-out RBI single in the eighth, but Brandon Moss flied to center with runners on the corners. Willson Contreras responded with an RBI single in the bottom half and Aroldis Chapman worked the ninth for his 16th save with the NL Central champions and No. 36 on the year.Martinez (15-9), pitching with a he

PHILADELPHIA -- Playing without their strongest hitter again, the New York Mets were unable to push across a run when they really needed it.Ryan Howard homered and Maikel Franco singled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-2 victory over New York on Saturday night.Jose Reyes and Travis dArnaud drove in the runs for the Mets, who have dropped four of five since All-Star slugger Yoenis Cespedes was injured.Were not taking care of opportunities, manager Terry Collins said. Weve got to take advantage of all those opportunities.New York failed to homer for just the second time in the last 14 games. The Mets entered having hit 14 homers in four games at Citizens Bank Park this season and 33 long balls over the last two years at Philadelphias home park.The Mets appeared primed to take the lead in the seventh, but pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson flied out to short left field with runners on second and third and one out before left fielder Cody Asche made an excellent sliding catch for the final out on Asdrubal Cabreras sinking liner with the bases loaded.Cespedes was available as a pinch-hitter, but Collins said he went with Johnson because Cespedes couldnt run the bases in the event of a walk.We had a chance to add on and we didnt get it done, Collins said.Philadelphia capitalized on Cabreras throwing error at shortstop in the bottom half for the go-ahead run. Cabrera threw wide of first baseman James Loney, allowing speedy Peter Bourjos to reach with one out.I had all the time, said Cabrera, who has four errors this season. It happens.Said Collins: He is as sharp and as smart of a ballplayer as we have on our team. He probably just lost the grip on it because thats something he does not do.Bourjos went to second on Asches walk against Jerry Blevins (3-1) and scored on Francos single to left.The Phillies tacked on a run in the eighth when Carlos Ruiz led off with a double, went to third on a groundout and scored on Erik Goeddels wild pitch.Ruiz doubled and had two hits for the fourth-place Phillies, who have won 11 of 15. Philadelphia also silenced a large contingent of Mets fans, who sometimes made Citizens Bank Park sound more like Citi Field for the second straight night.It was a good win, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. I didnt want to hear the Mets fans.New York tied it in the third on Reyes sacrifice fly that scored Juan Lagares.The Mets took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on dArnauds sacrifice fly before the Phillies tied it in the fifth on Asches groundout that scored pitcher Jerad Eickhoff.PHILLIES STARTING REPORTEickhoff allowed two runs and five hits with three strikeouts and one walk in six-plus innings. The right-hander singled and doubled to help his own cause.He really wasnt that sharp, but he pitched well enough to win, Mackanin said. Too many baserunners for my liking, but he got us into the seventh inning, so he did a good job that way.METS STARTING REPORTLogan Verrett, making his seventh start in 25 appearances this season, gave up two runs and eight hits with four strikeouts and one walk in six innings. The right-hander is 1-4 with a 5.20 ERA as a starter this season. He took Matt Harveys spot in the rotation this month when the former ace was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome.I felt good, Verrett said. I felt like I threw the ball well and kept us in the ballgame.TRAINERS ROOMCespedes missed his fourth straight game due to a strained right quadriceps. Collins said the outfielder will undergo testing Sunday to determine if he is able to play.UP NEXTThe teams wrap up their three-game series Sunday when Mets RHP Jacob deGrom (5-4, 2.61 ERA) opposes RHP Zach Eflin (2-2, 4.08). In six career starts against Philadelphia, deGrom is 3-0 with a 3.03 ERA.Nike MLB Jerseys For Sale . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. https://www.mlbjerseys2020.com/ . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. MLB Jerseys 2020 . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. MLB Jerseys 2020 Online .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N.CHICAGO -- David Ross got fired up when Cubs manager Joe Maddon walked to the mound with two out in the seventh inning, ready to argue for Jon Lester to stay in the game.Maddon and Lester had a different plan.Joe looked at him and said `Have you ever been a part of where the catcher gets taken out of the game before the pitcher? Lester said, describing the scene with a big grin. You can just see him, its like the kid at the candy store when you tell him he can pick out whatever he wants.It was just like the disbelief in his face and slams his mask back over his face and all he can say is `I love you guys. I love you guys. I love you guys.Ross then walked off to another standing ovation from a raucous crowd of 40,859 at Wrigley Field, part of a heartwarming Sunday night for the backup catcher in his last season. He also hit his 10th homer and teamed with Lester for another scoreless performance, helping the Cubs to a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.It was an amazing night, Ross said.Ben Zobrist had three hits and scored two runs as Chicago finished with a major league-best 57-24 home record. Its the most home wins for the Cubs since they went 58-19 at the West Side Grounds in 1910.The Cardinals lost for the third time in four games, wasting a chance to improve their playoff positioning. They remain a half-game back of San Francisco for the second NL wild card after the Giants lost 4-3 at San Diego earlier in the day.I think were in a good position right now, pitcher Carlos Martinez said through a translator. I also think we have a great shot at winning the World Series.Ross, Lesters regular catcher, was greeted with a long standing ovation when he came to the plate in the second inning. St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina walked halfway to the mound, forcing the unassuming Ross to take in the moment, and he took off his batting helmet to acknowledge the cheering crowd.Ross then struck out, but he got another chance in the fifth and drove Martinezs second pitch over the wall in left for 1-0 lead. Ross clapped his hands as he rounded first on his 10th homer and the cheers continued after he reached the dugout, prompting a curtain call.It was just fitting that David would hit a home run, isnt it? Maddon said. I mean it had to have happened tonight.Lester (19-4), one oof the top candidates for the NL Cy Young Award, struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings.ddddddddddddThe left-hander allowed three hits and walked one while improving to 10-0 with 1.34 ERA in his last 13 starts.It was Lesters idea to pull Ross in the middle of an inning.Hes like a brother to me and for him to give me that was pretty cool, Ross said.The Cardinals pulled within one on Jhonny Peraltas two-out RBI single in the eighth, but Brandon Moss flied to center with runners on the corners. Willson Contreras responded with an RBI single in the bottom half and Aroldis Chapman worked the ninth for his 16th save with the NL Central champions and No. 36 on the year.Martinez (15-9), pitching with a heavy heart after the death of Miami pitcher Jose Fernandez in a boating accident, allowed two runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked four.He had lots of juice, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. Its probably the hardest sinker Ive ever seen him throw. A couple of those were 97 (mph). He was locked in. He wanted it bad today, and he was good enough for us to win.RESTING AND MOURNINGSt. Louis shortstop Aledmys Diaz, who is dealing with some arm fatigue, got the day off. Diaz also was a childhood friend of Fernandez.Matheny said he would have scratched Diaz had he been in the lineup. Diaz declined an interview request through a team spokeswoman.Hes pretty stoic. You see how he goes about his business, Matheny said. Thats kind of how hes handling this right now. He was a close, close friend, so hes trying to figure out how to mourn for his friend right now and take all the information in. None of that is easy.UP NEXTCardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (10-12, 4.59 ERA) faces Cincinnati RHP Tim Adleman (2-4, 4.06 ERA) on Monday night in the opener of a seven-game homestand. After four against the last-place Reds, the Cardinals finish the regular season with a three-game series against Pittsburgh.Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (15-8, 2.06 ERA) pitches for Chicago in the opener of a four-game series at Pittsburgh. RHP Chad Kuhl (5-3, 3.73 ERA) gets the ball for the Pirates on Monday night.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '