LOS ANGELES -- The St. Louis Cardinals didnt exactly sting the ball against Clayton Kershaw. They just went to the plate with the purpose of putting it in play. The plan worked. Matt Carpenter drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single and Pete Kozma hit a three-run double, leading the Cardinals to a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday in the rubber game of their series. "Kershaws a great pitcher. But hes going to come out and throw strikes, so you need to be ready to swing the bats," Kozma said. "We needed every run we got." "When you face someone like Kershaw, hes not going to give you anything. You have to scratch and claw for everything you get and thats what we did," manager Mike Matheny said. "The timely hits -- some of them werent all that pretty. But these guys came in here today talking about fighting, and thats exactly what they did." Kozma led off the seventh with a bloop double off the glove of shortstop Dee Gordon as he dived for the ball in short centre field. One out later, Carpenter grounded a single off the glove of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, allowing Kozma to score. Pinch-hitter Matt Adams added an RBI single in the ninth. "They found some holes today and got a lot of hits that fell in there. But thats the mark of a good team," Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said. "Thats a good professional hitting team over there that battles and grinds." Seth Maness (4-1) got credit for the victory in relief of starter Shelby Miller despite retiring only two of the six batters he faced. Kershaw had a chance to help himself with the bat in the sixth, but grounded into an inning-ending double play against Maness. Edward Mujica pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 14th save in 14 attempts, as the Cardinals improved the major leagues best record to 32-17 and increased their NL Central lead over Cincinnati to 1 1/2 games. Kershaw (5-3) gave up four runs, seven hits and three walks in seven innings and struck out five as his ERA rose from a major league-best 1.35 to 1.68. The 2010 Cy Young Award winner had allowed only three earned runs in 39 2-3 innings over his previous five starts, including two no-decisions. Kershaw had not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his previous 22 starts since giving up eight over 5 2-3 innings against the Cardinals on July 24, 2012, at St. Louis. That was the longest such streak by a Dodger since Orel Hershisers 27-game stretch between July 12, 1985 and May 25, 1986. "This start is better than going five innings and giving up three," Kershaw said. "Going deeper into the game is obviously important, especially for our bullpen. Youre not going to be able to just go out there and throw up zeros or one run every time. Youve got to battle sometimes." Slumping centre fielder Matt Kemp was not in the Dodgers starting lineup, a day after he was removed by manager Don Mattingly in a double-switch with the team ahead by a run in the seventh inning of a 5-3 win. The two-time All-Star pinch hit for reliever Ronald Belisario in the eighth with a man on and grounded into an inning-ending double play. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning after Trevor Rosenthal followed Maness out of the bullpen and hit his first batter, Andre Ethier. But Rosenthal escaped the jam by striking out Ellis and Skip Schumaker, who started in centre field in Kemps place. "It was a big situation to come into, so I just tried to execute, make some quality pitches and get ahead," Rosenthal said. "I was trying to throw something hard down in the zone to try and get a groundball for a double play there with Ellis. Luckily it turned out well." Miller allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings and struck out three in his first career start against the Dodgers, after beginning the day with the fourth-best ERA in the NL at 1.74. The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the first when Gonzalez drove a 1-1 pitch into the right field pavilion for his team-high sixth home run, after a leadoff walk to Carl Crawford. But the Cardinals countered with three runs in the third. Yadier Molina drew a leadoff walk, David Freese hit a broken-bat bloop double down the left field line on the next pitch, and .229-hitting Daniel Descalso walked on four pitches. Kozma then line a fastball just inside third base and past a diving Juan Uribe for the bases-clearing double. "He went up there looking for a fastball and he hit it. So you have to give him credit there -- especially after a four-pitch walk," Kershaw said. "That second inning was frustrating, giving up the walks, and that bloop hit was frustrating. You cant do much about the hits, but you cant walk guys. So that was definitely my fault there." Los Angeles tied it in the fifth on an RBI single by Gonzalez that scored Kershaw, who started the rally with a one-out single. NOTES: Ellis has struck out seven times in nine at-bats since his collision at home plate with Cardinals baserunner Jon Jay in Friday nights series opener. In Ellis previous 19 at-bats, he went down on strikes only once. "I was running the bases with my kids just now. I needed to be on base at least once today," Ellis said. ... Kemp is homerless in 101 at-bats at Dodger Stadium since his two-run shot off Colorados Jorge De La Rosa last Sept. 20. ... Cardinals LHP John Gast, who left Saturdays game with tightness in his shoulder after facing just six batters, was placed on the 15-day disabled list -- making him the fourth Cardinals starter currently on the DL along with Chris Carpenter, Jake Westbrook and Jaime Garcia. ... RHP Michael Blazek, another rookie, was promoted to the majors for the first time from Triple-A Springfield. Blazek will be the seventh rookie pitcher used this season by Matheny. ... St. Louis RF Carlos Beltran, 4 for 19 with seven strikeouts against Kershaw, got the day off.Cheap Basketball College Jerseys .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Custom NCAA Jerseys . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/ . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. Clearance NCAA Jerseys . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria.CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Josh Hart scored a career-high 30 points with six 3-pointers and No. 3 Villanova powered past Wake Forest 96-77 on Friday to reach the finals of the Charleston Classic.Hart, a preseason All-American, made five of his teams first six baskets to open a 16-8 lead and the Wildcats (4-0) kept going. Theyll face UCF or College of Charleston for the tournament title on Sunday night.Villanova used a combination of accurate shooting and solid defense to slow down Wake Forest (3-1), which had scored 103 points Thursday in defeating UTEP. While the Demon Deacons shot 50 percent, they rarely got their transition game in motion against the Wildcats.It was not all good for Hart, who was whistled for a technical foul late in the second half with his team ahead double digits when he got tied up and jawed with Wake Forests Bryant Crawford down low.Hart surpassed his previous top total of 27 points against Akron last season.No. 5 NORTH CAROLINA 83, HAWAII 68HONOLULU -- Isaiah Hicks scored 16 points and North Carolina pulled away from Hawaii.The Tar Heels (4-0) never trailed and had five players score in double figures.Hicks scored 10 points after halftime and finished 7 of 8 from the field. Kennedy Meeks and Nate Britt had 13 points apiece. Justin Jackson scored 11 and Tony Bradley 10.North Carolina led by as many as 18 in the closing minutes. The Tar Heels shot 63.3 percent (19 of 30) in the second half.Noah Allen, a UCLA transfer, led the Rainbow Warriors (2-2) with 22 points.No. 7 KANSAS 86, SIENA 65LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Frank Mason III scored 18 points to lead a late-game charge, Carlton Bragg added a career-high 15 points and 11 rebounds and Kansas beat pesky Siena.Devonte Graham added 13 points and nine assists, and Lagerald Vick scored 12 points off the bench, as the Jayhawks (2-1) extended their winning streak to 42 straight at Allen Fieldhouse.The Saints (1-2) never made it easy.Marquis Wright hit three straight 3-pointers midway through the second half, and the gritty senior guards three-point play got coach Jimmy Patsos team within 63-58 with about 7 1/2 minutes left.Vick answered with back-to-back baskets for the Jayhawks, kicking off the game-defining 16-2 run that would put the game away. Mason added a 3-pointer and a couple foul shots, Graham got into the act, and the Jayhawks -- so accustomed to dominating inside -- leaned on their guard play to seal the win.No. 10 ARIZONA 95, SACRED HEART 65TUCSON, Ariz. -- Lauri Markkanen scored 22 points to lead six Arizona players in double figures and the Wildcats routed overmatched Sacred Heart.Fellow freshman Rawle Alkins added 18 points for the Wildcats (3-0). They led by as many as 25 points in the first half and 39 in the second.Arizonas Dusan Ristic had 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.Quincy McKnight had 22 points and Joseph Lopez 15 for the Pioneers (1-2).The game was part of the Las Vegas Invitational, as is Monday nights game against Northern Colorado. The Wildcats move on to Las Vegas to play Santa Clara next Thursday.No. 11 XAVIER 83, CLEMSON 77LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- J.P. Macura scored a career-high 28 points and Trevon Bluiett contributed 21 as Xavier defeated Clemson in the second round of the Tire Pros Invitational.Macura hit six 3-pointers and Bluiett sealed the win with two free throws in the final moments.The Musketeers (3-0) held a comfortable lead for most of the second half before Clemson (3-1) surged within 63-62. Xavier, led by Malcolm Bernard, answered with six straight points to regain control.Donte Grantham led five Clemson players in double figures with 21 points.No. 13 MICHIGAN STATE 100, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 53EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Miles Briddges scored 21 of his 24 points in the first half, grabbed 11 rebounds and had six assists in his home debut for Michigan State in a win over Mississippi Valley State.dddddddddddd.The Spartans (1-2) got a confidence-boosting win after getting routed by No. 2 Kentucky and losing to No. 10 Arizona by two points.Ronald Strother had 12 points and Amos Given scored 10 for the Delta Devils (0-4).Bridges, a 6-foot-7 freshman, put on quite a show that the fans loved at the Breslin Center, including former Michigan State great and Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Johnson came out of his seat and spread his arms wide and had an ear-to-ear smile when the left-handed Bridges followed up a miss free throw by driving through the lane and leaping to make a backboard-shaking, right-handed dunk.No. 14 GONZAGA 109, BRYANT 70SPOKANE, Wash. -- Przemek Karnowski scored 22 points and Johnathan Williams added 20 to help Gonzaga beat Bryant.Zach Collins added 18 points for Gonzaga (3-0), which is seeking a 19th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.Nisre Zouzoua scored 22 points and Adam Grant had 17 for undersized Bryant (1-2), which lost to Gonzaga the only previous time the teams met, in 2013.Both teams are known as the Bulldogs.Gonzaga was coming off a 69-48 win over San Diego State on Monday that was the Aztecs largest margin of defeat in nine seasons, a span of 260 games.The Zags built an early lead and slowly extended it for most of the game. Bryant was undone by 23 turnovers.No. 18 SYRACUSE 71, MONMOUTH 50SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Andrew White scored 18 points, Taurean Thompson added 12 and Syracuse routed overmatched Monmouth.The Orange (3-0) led 37-29 at the half. The Hawks (1-2) shot 21 percent from the field were 1 of 18 from 3-point range in the second half. For the game, the Hawks shot 31 percent and were 4 of 29 from on 3-pointers.Syracuse outscored Monmouth 34-21 in the second half.Tyus Battle added nine points, and Frank Howard had eight points and six assists for Syracuse. Tyler Lydon had four blocks.Justin Robinson led the Hawks with 11 points, and Collin Stewart had eight.No. 15 PURDUE 64, GEORGIA STATE 56WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Caleb Swanigan scored 18 points and Purdue scored the final 20 points of the game to rally and beat Georgia State in the Cancun Challenge opener.Trailing 56-44 with 7:08 to play, the Boilermakers (2-1) took over. Dakota Mathias hit two 3-pointers and P.J. Thompson one during the game-closing run.Center Isaas Haas added 11 points for Purdue, and Jeremy Hollowell had 15 to lead Georgia State (1-2), which also got 13 points from DMarcus Simonds.Georgia State led 56-44 on a Malik Benlevi basket with 7:08 remaining, but Purdue pulled even at 56 on two Haas free throws with 3:57 remaining.No. 22 CREIGHTON 103, WASHINGTON STATE 77ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Cole Huff scored 19 points, and Creighton put Washington State away early en route to a victory in the opening round of the Paradise Jam tournament.Marcus Foster added 16 points and Justin Patton 10 for the Bluejays (3-0), who went up by double digits less than seven minutes into the first half, and led 60-36 at the break.Conor Clifford scored 29 points, Ike Iroegbu and Charles Callison had 11 each, and Josh Hawkinson added 10 for the Cougars (2-1), who trailed by as many as 34 points in the second half.Creighton took its biggest lead midway through the second half, going up 80-46 on Tyler Clements layup with 13:30 remaining.The Cougars would then break the 100-point mark for the first time this season with 1:50 left on Ronnie Harrell Jr.s jumper. ' ' '