force hasnt lost at Falcon Stadium since Nov. 21, 2013, against UNLV. Its the longest home winning streak in team history.THE TAKEAWAYAbilene Christian: Dropped to 11-34 all-time against FBS teams, but proved they could hang with the bigger schools. It couldve been even closer, but James tripped over the turf after breaking into the clear in the second quarter and Brendan Conn missed a 35-yard field goal late in the third.These guys are a high-class outfit. They go to bowl games every single year, Collums said. They are tough, and they are relentless, and they are disciplined.Air Force: A ho-hum performance. The Falcons improve to 10-0 in season openers under Calhoun.REMEMBERING DEEThis was a difficult day for the Falcon family as they honored former quarterback Dee Dowis by wearing helmet decals that featured his initials and No. 6. The school also stenciled DD on the 6-yard-line at both ends of the field and held a moment of silence.Dowis died Monday morning in a car accident outside Atlanta. He was 48.A technician at running the option offense, Dowis graduated as the academys career leading rusher.Hed make plays on his own that were beyond sensational and yet the first thing -- and I dont know why this phrase sticks in my mind, but I heard it over and over and over -- `Hey, good job, yall, Calhoun recounted. That tells you a little bit in terms of how strongly he felt about the guys alongside him.UP NEXTAbilene Christian: Host Northern Colorado, Sept. 10. The Wildcats lead the series, 10-5-1, but have dropped five straight.Air Force: Host Georgia State, Sept. 10. The Falcons beat the Panthers 48-34 on Sept. 13, 2014, in the only meeting between the two teams.-----Follow Pat Graham on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pgraham34. AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org . ' ' '