ST. cheap jerseys from china . LOUIS -- Chicago Cubs closer Jose Veras stumbled first. Then it was Trevor Rosenthals turn to fail -- at the plate and on the mound. Welington Castillo hit a three-run homer in the 11th inning off the St. Louis closer, who struck out with an unusual chance to win it, and the Cubs beat the Cardinals 6-3 on Friday night. "I know he throws really hard," Castillo said. "So I just waited for something over the plate that I can drive, and I put my best wood on it." The Cardinals tied it with two runs in the ninth and had runners on first and second with two outs in the 10th when manager Mike Matheny decided against a pinch hitter. Rosenthal (0-1) took a called third strike in his second career at-bat and said he didnt carry any disappointment back to the mound. "Uh no, because I mean, Im not here to hit," Rosenthal said. "So its easy to kind of brush it off and just go out there and try to have another shutdown inning." Nate Schierholtz doubled for his fourth straight hit leading off the 11th and advanced on a sacrifice. Starlin Castro was intentionally walked and Ryan Kalish popped out on a bunt attempt before Castillo lined a 1-1 fastball 426 feet to left for his second homer. "I figured he might be hunting for a fastball," Rosenthal said. "Looking at the video, I didnt get it up quite as much as Id hoped, but he put a good swing on a good pitch. "Not much you can do about it." Justin Grimm (1-0) walked Matt Holliday and Matt Adams on eight pitches to start the 10th but got out of it, partly because Matheny left Pete Kozma and Tony Cruz on the bench. Grimm struck out Yadier Molina and got Shane Robinson to fly out before facing Rosenthal. Matheny said hed have batted Kozma with less than two outs. He also banked on another shutdown inning from Rosenthal, who needed just six pitches in the 10th. "Youve got a real good feeling hes going to bring us back in with another zero," Matheny said. "We had two shots at getting the guy in from second." Hector Rondon finished for his first career save. Veras hit two batters and walked another in the ninth. One run scored on a passed ball by Castillo, helping the Cardinals score twice in the inning. Matt Carpenters bases-loaded sacrifice fly tied it at 3. Veras has blown both his save chances and has allowed five earned runs in 3 2-3 innings with three hit batters and seven walks. "A shaky outing," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said, "but hes still our guy." Chicago starter Jeff Samardzija worked seven economic innings for the third straight start, exiting with a 1.29 ERA. He finally got some runs to work with, but was denied a win for the ninth straight outing since Aug. 24 at San Diego. "You keep pitching and giving your team a chance to win," Samardzija said. "Everyone is trying to do their jobs and sometimes balls find holes, and sometimes they dont." Ryan Sweeneys RBI single off Carlos Martinez tied it in the seventh and was the Cubs first run in 21 innings when Samardzija starts. Anthony Rizzos sacrifice fly off Kevin Siegrist snapped a tie in a two-run eighth. Cubs pinch hitters were 1 for 18 before the eighth inning when Justin Ruggiano, batting for Samardzija, singled off Martinez, and Mike Olt, batting for Luis Valbuena, singled off Siegrist. Molinas RBI single in the second was his 10th hit in 18 career at-bats against Samardzija. He had two hits and is batting .455 (25 for 55) with three homers and 17 RBIs against the Cubs the last two seasons. Cardinals starter Joe Kelly allowed an unearned run in six innings. He faced the minimum through the first five innings with the help of two double-play balls. NOTES: The Cubs appeal of a hit by pitch call on Allen Craig in the ninth was denied. ... Castro got a strange assist at SS in the fourth when he staggered and dropped Hollidays towering popup with a runner on first. The ball rolled directly to second baseman Emilio Bonifacio for a forceout as Kolten Wong slid back into first. ... Adam Wainwright (1-1, 1.29 ERA) faces Carlos Villanueva (1-2, 4.26) on Saturday. ... Kelly has pitched at least five innings in all 31 career starts, the longest streak by a St. Louis starter 25 or younger since 25-year-old Dizzy Dean went 35 in a row in 1935, according to STATS. ... St. Louis SS Jhonny Peralta was hitless in three at-bats before coming out in a double switch and is 2 for 31 (.063) on the season, both home runs. jerseys from china . Blake Griffin had 27 points and eight rebounds, Chris Paul added 19 points -- including a go-ahead layup in the final minute -- and the Clippers beat the Hawks 109-108 on Saturday night for their season-high seventh straight win. "In the locker room, I almost felt like we lost the game, because we expect a lot from themselves," Paul said. wholesale jerseys . The executive board of the Major League Baseball Players Association voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Clark to replace Michael Weiner, who died Nov.BRADENTON, Fla. -- Pitcher Wandy Rodriguez contributed a two-run homer and RBI single as the Pittsburgh Pirates got 29 hits Tuesday and routed the Toronto Blue Jays 22-5. Starling Marte and Jose Tabata each homered and drove in four runs. Marte got five hits and Tabata had four. The Pirates finished with nine extra-base hits. In his first at-bat of the spring, Rodriguez hit a full-count fastball from J.A. Happ into the Pirates bullpen in right field. "Its a 3-2 count and I knew the fastball was coming," Rodriguez said with a laugh. "I made good contract and the wind helped me, too. I dont have a lot of power." Rodriguez added his single in an eight-run fourth inning. Rodriguez made his final start of spring training, working 4 2-3 innings and allowing three runs on six hits and four walks. Matt Tuiasosopo hit a solo home run for Toronto. Happ did not help his bid to claim a job in Torontos rotation. He faced 20 batters in three-plus innings and allowed seven runs and 12 hits. "I was throwing a lot of strikes on a tough-conditions day," Happ said. "They were putting the ball in play. I feel good about throwing the ball in the zone, but this is one start that Ive just got to try to get over." Blue Jays: With a 20.57 ERA after five outings, Happ might not beat out Dustin McGowan for the final open spot in the starting rotation. Happ, however, said he came to camp believing the job was his and doesnt believe its in jeopardy. "I dont know whos all saying things have changed," he said. "I guess Im not part of those conversations. I havent had one with anybody whos telling me things are changing. Its you (media) guys saying that. I take positives and move forward, and I plan on getting better." Happ has been bothered by a sore back, but said he feels fine now. Would he be willing to pitch in relief if he doesnt crack the rotation? "Im not thinking about that," he said. "Ill answer that question if one of the bosses decides he needs to ask me that. Well deal with that then." McGowan pitched in a minor league game and allowed three hits in four innings. He likely will start another minor league game Sunday. Pirates: As the No. 3 starter in the rotation, Rodriguez is scheduled to make his season debut April 4 against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. Last year, he made only 12 starts due to chronic forearm pain and went 6-4 with a 3. cheap nfl jerseys. 9 ERA. He will be a free agent after this season. "I feel very happy because when I started spring training, I was thinking a lot about my arm," Rodriguez said. "Every time I throw, I feel good." Pirates: Left-hander Francisco Liriano (groin) will throw off a mound Wednesday in a simulated game. If the injury has not improved and he must start the season on the disabled list, right-hander Brandon Cumpton is a possible replacement. Cumpton replaced Edinson Volquez as the scheduled starter Wednesday against Minnesota. Volquez instead will throw two or three innings in a simulated game. Pirates: First baseman Andrew Lambo was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis, which means non-roster invitee Travis Ishikawa likely will begin the season as the Pirates backup first baseman. "I looked at other situations last winter," Ishikawa said. "The thought of playing time, good chance of making the club, was definitely more positive here than other places." Lambo, who was converted this spring from an outfielder to first baseman, hit .095 with a .269 on-base plus slugging percentage in 17 games. Ishikawa, a natural first baseman, is batting .333. "Andrew exceeded expectations defensively," general manager Neal Huntington said. "Offensively, the results werent there. He faced a lot of fastball-count offspeed pitches. In our mind, the right thing to do to get him back on track was to have him start the season in Indianapolis." Blue Jays: Tuiasosopo continued his six-day audition for a backup outfielder job after being claimed off waivers from Arizona. He went 1 for 4 and is 2 for 7 in two games with Toronto. Pirates: Outfielder Jaff Decker and reliever Jared Hughes were optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Pitchers Adam Wilk, Jay Jackson, Zack Thornton and Daniel Schlereth; outfielder Chris Dickerson; catcher Omir Santos; and infielders Robert Andino and Michael Martinez were reassigned to minor league camp. The Pirates acquired right-hander Vance Worley from the Twins for cash considerations and assigned him to minor league camp. The 26-year-old Worley made his big league debut in 2010 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Last season, he went 1-5 with a 7.10 ERA in 10 starts with the Twins. cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '