Dein erstes Forum » lost his semifinal Friday again

ST. LOUIS -- After the Miami Marlins pulled out a crazy 7-6 win Friday night over the St. Louis Cardinals, manager Don Mattingly was asked if they sent a message.I dont know how much of a message it sends, he said. There are a lot of big games left. You love coming out after the (All-Star) break and getting a win, but it feels like Opening Day -- you have lots of games left.Still, Miami (48-41) kept pace with the New York Mets for the National Leagues second wild-card spot and dropped St. Louis (46-43) two games in arrears. The teams meet again Saturday night in the middle game of their three-game weekend set in Busch Stadium.The series opener showcased the best and worst of both teams. The Marlins mediocre starting pitching -- aside from ace Jose Fernandez -- was offset by a solid offense and an outstanding defense.The Cardinals power bats -- they belted four more homers Friday night, giving them 121 in 89 games -- were ultimately canceled out by a poor defensive game and more shaky work from the bullpen.While St. Louis was officially charged with just one error, it failed to make two plays that could have shortened innings and led to Miami runs. Three different relievers coughed up runs, with new closer Seung Hwan Oh absorbing the loss.Its definitely not how you want to play the game, center fielder Randal Grichuk said. We had the lead twice and blew it both times.After suffering one of their most frustrating defeats of the year, the Cardinals will turn to ace Adam Wainwright to make things right. Wainwright (8-5, 4.49) is coming off consecutive wins over Milwaukee and Pittsburgh in which he allowed just one run in 14 innings.The veteran right-hander tied a season high with nine strikeouts against the Pirates on July 7, earning a 5-1 victory.I was having fun mixing and matching four-seams and two-seams and cutters and curveballs, Wainwright said. I was pitching out there. Thats how I did it in 2014. Ive kind of found that again.Whats more, Wainwright has enjoyed pitching against the Marlins in his career, going 4-2 with a 2.33 earned run average in eight career starts. This will be just his second start against them since 2010, thoughThe Marlins will run right-hander Tom Koehler (6-7, 4.50) to the mound. He hopes for better success than he found Sunday, when he lasted only four innings in a 7-3 win over Cincinnati, giving up seven hits and three runs.Koehler, who was bailed out by his defense in that outing, is 1-2 with a 7.86 ERA in three career starts against St. Louis, losing his only start against it last year.However, Miami appears to have momentum on its side presently. In search of its first playoff spot since 2003, it has five batters over .300 in its everyday lineup, quality athletes at just about every spot on the field and one of the top bullpens in the NL.It doesnt take 25 guys to make the playoffs, it takes more than that, said Marlins second baseman Miguel Rojas, who had the game-winning hit Friday night. I think were separating ourselves from a team playing .500 baseball to a team going for the playoffs. Carolina Hurricanes Shirts . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. Carolina Hurricanes Pro Shop . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Hurricanes Jerseys 2020 . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Hurricanes Jerseys 2021 . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. LONDON -- The 11th Grand Slam final of Andy Murrays career will be unlike any of the others in at least one way: The opponent will not be Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic.Murray, the 2013 champion at Wimbledon, reached his third major title match of 2016 with a no-nonsense 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory against 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych in the semifinals Friday.Supported by thousands of his countrymen at Center Court, Murray broke serve five times and played cleanly as can be, committing only nine unforced errors, 21 fewer than Berdych.On Sunday, No. 2 Murray will play No. 6 Milos Raonic, a Canadian making his debut in a Grand Slam final.Obviously, first time Ill play a Slam final against someone that isnt Roger or Novak. So, yeah, thats different, Murray said. But you never know how anyones going to deal with the pressures of a Slam final. So just have to go out there and concentrate on my side. Do what I can to prepare well for it and see what happens.Might be a refreshing change.Thats because while he did defeat Djokovic for both the 2012 U.S. Open championship and the 2013 Wimbledon championship -- famously becoming the first British man to hold the trophy in 77 years -- Murray has lost all eight of his other previous major finals.That includes a pair this year: the Australian Open in January, and the French Open in June, both against Djokovic.Overall, Murray is 2-5 against Djjokovic, and 0-3 against Federer with a major title at stake.ddddddddddddot that theres any shame in that.After all, Federer holds the record of 17 Slam trophies, and Djokovic has 12.During this tournament, though, the No. 1-seeded Djokovic was beaten in the third round by Sam Querrey, and No. 3 Federer lost his semifinal Friday against Raonic 6-3, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.When Berdych was asked whether he thinks Murray might win the title, he replied: Definitely, he can. The fact that probably his biggest rival, Novak, is not in the draw anymore definitely helps.Murray remembers not really having time to process that he was about to play in his first Grand Slam final before losing in straight sets to Federer at the 2008 U.S. Open.Now that hes 29, he relishes the last-Sunday opportunities more than ever, no matter the foe.I guess the tournaments start to mean more to you the older you get, and you start to appreciate the history of the events probably more as you get older. When youre 18, 19, youre probably not as aware about those things, Murray said. I never take it for granted. I know how difficult it is to make the finals of these events -- and how hard they are to win.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '