ST. LOUIS (AP) — The pop fly cleared the infield by about 20-25 feet. Billy Hamilton’s teammates have seen his legs in action, but figured he’d stay put at third.

“We didn’t even think there would be a chance he would go,” catcher Devin Mesoraco said after the Cincinnati Reds’ 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. “As an outfielder, I’m sure you don’t expect anybody to go on that play.

“He gets everybody on their edge of their seat.”

Hamilton’s best game of the season by far backed a stingy outing from Mike Leake. The rookie had three hits and his first two steals — against six-time Gold Glove catcher Yadier Molina — plus that daring dash home on one of the shortest sacrifice flies you’ll see.

Hamilton said third base coach Steve Smith told him, “I want to see how fast you really are.”

“I might not make it every time but there’s always a chance, there’s always a good chance,” Hamilton said. “I knew I had to go.”

It wasn’t even the shortest sacrifice fly he’s created. Against a drawn-in infield when he was at Class A Bakersfield, the year he stole a record 155 bases, Hamilton recalled scoring on a pop fly that stayed in the infield after the fielder was forced to turn around and chase down the ball.

“Guys were pressing a little bit and I told the, ‘I’m going to make something happen for you,'” Hamilton said. “If you get a chance to put the ball in play, I’ve got your back.”

Leake (1-1) allowed four hits and a walk in eight scoreless innings and Mesoraco hit a two-run home run for the Reds, who avoided a three-game sweep after dropping their ninth series in their last 10 in St. Louis. They’re 2-4 against the Cardinals, their NL Central rival, and wrapped up a 2-4 trip.

Hamilton stole the show.

“That’s kind of as-advertised right there,” manager Bryan Price said. “We’ve been waiting for that game and I was really glad to see it.”

Shelby Miller (0-2) allowed his fourth homer in two starts and faced trouble most of his six innings, but held the Reds hitless in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position. Mesoraco hit his first homer in the fourth after doubling twice Tuesday in his first start after coming off the 15-day disabled list.

Hamilton entered batting .091 with two hits and seven strikeouts in 22 at-bats and left town batting .192. He reached safely his first three trips beginning with a triple to open the game when left fielder Matt Holliday missed on a diving catch in the gap.

After singling to start the fifth he put on a show with his legs, stealing second without a throw, going to third on a flyout to shallow right and scoring easily to beat Jon Jay’s’ relay on Bruce’s pop fly to even shallower right and put the Reds up 3-0.

“He’s fast,” Miller said. “I’ve never really seen somebody run the bases like he has.”

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Miller could have helped by being quicker to the plate.

“We were paying attention,” Matheny said. “It doesn’t matter if Yaddy is behind the plate (or) anybody else in the history of the game, if you don’t keep your times down they’re going to take bags on you.”

Hamilton bunted for a hit in the ninth against Pat Neshek and stole second, then scored without a throw on Brandon Phillips’ one-out single to make it 4-0.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Holliday hit a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning that glanced off right fielder Jay Bruce’s glove on the warning track and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-5 on Tuesday night.

Yadier Molina homered and Peter Bourjos had three hits and an RBI to help the Cardinals clinch their 26th series win to go with three losses and two splits since 2003 against Cincinnati.

Bruce had a two-run triple in the first, Billy Hamilton’s second hit of the season drove in a run and Ryan Ludwick had two RBIs for the Reds.

The Reds squandered a 4-0 second-inning lead by the bottom half of the inning, and Lance Lynn (2-0) got enough support to beat Cincinnati for the second straight time.

The Cardinals averaged 5.67 runs in Lynn’s starts last year, third-most in the National League, and have scored seven both outings this year.

Trevor Rosenthal finished for his third save in three chances.

Bruce appeared to have a bead on Holliday’s two-out drive with two on against Logan Ondrusek (0-1), but had to jump a bit at the last instant and the ball glanced off his glove as the Cardinals took a 6-5 lead. Bourjos added an RBI single in the seventh off J.J. Hoover.

