Vorstellung » suffered a broken left arm

ATLANTA -- When Andrelton Simmons botched a grounder, the St. Louis Cardinals seized their opportunity. For the Atlanta Braves, it was another night of missed chances. Matt Carpenters two-run double that helped carry St. Louis past the slumping Braves, who shook up their lineup but still lost their seventh in a row, 4-3 on Monday. The Cardinals scored three runs in the fifth inning, taking advantage of shaky defence by Atlantas Gold Glove shortstop. In fact, Simmons had a couple of plays that couldve been scored errors but were initially ruled hits. The second one was changed to an E-6 and turned out to be especially costly, leading to a pair of unearned runs. St. Louis built a 4-0 lead and barely held on to win the series opener. "It was big," Carpenter said. "Especially when we got out to a big lead, to be able to hold them off, that was big for us." Desperate for more offence, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez batted pitcher Aaron Harang eighth and put second baseman Ramiro Pena in the ninth spot. Pena had two hits, including a seventh-inning homer that brought the Braves within a run, but they couldnt overcome a 4-0 deficit. Juston Upton took a called third strike from Trevor Rosenthal to end the game with the potential tying run at second base -- Uptons fourth strikeout of the night and extending Atlantas woes with runners in scoring position. The Braves were 1 for 12 in those situations and are 6 of 51 during their losing streak, though Freddie Freeman saw some encouraging signs. "We hit some balls hard with runners on," he said. "We were in the game the whole game. We couldnt say that the past week." The last time the Braves had such a lengthy skid was May 21-28, 2012, when they dropped eight in a row. Their longest losing streak last season was four straight. Shelby Miller (4-2) got a shaky win, giving up six hits and two runs in five-plus innings. Trevor Rosenthal pitched out of trouble for his ninth save, giving up a leadoff single to Simmons. Jordan Schafer bunted the runner to second, but Pena flied out to right before Upton whiffed. Harang (3-3) took the loss, though he pitched much better than his previous start, when he was pounded for nine runs by the Marlins. This time, he gave up four runs in six innings but only two were earned. The game was scoreless until the fifth, when Peter Bourjos led off with a single before Mark Ellis grounded one off Simmons glove. The shortstop, looking to make a force at second, appeared to take his eyes off the ball as it skipped past him. After Miller bunted the runners to second and third, Carpenter doubled to right-centre to bring them both in. Matt Holiday followed with a hard liner past third baseman Chris Johnson to make it 3-0. "Those things happen," Harang said of Simmons error. "I told him not to be too hard on himself. Hes probably going to save my butt plenty of times this year." St. Louis added another run in the fifth on Bourjos RBI single, but Gonzalez challenged a call at third base that had seemingly given the Cardinals a 5-0 lead. Yadier Molinas bases-loaded grounder ricocheted off Harangs leg, right to Johnson at third. He caught it and blindly stepped back in search of the bag and managed to barely nick it, as the replay showed. The called was quickly overturned after a review of only 37 seconds. The Braves knocked out Miller in the bottom half of the sixth, the first three hitters reaching safely. The Cardinals went to the bullpen after Evan Gattis RBI single, and B.J. Upton followed with a sacrifice fly off Pat Neshek. Neshek escaped the jam by striking out Simmons. NOTES: The Cardinals sent pitcher RHP Joe Kelly back to St. Louis to continue his rehab from a strained left hamstring. "Joe just wasnt to the point where they thought they could push him, so keeping him around the rest of this road trip didnt make any sense," general manager John Mozeliak said. "I dont know Id call it a setback as much as he just wasnt progressing as quickly as we wanted." ... Atlanta RHP Gavin Floyd will make his season debut when he starts Tuesday against LHP Tyler Lyons (0-2) of the Cardinals. Floyd is coming back from Tommy John surgery and will start in place of Ervin Santana, who has a bruised right thumb. Ernie Banks Cubs Jersey . The 36-year-old Colts receiver is going back to the playoffs as a division champion. Stitched Cubs Jerseys . Ozuna hit Reeds 2-2 pitch off the batters eye far above the 407-foot sign in straightaway centre. It was the fifth blown save in 25 tries for Reed (1-5) and the ninth home run the closer has allowed in 38 appearances. Nuno, acquired in the deal that sent Brandon McCarthy to the New York Yankees, gave up three hits, struck out a career-high seven and walked one in seven innings. https://www.cheapcubs.com/2740t-ferguson...ersey-cubs.html. Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics. Chicago Cubs Gear . -- At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres. Ferguson Jenkins Jersey . The Italian side scored twice in a four-minute span in the second half to defeat former stars from S.CLEVELAND -- The Kansas City Royals needed a big hit. Mike Moustakas delivered it in an 8-2 win Tuesday night over the Cleveland Indians. Moustakas three-run homer was the key blow in a four-run fourth inning as the Royals raised their record to 10-0 when scoring at least four runs. The burst was more than enough for James Shields (2-2), who allowed two runs and struck out nine in six innings in winning his second straight start. "Moose drove one in the seats," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "It was good to see to get on the board like that." "Thats huge," said Shields, who has 21 strikeouts in his last two starts. "Were down 1-0 right there. Moose put a good swing on it and got us the lead." Yost knew his team was in good shape with his ace in charge. "Youve got James Shields on the mound throwing his usual game," Yost said. "Nine punch-outs and combine that with what he did his last start, thats pretty impressive work." Eric Hosmer had four hits, including an RBI double in the seventh. "I really didnt have my best stuff, but I located my fastball when I needed to and I got some early outs," Shields said. "Overall, it was a good outing." Cleveland manager Terry Francona turned 55 years old Tuesday, but the Indians were unable to win a third straight game for the first time this season. "Unfortunately, Shields is pretty much the same every time we see him. With his command and aggressiveness, hes one of the best," Francona said. Danny Salazar (0-3) didnt allow a hit until the fourth, but unraveled quickly when Hosmer led off with a single, the first of five hits in the inning. Billy Butler followed with another single before Salazar retired the next two hitters. Moustakas drove a 1-1 pitch into Kansas Citys bullpen in right field, breaking a 2 for 15 slump. Alcides Escobar followed with another single, stole second and went to third on catcher Yan Gomes throwing error. Jarrod Dysons bunt hit made it 4-1. Salazar didnt get through the fifth. Hosmer doubled with onee out and scored on Butlers double.dddddddddddd Hosmer was 4 for 5. His seventh-inning double gave Kansas City a four-run lead and he added a single in the ninth. "After that big swing from Moose, it loosened everybody up," Hosmer said. "We know anytime Shields is on the mound its not going to take very many runs to get a win." Salazar, who pitched well in 10 starts after being called up last season, hasnt been able to find the same consistency in his first four starts. The right-hander allowed five runs and seven hits in 4 1-3 innings. He struck out six. Shields allowed an unearned run in the second, but held the Indians in check until the sixth. Bourns bases-loaded single put Cleveland ahead. Second baseman Omar Infantes fielding error on Asdrubal Cabreras ground ball started the rally. David Murphy singled and Lonnie Chisenhall was hit by a pitch with two outs. Bourns sharp single to right scored Cabrera. Royals catcher Salvador Perez was 0 for 5 and is hitless in his last 22 at-bats. Cleveland third baseman Carlos Santana is in a 2 for 43 skid after going hitless in four at-bats. The game-time temperature was announced at 50 degrees, but a strong wind made it feel much colder. The crowd of 8,848 barely surpassed the all-time low at Progressive Field of 8,726. NOTES: Royals 1B coach Rusty Kuntz, who suffered a broken left arm during batting practice Monday, will undergo surgery Wednesday at Cleveland Clinic. Kuntz was struck by a line drive hit by Perez. Major league coach Mike Jirschele will fill in for Kuntz for at least the remainder of the series. ... The squirrel that ran on the field during Mondays game brought back memories for Francona when he was managing winter ball in the Dominican Republic. "It was about 15 minutes before the game and there was a goat, a dog and a chicken in centre field," he said. Francona said the intruders were removed by the time the game began. ... Royals LHP Jason Vargas (2-0) faces Indians RHP Justin Masterson (0-0) in the third game of the four-game set Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ' ' '