Bergbau » -- and one controversial basket by the Sparks that appeared to

ST. LOUIS -- After watching another loss low-lighted by poor starting pitching and shaky defense, St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny didnt sugarcoat the situation.Were going to have to clean it all up, he said.Thursday nights 12-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers leaves St. Louis a full game behind San Francisco for the National Leagues first wild card spot and a half-game in back of the New York Mets for wild card number two.Simply put, the Cardinals (73-66) are running out of time and chances to extend their MLB-best string of consecutive playoff seasons to six. The good news regarding Friday nights matchup with Milwaukee is that they can use their best starting pitcher this year.Carlos Martinez (13-7, 3.07) is coming off a 5-2 win Sunday at Cincinnati in which he struggled with his control, giving up five walks in six-plus innings, but didnt give up a run until the seventh because he induced three double plays.Thats become a staple of Martinezs 26 starts -- the twin-killing. Martinez leads the National League with 30 double play balls, as batters simply cant do much with his mid to upper-90s sinker.Meanwhile, hitters have been able to do plenty with the offerings of Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson (7-13, 4.36), who has struggled in his last 17 starts, going 2-10 with a 5.61 earned run average.Martinez owns two wins in three outings this year against Milwaukee -- all at Miller Park. The one game he didnt win, he left with the lead after fanning a career-high 13 batters in six innings on Aug. 29.As for Nelson, hes been drilled by St. Louis throughout his career, losing all six of his decisions against it with a 7.57 earned run average. Nelson is 0-1 this year in two starts, although he has a respectable 3.75 earned run average.However, the Brewers are looking more like playoff contenders at this point than the opponent thats chasing a postseason spot. Milwaukee has won seven of its last eight games, including two of three earlier in the week against the Chicago Cubs, and owns a season-high five-game road winning streak.We try to keep it loose, shortstop Orlando Arcia said through an interpreter when asked about the teams recent success. Youre always happy to be in a good streak. Youre just going out there and having fun.More than one pundit felt the Brewers were a candidate for 100 losses this year, but they clearly arent tanking their way to the finish line. Milwaukee has showcased a nice blend of power and speed, cracking 163 homers and leading the NL with 159 steals.While the Brewers still have work to do defensively and with their pitching, Cubs manager Joe Maddon likes the progress they have made.They continue to get it together on the field, he said after Wednesday nights 2-1 loss in Milwaukee. I know we got them at home recently but they are doing a lot of things well. You have to give them credit, man. 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And it followed a missed backcourt violation in Game 4 -- a mistake the WNBA formally acknowledged -- that went in Minnesotas favor in that close contest the Lynx won in Los Angeles.While those moments put an unwanted focus on the referees, the fact is that this series was exactly what the WNBA was hoping for with its changes to the playoff format. Doing away with conference affiliation and seeding the top eight teams by record meant that the two best teams -- Minnesota at 28-6 and Los Angeles at 26-8 -- had the chance to meet in the WNBA Finals, despite both being West teams.The result was a hard-fought, exciting series where momentum was fleeting because both teams were so good. It figured that the last game would come down to the closing seconds, because so little separated the Sparks and the Lynx.The team that won this game deserved to win the game, Lynx star Maya Moore said in a very quiet, disappointed Minnesota locker room. Its just hard to have it come that close. The crowd was awesome, and were so appreciative of all the support and energy that they brought us, and we gave it everything we had.But the 19,423 who came to Target Center hoping to see the Lynx win their second consecutive title and tie the Houston Comets with four championships overall instead watched as time ran out on the Lynx after Nneka Ogwumikes winning putback with 3.1 seconds left.Everybody at one point made a big play, said Moore, who had 23 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds. Nneka made a great hustle play to will them to that last shot.Lynx point guard Lindsay Whalen actually had the final shot, a heave from about half court, that Sparks center Candace Parker watched with some fear.Its like, I cant breathe until the ball hit the backboard, Parker said. Theres a possibility Lindsay could make a half-court shot with our luck. Until the last moment when there was zero on the clock and I had the ball, thats when Kristi [Toliver] just tackled me, and it was amazing.For the league, it was a terrific showcase of the talent that has developed in the 20 years of the WNBAs existence. Sparks coach Brian Agler, who started his WNBA career in Minnesota when the franchise launched in 1999, gave credit to the Lynx for all theyve done to raise the bar in the league.Toliver did the same thing, talking about how much Minnesotas greatness -- the Lynx have been in the WNBA Finals five of the past six years -- set the standard for everyone else.Toliver said that the night before Game 5, the Sparks watched ESPNs 30-for-30 documentary, Bad Boys, on the Detroit Pistons rise to winning NBA titles in 1989 and 90. The Pistons won the first of those championships by beating Los Angeles, after the Lakers had won two in a row.Considering then-Lakers legend Magic Johnson is one of the Sparks owners now, you might think it odd that the Sparks would look to the Pistons, of all teams, for inspiration. But the documentary was motivating because it illustrated how Detroit successfully challenged the established greatness of the LLakers.ddddddddddddBecause thats what the Sparks were trying to do in this series against the Lynx. And they ended up doing it by winning twice in Minnesota, which few were expecting.Minnesota is a great franchise that has won multiple championships, Toliver said. We had much to learn from them. So for us to beat them on their home court, it speaks volumes about us and who we are. Its something nobody really thought we could do except us.The Sparks also won Game 1 here at Target Center 78-76 on Alana Beards buzzer-beating jumper. That was the loss that Reeve particularly lamented, because she thought the Lynx had their worst overall performance in that game.Minnesota then dominated Game 2 with defense, winning 79-60. The Sparks turned the tables in the third game with the series moving to Los Angeles, winning the aggression and energy battle to prevail 92-75.With a chance to claim the title at home at Staples Center on Sunday, the Sparks made a few key errors down the stretch, and Minnesota made big plays. The Lynx won 85-79, and it seemed as though they had the momentum -- finally -- wrapped up for the series.But despite the green-clad bedlam of Target Center on Thursday, the Sparks just didnt get rattled. They trailed 34-28 at halftime, with Ogwumike battling foul trouble. But the Sparks offense was much sharper in the third quarter, outscoring Minnesota 26-21, and setting up a down-to-the wire fourth quarter.As was the case in Game 4, the final period was epic all on its own. Parkers layup put the Sparks ahead 71-63 with 3:06 left in the game. The Lynx rallied with an 8-0 run capped by Whalens steal and layup, tying the score at 71.At the 1:12 mark, Ogwumike hit the shot that appeared to be released just after the shot clock expired, but it wasnt reviewed by the officials. Reeve was very unhappy about that afterward.Get the simple things right and well live with the other stuff that happens in a game, Reeve said. Maybe they still win; I dont know. Thats why I dont want to take anything away from L.A.Theres no question the second half, they scored at will in the paint. We had them at 34 percent in the first half. I thought [we were] defending our tails off, and then in the second half, we didnt get that done.It was riveting final minute, no matter which side you were rooting for. Seimone Augustus, the longest-tenured Lynx player, tied the score at 73 with a jumper. Then Minnesotas Rebekkah Brunson was fouled, and hit one of two free throws.Parker answered with a layup off a great feed from Ogwumike to put the Sparks back up 75-74 with 19.7 seconds left. But Moore hit a turnaround baseline jumper to give the Lynx a 76-75 lead.In the Sparks final possession, Chelsea Gray -- whose six fourth-quarter points were very big -- missed a shot, but Ogwumike grabbed the rebound. Her follow was blocked by Sylvia Fowles, but Ogwumike got it back and scored this time.We said, The rebound of your life is coming, Toliver explained about what the Sparks told Ogwumike during their last timeout. And that was the rebound and putback of her life.It was a heartbreaking end for the Lynxs Roar for Four quest, but a dream come true for so many of the Sparks veteran players who at times had to seriously wonder if this would ever happen.And for the WNBA, it was a game that will be long remembered.They really wanted it, Ogwumike said. But we wanted it, too. ' ' '