Both starters scuffled, just as they did in the second game of the season in Cincinnati. Lynn has surrendered eight runs in 11 innings and Homer Bailey has permitted eight runs on 16 hits and five walks in 9 1/3 innings.

Lynn is 5-1 for his career against the Reds, including three wins last year. Bailey is 5-11 against the Cardinals.

Joey Votto and Bruce had one-out hits in the fifth ahead of Ludwick’s run-scoring groundout for a 5-4 lead.

Cardinals leadoff man Matt Carpenter had two hits, an RBI and was hit by a pitch against Bailey. He’s 13 for 22 against the right-hander.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Home opener hoopla was no distraction at all for Michael Wacha. Neither was the 49-degree chill for the first pitch.

The 22-year-old rookie was definitely excited about the occasion and the opportunity. Just like last fall when he was the breakout pitching star of the postseason, he fed off the atmosphere.

“Huge crowd out there, a lot of energy,” Wacha said after the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-3 on Monday. “It’s a lot of fun pitching in front of your home crowd, 40,000-plus fans.

“I don’t know who wouldn’t thrive off those kind of situations.”

Wacha outdid Tony Cingrani in a rematch of young power arms, and the Cardinals got a three-run double from Yadier Molina in the first inning.

“I didn’t have my fastball, so what are you going to do? I just tried to battle,” Cingrani said. “One bad pitch and it cleared the bases.”

A standing-room crowd of 47,492, the largest at 9-year-old Busch Stadium, braved daylong rain to greet the National League champions and take a look at the new Ballpark Village. Hundreds milled about the attached complex, which features five sports bars and rooftop seating.

The Cardinals bunched three hits and a walk over the first five hitters to take the early lead against Cingrani (0-1), who allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings against the Cardinals six days earlier in Cincinnati.

The Cards went 1 for 18 before adding RBIs from Matt Holliday and Allen Craig off Trevor Bell in a two-run seventh.

St. Louis ended a three-game losing streak on Opening Day, including a blowout loss to the Reds last year.

Wacha (1-0) hadn’t allowed a run in 21 career innings against the Reds before back-to-back doubles by Brayan Pena and pinch-hitter Roger Bernadina in the fifth cut the Cardinals’ lead to 3-1.

The NL Championship Series MVP benefited from two double-play balls in six stingy innings and has permitted one run in 13 2/3 innings his first two starts.

Wacha threw 82 pitches before getting lifted for a pinch hitter with the Cardinals up by two runs and two on in the sixth. St. Louis manager Mike Matheny wanted to take a shot at putting the Reds away, but thought the right-hander had plenty left.

“That was more of a situation of what’s best for the day, what’s best for that particular game,” Matheny said.

Cingrani needed 31 pitches to get through the first and lasted four innings, striking out five but walking four. Matheny said before the game that his hitters had been a “click off” with timing against the 24-year-old lefty last week and should benefit from another chance so soon.

Pena said he wasn’t trying to make excuses but thought Cingrani was bothered by the elements.

“The baseball was slippery. He couldn’t grab his breaking ball the way he wanted,” Pena said.

Peter Bourjos moved up to second in the order and got his first two hits of the season after an 0-for-13 start. Craig got his third hit and third RBI of the season after entering 2 for 22.

Seeing Wacha once again didn’t do the Reds any good. They’ve totaled 18 runs in seven games.

“Right now, almost collectively, we’ve struggled to do anything with guys in scoring position,” Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said. “But that’ll change. It’s tough to sit through it.”

The start of the game was delayed 12 minutes after the inclement weather combined with pregame ceremonies that featured the traditional grand entrance with players, coaches and Hall of Famers touring Busch Stadium on the back of convertibles and trucks. A team of Clydesdales was kept in the stable due to concerns the field might be damaged.

Billy Hamilton doubled to start the game and the Reds put the leadoff man on base in the first four innings but were undone by two double plays.

Zack Cozart broke an 0-for-22 slump to start the season with a bloop RBI single, and pinch-hitter Neftali Soto had a sacrifice fly for his first career RBI in the ninth against St. Louis closer Trevor Rosenthal, who gave up his first runs at home since Aug. 15 against Pittsburgh.

The Cardinals opened the first with singles by Matt Carpenter and Bourjos, and Holliday walked to load the bases with none out. Craig struck out before Molina cleared the bases with a drive to left-center on a 1-2 pitch.

— Associated Press —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — For his first start with the Pirates, Edinson Volquez beat Adam Wainwright. That’ll do nicely as an early return on that offseason contract he signed with the Pirates.

Tony Sanchez hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the seventh inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on Sunday.

Singed to a one-year, $5 million contract as a free agent in December, Volquez was sharp in his first start for the Pirates as he gave up one run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings with one walk and four strikeouts. That came after Volquez pitched two scoreless innings of relief Thursday against the Chicago Cubs.

“What you saw was fastball command with downhill angle, big-time spin and tilt on the breaking ball, a good changeup and getting ahead with good pitches,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “He pitched a gem.”

Volquez got a standing ovation when he walked off the mound.

“I think I did a great job and the fans appreciated what I did,” Volquez said. “I just wanted to keep making another good pitch, keep the ball down and get them to hit the ball on the ground. All my pitches were there.”

Sanchez’s double to deep center field with two outs came off Wainwright (1-1) and snapped a 1-1 tie.

“I’m still nervous playing up here,” Sanchez said. “My heart is racing. My head is spinning. It feels like the game is going 1,000 mph. So, it’s nice to be able to get some big hits.”

The hit by the rookie reserve catcher scored Pedro Alvarez, who led off the inning with a walk, and was Sanchez’s second winning hit of the week as he singled home the winning run in the 16th inning of Wednesday night’s victory over the Chicago Cubs.

“I can’t let what happen in the seventh inning happen, especially in a close game, a rivalry game like this,” Wainwright said. “I walked the leadoff man then left a ball out over the plate with two outs and Sanchez took a good swing at it. You can’t do that.”

Tony Watson (1-0) retired all four batters he faced, striking out three, and ran his string of consecutive scoreless innings to 24, dating to last season. Jason Grilli pitched a scoreless ninth to convert his first save.

St. Louis managed just three hits.

Singed to a one-year, $5 million contract as a free agent in December, Volquez was sharp in his first start for the Pirates as he gave up one run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings with one walk and four strikeouts. That came after Volquez pitched two scoreless innings of relief Thursday against the Chicago Cubs.

Volquez’s 5.71 ERA last season with the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers was the highest among the 81 pitchers who qualified for the ERA title. He also allowed 15 runs in 13 innings in exhibition games this spring.

Wainwright went seven innings and allowed two runs and five hits after pitching seven scoreless innings in his first start of the season at Cincinnati in Monday’s opener. He struck out seven and walked two.

The Pirates opened the scoring in the fourth inning when Andrew McCutchen doubled with one out and scored on Neil Walker’s two-out double.

An RBI triple by the Cardinals’ Jon Jay in the sixth tied the score at 1-1 and chased Volquez.

— Associated Press —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Yadier Molina hit his second homer of the season, Jhonny Peralta added a late two-run shot and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 Saturday night.

Molina finished 2 for 4 and his solo homer in the sixth gave the Cardinals plenty of cushion as they bounced back from a 12-2 loss on Friday night by jumping on Pittsburgh ace Francisco Liriano (0-1) early.

St. Louis used a three-run first inning to put the Pirates in an early hole then held on as Joe Kelly (1-0) wiggled his way out of trouble. The right-hander worked 5 1/3 innings, walking four and striking out four in his first start of the season.

The Pirates left 11 runners on base, including seven in the first four innings.

Liriano, who struck out 10 in six innings on opening day against the Cubs, settled down after early trouble. The left-hander gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings, walking two and striking out four.

It wasn’t exactly a repeat of the last time Liriano faced St. Louis, when he held the Cardinals in check in Game 3 of the NL division series to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. The Cardinals rallied to take the series in five, though six months later it appears the clubs that finished one-two in the NL Central remain evenly matched. The teams have now split the last 26 meetings.

