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Chiefs hold off Texans, 17-16, to stay unbeaten

ChiefsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs had their backs to the end zone in the third quarter on Sunday, and the Houston Texans had first-and-goal with an opportunity to take the lead.

Three straight plays went nowhere and the Texans had to settle for a field goal.

It was a virtuoso display by the NFL’s stingiest defense, and a signature stand in a stellar second half.

The Chiefs kept repelling the Houston offense the rest of the way, and the result was a 17-16 victory to extend their perfect start.

”You know as well as I do you win with great defenses. That’s how it rolls,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. ”You can’t be successful like we are without a great defense.”

Nor can you be successful without a guy like Jamaal Charles, who ran for 86 yards and a touchdown, or quarterback Alex Smith, who also had a touchdown scamper.

”It was a physical game,” Charles said, ”the kind of a game this team needs to go far.”

The game was still in doubt even after the Chiefs’ goal-line stand. They had to punt with 1:46 left, but the Texans had no timeouts. Case Keenum threw an incompletion on first down, and then was stripped by linebacker Tamba Hali on the ensuing play.

Derrick Johnson recovered the ball for the Chiefs, and Smith simply kneeled on it from there to run time out. The result was a 7-0 start for Kansas City, trailing only the 9-0 mark put up by the 2003 team for the best in franchise history.

In the Super Bowl era, 31 teams have started 7-0 and all qualified for the playoffs. Fifteen of those 31 clubs advanced to the Super Bowl and nine have won it.

”It’s confidence,” said Hali, who was part of the Chiefs’ two-win team last season. ”Guys believe in what we’re doing. They believe in one another, and that goes a long way.”

Keenum, making his first NFL start in place of the injured Matt Schaub, threw for 271 yards and a touchdown for the Texans.

His performance was overshadowed by a pair of crushing injuries: Running back Arian Foster left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return, and linebacker Brian Cushing was carted off with a left knee injury in the second half.

”It was very detrimental to us,” said Texans coach Gary Kubiak, whose banged-up team is riding its first five-game skid since Nov. 6-Dec. 11, 2005.

”When they can pin their ears back, they’re very, very difficult,” Kubiak said. ”They came and got us pretty good there late in the game.”

The Texans moved the ball well early on, taking the lead on Randy Bullock’s 48-yard field goal. But the scoring drive proved costly when Foster left for the locker room, and then emerged a short while later in a gray sweatsuit.

”I’m going do everything I can to get healthy and come back and fight,” he said afterward.

The Chiefs took the lead later in the first quarter when Charles pounded into the end zone from a yard out to cap an 82-yard drive. But the Texans, behind Keenum’s unflappable play, retook the lead on a 29-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins.

”He did a great job,” Kubiak said of his young quarterback, who beat out T.J. Yates for the starting nod. ”He’s got some things he’s got to understand when they come after him. But he made some great football plays to get his team in position to win.”

Indeed, the Texans still led 10-7 midway through the second quarter. Smith proceeded to guide the Chiefs 97 yards in 15 plays, and his 5-yard draw gave the Chiefs the lead at halftime.

Bullock tacked on two more field goals for Houston, and Ryan Succop hit one for the Chiefs, who came within inches of extending their 17-16 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Tight end Anthony Fasano caught a pass at the goal line and was ruled down, and Reid was unsuccessfully in challenging that it should be a touchdown. Charles was stuffed on the next play, and Smith’s pass to wide open Sean McGrath on fourth down was out of bounds.

It turned out that the missed points didn’t matter.

The Chiefs’ defense made sure of that.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals advance to World Series with 9-0 win over Dodgers

CardsST. LOUIS (AP) — Carlos Beltran, Michael Wacha and the St. Louis Cardinals are going to the World Series – not even Clayton Kershaw could stop them this year.

Beltran and the Cardinals stunned the Dodgers’ ace with a four-run third inning, Wacha was again magnificent on the mound and St. Louis advanced to its second World Series in three seasons by roughing up the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-0 in Game 6 of the NL championship series Friday night.

Wacha, a rookie, was selected MVP of the series after throwing 13 2-3 scoreless innings and beating Kershaw twice in the NLCS.

Matt Carpenter sparked St. Louis’ big third inning with a one-out double on the 11th pitch of his at-bat. Beltran singled him home and the Cardinals quickly removed all the suspense surrounding a team that squandered a 3-1 series lead in the NLCS last fall against San Francisco.

”I’m so happy right now. We did it as a team,” Beltran said. ”We fought hard, we worked hard all season long and thank god we’re here.”

Game 1 of the World Series is Wednesday at the winner of the ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers. The Cardinals won their 19th NL pennant and will be trying for their third title since 2006, last winning in 2011.

The glamorous Dodgers, with the second-highest payroll in baseball at $220 million, failed to reach the World Series for the first time since winning it all in 1988.

After losing Game 5 in Los Angeles, the Cardinals turned to Wacha once again. The right-hander was even better in outpitching Kershaw for the second time this series.

It was 52 degrees at game time, a 23-degree drop from the Kershaw-Wacha matchup in Game 2 six days earlier, and Kershaw never warmed up.

The top NL CY Young Award candidate was knocked out of a start for the first time this season without finishing the fifth.

Beltran had three hits and drove in two runs while facing Kershaw and made a spectacular catch in right field, helping him advance to the World Series for the first time in his 16-year career.

Perhaps showing the Cardinals weren’t stressed by the possibility of a second straight postseason meltdown, Games 1 and 5 starter Joe Kelly had a post-national anthem staredown against Dodgers reserve outfielder Scott Van Slyke that was broken up by a fed-up home plate umpire Greg Gibson after several minutes.

Kelly blinked first, all in good fun but, when it counted, St. Louis wouldn’t budge.

The Cardinals jumped on Kershaw in the third, batting around. After Wacha grounded out, Carpenter doubled in a gritty at-bat. Beltran singled him home for the game’s first run. With two outs, Yadier Molina added an RBI single, Shane Robinson drove in two runs with a single in his first career postseason start after replacing slumping Jon Jay – and advanced to second base on Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig’s first of two errors in the Cardinals’ big innings.

The Cuban defector also struck out twice and was booed heartily. Hanley Ramirez, a last-minute addition to the Dodgers’ lineup, went 0 for 3 while playing with a broken rib.

Kershaw needed 48 pitches, the most pitches of his career in one inning, in the third. He took exception one pitch in particular, complaining to plate umpire Greg Gibson after Matt Adams’ full-count walk loaded the bases.

The Dodgers bench also was vocal after the call on a pitch that may have been an inch or two low of the strike zone.

The Cardinals knocked Kershaw out in a five-run fifth. Adams doubled in a run to chase Kershaw. Wacha drove in one with a fielder’s choice grounder and Carpenter had a sacrifice fly

Wacha has a minuscule 0.43 ERA in three postseason starts, one of the gems in Game 4 of the division series to keep the Cardinals alive. In his last regular season start and the NL Central up for grabs, he no-hit the Nationals for 8 2-3 innings.

”There’s not anything you can’t say about him,” Kelly said of Wacha. ”He’s just going out there and pitching his butt off right now and as you can see he’s just a pretty damn good pitcher.”

Beltran was the star of the Cardinals’ 3-2, 13-inning Game 1 victory, driving in all three runs plus making a throw to keep it tied in extra innings.

Kershaw was charged with seven runs on 10 hits in four-plus innings. The lefty led the majors in ERA the last three years but has lost five straight starts against St. Louis.

None of his starts this year were shorter than five innings and the most runs he allowed was five, on two occasions. The four-run fourth was his worst since July 24, 2012, at St. Louis, when Kershaw yielded eight runs in 5 2-3 innings.

The Dodgers didn’t have much of a chance again Wacha.

Carl Crawford led off the game with an infield hit but was erased on Mark Elllis’ double-play ball. A.J. Ellis doubled to start the sixth and didn’t advance.

— Associated Press —

Cards drop Game 5 to Dodgers as NLCS shifts back to St. Louis

CardsLOS ANGELES (AP) — It took the Dodgers five games to hit a home run in the NL championship series. Once Adrian Gonzalez powered up for the first one, their dormant offense broke loose.

Gonzalez homered twice and Zack Greinke came through with the clutch performance Los Angeles needed in a 6-4 victory over the Cardinals on Wednesday that trimmed St. Louis’ lead to 3-2 in the best-of-seven playoff.

