but were going to be cautious and were going to be smart ab

MILWAUKEE -- Junior Guerras scoreless streak ended with a 455-foot home run and the Milwaukee Brewers bats were silent at key moments.It added up to yet another series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.Matt Adams and Randal Grichuk homered off Guerra, St. Louis starter Mike Leake struck out 10 over seven innings, and the Brewers headed to the All-Star break with a 5-1 loss Sunday.The Brewers wasted Chris Carters leadoff triple in the seventh, his first since 2014, and didnt score after putting runners at first and third with no outs in the third.To sustain a rally, you have to get something going there, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. We just couldnt get the next hit to get something big, a big inning going there.St. Louis took two of three games to improve to 13-0-1 in the last 14 series against the Brewers. The Cardinals are 29-12 at Miller Park since beating the Brewers in the 2011 NLCS.Aledmys Diaz scored from first on a single in the fifth to snap a tie and the Cardinals entered the All-Star break having cut a 12-game deficit to the Cubs to seven in the NL Central.Thats pretty impressive, manager Mike Matheny said, because we havent played well.Adams snapped an 0-for-27 skid with a solo homer to right estimated at 455 feet to lead off the second. That ended a 16 1/3-inning scoreless streak for Guerra (6-2). The 31-year-old rookie allowed another solo shot to Grichuk in the sixth and snapped a three-start winning streak.I didnt make quality pitches at times, Guerra said. When I missed my spot, they took advantage and got some big hits when they needed them.Grichuk and Adams added RBI hits in the ninth off Jeremy Jeffress.Jonathan Lucroy had two hits, including an RBI single in the first for the Brewers.Strikeouts have been a problem Milwaukee season, and Leake (6-7) was an unlikely candidate to keep that going.Leake entered with a rate of 5.7 strikeouts-per-nine-inning, ranking 91st out of 99 qualifying pitchers in the majors. However, he used his slider to keep Milwaukee off balance.I had that to go to because it was working and they were swinging over it, Leake said. So why not use it a little bit more?Leake allowed six hits and no walks in his first win since June 12.Hernan Perez fanned three times, and the Brewers struck out 10 or more times for the 42nd time in 87 games.Former Brewers reliever Jonathan Broxton struck out two in a perfect eighth before a two-run ninth put it away.The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead in the fifth thanks to their speedy All-Star. Diaz reached on his 19th infield single with two out. He then never stopped and scored from first on Stephen Piscottys bloop single off center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis glove.The 31-year-old Guerra walked Leake with two out in the sixth to end his day. The former independent league right-hander gave up seven hits and three walks while striking out five.The home run by Grichuk was a pretty good pitch, really, Counsell said. I thought Junior pitched well. He had to battle through it a little bit, but he had good stuff.TRAINERS ROOMBrewers OF Domingo Santana (elbow) will remain in Milwaukee during the All-Star break to rehab. The goal is to hopefully increase his on-field activity starting Friday in Cincinnati, Counsell said. Hopefully by the weekend, we can determine dates for (a minor league rehab assignment).BLAZEK DEMOTEDMilwaukee optioned right-hander Michael Blazek to Triple-A Colorado Springs after the game. He has a 12.15 ERA in eight appearances since coming off the disabled list June 21.Ive just got to be able to go out there and do my job, Blazek said. Obviously the last few weeks I havent been able to do that. So Ill go down and work and some stuff. Ill be back.WEB GEMA fan in the first inning made a leaning catch of a foul ball with his glove, bounced off the top of the Milwaukee dugout and fell backward to the ground. The man held onto the ball and drew cheers from Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, sitting nearby.UP NEXTBrewers: Lucroy heads to his second All-Star Game. Milwaukee then begins a six-game trip in Cincinnati on Friday. Clearance Kyrie Irving Shoes . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. Wholesale Kyrie Irving Shoes . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. https://www.cheapshoeskyrieirving.com/ . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Cheap Kyrie Irving Shoes . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Kyrie Irving Shoes Free Shipping . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. A week ago, the Orlando Magic were in dire straits.The team was struggling at 3-5, dropping two after winning three games in a row. Their supposed defensive identity was falling apart as they ranked 29th in the league in defensive rating, giving up 109.0 points per 100 possessions. With one of the worst offenses in the league too and the worst field-goal shooting to boot, the Magic were sinking fast.Magic coach Frank Vogel took the drastic change of sending prized youngster Aaron Gordon to the bench in favor of veteran Jeff Green, hoping to add some stability. The results were not immediate, and that change may not be the root cause, but something happened for the Magic in the week since.In four games, the Magic defense has suddenly come alive. Orlando has given up 96.1 points per 100 possessions in the past week, the sixth best in the league in that time. They have risen from 29th in defensive efficiency to a much more respectable 15th overall.Defense has taken hold.We are creating habits, Evan Fournier said after practice Friday. Its not second nature yet. But we are definitely creating habits. It is encouraging. But on both ways. We have good players offensively as well. We have times where we really move the ball and find the open shooter. At times we do it, but we have to be more consistent. It is obvious we are getting better.The Magics offense remains much more of a work in progress than the defense at this point. But they have held three of their last four opponents to less than 90 points and have held opponents to worse than 40 percent shooting in the past two games. That helps the offense do just enough to win games -- two of the past three.Orlando has slowly begun to formulate a defensive identity that has propelled thee team to five wins despite its anemic offense.dddddddddddd.The Dallas Mavericks are in much the same boat, without the same kind of success.Dallas has just two following an 80-64 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Mavericks have seen injuries hit the teams roster hard. Deron Williams, Devin Harris and Dirk Nowitzki have all missed time so far this season.Both Nowitzki and Williams will miss Saturdays game in Orlando, in addition to sitting out Fridays home game against the Grizzlies, coach Rick Carlisle said Friday.(Nowitzki is) making progress, but were going to be cautious and were going to be smart about it, Carlisle told Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas. Hes played hurt a lot in his career. This situation is different, though. Were early in the year. Theres something that has hung around that needs to be addressed and be expunged, so were working on it.Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews have had to carry the offensive load. And have struggled to do so. The Mavericks shot 28.8 percent from the floor in Fridays loss, the lowest single-game field-goal percentage in the NBA this season.But like the Magic, the Mavericks have thrived on defense while struggling on offense. Dallas has the second worst field goal percentage in the league at 41.8 percent entering the game (the Magic are last at 40.8 percent).That defense has not translated to wins yet though.Both teams have had to settle into the season, integrate new pieces and discover their identity. Injuries have hurt the Mavericks offense while their defense has played well enough to keep them in most games. The Magic appear to be rounding into form. ' ' '