ST. LOUIS -- When it comes to being a hitter, St. Louis rookie Michael Wacha would rather talk about his pitching. Wacha threw seven innings and drove in two runs with a single, helping the Cardinals to a 5-3 victory Thursday over the Chicago Cubs. The 6-foot-6 Wacha (3-3) had lost his last three decisions since an April 13 win over the Cubs. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed seven hits, including a homer, but did not walk a batter. He struck out five. "I was able to pound the strike zone down in the zone and it was pretty effective," Wacha said. "I kept them off-balance, which means its a pretty good day. Its definitely nice to go deep into a ballgame and get a win. It definitely gets your confidence going in the next start thats for sure." Trevor Rosenthal pitched 1 2-3 innings for his 11th save. Rosenthal, who blew a save Tuesday, inherited a one-out, bases-loaded situation and gave up a sacrifice fly, but closed out the inning and retired the side in the ninth. The Cubs have lost nine of their last 11 and are off to the worst start in 39 games (13-26) since 2002. Jason Hammel (4-2) gave up five runs on five hits and two walks in 5 1-3 innings, raising his ERA to 3.06. Hammel had six strikeouts. St. Louis scored four runs in the second inning on Wachas two-run single in between a run-scoring groundout by Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenters RBI double. It was Wachas first hit and RBIs of the season. "Its nice to finally have a batting average," Wacha said. St. Louis manager Mike Matheny noted it was a timely hit. "Mike was good and obviously getting that hit there to drive in a couple runs it was kind of a huge boost to us at that point," Matheny said. With two outs, Hammel might have escaped with little damage but he had to throw a strike on a 3-2 count to Wacha and the bases loaded. "I got behind Wacha with two wild ones," Hammel said. "I came in with a fastball and he hit it." Chicago got two runs back in the fourth on a home run just inside the left-field foul pole by Starlin Castro. He drove in No. 3 hitter Anthony Rizzo, who beat the St. Louis shift to the right side with his second bunt to the left side in two at-bats. Rizzo has three career bunt singles with the Cubs with one coming in his previous 285 games. "If theyre going to give me that, I might as well take it," Rizzo said. "We were able to cash in once. I almost make them pay twice for it. Wacha is a great pitcher but you get him on the stretch and try to get him off his game a little bit. "You know if teams are going to give me that, for the most part, Im going to take it every time." When Rizzo came to bat in the fifth and seventh, St. Louis did not shift. "Rizzo took advantage of the shift until they changed their defence on him," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. "That led to our first two runs when Starlin drove the ball out of the ballpark. Hes really looking at the game from a lot of different angles. Think about it, youre down four runs and a solo home run is not going to do a whole lot for you." The Cardinals made it 5-2 when Molina lined a 3-2 pitch just inside the line in left for a one-out RBI single. Junior Lake hit a sacrifice fly for a run in the eighth, but Rosenthal got out the jam. St. Louis lost a challenge in the third when Matt Holliday was called out on a close play at first after hitting a grounder to shortstop. The time of the review was 2 minutes, 54 seconds. NOTES: Missouris new basketball coach Kim Anderson threw out the first pitch. "It was an honour to throw the first ball out," he said. "I was nervous out there, but its something I will never forget." ... The Cardinals announced the time for making up Wednesdays game with the Cubs that was rained out. It will be played at 1:15 p.m. Aug. 30 as part of a split doubleheader. The second game will start at 7:15 p.m. instead of 6:15 p.m. ... The Cardinals recalled 2B Kolten Wong on Wednesday from Triple-A Memphis and optioned infielder Greg Garcia back to the club. Wong was optioned April 27 after hitting .225 in 20 games. He hit .344 in 10 games at Memphis. He was not in the starting lineup as he was still battling the effects of a stomach virus. Cheap Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Jerseys . The 23-year-old Poland international is back as first choice at Arsenal after losing his regular spot in the team on occasions over the last three seasons. Wholesale Angels Jerseys .Y. - DeMarre Carroll felt as though he couldnt miss in the second quarter as he outscored the Brooklyn Nets 14-13 all by himself. http://www.cheapangelsjerseys.com/. But Josh Bailey scored the shootout winner to lead the Islanders to a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in a battle of the Eastern Conferences two worst teams. Cheap Angels Jerseys Authentic .com) - Roosevelt Jones had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead No. Cheap CJ Wilson Jersey . -- J.R. Sweezy was the one part of the Seattle Seahawks offensive line that had avoided injuries or having to change positions this season.Liverpool entered the international break just two points behind league leaders Manchester City after a four-match winning streak. Jurgen Klopps side have convincingly swept aside reigning Premier League champions Leicester City, Arsenal and Chelsea as well as taking a point off an undefeated Tottenham side at White Hart Lane. However, there are still the same concerns over Liverpools inability to keep a clean sheet, something which will undoubtedly hinder a title challenge. The Merseyside club have conceded the most goals in the leagues top 10 and are on course to concede over 50 goals this season. Liverpool resisted the urge to dip into the January transfer market last season but if their form continues and they are still in the title picture after the busy Christmas period, Klopp may use the window to bring in reinforcements.With the help of our friends at Football Whispers, whose unique algorithm tracks the likelihood of deals being done, here are a few of names who are likely to be linked with a move to Anfield…Niklas Sule Hoffenheims Niklas Sule has been linked with a move to Liverpool Current Club: TSG HoffenheimPosition: Centre-backLinked By: Daily Mail and BildCurrent Football Whispers Rating: 1.9Highest Football Whispers Rating: 3.6 (23rd May 2016)Towards the end of May the Daily Mail linked the 21-year-old with a move to Liverpool but nothing materialised as the club opted to bring in Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan.However, according