”Guys weren’t ready to lose today,” said Carl Crawford, who also went deep to help the Dodgers save their season.

Los Angeles held on in the ninth, when St. Louis scored twice off closer Kenley Jansen before he struck out pinch-hitter Adron Chambers with two on to end it.

The series shifts back to St. Louis for Game 6 on Friday night, with ace Clayton Kershaw scheduled to start for Los Angeles against rookie Michael Wacha.

When those two squared off in Game 2, the Cardinals won 1-0 on an unearned run.

”We’ve kind of become America’s team because everyone wants to see a seventh game,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. ”Probably even the fans in St. Louis would like to see a seventh game, so I figure that everybody’s for us to win on Friday night.”

The Cardinals also led last year’s NLCS 3-1 before losing three straight games to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

”We’re looking to do the same thing,” Gonzalez said.

Desperate to avoid elimination, the Dodgers brought in some Hollywood star power for pregame introductions. Will Ferrell announced their lineup and lent a comic spin to each player’s name, capping it by introducing Greinke as ”today’s winning pitcher.”

Ferrell knew what he was talking about.

Greinke got into a bases-loaded jam with none out in the first but escaped with no damage. From there, he pitched seven strong innings and even delivered an RBI single.

”That was big. I was real nervous out there with that situation,” Greinke said.

A.J. Ellis also homered at Dodger Stadium, where it is tougher to clear the fences in the heavy night air.

Helped by playing in 82-degree heat on a sunny afternoon, the Dodgers rediscovered their power stroke just in time to extend the series. They hit .274 in three games at home after batting .184 during the first two games in St. Louis.

”It was just one of those days that we were a little better, got some runs, good feeling,” Mattingly said.

The Dodgers regrouped after Greinke squandered an early 2-0 lead just as he did in Game 1, which Los Angeles lost 3-2 in 13 innings on the road.

After neither team homered in the first three games for the first time in NLCS history, the big bats came out. The Cardinals used a two-run homer by Matt Holliday and a solo shot from pinch-hitter Shane Robinson to win 4-2 on Tuesday night.

This time, Gonzalez went 3 for 4 with two solo homers and three runs scored. His two-out shot in the eighth made it 6-2.

”We have a team that can bounce back and do some pretty incredible things out there,” he said.

The Cardinals tied it at 2 in the third on Carlos Beltran’s RBI triple and Holliday’s run-scoring double before Yadier Molina grounded into his second inning-ending double play against Greinke.

”He wasn’t as sharp as he was the first time we faced him,” Beltran said. ”But guys like that, the best guys in the game, they’re able to regroup and find a way to help their team win.”

Los Angeles answered in the bottom of the third. Mark Ellis singled leading off but was erased when Hanley Ramirez grounded into a double play.

Gonzalez followed with the Dodgers’ first homer of the NLCS, slugging the ball an estimated 428 feet into the right-field pavilion for a 3-2 lead.

As he headed toward the dugout, Gonzalez cupped his hands to his ears and wiggled them in a gesture resembling mouse ears. It was an apparent jab at Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, who said Gonzalez had done ”some Mickey Mouse stuff” in celebrating a double on Monday night.

”It’s just having fun,” Gonzalez said. ”I’m going to retire them so they’re not talked about once again.”

Crawford egged Gonzalez on.

”I’m pretty sure it rubbed them the wrong way and they’re going to use that as some kind of fuel, so you might as well keep doing it,” Crawford said, laughing.

Gonzalez replied: ”Hey, if Carl wants them. It’s for him, not for anybody else.”

After wriggling out of big trouble in the first when Molina bounced into a double play, Greinke allowed two runs and six hits. He struck out four and walked one.

”He made his pitches, we made the plays, got out of it,” Gonzalez said. ”We were able to get run support for him. All he needed was a few runs.”

Jansen gave up RBI singles to Matt Adams and Pete Kozma in the ninth.

A.J. Ellis homered in seventh, sending an 0-2 pitch from Edward Mujica into the left-field pavilion to make it 5-2.

Crawford homered with one out in the fifth, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 4-2. He walloped a 3-2 pitch from starter Joe Kelly an estimated 447 feet into the right-field pavilion.

Kelly gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked none.

”I made a few bad pitches on heaters and didn’t locate that well, and they turned into home runs,” he said. ”With guys on base, I was going after them and attacking them with the fastball, but they’re good hitters and they put good swings on them and hit them out of the park.”

