Plauderwelten » e significant brunt of the blame. Instead, by

CHICAGO -- Mike Matheny looked at Adam Wainwrights run over the past five years and summed it up with one word. "Wow," he said. Wainwright joined Clayton Kershaw as the majors only 20-game winners, pitching three-hit ball over seven innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 8-0 on Monday night. "I hope he realizes how special that is," Matheny said. "Hes in a very elite group." Wainwright hit the 20-win mark for the second time while matching his career-high for victories, and the Cardinals moved a step closer toward their second straight division title. They remained 2 1/2 games ahead of Pittsburgh in the NL Central with five to play with the Pirates beating Atlanta 1-0. St. Louis clinched its fourth straight playoff appearance on Sunday. Wainwrights run the past five years has been nothing short of jaw-dropping. Twice during that span he has won 20. Two more times he finished with 19 victories, and he hasnt won fewer than 14 in that stretch. "Its a tremendous honour, obviously," Wainwright said about winning 20. "But more important, its a big win for our team." Wainwright (20-9) won his fifth straight start and made it look easy, striking out eight and walking one. He gave up a double to Anthony Rizzo with two out in the first and did not allow another hit until back-to-back singles by Luis Valbuena and Welington Castillo with two out in the seventh. Just like Kershaw did for the Dodgers on Friday, Wainwright picked up his 20th win at Wrigley Field. And when he did it in 2010, victory No. 20 that year also came at the famed old ballpark. He got plenty of support in this one, with the Cardinals pounding Travis Wood (8-13) for seven runs and eight hits over five innings. The Cardinals scored four in the fourth and three in the fifth on the way to their eighth win in 10 games. Matt Holliday had two hits and scored two runs. He also drove in one. Matt Adams chipped in with two hits and two RBIs. Jon Jay added two hits and drove in three, capping a four-run fourth with a two-run single to make it 4-0. Holliday also had a run-scoring double to left and Yadier Molina singled in a run in that inning, and the Cardinals broke it open in the fifth. Matt Carpenter led off that inning with a walk and was ruled safe at second tagging on Randal Grichuks fly to centre following a replay review. He scored on Hollidays bloop single to right, and Adams capped the rally with a two-run single to make it 7-0. Wood felt sharp overall but still couldnt avoid the big innings. Thats something he will try to fix in the off-season. "Wasnt a good year for me overall," said Wood, owner of a 5.03 ERA after making the NL All-Star team last season. "With that being said, it showed me a lot of the stuff that I need to take into the off-season to work on because you learn a lot more about yourself as a pitcher when things arent going good as opposed to when things are." TRAINERS ROOM Cardinals: Adams and Carpenter returned to the lineup after missing two games because of a stomach virus thats been battering the team. Nearly half the Cardinals players and coaches have been affected by it in recent days. Assistant batting coach David Bell and pitcher Marco Gonzales were not with the team Monday because of the virus. "Theres still some aftermath (of the virus) going around," Adams said. "But its getting a lot better." Cubs: RF Jorge Soler was back in the Cubs lineup after leaving Saturdays game against the Dodgers as a precaution due to wet conditions. He had a scheduled day off on Sunday. UP NEXT RHP Shelby Miller (10-9, 3.68 ERA) looks to stay on a roll for St. Louis, as the Cardinals continue their three-game series against the Cubs. He is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in four starts in September. RHP Kyle Hendricks (7-2, 2.28) starts for Chicago. UNFRIENDLY CONFINES The Cardinals are 14-31 in night games at Wrigley Field. LOPSIDED MARGIN The Cubs have been outscored 45-22 while dropping four of five. Custom Jerseys . -- Chris Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 1:36 left to put Memphis ahead to stay, and the 21st-ranked Tigers beat seventh-ranked Louisville 72-66 Saturday, sweeping the season series from the Cardinals. China Jerseys . De La Rosa pitched six strong innings to win his sixth consecutive decision, Todd Helton homered and the Colorado Rockies snapped the Los Angeles Dodgers six-game winning streak with a 7-5 victory on Wednesday night. https://www.cheapjerseysjustwholesale.com/ . According to Yahoo! Sports, the team has reached a five-year deal to play their home games on the roof of the Plaza Hotel and Casino. College Jerseys . Iwakuma pitched seven strong innings to stay unbeaten in road games since last July, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. Authentic Jerseys . -- Athletics manager Bob Melvin is already starting to run out of superlatives to describe Scott Kazmir.MINSK, Belarus - Morgan Rielly and Nazem Kadri were hanging out in their hotel room at the world hockey championship when Twitter told them the news. The Toronto Maple Leafs were holding a news conference, so they got curious. It didnt take long for them to find out via social media that coach Randy Carlyle was coming back — with a two-year extension — and assistants Greg Cronin, Scott Gordon and Dave Farrish were being let go. "I wasnt too sure how to react," Rielly said. "I personally like Randy, I think hes a great coach. I think we have a pretty good relationship. "I didnt really know what was going to happen with him either here or if hes gone and then obviously all the other coaches. So you just have to keep an open mind about it. Its obviously too bad that we dont have Crow, Gordo and Dave." Along with goaltender James Reimer, a restricted free agent who figures to be traded rather than return as Jonathan Berniers backup, the Leafs players here have their own problems to worry about right now. Theyre playing for Team Canada, which allows them to focus on the next game, the next practice rather than the machinations of what are happening back home. Still, Thursdays announcement affects them in a significant way. Reports dating to the trade deadline have mentioned Kadri as a player the Leafs would like to trade, and keeping the Dave Nonis-Carlyle regime in place under new president Brendan Shanahan only sparked more. Kadri isnt one to say hes worried about trade rumours, and the 23-year-old cenntre also wasnt surprised that Carlyle was coming back.dddddddddddd "Not really. Randys a good coach," he said. "I think the players got to be a little better and a little more prepared. "With what happened last year, its an eye-opener, especially for the young group we had, and Im sure its not going to happen again." Leafs fans had to figure losing 12 of the final 14 games would prompt changes. Shanahan was brought in, and it wouldnt have been the least bit shocking for Carlyle to take the significant brunt of the blame. Instead, by Nonis saying he and the front office still saw Carlyle as the right man to lead the Leafs, the message seems to be the blame is on the players. Kadri didnt necessarily see the moves as a mandate of that. "Were a team. Everyone plays for the team. You stick together, you win as a team, you lose on a team," he said, echoing a line Carlyle has used many times. "I dont think its on a specific group of people or a specific person. I think we all got to be better, including the players." The players who start the 2014-15 NHL season are likely to be much different from those who ended this disappointing regular season. Along with Kadri, defenceman Jake Gardiner has been the other big name mentioned in reports of whom the Leafs could trade this summer. Gardiner is at the world championships playing for the United States, but Rielly said Saturday he hadnt talked to his Leafs roommate about the news. No doubt itll be a major topic of conversation once they cross paths here. ' ' '