to German outlet Bild, the Reds interest in the centre-back appears to have been reignited. The report suggests Liverpool are exploring the possibility of signing the German in January in the hope the 65 giant puts an end to their defensive aerial struggles.This was eluded to on Monday Night Football by Jurgen Klopp when appearing as a guest last month, stating that the team are notorious for conceding an alarming amount of their chances from crosses and set pieces. Sule represented Germany U23 at the Rio olympics Sule, an Olympic silver medalist, has caught the eye of many of Europes big clubs due to his imposing presence, reading of the game and ability on the ball as well as his defensive intelligence. This season so far hes won 13 tackles, six aerial duels and has managed 10 interceptions. Another standout trait, and one that may make him an attractive proposition for Liverpool, is his passing ability. On average he makes 54 passes per 90 minutes and has a 90 per cent pass success rate.Another appealing trait is his discipline. Despite Bundesligas frantic pace, he rarely commits fouls. Having appeared 33 times in the league during the 2015/16 season, he picked up just four yellow cards and has carried on in a similar vein this season, featuring five times in the league without picking up a caution.Michael Keane Keanes form has seen him called up by Gareth Southgate for England duty Current Club: BurnleyPosition: Centre-backLinked By: Kop TalkCurrent Football Whispers Rating: 1.0Highest Football Whispers Rating: 1.4 (3rd October 2016)Keanes rise has been meteoric. The Stockport-born defender started his career at Manchester United and made his debut for his boyhood club in the League Cup in 2012. He then made his Premier League debut for the Red Devils in August 2014. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. Sandwiched between these two debuts for United were loan spells at Leicester, Derby County and Blackburn Rovers. However, it wasnt until a loan move to Burnley in September 2014, which was made permanent in January 2015 for a reported £2.5m, that Keanes career started to develop.He missed just two Championship games last season as Burnley won promotion back to the Premier League and his form alerted the likes of Leicester, who reportedly had a £17m bid turned down, as well as Chelsea, whose reported £25m bid in August was rejected before the London club moved on to sign David Luiz. Keane has been in impressive form for Burnley so far this season One of his strengths is just how dominant he is in the air, winning 15 aerial duels in his seven league games this season. Burnleyy may be a defensive side but Keane manages to complete 81 per cent of the 31 passes he attempts on average per 90 minutes.ddddddddddddKeanes imposing performances so far this season, coupled with the fact he has less than two years remaining on his current deal, mean Burnley may have a task keeping hold of their centre-back in January.Alternatively, Klopp may opt to stick with Dejan Lovren. The Croats form since the appointment of the German has been close to that which convinced Liverpool to pay £20m to sign him from Southampton in 2014. Liverpools Defensive Options - Football Whispers The 27-year-old has won 22 aerial duels and made 13 interceptions already and of the 60 passes he attempts on average per 90 minutes he completes 84 per cent of them. There are signs of an understanding starting to form with Joel Matip at the heart of the defence.Leonardo Pavoletti Leonardo Pavoletti has scored twice in Serie A so far this season Current Club: GenoaPosition: StrikerLinked By: TuttomercatowebCurrent Football Whispers Rating: 1.4Highest Football Whispers Rating: 1.9 (7th October 2016)The 27-year-old striker had a bit of a nomadic career before finding a home at Serie A team Genoa. Since making his debut in 2006, Pavoletti has played for nine teams but it wasnt until his €4m move to Genoa, and the 14 goals and three assists in just 1,917 minutes throughout the 2015/16 season that big teams started to take note. Italian striker Pavoletti is a brute in the air and since joining Genoa and has won four aerial duels per 90 minutes. Pavoletti has been called up by Italy However, hes far from just a target-man and he doesnt just rely on crosses to score his goals. Hes industrious, he works hard when not in possession, a necessity in a Klopp side, and his movement in the final third makes him a real goal threat.If Liverpool did want an aerial presence in their arsenal then Pavoletti is one of the few who provides that as well as work-rate. However at the moment, a move doesnt look imminent with the Football Whispers index score ranking the move a 1.4 out of 5.Geoffrey Kondogbia Geoffrey Kondogbia has made four appearances for Inter this season but has been openly criticised by manager Frank De Boer for his performances Current Club: Inter MilanPosition: MidfielderLinked By: Web CalcioCurrent Football Whispers Rating: 3.5Highest Football Whispers Rating: 3.6 (9th October 2016)Geoffrey Kondogbia and Paul Pogba. That was supposed to be the France midfield for Euro 2016 when both players initially broke through in 2012. It was almost a formality but after Kondogbia failed to settle at Inter Milan following his €31m move in the summer of 2015 he missed out on the squad entirely.New Nerazzurri boss Frank de Boer has openly criticised Kondogbias performances this season and the entire San Siro applauded when De Boer substituted the player against Bologna after only 28 minutes. Kondogbia cost Inter €31m in the summer of 2015 The midfielder has failed to feature in three of Inters last five Serie A matches with Ever Banega, Joao Mario and Gary Medel being the first choice trio ahead of him.Kondogbia would be a welcome addition to the Liverpool midfield as the club look to shore up defensively but not limit their attacking ability. Throughout his entire career Kondogbia has averaged 2.7 tackles and 1.5 interceptions with 87 per cent of his 45 passes finding a teammate per 90 minutes.Comparisons to Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira have been made and its easy to see why. He has the sort of playing profile which would see him thrive in the Premier League. With the Football Whispers index score ranking the move a 3.5 it will be interesting to see how it plays out as January approaches.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the British Masters on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! 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