The Cardinals didn’t give Liriano time to settle in on a brisk night at PNC Park.

Matt Carpenter led off with a single. Peralta walked and Matt Holliday followed with an RBI single to right. Peralta scored on a sacrifice fly by Allen Craig, with Holliday scoring on a perfectly placed single to left by Matt Adams.

The Pirates had their chances to get back in it against Kelly. They loaded the bases in the third but managed only a single run when Kelly walked Russell Martin.

Pittsburgh had two on with two outs in the fourth and two one with one out in the sixth against Kelly but couldn’t come through. St. Louis reliever Carlos Martinez replaced Kelly and retired Starling Marte and Travis Snider on groundouts to end the threat.

The Cardinals’ bullpen didn’t give up a hit in 3 2/3 innings of work.

Molina provided insurance with a homer to right and Peralta’s second home run with the Cardinals slipped inside the left field foul pole against Pittsburgh reliever Jeanmar Gomez in the ninth.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — The defending National League champions opened the season with a lot of waiting. And a couple of wins, too.

The St. Louis Cardinals overcame another long delay and Todd Frazier’s two homers on Thursday, holding on to beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 and take two of three in their season-opening series.

The first pitch was delayed 3 hours, 42 minutes because of rain. Some of the Cardinals spent their down time by studying Cincinnati’s pitchers again and getting a little extra work in the indoor batting cages.

“It’s tough to stay mentally into it,” said Matt Adams, who had a single and a pair of doubles. “That’s what we had to do to make sure we could go out there and perform. We’re watching video and taking swings in the cage and stretching and making sure we’re ready to go.”

Finally on the field, the Cardinals emerged from their two-game hitting slump by knocking Homer Bailey (0-1) out of the game in the fifth inning. Jhonny Peralta homered to get it going.

It wasn’t perfect — St. Louis stranded eight runners — but it was much better.

“We had a lot of opportunities that we missed, too,” manager Mike Matheny said. “We had a lot of guys in scoring position.”

St. Louis pulled away with three runs in the seventh, when Matt Holliday’s single off the top of the outfield wall was upheld by the only video review of the series, this one initiated by the umpires.

Lance Lynn (1-0) gave up Jay Bruce’s two-run homer and Frazier’s solo shot during five innings. Frazier added a three-run homer in the seventh that cut it to 7-6. Trevor Rosenthal got the last four outs for his second save.

The series involved nearly as much waiting as playing.

There was a 2-hour, 40-minute delay before Wednesday’s game, a 1-0 victory by Cincinnati. Along with the delay on Thursday, the teams wound up waiting 6 hours, 22 minutes to play during the two days.

As Thursday’s delay stretched on, Reds reliever Sam LeCure tweeted: “Uncle.”

“The whole series was kind of weird with all the rain and stuff,” Frazier said. “It really put a damper on things.”

The starters had a rough time after the delay.

Lynn beat the Reds three times last season, but couldn’t get a 1-2-3 inning on Thursday. Bruce and Frazier hit back-to-back homers in the first for a 3-0 lead. Even Bailey had a single off Lynn, who gave up eight hits while throwing 107 pitches.

Peralta hit a two-run homer in the second off Bailey, and the Cardinals tied it with a breakthrough hit in the fourth. Adams doubled and came around on Jon Jay’s double, the Cardinals’ first hit with a runner in scoring position this season. They had been 0 for 17.

Jay’s hit also extended his hitting streak to 15 games, including the end of last season.

Holliday’s first hit of the season, an RBI double, put the Cardinals up 4-3 in the fifth. Bailey lasted only 4 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits, three walks and four runs.

The Cardinals added three in the seventh, when they loaded the bases on a pair of walks and Holliday’s single off the top of the wall. The ball went over Billy Hamilton’s glove and deflected to Bruce, who caught the ball. The umpires correctly ruled that it a hit off the top of the wall, and a 2-minute, 8-second review initiated by the umps upheld the call. They wanted to make sure the ball hadn’t cleared the wall.

Allen Craig and Yadier Molina followed with RBI singles as St. Louis pulled ahead 7-3.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — Yadier Molina got the loudest boos during pregame introductions. The five-time All-Star catcher got booed again as he rounded the bases for his game-turning homer.

On opening day, he was driving them batty in Cincinnati again.

Molina broke a seventh-inning time with a home run and made a pair of slick defensive plays on Monday, leading the defending National League champion St. Louis Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Reds.

Everyone knew the star of this one.

“Matt Holliday said it best when we were coming in shaking hands: `Yadi wins,” starter Adam Wainwright said.

It wasn’t all Molina. The Cardinals’ impeccable pitching was in top form, too.

The Reds were blanked on opening day for the first time since 1953, ending the second-longest streak of scoring in at least one run in season openers in major league history. The Phillies went 62 years without being blanked in an opener from 1911-72.

Wainwright used his refined sinker to finally get the best of the Reds, who have hit him like no other team. Wainwright allowed three hits in seven innings, fanning nine.

“I’ve never pitched great against the Reds,” said Wainwright, who threw 105 pitches. “Today I wanted to make the emphasis on executing pitches. I tried to simplify it as much as possible.”

St. Louis escaped a threat in the eighth, when the Reds had runners on first and third with nobody out. Trevor Rosenthal retired all three batters in the ninth, finishing a three-hitter.

“We weren’t able to get a hit there,” said Bryan Price, who lost his managing debut. “It was disappointing, but there will be more disappointments along the way.”

During pregame introductions, Molina got by far the loudest boos from the crowd of 43,134 — the second-largest for a regular-season game in Great American Ball Park history. Fans still haven’t forgiven the five-time All Star catcher for a 2010 brawl at home plate with Brandon Phillips.

They were booing again after his first-pitch homer in the seventh, his second career off Johnny Cueto (0-1). It was one of only three hits off Cueto in seven innings.

Not that the catcher noticed all the commotion from the stands.

“I come over here and try to win games,” he said. “That’s why I’m here.”

Molina also fielded Joey Votto’s grounder in front of the plate to start a double play in the third inning, part of an impressive game all-around.

“I’m biased, but I think he’s the best I’ve ever seen at that position,” Wainwright said.

Wainwright won 19 games and finished second in the NL Cy Young Award voting last season, when he had his biggest trouble with the Reds. He went 1/3 in four starts with a 7.77 ERA against Cincinnati, getting knocked around so much that he called it a “head-scratcher.”

Wainwright (1-0) refined a sinker in spring training and was in control on a breezy, 64-degree afternoon. He fanned new Reds leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton four times.

The Reds’ best chance came in the eighth, when the Cardinals committed two errors. Phillips became the first Reds runner to reached third base, but was caught in a rundown on Jay Bruce’s grounder. Carlos Martinez fanned Todd Frazier for the final out, stranding a runner at third.

Cueto’s third straight opening-day start was a reminder that it’s a matter of staying healthy. He was on the disabled list three times last season, limited to 11 starts. He changed his delivery slightly to try to avoid injury, and was on the mark on opening day until Molina connected.

There were no close plays that merited replays.

— Associated Press —

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper was ejected Wednesday after being called out at first base in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Harper led off the fourth inning with a slow roller that second baseman Mark Ellis barehanded and flipped to first. The throw appeared to beat Harper and umpire Jeff Gosney called him out.

The 21-year-old Harper kept his head down, screaming his displeasure as he passed Gosney on his way to the third-base dugout. Gosney threw out Harper, who didn’t seem to initially realize he’d been ejected.

Nationals manager Matt Williams said he asked third base umpire C.B. Bucknor whether they could wait until the end of the inning before Harper had to leave the dugout. Williams said the crew wanted the All-Star outfielder to go immediately.

“I just didn’t want him to be embarrassed by him having to walk in front of everybody down the line,” Williams said.

The game was briefly delayed while Harper gathered his belongings and walked to the visiting clubhouse beyond the left-field wall.

Fans extended their pens and papers requesting autographs as Harper passed the corner of the left-field bleachers that sit about 10 feet from the foul line.

