Biete - Kristall » on a poor defensive performance, the Wolverines

ST. LOUIS -- Jeremy Hazelbaker knew what he wanted to do in the ninth inning -- break up Kyle Hendricks no-hit bid.He delivered. Hazelbaker hit a leadoff homer for the St. Louis Cardinals only run Monday night in a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.Hazelbaker drove an 0-2 pitch into the right-field stands for his 12th home run of the season. Before that, he was 1 for 25 (.040) with an 0-2 count.You just want to break it up. Thats kind of what you want to do, but at the same time you dont go up to the plate thinking the guys got a no-hitter, Hazelbaker said. I wanted to put an end to it.Even though they lost, the Cardinals remained a half-game behind the Mets for the second NL wild card. New York was routed 8-1 at Washington.Ben Zobrist and Dexter Fowler homered for the Cubs, who lowered their magic number to three for clinching the NL Central. They lead the second-place Cardinals by 17 games and can wrap up the division with a three-game sweep in St. Louis.Hendricks (15-7) is the major league ERA leader at 2.03. He threw 96 pitches, striking out seven and walking two.If youre going to give it up, at least its that way and not a cheap hit, the right-hander said. I just left the ball up and he got it. It was just a changeup and I wanted to throw it in the dirt and get him to chase.St. Louis manager Mike Matheny was glad to see Hazelbaker get a hit.Obviously, Jeremy coming through there is something positive in the right direction, Matheny said. Its always good to score. We wanted to get something going.Its tough to get the offense going when a guy like Hendricks is pitching like he did tonight. I think that would be safe to say.Soon after Hazelbakers shot cleared the fence, teammates went to the mound to talk to Hendricks -- leading to an animated argument between Cubs manager Joe Maddon and plate umpire Joe West.Maddon was ejected for the third time this season, and Aroldis Chapman entered to finish the one-hitter. He got three outs for his 14th save with Chicago, and is 34 for 37 overall this year with the Cubs and Yankees.Maddon thought Hendricks did a good job holding down the St. Louis hitters.Thats a good lineup over there, he said. Theyve got professional hitters. They hit a lot of home runs.The Cardinals lead the NL with 205 homers, four of which have come off Hendricks.Mike Leake (9-10) pitched six innings before being lifted for a pinch hitter. Leake, making his second start since a stint on the disabled list due to shingles, allowed six hits and four runs (three earned).Its fun to watch, unfortunately, Leake said about Hendricks performance. Hes turned himself into a guy thats fun to watch.The Cubs took a 1-0 lead on a leadoff homer by Zobrist, his 15th, in the second. Chicago added a run in the third on an RBI single by Anthony Rizzo.Chicago made it 4-0 in the fifth. Javier Baez reached on a throwing error by shortstop Jedd Gyorko and scored when Fowler hit a one-out homer to right field.NOT AGAINThe last time the Cubs won a division title was 2008. They did it by beating St. Louis on Sept. 20 at Wrigley Field.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (right shoulder) threw batting practice to Brayan Pena, Jose Martinez and Alberto Rosario. Wacha said he hopes to come off the disabled list Wednesday. ... LF Matt Holliday took batting practice on the field for the first time since breaking his right thumb Aug. 11 against the Cubs. ... Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh, who has 17 saves and a 1.87 ERA, was unavailable Saturday and Sunday against Milwaukee because of a sore groin. Speaking through translator Eugene Koo, the reliever said he would not be available Monday but should be Tuesday.UP NEXTCardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (10-12, 4.58 ERA) makes his 29th start of the season Tuesday night, his most since 2011 when he made 32. He has started seven games against the Cubs and is 3-2 with a 2.27 ERA.Cubs: RHP Jason Hammel (14-8, 3.50) allowed nine runs -- eight earned -- and a career-high 13 hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 12-5 loss at Milwaukee last time out. He is 4-4 with a 4.80 ERA in 10 starts against the Cardinals.Wholesale Air Max 2018 Free Shipping . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Cheap Air Max 2018 .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. http://www.wholesaleairmaxsale.com/ . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Mens Air Max 2018 Grey . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. White Air Max 2018 On Sale . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year.ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Playing inside or outside, Moe Wagner doesnt have a preference. Just being on the floor for extended minutes is a priority right now for the 6-foot-11 Michigan sophomore from Berlin, Germany.Wagner played a season-high 25 minutes and responded with a career-high 20 points, leading four Wolverines in double figures during an 82-55 win over Kennesaw State on Saturday.Prone to foul trouble and defensive lapses for much of his college career, Wagner was able to show off both his 3-point range and post moves against an undersized Kennesaw State (3-6) team. He made 7 of 8 shots from the floor, including 3 of 4 3-pointers.Im just happy my teammates trust me with both aspects (inside and outside), so Im just going to keep working on both of them, said Wagner, who is shooting 17 of 22 (.772) over the past three games.Zak Irvin scored 19 points, D.J. Wilson added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Derrick Walton Jr. finished with 13 points and eight assists for the Wolverines (6-2).Like Wagner, Wilson has had his own battles with foul trouble. He was limited to two points in 11 minutes before fouling out in the Wolverines last game, a 73-70 loss to Virginia Tech. He and Wagner played together for extended stretches Saturday, giving Michigan a pair of players over 6-foot-10.We havent got the opportunity to play together a lot, but when we do I think it opens up a lot on things on the court, both offensively and defensively, said Wilson, who also made a 3-pointer along with being on the receiving end of two alley-oop passes from Walton. Were both versatile and both skilled.Although Wilson said part of his plan to stay on the floor longer was to take my foot off the gas peddle when going after offensive rebounds. He was still able to post the second double-double of his career.Were going to play a lot better teams than Kennesaw, but its good that (Wilsons) in there and and mixing it up, Michigan coach John Beilein said. Laast year, he spent a lot of time drifting around the 3-point line.ddddddddddddKennesaw State kept things interesting early when Kendrick Ray scored 10 of his game-high 24 points over a five-minute stretch of the first half to help the Owls erase Michigans early 10-2 advantage and take an 18-16 lead of its own.The Owls never led again, however, and Michigan was in control by halftime, when it used a 17-2 run to take a 47-29 lead into the locker room. The Wolverines biggest lead was 35 points midway through the second half.BIG PICTUREKennesaw State: Despite staying close early thanks to outside shooting, the Owls couldnt compete against the bigger Wolverines on the inside. Aubrey Williams, a 6-foot-7 forward who ranked fourth in the country with 12.8 rebounds per game, had just four against Michigans bigger post players.Michigan: Coming off a home loss to Virginia Tech, which Beilein blamed on a poor defensive performance, the Wolverines had a laundry list of things to improve on. Beilein noted that although Ray was able to knock down some shots, Walton and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman limited him to one assist and forced seven turnovers. The Wolverines also limited the Owls to three offensive rebounds, more than 10 shy of their season average.GOING FOR 80Michigan improved to 51-1 under 10th-year coach John Beilein when scoring 80 or more points.MILESTONE AWAITSSecond-year Kennesaw State coach Al Skinner missed in his first chance to pick up his 400th career victory. Instead, Belein won his 746th game, 488 coming at the Division I level.UP NEXT:Kennesaw State: The Owls have an 11-day break until playing Rider at the Gotham Classic at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14.Michigan: The Wolverines host Texas at 9 p.m. Tuesday before heading on the road Saturday to face a No. 11 UCLA team just upset No. 1 Kentucky. ' ' '