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ST. LOUIS -- When Cardinals manager Mike Matheny came to the mound in the seventh inning, Adam Wainwright focused on recording another out. Matheny left his ace in for one more hitter with two on and Wainwright responded with one more big pitch, and then left the mound with a whoop in a 5-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. "That was a couple weeks of frustration built up, just not making a pitch when I needed to," Wainwright said. "He just came out and gave me a little pep talk. "Hes a motivational speaker guy, hes very good at that." Yoenis Cespedes took a third strike on a full-count curveball and catcher Tony Cruz sprinted to the dugout before home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom raised his right arm. "Hes one of the top pitchers and when they get into trouble they find ways to get out of it," Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "Thats what he did. Thats why hes one of the best." Wainwright recovered from a shaky start to earn his 14th win, tying for the major league lead, and rookie Kolten Wong homered twice. "Hes got really impressive bat speed, always has," Matheny said of Wong. "You dont have to cheat. You just take the head of the bat to the ball and watch it jump." Jhonny Peraltas two-run double keyed a three-run first off Brandon Workman and Wong had his first multihomer game. The Cardinals took two of three from their stripped-down opponents, who beat them in the World Series last fall but are in last place in the AL East. "That first inning is kind of notorious in his career," Red Sox manager John Farrell said of Workman. Wainwright (14-6) needed 66 pitches to slog through the first three innings after the start was delayed by rain for more than an hour for the second straight night. The 6-foot-7 right-hander retired 11 in a row before the seventh. Wainwright has won at least 14 games each of the last three seasons. Wily Peralta won his 14th game earlier Thursday for the NL Central-leading Brewers, who are one game ahead of St. Louis. Workman (1-5) retired nine straight before Wong lined a 1-0 pitch over the right-field wall with one out in the fifth to put the Cardinals up 4-2. Wong then added his ninth homer in the seventh, a 423-foot shot off Craig Breslow. Mike Napoli and Christian Vasquez each drove in a run in the third, Wainwrights roughest inning. He had seven strikeouts and allowed seven hits, four of them in the third. SLOW STARTERS Workman has totalled 70 pitches in the first inning his last two starts, allowing five runs. He faced eight batters in St. Louis three-run first. TRAINERS ROOM Red Sox: David Ortiz was scratched because of concerns with wet grounds and Napoli got the start at first base instead. Ortiz pinch-hit in the eighth and lined out. Allen Craig (left foot sprain) is visiting with specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C., on Friday and will rejoin the team in Los Angeles. Cardinals: Closer Trevor Rosenthal made his fourth straight appearance in a five-day span on Wednesday and took the loss, surrendering the go-ahead run. He didnt warm up during the finale. All-Star setup man Pat Neshek finished for his third save in five chances, and first since June 17. "(Rosenthal) could have said whatever he wanted to say, it didnt really matter tonight," Matheny said. ON DECK The Cardinals sent Justin Masterson (1-0, 7.50 ERA) ahead to Baltimore, where he will oppose Chris Tillman (8-5, 3.78 ERA) on Friday night. He is 2-3 with a 6.98 ERA in six starts at Camden Yards. The Red Sox begin a three-game series at Los Angeles, with Allen Webster (1-1, 6.75 ERA) opposing the Angels Jered Weaver (12-6, 3.59 ERA). NOTABLE The Cardinals have won all four interleague series against the Red Sox and are 8-4 overall. ... Boston centre fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. was hitless in three at-bats before coming out in a double switch and is in an 0-for-27 slump. China NFL Jerseys . -- Canadas Justin Shin shot an 8-under 64 on Thursday on PGA Wests Nicklaus Tournament Course to take the first-round lead in the Web. Cheap Authentic Jerseys .The Dallas Cowboys released Sam from the practice squad Tuesday, dropping the rush end as they prepare for several potential reinforcements to return to the defensive line. http://www.authenticnfljerseys.net/.com) - James Harden had 32 points, including a tying layup late in regulation, and the Houston Rockets scored eight of their 13 points in overtime at the foul line to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-111 on Friday night. Stitched NFL Jerseys . Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, president of the EOM (Municipal Olympic Company), will be leaving her post but will remain as an advisor, a city hall statement said Tuesday. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Authentic . The 17-year-old had four goals and four assists in 38 games for Liberec in the Czech pro league this past season. Zacha had three goals and two assists in seven games at the world mens under-18 championship in April when the Czech Republic took the silver medal.Remember when Alonzo Mourning refused to play in Canada? How about Raptor power forward Antonio Davis? After blossoming into an All Star in Toronto, he opted out of his contract because he felt uncomfortable that his kids were singing O Canada. And learning the metric system. These were actual reasons he gave. I do not predict Amir Johnson feeling similarly. Something is happening — has happened — and it is a genie for whom the bottle will forever be too cramped. Turns out, after two decades of tumult and failure, subtly and steadily, Toronto has turned into a basketball mecca. In a fitting end to the roundball dominance of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, each respectively has been or is being upset by Wizards, common decency and your Toronto Raptors. This isnt emphatic hype from a success-starved fan. This is real. This is how the future of Toronto basketball is going to play out. (Results guaranteed or your money back.) First, Toronto is going to beat the Brooklyn Nets. They are going to do this because they are faster, stronger, better coached and more talented. My words to Garnetts ears, I think theyre tougher too. Id confidently go to battle against KG, Pierce and Deron Williams with Lowry, Amir and Jonas. (Toronto can also selectively deploy Tyler Hansbrough, forcing Brooklyn to be mindful of his ever-present Metta World Peace potential. Observe when Hansbrough is deployed in a game. Always during a "Charles Oakley moment" when a teammate is being manhandled or has taken a series of tough fouls, and it is time for a guy made of elbows to contribute. Last game he played for 8 minutes, committed 3 fouls, and even touched the ball a few times.) The only reason the series goes seven is Torontos lack of experience. Heading into Game 5, the Raptors are now nearing the point of enough collective savvy and bend-but-dont-break guile to beat these paper tigers. The New Jersey Nets of Brooklyn are going down. (Sidenote on Donald Sterling: I would be neglectful not to mention the shadow hanging over an otherwise terrific first round of NBA playoffs. This is a teachable moment to talk about prejudice, especially when a Toronto club has experienced something similar. Remember when Harold Ballard warned us of the Soviet threat in 1979, proclaiming no Russian would ever play for the Maple Leafs, that they were "parasites and barnacles who steal our money?" I think Nikki Borschevsky told me that story. It was just the kind of boldly regressive, anti-humanistic rhetoric which helped spurn a generation of iconic movie villains from Ivan Drago to Boris the Blade. We may never see the same yield of film icons, but after commissioner Adam Silvers welcome and decisive announcement, I guarantee this whole affair ends in the plus column. Before you can explain to your mother that "Instagram is like Twitter with more pets," Magic Johnson will own an NBA team and Donald Sterling will not. Let him waste away in his underground lair, using his billions for, oh, I dont know, drumming up support to bomb North Korea? Backing anti-climate change lobbyists? Pouring millions into Monsantos nuclear corn division? Im not really sure what super-villains are into these days.) Speaking of villains, up next will be Miami, a team Toronto will not get past. This second round series is whats known in the business as "valuable experience". Any team on its way up bonds, grows and learns how to win by getting beat bby the best.dddddddddddd Do not be surprised when T.O. finds a way to win a game, maybe two (possibly three). This years Heat have a touch of the Nets in them (see: slow, creaky). They also have Lebron so they will be winning. 2014/15. Critical mass. The season NBA fans will remember as the Canadian Invasion. The one lasting achievement of the Vince Carter-era is inspiring a generation of local athletes to basketball greatness. The talent emerging is staggering, and some of it a credit to Carter as the deified player who sparked their imagination as kids. He, and two-time MVP Steve Nash, have long been the main influences for young Canadian ballers. In 1996, Nash was drafted 15th overall, the highest pick in NBA history for a Canuck. But years would pass. Bill Wennington would retire. Carter would move on to half-ass it in other cities. The Northern Uprising would start afresh in 2011, when Cleveland drafted Toronto-native Tristan Thompson 4th overall, a new record. Emerging San Antonio Spurs point guard Cory Joseph, a native of nearby Pickering, was drafted 29th. By 2012, a record five Canadians would be drafted, led by Orlando forward Andrew Nicholson (taken 19th). 2013 would be uncharted territory for Canadian ball. It was the first time two Canadians were selected in the lottery, including 13th selection, Toronto-native Kelly Olynyk and, shockingly, another Toronto-native, Anthony Bennett, going first overall. FIRST OVERALL. And he wasnt supposed to be the guy to accomplish that. That honour was being reserved for 2014s expected draft class hero, Raptor fan, and Toronto-native Andrew Wiggins (note the geographic trend). He may still wind up chosen first overall. Highly-touted Toronto-born Tyler Ennis is also declaring for this years draft and expected to go in the first round. 7-foot-5-inch Sim Bhullar (of Toronto) has a chance to be drafted as the first NBA player of Indian descent. Mississauga-native Nik Stauskas is considered a potential lottery pick. The list is long. Peruse the 2014 mock draft board. I did the math. Toronto is the best represented city in the world. Though the seminal players in Torontos basketball history may not be the most beloved, Marcus Camby, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Chris Bosh represent a considerable quantity of upper echelon talent which will someday appear as the bedrock on to which greater success was built. They are testament that superstars can be developed in Toronto, in Canada, where Vince Carter led fan voting for the All Star game four times, and Terrence Ross has been turning on young fans with dunk championship flare. More winning will build more local talent. Perceptions will change. A noteworthy cogitation to pull all this accounting together. It is entirely plausible there could come a day — there will come a day — when great players around the league are nagging their agents, opting out of contracts early, even colluding with their talented buddies...to come to Toronto. With so much homegrown talent pouring into the league, the standard could well be broken soon, where the prominent talents want to come to Toronto rather than dismiss it. To some extent, it is going to happen. To what extent, will be exciting to witness. >> Gallays Poll #8 << Who would you most like to see receive a hard foul from Tyler Hansbrough?(A) Kevin Garnett (most likely)(B) Jason Kidd (less likely)(C) Jay-Z (unlikely)(D) All of the above (almost certainly) ' ' '