ATLANTA -- When Andrelton Simmons botched a grounder, the St. [url=http://www.chinajerseyspaypal.com/]China Jerseys[/url] . Louis Cardinals seized their opportunity. For the Atlanta Braves, it was another night of missed chances. Matt Carpenters two-run double that helped carry St. Louis past the slu

ATLANTA -- When Andrelton Simmons botched a grounder, the St. China Jerseys . Louis Cardinals seized their opportunity. For the Atlanta Braves, it was another night of missed chances. Matt Carpenters two-run double that helped carry St. Louis past the slumping Braves, who shook up their lineup but still lost their seventh in a row, 4-3 on Monday. The Cardinals scored three runs in the fifth inning, taking advantage of shaky defence by Atlantas Gold Glove shortstop. In fact, Simmons had a couple of plays that couldve been scored errors but were initially ruled hits. The second one was changed to an E-6 and turned out to be especially costly, leading to a pair of unearned runs. St. Louis built a 4-0 lead and barely held on to win the series opener. "It was big," Carpenter said. "Especially when we got out to a big lead, to be able to hold them off, that was big for us." Desperate for more offence, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez batted pitcher Aaron Harang eighth and put second baseman Ramiro Pena in the ninth spot. Pena had two hits, including a seventh-inning homer that brought the Braves within a run, but they couldnt overcome a 4-0 deficit. Juston Upton took a called third strike from Trevor Rosenthal to end the game with the potential tying run at second base -- Uptons fourth strikeout of the night and extending Atlantas woes with runners in scoring position. The Braves were 1 for 12 in those situations and are 6 of 51 during their losing streak, though Freddie Freeman saw some encouraging signs. "We hit some balls hard with runners on," he said. "We were in the game the whole game. We couldnt say that the past week." The last time the Braves had such a lengthy skid was May 21-28, 2012, when they dropped eight in a row. Their longest losing streak last season was four straight. Shelby Miller (4-2) got a shaky win, giving up six hits and two runs in five-plus innings. Trevor Rosenthal pitched out of trouble for his ninth save, giving up a leadoff single to Simmons. Jordan Schafer bunted the runner to second, but Pena flied out to right before Upton whiffed. Harang (3-3) took the loss, though he pitched much better than his previous start, when he was pounded for nine runs by the Marlins. This time, he gave up four runs in six innings but only two were earned. The game was scoreless until the fifth, when Peter Bourjos led off with a single before Mark Ellis grounded one off Simmons glove. The shortstop, looking to make a force at second, appeared to take his eyes off the ball as it skipped past him. After Miller bunted the runners to second and third, Carpenter doubled to right-centre to bring them both in. Matt Holiday followed with a hard liner past third baseman Chris Johnson to make it 3-0. "Those things happen," Harang said of Simmons error. "I told him not to be too hard on himself. Hes probably going to save my butt plenty of times this year." St. Louis added another run in the fifth on Bourjos RBI single, but Gonzalez challenged a call at third base that had seemingly given the Cardinals a 5-0 lead. Yadier Molinas bases-loaded grounder ricocheted off Harangs leg, right to Johnson at third. He caught it and blindly stepped back in search of the bag and managed to barely nick it, as the replay showed. The called was quickly overturned after a review of only 37 seconds. The Braves knocked out Miller in the bottom half of the sixth, the first three hitters reaching safely. The Cardinals went to the bullpen after Evan Gattis RBI single, and B.J. Upton followed with a sacrifice fly off Pat Neshek. Neshek escaped the jam by striking out Simmons. NOTES: The Cardinals sent pitcher RHP Joe Kelly back to St. Louis to continue his rehab from a strained left hamstring. "Joe just wasnt to the point where they thought they could push him, so keeping him around the rest of this road trip didnt make any sense," general manager John Mozeliak said. "I dont know Id call it a setback as much as he just wasnt progressing as quickly as we wanted." ... Atlanta RHP Gavin Floyd will make his season debut when he starts Tuesday against LHP Tyler Lyons (0-2) of the Cardinals. Floyd is coming back from Tommy John surgery and will start in place of Ervin Santana, who has a bruised right thumb. China Jerseys Paypal . The Flames are in the midst of a six-game slide (0-5-1), their longest losing streak since an 0-6-3 skid from Jan. 11-28, 2010. They havent won since Nov. 3 in Chicago and most recently went winless on a three-game homestand. China Jerseys Quality . -- Miguel Angel Jimenez quickly shifted his focus back to the Ryder Cup after winning his first Champions Tour event. http://www.chinajerseyspaypal.com/ . You can watch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 9pm et/6pm pt. Jonathan Huberdeau and Quinton Howden are expected to make their debuts for Team Canada. CHICAGO -- Manny being Manny has been a positive so far for the Chicago Cubs. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein praised Manny Ramirez on Friday for his work with the Cubs minor leaguers in Arizona, and said the former major league star could join Triple-A Iowa next week. Ramirez signed a minor league deal in May and reported to the teams facility in Mesa to get some at-bats in extended spring training. When Ramirez moves to Iowa, he will be a player-coach for Chicagos top farm club. "Ive gotten unsolicited emails and texts from a lot of the staff down there saying that hes been a breath of fresh air and the best thing that ever happened to the kids down in Mesa," Epstein said before the Cubs 6-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates. "So Im really pleased with the impact hes making on the organization. "Probably sometime next week that hes ready to go to Iowa, but were not in a rush because hes making an impact with the young kids down there who are getting their first taste of pro ball as well as guys like Jorge Soler, who are there rehabbing. Mannys been a really nice influence so far." The 42-year-old Ramirez is a .312 hitter with 555 home runs in 2,302 games covering 19 major league seasons. But the Cubs brought him in to serve as a mentor for some of their young players and insist he is not a candidate for a promotion to the major league club. The addition of Ramirez was a bit of a gamble for Epstein, who was the general manager in Boston when the enigmatic slugger helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004 and 2007. Ramirez was suspended for 50 games in 2009 while with the Los Angeles Dodgers after testing positive for a banned drug. He retired in April 2011 instead of serving a 100-game ban for a second positive test while with Tampa Bay, but later agreed to a reduced 50-game suspension and played in the minors for Oakland in 2012. He also has been criticized in the past for lackadaisical play, but Epstein thhinks he can be a valuable teacher for Chicagos rich minor league system. China Jerseys Outlet. "Hes been meeting with the young kids there daily, pulling them aside, talking about hitting, talking about not making some of the same mistakes that he made off the field, really keeping them focused on working hard and having a passion for the game and doing things the right way," Epstein said. When Ramirez gets to Iowa, he will get a chance to work one of the majors best prospects in third baseman Kris Bryant. The No. 2 overall selection in last years draft hit .355 with 20 homers in 68 games with Double-A Tennessee, and then belted a two-run shot in his debut with Iowa on Thursday night. The promotion to Triple-A means Bryant is just one step away from joining the Cubs, but Epstein made it sound as if that would be next season at the earliest. "I dont forsee a scenario where hed be up this year," he said. "I dont think its the right thing to do for someone in his first full professional season, barring extraordinary circumstances both in respect to the player and whats going on at the big league club." Epstein also is pleased with what he has seen so far from this years first-round pick, Kyle Schwarber. The No. 4 overall selection from Indiana University was quickly promoted from Chicagos short-season Class A affiliate in Boise, Idaho, to Single-A Kane County. There is some question about whether Schwarber will play catcher or left field in the pros, but it looks as if that decision can wait for now. "We decided this year, his first exposure to pro ball, were going to have him see a lot of time in left field, let him catch about once a week, maybe twice a week, so he can stay fresh with his catching, DH some so that he can keep his bat in the lineup when he needs a day off," Epstein said. "Then were going to sit down at the end of the minor league season and see whether its an appropriate time to make a call." ' ' '