and those teams put double-digit numbers of players on injured res

ST. LOUIS -- Lance Lynn reached double figures in wins before the All-Star break for the third straight year and Kolten Wong homered for the second game in a row, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates for the third straight time, 5-2 on Wednesday night. Matt Adams had three hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals, who will go for a four-game sweep over the NL Central rival they beat in the division series last fall on Thursday, although they might have to do it without All-Star catcher Yadier Molina. Molina was removed for a pinch-hitter in the third inning with a sprained right thumb from sliding into third base and will be re-evaluated before the finale. He caught another half-inning before leaving the game. Neil Walker homered and doubled for Pittsburgh, which had won 12 of 15 entering the series and dropped the first two on game-winning, ninth-inning homers by Adams and Wong. Rookie Brandon Cumpton (3-3) started in place of injured Gerrit Cole and was charged with four runs and nine hits in 3 1-3 innings. Lynn (10-6) allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings and has 32 wins before the All-Star break his first three seasons in the rotation. The right-hander is tied for most pre-All-Star wins with Detroits Max Scherzer over that stretch and is the first Cardinals pitcher to do it in three straight seasons since Hall of Famer Bob Gibson totalled 34 wins from 1968-70. Walkers 12th homer leading off the second was the first allowed by Lynn at home this season. Adams two-run double in the first put the Cardinals ahead to stay and he added two singles to give him 12 in the last six games. Wong hit his fourth homer off Justin Wilson in the eighth. Molina was voted to his sixth straight All-Star team Sunday and is a starter for the fourth time. He slid feet-first into third base advancing on a groundout in the second and came up shaking the right hand after planting it a bit for balance. Matt Holliday had two hits, two walks and an RBI and Jhonny Peralta had an RBI double for St. Louis. Cumpton was in constant trouble and the Cardinals missed a chance to bust it open by stranding nine runners the first four innings. Trevor Rosenthal worked the ninth for his 27th save in 31 chances. Peter Bourjos made a leaping catch for the final out at the wall in centre field with a man on to rob Russell Martin of extra bases. NOTES: Attendance of 43,941 was the 28th sellout for the Cardinals including five of the first six games of a seven-game homestand. ... Shelby Miller (7-7, 4.15) will try to beat the Pirates for the third straight start this season Thursday and will oppose Edinson Volquez (7-6, 3.88). Volquez is 3-0 his last three starts allowing two earned runs in 21 innings, but is 3-6 with a 5.58 ERA against the Cardinals. ... Cole was placed on the 15-day DL with right lat soreness retroactive to July 5. ... The Cardinals have won 10 of the last 12 at home against Pittsburgh. Will Butcher Jersey .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Ken Daneyko Jersey . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson. http://www.devilssale.com/authentic-cory-schneider-devils-jersey/ .The team had a meeting prior to facing Russia at the world junior hockey championship and got the effort theyve been looking for by defeating the Russians 4-1 to advance to the quarter-finals. Andy Greene Jersey .com)LeBron clearly likes his Italian sports cars, and thats ok with me, so up next up is the 458 Spider. Mirco Mueller Devils Jersey . He liked what he saw on Tuesday night. Not only did his team post a comeback 3-2 victory in a shootout over the Montreal Canadiens, but the rival Washington Capitals were beaten 5-1 in Buffalo.CINCINNATI - Geno Atkins was in the Bengals locker room briefly Wednesday, moving slowly on crutches. He declined to answer questions about his torn knee ligament as he headed for a side door and home. Its still too painful to discuss. Still a bit painful for the teammates who will miss him, too. The Bengals (6-3) will try to maintain their lead in the AFC North without their best defensive lineman. Atkins, an All-Pro tackle last season, leads the team with six sacks and is a disruptive force up the middle that Cincinnati already misses badly. "A friend," defensive end Wallace Gilberry said. "A hell of a teammate. Hell of an athlete. I could go on for days." They dont have that much time. The Bengals have a chance to all but clinch their division in the next two weeks when they play at Baltimore (3-5) and host Cleveland (4-5). Back-to-back wins would leave them with a daunting lead heading down the stretch. The Bengals reached the playoffs as a wild card each of the last two seasons. They havent won the division title since 2009. "Honestly we feel like these next two weeks are the biggest of the season because of where we are in the division," left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. "We get an opportunity. These games can tilt things one way or the other." Their biggest challenge is filling holes on a defence that has lost some of its best players in the last three weeks. Top cornerback Leon Hall is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. Middle linebacker Rey Maualuga missed a 22-20 overtime loss in Miami last Thursday with a concussion and an injured left knee. Atkins tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the first half of the loss at Miami, a significant setback to a line already missing end Robert Geathers for the season. "You can hear the rumbles of respect that our guys have for him," Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said during a conference call on Wednesday. "I can imagine that its going to be a little different in there just because he is such a good player." The Bengals signed defensive tackle Kheeston Randall to fill Atkins roster spot on Tuesday. Randall was the Dolphins seeventh-round pick last year and played in 12 games.dddddddddddd He was waived by Miami on Aug. 31. Theyll work others into the middle of the line rotation as well. Tackle Brandon Thompson, a second-year player from Clemson, will get much more time in Atkins spot. Thompson played in only three games last season but has played in all nine this year. "I think it was very beneficial to just be able to sit back and learn from those great defensive linemen we have, just to sit back and take a whole year and soak everything in," Thompson said. "I was a sponge last year. I learned so much. I just thank those guys for that." The Bengals had fewer injuries than average in the opening weeks, but have been hit hard lately. With the injuries piling up, coach Marvin Lewis showed his team some statistics about Super Bowl champions overcoming injuries. "You look at the last four or five Super Bowl champions and the amount of people that went on (injured reserve), and theyve overcome it," Lewis said. "You look at those teams, and those teams put double-digit numbers of players on injured reserve. "And their leadership of the team, the maturity of the team, it all plays out." Co-ordinator Mike Zimmer has a reputation for being able to plug newcomers into the defence quickly without having the overall performance suffer. "I guess thats his calling card," safety Chris Crocker said. "He can put in other guys and have them play together and find a way to win. The biggest part is putting somebody in there who knows what to do. "Everybodys athletically gifted and talented. But at this point in the season when you bring in somebody new, you just have to be up to speed on what to do. If you get them to do that, thats 60 to 70 per cent of the battle. Well be fine." Notes: Whitworth, Maualuga and defensive lineman Devon Still (elbow) didnt practice on Wednesday. Whitworth missed the Miami game with a sore right knee. ... RB Giovani Bernard (bruised ribs), LB Mike Boley (hamstring), TE Jermaine Gresham (groin) and guard Kevin Zeitler (hamstring) were limited in practice. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org ' ' '