“We love the way he plays the game because he plays all out and he desperately wants to win so we love that about him,” Williams said. “In a situation like that, he has to not take it too far, that’s all.”

“The umpire told me that (Harper) said something to him,” he said. “The question I had is, `Did he say something?’ I didn’t see him make a gesture to him or anything, but he said the magic word.”

The Nationals didn’t make Harper available for comment.

“I don’t know what (Harper) said to him, but as he was walking off the field I said to him, `That was a great at-bat,’ because it was,” Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright said.

“He fouled off a bunch of pitches,” he said. “He kind of turned away and started walking off, then he looked back and said, `Thanks, by the way.”

Yadier Molina drove in all three Cardinals runs. Trevor Rosenthal worked around a two-out triple to earn the save.

STARTING TIME

Nationals: Washington has yet to make a decision on its fifth starter. Tanner Roark and Taylor Jordan, the two competitors for the spot, will both pitch in the Nationals’ exhibition against Detroit on Sunday in Washington.

Cardinals: Wainwright threw five scoreless innings of one hit ball to cap his spring. The Cardinals’ opening day starter allowed four runs in 22 2/3 Grapefruit League innings, striking out 18 while walking one.

“I’m ready for them to start counting,” he said. “I feel good. Spring has flown by. I’ve had a lot of fun down here and now it’s time to get going.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Manager Mike Matheny doesn’t expect injured pitchers Jaime Garcia and Jason Motte to make the trip north with the club for the Cardinals’ exhibition game at Triple-A Memphis on Friday. Matheny also wasn’t sure whether the two pitchers will be part of St. Louis’ home-opener festivities.

Nationals: Washington pitcher Doug Fister will start a minor league game on Thursday as he tries to build up his pitch count. He battled elbow inflammation earlier this spring but is scheduled to start the season with the major league club.

AARDSMA ABOARD

Newly signed reliever David Aardsma made his first appearance for St. Louis, allowing one hit and walking one in a scoreless inning of work. The Cardinals have spent much of spring searching for their final bullpen arm and the 32-year-old right-hander likely leaps to the front of a list of candidates that includes Kevin Butler, Scott McGregor and Jorge Rondon.

Aardsma began the spring with Cleveland as a non-roster invitee. He is 23-15 with 69 saves and a 4.23 ERA during a seven-year major league career.

EXTRA SWINGS

Washington left third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and first baseman Adam LaRoche at their spring training complex so that the pair could get multiple at-bats in minor league games.

— Associated Press —

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Jose Fernandez struggled in his last tuneup for opening day as the Miami Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 Tuesday.

The reigning NL Rookie of the Year gave up five runs in nine hits in 4 2/3 innings, struck out three and walked two. His next outing will be in Monday’s opener at home against Colorado.

“It’s not like I can put the ball where I want to every time,” Fernandez said. “We’ll see what happens in six days and go from there.”

Marlins manager Mike Redmond wasn’t overly concerned.

“You can tell he was having to really grind it out out there and wasn’t quite as sharp with his pitches,” Redmond said. “He tried to limit the damage. Overall, he got his pitches in and can move on.”

Cardinals starter Lance Lynn struck out eight and walked one in five innings, giving up three runs and five hits.

Juan Diaz hit his first spring-training homer and drove in two runs for the Marlins, who rallied from a 5-3, seventh-inning deficit. Casey McGehee hit his second exhibition homer for Miami, which is 5-0 against the Cardinals this spring training.

There was a 46-minute rain delay after the top of the sixth.

— Associated Press —

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) – Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed one run over six innings in his bid to become the Mets’ fifth starter, helping New York beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 Monday.

Competing with Jenrry Mejia, Dice-K allowed three runs and three walks, striking out five. Matsuzaka hit Stephen Piscotty on the back of the helmet with a changeup opening the seventh and was replaced by Vic Black.

Daniel Murphy went 2 for 3, including a two-run double in the third off Shelby Miller.

Miller gave up three runs and three hits in five innings. He struck out four and walked three.

— Associated Press —