ST. LOUIS -- Facing trouble, Michael Wacha did his best to slow down the game. He certainly frustrated New York Mets hitters who had him on the ropes. Wacha escaped a pair of jams with strikeouts, and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped a fifth-inning tie en route to a 5-2 victory on Tuesday night. "I hadnt been doing that in my last three starts," Wacha said. "It was nice to be able to start making pitches and being able to execute." Daniel Murphy couldnt deal with the changeup when he struck out with runners on second and third to end the fifth inning. "I dont think I swung at a single strike the at-bat I struck out," Murphy said. "He threw the ball well to me, and I helped him out." Murphy wasnt alone. "I dont think there are too many right-handers with a better changeup," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "I think thats accepted league-wide." Yadier Molina hit his first homer since May 24 for the Cardinals, who have won eight of nine and will go for a three-game sweep on Wednesday. They have won a season-best five in a row and are a season-best seven games above .500. David Wright hit his first homer since May 28, and Lucas Duda also connected for the Mets, who have lost 11 of 14. "Theres many sleepless nights," Wright said. "I wont lie and say its easy or it doesnt bother me, but you have to understand theres not too many players, if any, that can go through a whole season and ride that roller-coaster ride a little bit." Mets manager Terry Collins batted the pitcher eighth, with Eric Young Jr. hitting ninth, for the second straight game in an effort to stimulate the offence. During the 14-game slump, the Mets have scored two or fewer runs seven times. Daisuke Matsuzaka worked a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Mets starter Jonathon Niese (3-4). Matsuzaka left Sundays start against San Diego after one inning because of a severe upset stomach. Wacha (5-5) gave up a run and five hits in six innings. Fanning Murphy preserved a 1-all tie, and he struck out Ruben Tejada with two on to end the sixth when the Cardinals led 3-1. Wacha had a career-best 10 strikeouts on April 23 at New York but also had a career-worst five walks and lasted four innings in a loss. Jon Jays RBI triple with two outs in the fifth gave the Cardinals the lead, and Matt Holliday followed with an RBI double. Pinch-hitter Kolten Wong and Peter Bourjos added RBIs in the sixth, with both runs unearned after second baseman Murphy dropped Daniel Descalsos slicing, looping liner with a man on and two out. "I just misplayed it," Murphy said. Jay is batting .405 (15 for 37) in his last 12 games with four multi-hit games. It was his first RBI since May 30. "Hes on a real good run at the plate," Matheny said. "The way hes taking his at-bats ... weve seen this before. You just see him go, and its fun to watch him go." Niese allowed five runs, three earned, in six innings. The lefty has made 18 consecutive starts allowing three or fewer earned runs. It is the longest active streak in the majors, extending to last September, but he is just 5-5 during that span. Wright entered the game 3 for 43 in his last 13 games. He leads the Mets with 34 RBIs, but has just four this month. The home run was his first on the road this season. Duda hit his ninth homer of the season leading off the ninth against Jason Motte to make it 5-2, and Anthony Recker doubled, but Pat Neshek retired the next three for his second save in four chances. NOTES: Lance Lynn (7-4, 3.16) faces Bartolo Colon (6-5, 4.15) in the series finale on Wednesday. Lynn worked eight scoreless innings in his last start. ... The Cardinals are 20-2 at home against NL East opponents the last two seasons. ... The attendance of 42,209 was St. Louis 19th sellout in 35 home games. Adolis Garcia . Dwyane Wade took over in the fourth quarter. Rangel Ravelo . Alina Fodorova of Ukraine took third place. Broersen based her gold-medal performance on great high jumping, and finished with 4,830 points, while Theisen-Eaton, from Humboldt, Sask., set a national record of 4,768. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/...arge-1571q.html. The Earthquakes (6-9-7) were coming off a 5-0 loss at home last Saturday to FC Dallas. Even with the draw, the Sounders (13-7-3) climbed back into a tie for both the Western Conference and overall top spot in MLS. Seattle, West co-leader Real Salt Lake and East leader Sporting Kansas City all have 42 points. Lou Brock .com) - P.K. Subbans power-play goal 4:08 into overtime sent the Montreal Canadiens into the All-Star break with a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Jordan Hicks . Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the Houston Texans No. 1 pick in the draft, was on the field Tuesday for the first time with former NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.Rumours surrounding official UFC uniforms are back and the organization is doing its best to quickly stomp out the flames. Notorious mixed martial arts source @frontrowbrian posted side by side photos of current middleweight champion Chris Weidman to Twitter on Thursday, with one side featuring Weidman in his regular octagon attire and the other showing a mockup of what the fighter would look like dressed in a branded uniform. MMAjunkie.com received a statement from the organization refuting any current uniform deals. "We continue to speak to many potential partners and will make an announcement when we reach an agreement," the statement read. A UFC uniform deal has been rumoured for some time now. It has caused quite a ripple within the organization, especially with president Dana White. The situation boiled over in mid-February, a few days before UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann. During a media scrum, White let off some steam surrounding the gossip. "We havent announced a uniform deal, we have no uniform deal. We said that its something that were looking into. Theres no (expletive) uniform deal, were working on it," he said. "Its (expletive) ridiculous, there is no deal, and were sitting here talking about something that doesnt exist." However, fighters past and present remain curious about the prospects. At the beginning of March, formeer lightweight and featherweight title contender Kenny Florian, now a television personality, told MMA website Bloody Elbow he thought it could be a good deal for the organization.dddddddddddd "I think if its something that benefits the fighters and benefits the UFC, then I think its great, but I dont know exactly what is going to happen." he said. At the same time, undefeated welterweight Alberto Mina wasnt against the idea but also wasnt overly thrilled. "I believe every fighter has their own characteristics, their own body types, and their own way on how they feel better about themselves," he also told Bloody Elbow. "I think its a very personal thing. Dont take me wrong, but I think its not really necessary." Theres is no way to tell how far away, if at all, the UFC is to locking down a uniform deal, but other reports speculate that the UFC has already reached a deal with fitness apparel giant Under Armour. In addition to those reports, and with the photos featuring Weidman in overtly labelled Under Armour gear, there is speculation an announcement of a deal could come at UFC 182: Jones vs. Teixeira in Maryland, where the company was founded. Nonetheless, the statement to MMAjunkie denies any and all murmurs. The UFC also denied comment on the photos as well. "We havent reached an agreement at this time." ' ' '