Training » The Flyers dont have a lineup with great openings

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Even the lopsided ones come with last-inning frights for the Cincinnati Reds. Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in three runs, and Mike Leake pitched into the seventh inning and doubled home a run, leading the Reds to a 9-5 victory on Tuesday night that ended their six-game losing streak against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds held on in the ninth, needing their closer to finish off only their third win in the last 11 games. They are 17-33 since the All-Star break, sliding out of contention. "The good thing was we stayed resilient," manager Bryan Price said. The Cardinals lost for only the second time in 11 games but maintained their 4 1/2-game lead over Pittsburgh in the NL Central. St. Louis is 10-4 against the Reds and 40-25 overall in the division. Leake (11-11) was coming off his worst start of the season, giving up a season-high seven runs and three homers during a 9-7 loss in Baltimore last Thursday. Against the Cardinals, Leake allowed three runs and eight hits. He also doubled home a run in the fourth off Michael Wacha (5-6) for a 3-1 lead. His fifth double of the season was his 68th career hit, the most by any pitcher in the majors since his debut in 2010. Aroldis Chapman relieved with two on and two outs in the ninth and fanned Mark Ellis on a 101 mph fastball to end it, getting his 31st save in 33 chances. Mesoraco hit his 23rd homer in the first inning, a two-run shot. He also doubled home a run in the fifth as Cincinnati scored four times, knocking Wacha out of the game. "Thats the first time Ive faced Wacha, and I wasnt quite sure what to expect," Mesoraco said. "On 3-2 he threw me a curveball in the middle of the plate. I wasnt sure it was going to be a home run, but the ball was carrying tonight." Wacha made his second start since returning from a shoulder problem that had sidelined him since mid-June and gave up six hits, six runs and three walks. Down 7-1, the Cardinals sent nine batters to the plate in the seventh inning. Tony Cruz and Jon Jay had RBI singles, and Jumbo Diaz walked Jhonny Peralta with the bases loaded, cutting it to 7-4. First baseman Brayan Pena made a diving stop of A.J. Pierzynskis line drive to end the rally. "We had some diving plays," Leake said. "This was one of the best games weve played so far." Chris Heiseys two-run single in the eighth let Cincinnati pull away. STAR PLAY Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong saved a run in the fourth when he sprinted into right field and made an over-the-shoulder catch of Billy Hamiltons fly, holding onto the ball as he tumbled on the ground. MESORACO AND BENCH Mesoraco has hit 22 of his 23 homers while catching, the most by a Reds catcher since Johnny Bench hit 23 in 1980. His other homer came as a designated hitter. STATS Wong extended his hitting streak to six games. ... Wacha allowed five earned runs for the first time this season. ... RHP Sam Tuivailala made his big league debut and gave up two runs and retired two batters. ... Xavier Scruggs got his first career hit. ... Reds SS Zack Cozart snapped an 0 for 16 slump. ... It was the first time this season that the Reds won a game when they allowed 14 hits. TRAINERS ROOM Cardinals: Manager Mike Matheny is gradually increasing Wachas pitch counts. Matheny says getting him back is "like getting a new player" for down the stretch. He threw 70 pitches on Tuesday, 44 for strikes. Reds: Starter Dylan Axelrod is likely done for the season with a strained right oblique, sustained on his seventh pitch Monday night. ... 1B Joey Votto took ground balls for a second straight day on Tuesday. The Reds are trying to get him ready to play the final week of the season. He has been on the disabled list since July 8 with strained muscles above his left knee. UP NEXT Cardinals: St. Louis is 10-4 against the Reds this season. John Lackey (13-9) starts the third of their four-game series on Wednesday. Reds: Alfredo Simon (13-10) is 1-7 with a 5.27 ERA in 10 starts since his first All-Star game. Fake Vans For Sale . The Mavericks were not going to let San Antonio beat them with 3-pointers, and they did not want Tony Parker using the lane as his personal playground. Fake Vans 2020 . The Ravens werent about to let it happen again. Carleton picked up its fourth straight national mens basketball title, and 10th in the last 12 years, with a 79-67 victory over its crosstown rival on Sunday. https://www.vansfake.com/.ca. Hi Kerry, Thursday nights Bruins-Blackhawks game had a goal by Patrice Bergeron initially waved off by the referee, but video review clarified it was a good goal. Fake Vans From China . The Indians scored twice in the top of the ninth, getting the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by closer Matt Lindstrom. Axford (0-1) came in seeking his fifth save in as many chances. Fake Vans Website . He was attracted by the punishing defence, the strong running game and a coaching staff he trusted. The 49ers announced Thursday that Manningham had signed a two-year deal to join the team he helped knock out in the NFC championship game two months ago in their latest offensive upgrade at wide receiver. A team with loads of forward depth, the Philadelphia Flyers have fantasy options ranging from proven veterans to rising stars and if you are in a league that rewards penalty minutes, they have some of those too. Top Picks: Over the last three seasons, C Claude Giroux has put up 216 points, the fourth-best total in the league. Even with an offseason finger injury, Giroux is a good bet to be among the top scorers in the league, making him a No. 1 centre option for fantasy owners. RW Jakub Voracek had a breakout season in 2013, scoring 46 points in 48 games, and while hes not likely to score on 17.1% of his shots like he did last season, paired with Giroux on the Flyers top line, Voracek is going to have significant value, enough to fit as a No. 2 fantasy right winger. Offering similar value, though he doesnt score as much, Wayne Simmonds adds a physical dimension, with hits and penalty minutes supporting his increased scoring numbers over the last couple seasons in Philadelphia. Value Plays: There hasnt been any great decline in production for C Vincent Lecavalier, who has scored between 0.77 and 0.87 points per game in each of the last five seasons, but injuries have started to have an effect on how often he plays, as hes missed 44 games over the past three seasons. Still, hes going to have solid linemates as the Flyers second-line centre and has value as a No. 3 fantasy pivot, even with injury expectations. Prior to last season, LW Scott Hartnell was a bit of a fantasy darling, particularly for leagues that count penalty minutes, as he has scored 20 or more goals six times and recorded 100 or more penalty minutes eight times in his career. The normally durable winger had injuries and finished with just 12 points in 32 games, but that brings his value back to a more reasonable level. Though RW Matt Read doesnt necessarily have the highest upside, he does have 71 points in 121 games over the last two seasons and he plays 18 minutes a game for the Flyers. His versatility allows him to move from line to line, but if Read is going to have sustainable value, hell need to secure a regular spot in the top six. Brought in to upgrade the Flyers puck-moving skills on the blueline, D Mark Streit has been a productive point producer, but he comes with some concerns, notably that hes minus-41 in the last two seasons and is going to turn 36 midway through this season, so its likely that his performance is due to decline.dddddddddddd. Streits arrival takes some pressure off Kimmo Timonen, a 38-year-old who has been durable, consistent and productive throughout his career. Both Streit and Timonen can provide value if they are selected as No. 3 fantasy defencemen. Sleepers/Breakthrough: Part of the challenge facing C Sean Couturier is that hes such a good defensive player that he doesnt necessarily get the linemates or opportunity take advantage of his offensive skills, but the Flyers are deep enough that Couturier, as the third-line centre, could be quite productive. He didnt score much last season, with a low 5.3% shooting percentage, but hes a 20-year-old who has 192 points in 126 games in last two junior seasons and tallied 28 points in 31 AHL games last year. LW Brayden Schenn has been coming along slowly since he was the fifth overall pick in 2009, but scored a career-high 26 points (in 47 games) last season and figures to get a shot on Lecavaliers left wing to open the season, a decent spot for 22-year-old Schenn to build his offensive numbers. Braydens brother, D Luke Schenn, hasnt scored more than 22 points in a season, yet has value in leagues that count hits and blocked shots because he has 881 and 501, respectively in the last four seasons. The goaltending situation basically leaves the Flyers with two sleepers. Ray Emery should have the edge, but hes played more than 40 games only once in his entire career. Steve Mason, on the other hand, has played plenty but, among the 26 goaltenders to play at least 200 games since 2008-2009, Masons .905 save percentage is the worst. Rookies: The Flyers dont have a lineup with great openings for rookies, but C Scott Laughton started last year with Philadelphia for five games before returning to the Ontario Hockey League, where he had 56 points in 49 games for Oshawa. Hes a gritty, physical player, but not likely to have fantasy relevance. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '