ERST LESEN! » Cavanaugh months ago at rookie minicamp and has pic

MILWAUKEE -- Stephen Piscotty watched Jonathan Villars throw skid past first base, then sprinted 180 feet to give the St. Louis Cardinals a victory.Piscotty scored on a throwing error in the ninth inning after Carlos Martinez struck out a career-high 13, leading the Cardinals over the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Monday night.With two on and nobody out in the ninth, Yadier Molina dropped down a bunt. Reliever Tyler Thornburg (5-5) threw to third base for a force out, but Villars throw to first was wild, allowing Piscotty to score from second.Put pressure on them, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. Thats it. Make them make plays.The Cardinals maintained a slim lead over Pittsburgh for the second NL wild card.It was Villars 25th error and his eighth since moving from shortstop to third base to accommodate rookie shortstop Orlando Arcia.He just made a bad throw, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. We talked about that situation out there and the possibility for a double play. He just rushed it a little bit probably. The big out was to get the out at third. We just didnt make the play.After Martinez held Milwaukee to one run over six innings, the Brewers scored four runs in the seventh to take a 5-3 lead. St. Louis tied it in the eighth on a two-run homer by Randal Grichuk off Corey Knebel.Seung Hwan Oh pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save. Miguel Socolovich (1-0) worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up his first win.The Cardinals took the lead on a sacrifice fly by Wong in the fourth. Jedd Gyorko homered in the fifth and Kolten Wong hit a solo shot in the fifth for a 3-1 advantage.Martinez allowed four hits and walked two while throwing 98 pitches. He struck out eight of the first 11 batters and didnt allow a hit to the outfield until the sixth.I really tried working hard on my breaking ball and thats what I tried to stay focused on, Martinez said through a translator. I didnt do anything different. I know that the balls can go far (in Miller Park), and I know that theyre looking for a four-seamer, so I just try to switch it up and confuse them.Arcia began the four-run seventh with a homer off Matt Bowman. Villar had an RBI double, and then Milwaukee went ahead on an RBI infield single by Scooter Gennett. The Brewers sent 10 batters to the plate against three relievers during the inning.However, Milwaukee squandered a chance to extend its lead. After Kevin Siegrist walked Hernan Perez to walk in a run, Socolovich came on to strike out Chris Carter and get Kirk Nieuwenhuis to pop out to shortstop.It was a mistake-filled loss for the Brewers. A botched rundown led to St. Louis first run and the winning run scored on what should have been an inning-changing double play.Milwaukee also set a franchise record for most strikeouts in a nine-inning game with 19.Were playing these teams fighting for playoff spots, Counsell said. We just didnt do quite enough right. We have to capitalize on every single opportunity, defensively and offensively.Brewers starter Zach Davies (10-7) matched his career high with nine strikeouts but gave up three runs and seven hits over 6 1/3 innings.RELIEVER RECALLEDThe Cardinals recalled LHP Dean Kiekhefer from Triple-A Memphis to fill the roster spot of RHP Mike Leake, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: Leakes placement on the disabled list is retroactive to Aug. 22. He is eligible to return Sept. 6. With Leake sidelined, rookie RHP Alex Reyes will remain in the rotation for at least one more turn.Brewers: Brewers RHP Junior Guerra (right elbow) will return from the disabled list to start Friday in Pittsburgh.UP NEXTCardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (9-8, 4.67 ERA) will look to continue his career dominance of the Brewers on Tuesday. The veteran is 13-8 with a 2.23 ERA in 33 games against Milwaukee.Brewers: RHP Wily Peralta (5-9, 5.87) will make his 18th start of the season when he faces the Cardinals on Tuesday. Peralta is 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA in four starts since being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Aug. 8. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. Custom Cincinnati Reds Nike Jerseys . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/ . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Custom New York Mets Nike Jerseys . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. Custom Houston Astros Nike Jerseys .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. ASHBURN, Va. -- When the Washington Redskins navigated the difficult process of replacing Robert Griffin III with Kirk Cousins as their starting quarterback a year ago, Matt Cavanaugh was the man in the middle of it.Griffin, Cousins and veteran Colt McCoy all wanted to start. Only one could, so Cavanaugh had heart-to-heart conversations about the situation.Cousins threw for 4,166 yards and 26 touchdowns and led the Redskins to the NFC East title. Afterward, McCoy called Cavanaugh the team MVP for his stability and oversight.His ability to be the voice in our room, to take away the distractions, the things that went on and all that and for him to help Kirk the way that he did and silence a lot of things that couldve got out or went wrong, Cav did a great job, McCoy said. Cav really deserves a lot of credit for the way Kirk played and the way that our room was handled throughout the year.Cavanaugh played 13 seasons in the NFL and has coached at the pro and college levels for more than two decades. After helping Cousins establish himself, Cavanaugh goes into his second season as Redskins quarterbacks coach with a very different challenge.In Cousins the unquestioned starter, McCoy the entrenched backup and rookie Nate Sudfeld the long-term project, Cavanaugh must tailor his message to three very different quarterbacks. Thats pretty much a wheelhouse for Cavanaugh, who has made a career of being a quarterback whisperer.He played with Hall of Famers, played in multiple organizations, won Super Bowls, Cousins said. Hes coached Pro Bowlers, hes coached Hall of Famers and he knows what it looks like.Cavanaugh was offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl-winning Baltimore Ravens in 2000 with Trent Dilfer, and he coached Steve Young with the San Francisco 49ers in 1996. Dealing with the Griffin-Cousins-McCoy quarterback triangle was just another chapter.Ive been in those positions personally, so for me it wasnt a huge deal, Cavanaugh said. Maybe they relied on me at times because they know that I did play and that I probably experienced what theyre going through and it was easier to relate some situations that I had.Its that same experience that makes Cavanaugh qualified to help Cousins prove he deserves a long-term deal, keep McCoy prepared on a moments notice and coach up Sudfeld for the years ahead. Cavanaugh can pull from his timee as a New England Patriots rookie and young starter and as Joe Montanas backup.ddddddddddddCousins developed into a leader as the franchise quarterback at 28, and his ascent with a career year is thanks in part to Cavanaughs tutelage.Hes helped simplify the game for me coaching me through my reads and trying to reduce the amount of clutter in my head as I read a defense, Cousins said.McCoy didnt start until a meaningless Week 17 game at Dallas last season, but he said Cavanaugh pushed him to stay sharp. Without practice snaps, McCoy leaned on Cavanaugh for details and philosophy.Thats what coach Jay Gruden and prodigious offensive coordinator Sean McVay count on Cavanaugh for.I cant say enough about him, what a great job hes done as far as leading that room, giving those guys a plan, helping develop the fundamentals and the mechanics of what were trying to get done at that position, McVay said.Already, Cavanaugh has devoted a lot of his time to Sudfeld, a sixth-round pick out of Indiana who has prototypical size but is raw at age 22. Sudfeld glowed about Cavanaugh months ago at rookie minicamp and has picked up a tremendous appreciation for the 59-year-old journeyman coach.He was very successful as a player so he automatically has that credibility and he can really relate to us, Sudfeld said. Theres some things where hes like, `I know how its difficult, youve just got to work through it on a certain read or a throw. Its really good to have that insight.Cavanaugh has been coaching since joining his alma mater, Pittsburgh, in 1992, yet he still feels like a developmental prospect. On a quarterback-friendly staff, the Youngstown, Ohio, native considers himself a student.I dont care how long youve been doing it, Ive been doing it for a while -- you come in and you feel a little behind, Cavanaugh said. Youre not quite sure of how everythings supposed to sound and youre trying to visualize a play when its called and in a split-second have an answer for the quarterback when he makes a decision. So Im feeling more comfortable with that and Ive got two great teachers in Jay and Sean, who know this system extremely well. Im here to learn, too.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '