playing Burnett closer to the line of scrimmage.Burnett, a starting safety for Green Bay since his rookie season in 2010, started the Packers takeaway spree against the Seahawks on Sunday with an inter

ST. LOUIS -- Tuesday nights 12-5 victory for the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds produced one of the best moments of the season when Aledmys Diaz, playing his first game since the death of close friend Jose Fernandez, whacked a grand slam.But it didnt help St. Louis gain ground on the New York Mets or San Francisco Giants in the National League wild-card race. New York and San Francisco won their games easily Tuesday night, leaving the Cardinals (82-75) a game back of the Giants and 1 1/2 behind the Mets with five contests remaining.And now St. Louis faces Cincinnatis top pitchers in the series final two games, beginning Wednesday night when the Reds (66-91) send Anthony DeSclafani to the hill opposite old teammate Mike Leake.DeSclafani (8-5, 3.38 ERA) is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in six career outings against the Cardinals, although hes lost his last three starts, allowing 14 runs over 16 innings and giving up four homers.Leakes next good outing against Cincinnati, the team with whom he pitched the first five-plus years of his big league career, will be his first. The Reds rapped Leake (9-11, 4.72) around to the tune of a .343 average in three starts this year.Leake, whose ERA against Cincinnati is 8.31 this season, is coming off a 5-0 loss Friday at the Chicago Cubs, giving up five runs in 3 1/3 innings thanks in part to the shaky defense thats been a St. Louis pitfall all year.The teams have exchanged blowout wins in the series first two games. The Reds stomped the Cardinals 15-2 on Monday night before St. Louis gained revenge by belting five homers Tuesday night.I didnt anticipate that kind of vengeance. We beat them by 13 but that doesnt mean we have to lose to them the next game, Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said. I knew they wouldnt sit on their hands and wait to get beat. We got into some really bad counts and they just teed off on some fastballs.Although it hasnt happened quite as much to the Reds the second half of the season, Tuesday night was a bad flashback to the seasons first three months that paved the way for them to set an all-time MLB record for most homers allowed in a year. Theyre at 251 with five games left.Meanwhile, the Cardinals added to their NL home run lead and have 218 with five games left. Matt Carpenters 20th homer in the third inning made him the fifth player to reach 20 this year, tying a club record.Tuesday nights game also marked the first time since April 21, 2004 that they homered for the cycle. Besides Diazs emotional slam, Jhonny Peralta walloped a three-run shot, Matt Adams pinch-hit a two-run blast and Randal Grichuk joined Carpenter in the solo club.St. Louis might need to keep hitting at that rate to hold off Cincinnatis lineup.They arent making it easy for us, said Adam Wainwright, who picked up the win Tuesday night. Theyre working counts, fouling off tough pitches. Thats a good lineup over there.Custom Los Angeles Angels Jerseys . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. Angels Jerseys 2020 . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. https://www.cheapangels.com/ .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. Los Angeles Angels Store . On June 12, just as the sun sets on the magnificent historical city of Sao Paulo the inventors, innovators and purveyors of “joga bonitowill” open their campaign. The opponent, Croatia and all its football might and will. As opposites do attract we are set for a corker of an opener. Angels Jerseys China . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51.GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Now that converted wide receiver Ty Montgomery is listed as a running back, Morgan Burnett has no interest in a similar switch being made on the Green Bay Packers roster and depth chart.No, Im a safety, Burnett said with a big laugh Thursday. Thats what I am. Im a safety that sometimes plays in the box.Burnetts transition in recent weeks to playing a valuable role as a hybrid safety and linebacker comes just as the Packers defense is getting better as it gets healthier, especially in the secondary.Opponents have struggled to score points, the takeaways that were hard to come by earlier in the season are adding up, and Green Bay (7-6) is back to playing winning football in its quest for the playoffs.Guys are just starting to click, Damarious Randall said.Randalls return at cornerback has been a boost.The Packers have won all three games since Randall rejoined the starting lineup after he was sidelined for a month with a groin injury.Randall had two interceptions, a career high, in a 38-10 rout of the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.Those were among five Russell Wilson passes picked off by Green Bays revitalized group of defensive backs. The Packers forced a season-high six turnovers in the game.Everybody knows their role, and guys arent trying to play outside of their role, Randall said. Thats how you make up a great defense. Everybody is just doing their job and executing.Green Bay hasnt allowed more than 13 points in any of the past three games, the first time thats happened since the Packers Super Bowl-winning season in 2010.Next up is a trip to Chicago on Sunday. Green Bay stymied its longtime rival in a 26-10 victory at Lambeau Field in October.Coach Mike McCarthy feels continuity from having more bodies available has been vital to the turnaround for the defense.The Packers allowed 153 points and nearly 1,700 yards during a four-game losing streak that dropped them to 4-6.Since then, Green Bay has given up just 36 points and 953 yards the past three weeks.Weve got players coming back, McCarthy said. We were challenged in the secondary there for about a month and a half.dddddddddddd We had a position that was pretty much depleted in our corners. We were playing really, really young players. So the younger players are better (as) weve got guys back. If we can just keep players in the same position, well be better as we move forward.Green Bay still has some injury concerns at linebacker, however.Blake Martinez, a starter from the beginning of the season, has been sidelined a few weeks with a knee injury. Fellow rookie Kyler Fackrell also has missed significant time with a hamstring injury.And standout Clay Matthews has played in a greatly limited role the past two games because of a shoulder injury.Itll continue to get stronger and better, but unfortunately until the offseason, its not getting 100 percent healthy, Matthews said Thursday.Matthews wont know if hell need surgery for the shoulder until he sees a specialist after the season.By having a healthier secondary, defensive coordinator Dom Capers has compensated for the depleted depth at linebacker by playing Burnett closer to the line of scrimmage.Burnett, a starting safety for Green Bay since his rookie season in 2010, started the Packers takeaway spree against the Seahawks on Sunday with an interception.Hes a guy whos been around here who can handle those things, Capers said. Hes proven to us he can handle that. Weve asked a lot of him this year with all the moving parts weve had on defense.Game notesJames Starks remained in the concussion protocol Thursday after McCarthy said the veteran running back was in a car crash Monday. Starks is listed as a starter, but hes been unproductive with only six carries for 4 yards the past two games with Montgomery getting more of the rushing opportunities. ... QB Aaron Rodgers (calf) didnt practice for the second straight day as the team focuses on getting him healthy to play Sunday.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '