to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The

There arent many teams that the St. Louis Cardinals have been able to beat at Busch Stadium this year.One of them is coming to town for the next four games, which might be the boost St. Louis needs as it fights for one of two National League wild-card spots with San Francisco and the New York Mets.The Cardinals welcome the Milwaukee Brewers for the opener of a four-game series Thursday night. St. Louis is 30-37 at home but 5-1 against Milwaukee, including a three-game sweep July 1-3.Although they went 5-4 on a nine-game road trip, the Cardinals (73-65) ended it with a 4-3 loss Wednesday night to Pittsburgh, enabling the surging Mets to tie them for the second wild-card spot. Both teams are a half-game behind the Giants, which blew a ninth inning lead at Colorado Wednesday night and fell 6-5.Had St. Louis delivered a bit better with runners in scoring position in its series finale against the Pirates, it could have overtaken the Giants. But it instead went 3-for-14, failing to add on to its first inning run after the first three hitters singled, hitting into a double play with the bases loaded in the fourth and leaving Yadier Molina stranded in the eighth after his leadoff double.We had chances, lot of chances, but we didnt execute in certain situations and it cost us, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.Whats more, St. Louis saw its streak of games with a homer end at 25, which tied a National League record set earlier this year by San Diego.While St. Louis lost a game it could have won, the Brewers (62-77) were taking two of three from the Chicago Cubs, including a 2-1 verdict Wednesday night that saw third baseman Jonathan Villar homer twice.Chicagos magic number dropped to nine in the National League Central, but Milwaukee battled in the series as though it was pushing for a postseason berth.That felt like a real baseball game, like one youre on the edge of your seat the whole game, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. It was a game youre hanging on every pitch, literally.Milwaukee gives the ball to right-hander Junior Guerra (7-3, 2.85 ERA) for the series opener. Guerra, who dropped his only start this year against the Cardinals, just returned from a disabled list stint against Pittsburgh on Saturday, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings before leaving after reaching 70 pitches.St. Louis counters with lefty Jaime Garcia (10-11, 4.41), whos dropped his last three starts, although he pitched well for six innings in a 9-1 setback at Cincinnati on Saturday. Garcia is 2-1 in three starts this year against the Brewers with both wins coming at home.St. Louis leads the season series 11-4, and is 59-28 against Milwaukee since the 2012 seasons beginning. Bud Norris Blue Jays Jersey . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. Dalton Pompey Blue Jays Jersey . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. http://www.bluejaysonline.com/blue-jays-joe-carter-jersey/ .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Marcus Stroman Jersey .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. Bud Norris Jersey . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. OXON HILL, Md. -- The ballots of individual voters for baseballs Hall of Fame will be released publicly starting with the election results announced in January 2018.The Baseball Writers Association of America approved the decision by an 80-9 vote Tuesday during its winter meetings session. The ballots will be made public seven days after the vote totals are announced.Voters, who have been members of the BBWAA for 10 consecutive years, have beenn free to announce their votes on their own, and about half have done so in recent yearsAt the meeting, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post was elected to a one-year term as BBWAA president and Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald was elected vice president, putting him in line to become president next year.dddddddddddd ' ' '