Beltran’s triple went over the head of Andre Ethier and to the wall in center, scoring Matt Carpenter, who singled. Holliday followed with a double to deep center, but that was it for St. Louis until the ninth.

”We had a couple of opportunities to do something, and we just couldn’t make it happen,” manager Mike Matheny said. ”These guys have done a tremendous job in those exact same situations all season long. You’re going to have games where you just can’t make it happen, and we’ve got to figure out a way to get it done the next time we get a chance.”

— Associated Press —

Cardinals hit two home runs to down LA and take 3-1 series lead

CardsLOS ANGELES (AP) — Matt Holliday and pinch-hitter Shane Robinson connected for the first home runs of the NL championship series, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven playoff.

In a series starved for offense, the Cardinals scored as many runs as they did in the first three games combined, when the teams totaled nine runs.

Hitless in his previous 22 at-bats at Dodger Stadium, Holliday sent a two-run shot off Ricky Nolasco an estimated 426 feet into left field, capping a three-run third that gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

Game 5 is Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, with the Cardinals one win from the World Series. Zack Greinke is set to start for the Dodgers against Joe Kelly.

Matt Carpenter had an RBI double in the third that scored David Descalso, who hit a leadoff single. Carpenter came around on Holliday’s homer after there were none in the first three games for the first time in NLCS history.

Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez, playing with a broken left rib, left in the middle of the sixth after striking out three times.

Cardinals third baseman David Freese came out after six innings. He left Monday’s game with a cramp in his right calf.

Carlos Martinez pitched two scoreless innings in relief of winner Lance Lynn. Trevor Rosenthal got three outs for the save.

After a leadoff single by Andre Ethier in the ninth, rookie Yasiel Puig grounded into a double play.

Robinson’s home run bounced off the top of the wall in left field on a 1-0 pitch from J.P. Howell with one out in the seventh, extending the Cardinals’ lead to 4-2.

Lynn allowed two runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. He struck out five and walked three.

The right-hander lost his only other start this postseason, giving up five runs over 4 1-3 innings in Game 2 of the division series against Pittsburgh.

The Dodgers were down 4-2 in the seventh when Nick Punto doubled with one out. Martinez, however, picked off Punto before throwing another pitch and then retired Carl Crawford on an inning-ending groundout.

Trailing 3-2, the Dodgers got the potential tying run on base with one out in the sixth when Puig singled up the middle to chase Lynn. Juan Uribe grounded into a double play against Seth Maness to end the inning.

The Dodgers stuck with Nolasco as their starter even though he hadn’t pitched since Sept. 29. He struggled in his last three starts in September, giving up at least five earned runs in each.

Nolasco was passed over for his scheduled assignment in Game 4 of the division series, when the Dodgers chose to use ace Clayton Kershaw on three days’ rest for the first time in his career. Kershaw pitched well and took a no-decision in a 4-3 victory over Atlanta that clinched the series.

Before this one, manager Don Mattingly had said Nolasco was being put in a difficult position after not pitching for so long. Mattingly said Kershaw and Greinke both offered to start on short rest at Dodger Stadium.

Nolasco allowed three runs and three hits in four innings. He struck out four and walked one.

Los Angeles scored twice in the fourth to cut it to 3-2. Adrian Gonzalez hit a leadoff double and scored on Puig’s single. A.J. Ellis singled to drive in Andre Ethier, who walked.

But just when it appeared the Dodgers had grabbed the momentum, pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker bounced into an inning-ending double play.

— Associated Press —

Chiefs add CB Vernon Kearney to practice squad

NFL: Cleveland Browns at Denver BroncosThe Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the club has added cornerback Vernon Kearney to the team’s practice squad roster.

Kearney (6-2, 185) originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Buffalo Bills on April 29, 2013. He was released by the Bills in May then signed by the Cleveland Browns prior to training camp.

Kearney was released by the Browns on Aug. 26. The Bradenton, Fla., native played collegiately at Lane College where he spent his first two years as a wide receiver before moving to the defensive backfield.

