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CHICAGO -- Its now or never for the St. Louis Cardinals.This weeks visit to Wrigley Field for a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs may represent their last chance to start closing an imposing gap with the National League Central leaders.Or it may signal a realization that the more practical objective is an NL Wild Card berths.The series opens Thursday as the Cardinals send right-hander Carlos Martinez (10-7, 3.29 ERA) against left-hander Jon Lester (12-4, 2.93 ERA).Martinez is coming off a 13-5 loss Saturday night to Atlanta, giving up seven runs over five innings, including a pair of three-run homers. Lester, who has three wins and two no-decisions in his last five outings, faces St. Louis for the first time this season .Just before the All-Star break the Cubs were mired in a 6-15 slump while the Cardinals had closed to within seven games of the division leaders. And with 10 head-to-head games ahead in the second half, St. Louis was thinking about a potential run.The Cubs have a great team and it would still be a big challenge to catch them if their lead was four games instead of seven, Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter told reporters in mid-July. Its not going to be easy -- but it does at least seem more realistic than it did a few weeks ago.That was then.Three-plus weeks later Chicago owns a 12-game lead on second-place St. Louis. The Cubs have gone 19-6 since a victory just before the All-Star break and now have won nine straight.The Cardinals (60-54) are 4-6 in their last 10 games after Wednesdays 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, but lost first baseman Matt Adams to the disabled list before Thursdays game.The Cardinals come into the series four games behind Los Angeles for the top wild card spot and tied with Miami for the second.Every game for us now is important., said Jhonny Peralta on Wednesday. Today was a big win. Miami lost and we won, so we are good to go. Now we go out there and try to win another game.The Cubs became the first big league team to 70 wins with Tuesdays 5-1 victory over the Angels. They maintain baseballs best record and are on track for 102 wins.Chicago is -- as pitcher Jake Arrieta put it last week -- operating on all cylinders. Among the differences over the last 24 games entering Wednesday was better performances and consistency from Arrieta and other pitchers.Cubs pitchers had a collective 2.37 ERA in that span, including a 2.61 ERA from starters and a 1.76 ERA from relievers. In 24 games prior, the Cubs had a 5.17 ERA.Adams was replaced on the active roster by outfielder Randal Grichuk, who is promoted from Triple-A with a .216 batting average this season and a miserable 1-for-17 five-game stretch at Memphis.Not even a soap opera involving bench player Tommy La Stella and his refusal to report to Triple-A Iowa has distracted the Cubs.The left-handed hitting infielder was sent down to Iowa 12 days ago but was reported to be instead working out at his New Jersey home and Cubs brass put La Stella on the inactive list on Tuesday.Hes a 27-year-old kid and hes working through some stuff and were trying to give him time to work through those things, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said this week. Weve had a lot of contact with him and well continue to do that.Nike Air Max Pas Cher Destockage . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Site De Chaussure Pas Cher . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night. https://www.grossistechaussurepascher.fr/pas-cher-chine-nike-air-max-270-du-tout-destockage-282a.html . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. Nike Air Max Pas Cher Femme . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. Air Max 90 Pas Cher Chine .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable.When the New York Liberty look back at the 2016 season, Tina Charles and company might owe the Indiana Fever a huge debt of gratitude.In their last game on Thursday, the Liberty gave up 40 first-quarter points to Indiana, which tied a WNBA record. The Fever led by as many as 32 points on their way to a 98-77 shellacking of New York.But the beat-down by the Fever (13-14) might be a wakeup call reminding New York that on any given night any team can beat another.And even though the Liberty hold a comfortable 4 1/2-game lead in the East, coach Bill Laimbeers squad has learned a valuable lesson, one that could carry them deep into the playoffs.With a new-found sense of urgency, the Liberty get to test their resolve on Saturday, when they play host to the underachieving Phoenix Mercury (13-14) at 6 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.The Mercury have won three straight since play resumed after the Olympic Games. Included in that streak was an impressive win over Los Angeles, which is tied for the best record in the league at 22-5.Diana Tuarasi, who led Team USA to a gold medal (the fourth time shes stood on the winners podium), paces the way for three-time defending champing Mercury with 18.9 points per game.DeWanna Bonner (15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds per game) has proven to be trusty sidekick having scored in double figures in 11 of the last 13 games.And pattrolling the middle, Brittany Griner leads the league in blocked shots per game at 3.dddddddddddd1, hauls down 6.1 rebounds and scores a little over 13 points per game.With six Olympians on the squad, Phoenix is a formidable opponent no matter what the record is.New York had won seven of nine until laying an egg in Indiana, and if they are to get back on the winning track the Liberty will have to play much better defense.Offense is not an issue, with MVP candidate Charles prepared to carry the Liberty on her back. The perennial All-Star is second in the league in scoring at 21.1 per game, first in rebounding at 9.7 and adds 3.8 assists per game.If Charles should have an off-game, Sugar Rogers (14.5 points) is more than capable of picking up the slack. The sharpshooting Rogers is closing in on the franchise record of 78 3-pointers in a season with 74.The good news for the Liberty and bad news for the rest of the league is that Epihanny Prince, a second team All-WNBA selection last season, is rounding into form after missing 26 games because of a torn ACL.Prince has played in only two games, but before her injury, she was the second option on offense behind Charles and averaged 15 points per game as well as 3.5 assists. ' ' '