CHICAGO -- When St. Louis Cardinals Mike Matheny visited the mound with two out and two on in the seventh inning on Sunday, he had no idea whether he was going to replace starter Adam Wainwright. "I was good to go either way," Matheny said. "I needed to look in his eyes and not hear what he says but see how he says it. Im kind of watching his mannerisms and then I give him a chance to say what he needs to say." Matheny liked what he heard (and saw) and returned to the dugout. Wainwright then got Nate Schierholtz to ground out to complete a strong outing. The right-hander pitched seven scoreless innings and Matt Holliday hit a solo homer to lead the Cardinals to a 1-0 victory and a series win over the Chicago Cubs. Wainwright (13-5) allowed five hits and walked three during his seven innings to take over the Major League lead in wins. It was a far cry from his previous outing when he allowed six runs (four earned) in 4 2-3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays last Tuesday. "The results usually follow my delivery," Wainwright said. "When I control my delivery -- I told you I was gonna get things under wraps -- and get my arm in the right spot, success was following that. "They hit some balls hard, but we played some great defence and made some pitches when we needed to." Matheny had no doubts and said he expected a bounce-back effort before the game. "I dont think thats much of a reach when youre talking about one of the best pitchers in the game," the manager said. "Hes been so consistent. When you have those days, I guess thats a reminder of hard it is to do what he does at the level that he does it. "It was a big game for us. We needed it to happen and he did everything he could." Kevin Siegrist worked the eighth and Trevor Rosenthal pitched the ninth for his 32nd save in 36 chances. Cubs rookie Kyle Hendricks (1-1) allowed just one run on seven hits in 6 1-3 innings. "He works quick," Chicago first baseman Anthony Rizzo said of Hendricks. "The groundballs are nice. The double plays are nice. Its all we can ask from him really, especially two days now where, both games at home, not good days to pitch at Wrigley. He did a really nice job." With the wind blowing out to right field, the conditions seemed ideal for a classic Wrigley Field slugfest -- a feeling seemingly confirmed when Holliday, the third batter of the game, lifted a drive to centre field that landed in the batters eye for a solo homer and a 1-0 Cardinals lead. But thats where the score stayed as the starters took control. The only time Hendricks was close to giving up a run after the first inning came after he was lifted in the seventh inning with a runner on first base and one out. Left-hander Wesley Wright loaded the bases with two out, but got Wainwright to line out softly to first base. Even though a base hit would have broken the game open, Matheny never considered pinch hitting with Wainwright having only thrown 83 pitches to that point. "Its all about pitching at that point," he said. "Were having a hard time getting something going offensively and we can roll the dice -- we have a live bullpen -- but weve got one of the best pitchers in the league on the mound. To me, especially with what his pitch count was, I want him going back on the mound." When asked how long the list is of pitchers he let hit there, Matheny said: "Very short. Maybe one on that list." NOTES: As part of the 100th anniversary celebration of Wrigley Field, both teams wore replica uniforms from 1978. The Cardinals uniforms were only slightly different than ones from today (no belts and pullover jerseys being the main change), but the Cubs wore powder blue pinstripes, which were the road uniforms then. ... The Cardinals are off on Monday, while the Cubs begin a four-game home series with the Colorado Rockies, with LHP Tsuyoshi Wada (0-1, 5.00) facing LHP Yohan Flande (0-2, 7.20). Willie Roaf Womens Jersey . Still, Encarnacion felt a sense of relief. He felt a pop just before crumpling to the ground after running out a groundball in the first inning of Saturdays game. It could have been worse. “Its going to take maybe two weeks,” said Encarnacion. “It depends how Im going to be and how Im going to be day after day, feeling better or not. Morten Andersen Saints Jersey .Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times. http://www.authenticsaintssportsonline.com/saints-archie-manning-gold-jersey/ . New York secured second place in the Metropolitan Division when the Philadelphia Flyers lost at Tampa Bay later Thursday. The Rangers will face either the Flyers or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. The Rangers struggled throughout against the lowly Sabres and goalie Matt Hackett, who played in just his seventh NHL game of the season. Drew Brees Jersey . Sure, Josh Browns 45-yard field goal on the third drive of overtime lifted the New York Giants to a 23-20 win over Detroit on Sunday. But the Lions (7-8) dropped themselves out of the NFC North race by losing five of their last six games, blowing fourth-quarter leads in each setback. Erik McCoy Womens Jersey .Boston beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Tuesday night and celebrated consecutive wins for the first time in more than a month.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. The Stars not only made their dads happy Tuesday night, they secured a key victory that improved their playoff chances. Antoine Roussel scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Kari Lehtonen stopped 26 shots and the Stars beat the sluggish Phoenix Coyotes 3-1 in front of 27 dads who took advantage of the franchises father road trip. "This is a little extra bonus," Lehtonen said of having his pop in the stands. "Its nice to have him here." Shawn Horcoff also scored and Ryan Garbutt added an empty-netter for the Stars, who won their second straight game and moved within one point of Phoenix and two of Vancouver, which holds the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Not bad for a team that less than a month ago was mired in a six-game losing streak. "It was a big win for us tonight," Garbutt said. "We had the dads in town and it was a fun game for the guys to play. Its kind of nice for the guys to be on a roll right now." Antoine Vermette scored his eighth goal in nine games and Mike Smith made 37 saves for the Coyotes, who were thoroughly outplayed in the final two periods despite the games importance. "It was really disappointing," Vermette said. "We have to find a way to win these games." Tied at 1 entering the third period despite a 31-18 edge in shots, the Stars took advantage of a bad line change and Kyle Chipchuras turnover at centre ice. The sequence ended with Roussels wrist shot from between the circles that beat Smith on the glove side at 3:25 for his ninth goal. "We turned over a lot of pucks and in the 1-on-1 battles just didnt do enough to give ourselves a better chance to win," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. It was another solid defensive effort for the Stars, three nights after blanking NHL-leading Anaheim 2-0 at the beginning of a three-game trip. When they arrived in Phoenix, so did most of the players fathers. They watched the Super Bowl together Sunday and visitedd a dude ranch Monday.dddddddddddd The fathers then had great seats for Dallas fifth win in seven games and a big victory against another team jockeying for a playoff spot. Phoenix entered the night in ninth place in the West with 62 points, while Dallas was 10th with 59. With eight teams going to the playoffs and Vancouver losing at Boston earlier in the evening, Tuesdays meeting and Saturdays rematch in Dallas meant an opportunity to create space and clinch the season series. "We talked about this morning that two teams that are pretty similar and tight, somebodys going to take advantage of an opportunity and win a game," Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said. "And I thought we were able to push through." Perhaps not surprisingly, there was little to separate the teams in the first period. And while the Stars had better chances early in the second, it was Vermette who continued his hot streak with a breakaway goal midway through the period to put Phoenix ahead. Vermette won the puck along the boards at centre ice and skated in alone, sending a backhander past Lehtonen at 9:18 to make it 1-0. It was Vermettes team-best 21st goal. Shortly after Vermette nearly scored another breakaway goal while short-handed, and with the Phoenix crowd booing what it felt should have been a Dallas penalty, the Stars tied it. Horcoffs no-look backhander from the slot on the power play slipped past Smith with 7:28 left in the second period. Dallas controlled the final period, with Garbutts empty-net goal with 26.7 seconds left putting it away and setting up a happy postgame reunion with the dads. "I think the ones whose sons scored are especially proud of them," Ruff said. "And they get to see it live. That part is good." NOTES: The Stars improved to 12-2-2 against Pacific Division opponents. ... Vermettes career-best, eight-game point streak matches Shane Doans for the longest of the season for the Coyotes. ... Vermette (367) and teammate Keith Yandle (359) extended the third- and fourth-longest active consecutive games played streaks in the NHL. ... The Coyotes have won consecutive games just once since mid-December. ' ' '