He totaled 45 tackles in his final two seasons with the Dragons along with two interceptions, seven passes defensed, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He prepped at Sarasota Riverview High School in Sarasota, Fla.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

St. Louis gets blanked by Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLCS

CardsLOS ANGELES (AP) — Led by a pair of precocious rookies, the Los Angeles Dodgers got themselves right back into the NL championship series.

Hyun-Jin Ryu outpitched Adam Wainwright with seven innings of three-hit ball, and Yasiel Puig tripled home a run to help Los Angeles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 on Monday night in Game 3.

Adrian Gonzalez’s RBI double ended a 1-for-17 drought for the Dodgers with runners in scoring position. An ailing Hanley Ramirez added a run-scoring hit of his own as Los Angeles handed Wainwright his first postseason loss and trimmed its deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Game 4 is Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, with Ricky Nolasco scheduled to start against St. Louis right-hander Lance Lynn.

Los Angeles got Ramirez and center fielder Andre Ethier back in the lineup after both proved in batting practice they were healthy enough to play. Ramirez wore a lightweight flak jacket to protect his broken left rib – having been hit by a pitch from Joe Kelly in Game 1 – while Ethier has been bothered by shin splints.

”What can I say? It couldn’t be better,” Ramirez said. ”Really happy we got the first win. Just come back tomorrow and even up the series.”

Ramirez singled his first time up off Wainwright and then helped the Dodgers extend their lead to 3-0 in the eighth.

Ramirez hit a soft single off Seth Maness over the head of new second baseman Kolten Wong to score Carl Crawford. The speedy Crawford, on second base after a one-out single, rounded third and never stopped running when the throw from the outfield went to second base.

On a close play at the plate, Crawford barely beat the tag by catcher Yadier Molina.

During the rally, retired Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda, whose 1988 team won the franchise’s last World Series title, stood up and waved his white rally towel to raucous applause.

Ryu and Wainwright were nearly even through the first three scoreless innings, with Wainwright giving up one hit. Ryu, who struggled in his first career postseason start in the division series against Atlanta, retired 12 of his first 13 batters, yielding only a walk.

Ryu was much improved after lasting just three innings as the first South Korean pitcher to start a playoff game last week against Atlanta. He allowed four runs on six hits for a no-decision in a game the Dodgers won.

The left-hander didn’t allow a Cardinals runner past second base. David Freese’s single to right leading off the fifth was their first hit of the game.

Freese was replaced by a pinch-runner in the fifth because of tightness in his right calf. He is day to day.

Ryu struck out four and walked one.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly came out to the mound accompanied by a translator with two outs in the seventh. Ryu responded by striking out Matt Adams to end the inning as catcher A.J. Ellis pumped his right arm in the air. Fans waved South Korean flags in support of Ryu.

Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for a save.

Wainwright gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked none in his first career postseason loss.

Puig’s RBI triple in the fourth snapped an 0-for-11 skid in the series.

After the first two games in St. Louis were decided by one run, the Dodgers got to Wainwright in the fourth and took a 2-0 lead.

Gonzalez’s double down the right-field line scored Mark Ellis, who doubled leading off. With two outs, Puig tripled off the wall in right, scoring Gonzalez.

Puig had struck out seven times before getting his first hit against the Cardinals. He raised his arms and watched the ball sail toward right before starting to charge harder when he realized it wasn’t going to be a home run. He ran into third base and clapped his hands before raising them again as the sellout crowd of 53,940 cheered.

”He brings unbelievable energy every day,” Ramirez said. ”When we spoke to him, he told me, ‘I got it today,’ and he did. He’s a great player.”

Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay was involved in an apparent miscommunication when the ball hit by Mark Ellis dropped between him and right fielder Carlos Beltran. The Dodgers’ first hit, a single by Ramirez to shallow center in the first, dropped between Jay and second baseman Matt Carpenter.

— Associated Press —

Chiefs stay unbeaten as defense dominates Oakland

ChiefsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid swore he could feel the ground shake.

Alex Smith couldn’t hear himself talking to his teammates. Dwayne Bowe said the deafening din inside Arrowhead Stadium reminded him of college.

Just imagine what it must have been like for the Oakland Raiders.

Buoyed by the loudest crowd to attend an outdoor sporting event, the unbeaten Chiefs took advantage of three second-half interceptions thrown by Terrelle Pryor to pull away for a 24-7 victory Sunday.

