Gruppen » hot 82." His next U.S. Open adventure could be

ST. LOUIS -- David Freese waited a long time for this curtain call. He was impressed with the patience of St. Louis fans. Freese hit a grand slam for his first homer of the season, and the Cardinals used a five-run first inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 on Friday night. "Thats the biggest thing about this, you want to join the fun," Freese said. "Fortunately enough, I havent done squat this year and weve got a heck of a record." The Brewers made it close on a pair of three-run homers by Aramis Ramirez off Jaime Garcia before losing for the 13th time in 15 games. The bottom four spots in the lineup were a combined 0 for 15. "Nice to see Rammy get a couple," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. "I think hes been swinging the ball really well and hasnt had much to show for it." The Cardinals had five hits and a walk while batting around against Wily Peralta (3-4) in the first, but the right-hander was still in the game when Garcia (5-2) was chased with one out in the sixth. Milwaukee got one hit in 3 2-3 innings against three relievers, with Edward Mujica working the ninth for his 12th save in 12 chances. "The bullpen did a great job, they picked me up basically," Garcia said. "I didnt do my job." Ryan Braun reached on a leadoff single in the eighth, but was caught stealing for a double play after Trevor Rosenthal struck out Ramirez. Carlos Gomez then popped up a bunt to end the inning. Freese entered with a .209 average, four RBIs and a .287 on-base percentage, struggling to find his stroke after starting the season on the 15-day disabled list with a back injury from chasing a foul ball in spring training. He batted .293 last year with 20 homers and 79 RBIs, the first time he played more than 100 games in the majors. Freese didnt think failing to produce in his hometown made it any tougher, mentioning numerous helpful suggestions. He thought the best advice came from those who told him to just be himself and forget about his numbers. "You hear the crowd when it went out, that shows how much they care about their team," Freese said. "Its cool to come out here every day. That curtain call was definitely probably more special than the home run." Peralta said Freese hit a changeup that was supposed to be down and away but hung over the middle. The Brewers thought Peralta had some bad luck earlier in the inning. "We hit three ground balls in the first inning, theyre outs," Roenicke said. "They hit ground balls, theyre hits, so you get a little frustrated. "I dont want to say thats why he made the bad pitch to Freese, he just got one up and Freese did a nice job of hitting." Matt Holliday had two hits and two RBIs for St. Louis, which has won 13 of 16 and leads the National League at 27-14. Allen Craig had three hits and a walk and leadoff man Matt Carpenter had three hits and scored twice. Ramirez lined a pitch into left-field stands in the fourth for just his second hit in four starts, and cleared the wall in centre in the sixth for his third homer of the season. It was his 26th career multihomer game and left him with 32 homers against the Cardinals, tied with Adam Dunn for second-most among active players. The first inning has been by far the Brewers best this season. They had outscored opponents 35-9, the most runs in the majors and fewest allowed. Peralta appeared to have a good shot at escaping the inning down just a run when he struck out Jon Jay for the second out. Jay entered with a .440 career average against Milwaukee, and Freese had been in a season-long slump with just one extra-base hit and one RBI this month. Freese then hammered a 1-1 pitch to straightaway centre with a stroke reminiscent of the 2011 post-season when he was World Series and NL championship series MVP. Freese made a curtain call responding to a sellout crowd, but struck out his last two trips against Peralta. Jay got an RBI single in his second trip to make it 6-0 in the third. Garcia retired nine in a row on 28 pitches before Norichika Aoki slapped a single to open the fourth. Braun walked with one out and Ramirez cut the deficit in half, lining a 3-1 pitch into the left-field seats. Garcia was charged with six runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. NOTES: Roenicke called his first team meeting of the year Thursday after getting outscored 10-2 in consecutive losses at Pittsburgh. ... Roenicke plans to rest Ramirez every third game or so for now while the veteran, who returned in early May from a left knee sprain that knocked him out a month, regains strength and form. "I dont think I cant say that in a week from now, I can leave him out there and not worry about. I know Im not there," Roenicke said before the game. Vapormax Schweiz . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Air Max 97 Kaufen Schweiz . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. http://www.vapormaxkaufenschweiz.com/air-max-200-schweiz.html . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Nike Vapormax Damen Schweiz . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Nike Joyride Run Schweiz . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net.Geoffrey Sisk is going back to the U.S. Open, an example of why this major championship truly is open to one and all. In what looked like a marathon and felt like a sprint, the 48-year-old New Englander went from being a long shot to assuring himself of a tee time at the U.S. Open in just 20 days. Sisk was among 18 players -- the smallest group in more than a decade -- who made it through 18 holes of local qualifying and then 36 holes of sectional qualifying to join Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and the rest of the stars at Merion next week for toughest test in golf. The hard part for Sisk was just getting there. And it gets even more impressive. This was the sixth time he has gone through both stages to qualify for the U.S. Open. "I wish I wouldnt have, to be honest with you," Sisk said while waiting to catch a train from New York to Boston. The chuckle made it clear that he was actually glad that he paid the $150 fee to enter Americas national championship. But it was another reminder how maddening this game can be. Sisk has been a pro for 25 years. He made it to the PGA Tour only one time, for the 1999 season. He has been around long enough to have started on the tours developmental circuit when it was known as the Hogan Tour. "Theres part of me that says, This is great," Sisk said. "The flip side is that if I can do this now -- I performed well -- why cant I do this on the other levels? Im my own worst enemy sometimes. But I just try to do the best I can." There are other stories like Sisks, as always. Mackenzie Hughes didnt make it out of local qualifying -- he was the first alternate. But a spot opened up for him at Old Warson in St. Louis, where he was among 42 players competing for two spots. Hughes went 72-70 and earned the final spot in a playoff. He was so flustered that, when interviewed by Golf Channel after his round, he forgot which state Merion was located. He was on his way to Vancouver to play before the U.S. Open. Lets hope he finds his way. Wil Collins and Ryan Nelson made it through both stages for the second time. But six times? "I think after going to Shinnecock (in 1995 and 2004) and Oakmont (in 2007), I thought these golf courses were too tough for me," Sisk said. "This year, I dont have any status on any tour. Im not playing a lot of tournaments. So I spent the $150 to add a tournament to my very limited schedule. And I added a big one." Sisk shot a 68 at Pinehills Golf Club in Plymouth, Mass., to grab one of the five spots at his local qualifier. He signed up for the New York sectional because it was the closest one to home, and he had rounds of 68-69 at Old Oaks and Century to share medallist honours, making it with two shots to spare. Most of his U.S. Open memoriess are from Shinnecock Hills, where he made his U.dddddddddddd.S. Open debut the year before Woods turned pro. He had played some in South Africa and remembered the tall, athletic kid with an easy swing. So when he saw Ernie Els in the hotel lobby -- Els was the defending champion that year -- he asked for a practice round. "Id had a few cocktails, I asked him and he said, Sure, why dont we play. Mark McNulty was going to join us," Sisk said. "Im not the putting green, and Ernie says, Sisky, you ready? I said, Wheres Mark? And he said he wasnt there, along with a few choice words, and we were ready. Back then, I knew nothing about the U.S. Open. They had a starter on the tee who said, Now teeing off, Geoffrey Sisk and Ernie Els, the 1994 champion. "All of a sudden it goes from two people around us to about 200 on the first tee," he said. "Id never played before so many people in my life." He made it back to Shinnecock in 2004 after both stages of qualifying and was enjoying one of his best Opens, just 5-over going into the final round. Thats the year the course got away from the USGA, particularly the green on the par-3 seventh hole. "I remember hearing a rumour that Kevin Stadler had lipped out a par putt from 2 feet on No. 7 and his ball went into a bunker," Sisk said. "I hit a perfect shot that landed on a ledge and stayed on a ledge. A foot shorter, a foot longer, it would have been dead. I two-putted and never smiled so much over a par. I think I had four or five birdies that day and still shot 82." His next U.S. Open adventure could be a homecoming of sorts for Sisk, who played college golf at Temple until he graduated in 1987. But he doesnt see it that way. It was just another tournament to add to his schedule, another chance to test himself in a championship where he plays his best just to get in. How many more times will he try? Perhaps a more significant question is what keeps a guy going when hes 48 and had made to the big leagues just once? "I always said I would stop playing competitive golf when I did the best I could and things were going backward," he said. The next stop is Merion, though he wasnt in a huge rush to get there. Keegan Bradley, the former PGA champion and another New Englander, sent him a text of congratulations and invited him to fill out a group Sunday that includes Rickie Fowler. While he made it back to the U.S. Open, Sisk knows it will be even tougher the next time. Only five years ago, more than 30 players made it through local and sectional. But golf is getting younger, deeper. "Without a doubt, local qualifying is not easy nowadays," he said. Nonetheless, it still has room for anyone with $150 and a dream. ' ' '