It was the first time in seven meetings at Arrowhead Stadium that the Chiefs (6-0) had beaten the Raiders (2-4), and it allowed them to press on with the second-best start in franchise history.

The Chiefs won their first nine games during the 2003 season.

”Every win is a great win, and when you can win with a crowd like this, it makes it even better,” Reid said. ”That was loud, real loud. The ground was shaking.”

According to an official from Guinness World Records, the volume reached 137.5 decibels in the closing minutes of the game, breaking the record of 136.6 set by Seahawks fans earlier this year.

”I was sitting there on the sideline and I could tell, it’s a hard environment to execute in,” said Smith, who threw for just 128 yards but didn’t make any big mistakes. ”It was pretty special.”

It wouldn’t have been nearly as special without a win.

Jamaal Charles ran for two touchdowns, and the Chiefs had 10 sacks while ending a three-game skid to the Raiders (2-4). They also held Darren McFadden, a thorn in their side, to 52 yards rushing.

”We were right there in the game, and we were punching back and forth,” said Pryor, who threw for 216 yards and a touchdown. ”I lost the game for us.”

That’s because the Chiefs turned his three interceptions into 17 points. The first led to Charles’ go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, the second resulted in Ryan Succop’s 33-yard field in the fourth quarter and Husain Abdullah returned the final one 44 yards for a score with 1:35 left.

Part of the problem, Pryor said, was the combination of crowd noise and a patchwork offensive line.

On one possession, Pryor was twice whistled for delay of game penalties because third-string center Mike Brisiel couldn’t hear him. Oakland also had a false start on the same drive, which ended in a punt.

The Raiders finished with 11 penalties for 68 yards.

”It’s a tough environment, but we’ve got to be mentally strong as a team,” Pryor said. ”I know sometimes I let it get away from me with the delay of game. Like I said, it’s experience.”

Oakland actually struck first in the second quarter when Denarius Moore beat Chiefs defensive back Marcus Cooper, starting in place of the injured Brandon Flowers, on a quick slant over the middle. Moore caught the pass from Pryor in stride and went 39 yards for the touchdown.

It remained 7-0 until the waning minutes of the first half, when the Chiefs took over at the Oakland 45. Pass interference on the Raiders’ D.J. Hayden on third-and-10 kept the drive alive, and Charles squirmed the 7 yards for the tying score with 1:06 left.

The Chiefs were poised to take the lead early in the third quarter, but Hayden stripped Donnie Avery of the ball inside the Oakland 10 and Charles Woodson recovered it. But the Raiders gave it right back when Kansas City brought a blitz and Pryor lobbed a pass that Quintin Demps picked off.

Five plays later, Charles plunged into the end zone to give the Chiefs a 14-7 lead.

The way their defense was playing, that proved to be enough. Kansas City kept up the heat on Pryor the rest of the way – on one drive, two penalties and two sacks left the Raiders facing fourth-and-48 at their 12. Not even their punt made it to the first down marker.

Cooper’s interception set up Succop’s field goal with 2 minutes left to put the game out of reach, and Abdullah’s pick-6 left the crowd packed inside Arrowhead Stadium rocking at the end.

”Opportunistic team,” Woodson said. ”They’ve been doing it all year long, late in games coming up with turnovers and things like that to give them a chance to win. That’s what happened today.”

— Associated Press —

Wacha, Cardinals blank Dodgers for 2-0 NLCS lead

CardsMatched against ace Clayton Kershaw, the only thing Michael Wacha lacked was a no-hit watch.

“He’s becoming a guy a lot of teams wish they drafted,” teammate David Freese said. “What he’s done is remarkable, especially on this stage.”

Wacha stared down a bases-loaded test in the sixth inning and pitched into the seventh, and the kids in the bullpen also were impervious to October pressure, keeping the Los Angeles Dodgers bats silent for the second straight day and winning 1-0 Saturday for a 2-0 lead in the NL Championship Series.

“I’m kind of at a loss for words to describe him,” said fellow rookie Kevin Siegrist, who got a big out to end the seventh. “It’s kind of ridiculous how well he’s done so far.”

The Cardinals managed only two hits off Kershaw and the Dodgers, but Jon Jay’s sacrifice fly set up by Freese’s double and A.J. Ellis’ passed ball in the fifth stood up.

The Dodgers’ scoreless streak in the NLCS reached 19 innings after they averaged 6½ runs in a four-game division series against Atlanta. Rookie fireballer Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side in the ninth with a heater reaching 101 mph, fanning pinch-hitter Andre Ethier on three pitches to end it.

A day after outlasting Los Angeles 3-2 in 13 innings, the Cardinals moved two wins away from the World Series.

Game 3 is Monday at Dodger Stadium, with Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright facing rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu. The Dodgers have already used their top two starters and have nothing to show for it.

“We don’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “We don’t deny also what’s happened here the last two days.

“Those were two very good wins, two very tough wins when you face starters like that.”

Hanley Ramirez and Ethier were out of the Dodgers’ lineup with injuries after starting in the opener. Los Angeles missed a handful of opportunities, going 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position for a two-day total of 1 for 16. Star rookie Yasiel Puig struck out in all four of his at-bats.

“We had our chances,” Kershaw said. “We had our chances, for sure. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Wacha.”

The teams may have been hindered by shadows creeping across Busch Stadium in a late-afternoon start, with lights providing no real help. Both also were no doubt fatigued, which might have shown on the crucial passed ball by Ellis that wound up resulting in an unearned run.

Wacha was nearly untouchable for the third straight start, allowing five hits with eight strikeouts and a walk in 6 2/3 innings.

The 22-year-old right-hander was one out away from a no-hitter in his last start of the regular season, losing it on an infield hit by Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman. Wacha ignored a crowd chanting his name in Game 4 of the division series at Pittsburgh, holding the Pirates hitless for 7 1/3 innings to bring the series back home.

In 22 2/3 innings in his last three starts, Wacha has given up two runs on seven hits with 26 strikeouts and five walks.

The 6-6 Wacha struck out Puig and Juan Uribe with the bases loaded to end the sixth. Catcher Yadier Molina helped by making a couple trips to the mound.

“That was a game-changer right there,” Molina said. “To get out of that inning was unbelievable.”

Kershaw led off with a single, and runners were on second and third after second baseman Matt Carpenter slid in shallow right to glove Carl Crawford’s infield hit but threw it away for an error trying to get a forceout at second.

Adrian Gonzalez was walked intentionally to load the bases and the Dodgers 4-5 hitters coming up. Puig struck out on a fastball in the dirt and Uribe had a feeble cut chasing a 1-2 pitch out of the zone.

Carpenter tripled on Kershaw’s first pitch of the game but didn’t budge when the lefty retired the next three on nine pitches.

The Cardinals had another runner at third with nobody out in the fifth after Freese doubled and advanced on a passed ball by Ellis. This time they converted on Jay’s sacrifice fly to shallow left as Crawford’s throw was well offline.

The previous pitch the Cardinals tried to squeeze in a run with the Dodgers infield playing in, but Jay fouled off a 1-1 pitch.

Kershaw worked six snappy innings, needing just 72 pitches. He gave up two hits and struck out five.

The majors’ ERA leader had plenty left, too, but the Dodgers needed runs and manager Don Mattingly opted for pinch-hitter Michael Young after Nick Punto’s two-out single in the seventh.

“I always want to stay in the game, but I understand where Donnie’s coming from,” Kershaw said. “I get it. We can’t give up any more outs and Michael Young is one of the best players the last 10 years.”

The Cardinals lifted Wacha for another stingy rookie. Siegrist, who had a minuscule 0.45 ERA in his debut season, threw a pair of wild pitches before getting Young on a flyout to end the seventh.

Relievers Randy Choate and Carlos Martinez pitched the eighth for St. Louis before turning it over to Rosenthal.

The Cardinals handed Kershaw two of his nine losses this season and have beaten him four consecutive times overall.

— Associated Press —

Beltran sends St. Louis to Game 1 win against Dodgers in 13 innings

CardsST. LOUIS — Carlos Beltran capped his latest scintillating postseason performance with an RBI single in the 13th inning early Saturday that lifted the St. Louis Cardinals over the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 in the NL championship series opener.

Beltran hit a tying, two-run double in the third inning, then threw out a runner at the plate from right field in the 10th to keep it even.

Well past midnight at Busch Stadium, Beltran singled into the right-field corner with one out against Kenley Jansen in the 13th to end a game that took 4 hours, 47 minutes. It was the longest postseason game for the Dodgers since the 1916 World Series.

Game 2 is Saturday afternoon.

Pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso singled with one out in the 13th off rookie Chris Withrow and Matt Carpenter walked. Jansen, usually the Dodgers’ closer, relieved and Beltran won it with his hit on a 3-1 count.

Winning pitcher Lance Lynn strengthened his case for a possible Game 4 start with two scoreless innings. Withrow took the loss.

The Dodgers had two on in the ninth, 10th and 11th and came up empty. They stranded 11 overall while going 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. They averaged 6 1-2 runs and batted .333, best ever in an NL postseason series, while taking a four-game division series from the Braves.

Neither team had much time to exhale before the next game, scheduled to start 14 1-2 hours after Descalso crossed the plate. It features a marquee pitching matchup — major league ERA leader Clayton Kershaw vs. Cardinals rookie Michael Wacha, who’s flirted with no-hitters his last two starts.

The Dodgers failed to capitalize on Zack Greinke’s season-high 10 strikeouts in eight stingy innings because they couldn’t knock out Joe Kelly.

— Associated Press —

Wainwright’s complete game lifts Cardinals past Pittsburgh in Game 5

CardsST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright went all the way and the St. Louis Cardinals got two-run homers from David Freese and Matt Adams to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 on Wednesday night, advancing to the NL championship series.

Wainwright scattered eight hits in his second dominant win of the division series, coming through for the Cardinals in a winner-take-all Game 5.

St. Louis gets to stay at home to open the NLCS against the well-rested Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.

The last three seasons, the Cardinals are 8-1 when facing elimination. They also won Game 5 of the NL division series at Washington last year and at Philadelphia in 2011.

Freese homered in the second inning off rookie Gerrit Cole and Adams connected in the eighth against reliever Mark Melancon to make it 5-1. Pete Kozma added an RBI infield single, and Wainwright finished it off by striking out Pedro Alvarez with two on.

Alvarez became the first player with an RBI in his first six postseason games on a fluke hit that caromed off first base in the seventh. But the Pirates were held to one run in each of the final two games in their first playoff appearance in 21 years. They haven’t won a postseason series since the 1979 World Series.

The 23-year-old Cole beat the Cardinals with an impressive effort in Game 2. They got to him early this time even though his fastball hit 100 mph in the first inning against Matt Holliday.

Freese made the kid pay for a full-count walk to Jon Jay with two outs in the second, lining a 1-2 pitch into the visitors’ bullpen in left.

The Pirates had the bullpen up in the fourth after Yadier Molina’s infield hit and a throwing error put runners on second and third. Cole gave up just three hits over five innings, but was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth.

Freese struggled this season to overcome a back injury in spring training and had nine homers and 60 RBIs. But just like teammate Carlos Beltran, he’s an October star with seven homers, 29 RBIs and a .325 average in 36 career postseason games.

Adams’ power hitting helped the Cardinals overcame a mid-foot sprain to cleanup man Allen Craig in early September and he hammered a first-pitch fastball from Melancon well over the right-field wall for his first RBIs of the series.

The Pirates scratched out their lone run on two infield hits and the single by Alvarez that looked to be a harmless inning-ending groundout before it hit the bag.

Freese was a hometown hero in 2011, both the NLCS and World Series MVP. He singlehandedly got the Cardinals to Game 7 of that World Series with a two-run triple with two outs and two strikes in the ninth and then ended Game 6 with a leadoff homer in the 11th.

The snapshot moment from the title run came when Freese joyously flung his helmet between the legs a few steps from the celebration waiting at the plate.

At 23 years, 31 days, Cole was the youngest NL pitcher to start Game 5 of a division series and the fifth-youngest NL pitcher to start a winner-take-all postseason game, according to STATS.

Counting the postseason, Cole didn’t allow a homer in six straight starts. That ended when Freese connected for a 2-0 lead in the second.

Starling Marte robbed Matt Carpenter of a hit with a diving catch near the left-field line in the third.

Neil Walker drew a one-out walk in the first off Wainwright, who issued just 35 walks in the regular season for third-best in the majors and none in Game 1, but went no farther. Carpenter was perfectly positioned at second base to snare a soft liner by Alvarez, flipping to first for an easy double play.

— Associated Press —

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