ST. LOUIS -- Mike Leake started strong and fizzled out fast.The St. Louis Cardinals right-hander gave up all five runs in the fifth and sixth innings in a 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.Unfortunately, its been the name of the game so far this year, Leake said. I think at some point it will not happen.Leake (5-7) has lost his last three outings with a 6.06 ERA but manager Mike Matheny saw the positives in an up-and-down year from the teams top free agent pickup. The previous start was strong, two earned runs allowed in seven innings against the Royals.I think Mike was about kind of what we hoped for -- he kept us in the game and weve got to make plays to help him, Matheny said. It comes down to the fact that we didnt get many big hits or many hits at all.Leake held the Pirates to two singles the first four innings before getting burned by two former Cardinals. Eighth-place hitter Eric Fryer had an RBI single in a two-run fifth that tied it and a two-run double in a three-run sixth, and David Freese had an RBI single in the sixth.Josh Harrison also had an RBI for Pittsburgh.Freese was missing location. Harrison, thats a good pitch. Fryer did a good job of putting the ball in play, Leake said. They werent terribly located balls, but not the best.The Cardinals released Fryer when backup catcher Brayan Pena came off the 15-day disabled list and the Pirates claimed him off waivers on Sunday. He batted .368 with St. Louis with five RBI in 38 at-bats behind seven-time All-Star Yadier Molina but Pena has a two-year, $5 million contract.The Cardinals got RBI from Jedd Gyorko and Matt Holliday, and Randal Grichuk was a minor bright spot with a pinch-hit single in the ninth. Grichuk was recalled from Triple-A Memphis after Brandon Moss was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle.It feels great, Grichuk said. I wasnt down there too long but it felt like it was awhile.Juan Nicasio (7-6) worked two scoreless innings in relief of lefty Steven Brault, who allowed one earned run in four innings while throwing 82 pitches and adding a single in his debut. The 24-year-old Brault pitched in place of fellow rookie Jameson Taillon, placed on the DL on Sunday with shoulder fatigue.The Pirates have taken the first two games of a four-game set and are 7-4 in the season series, closing within one-half game of the second-place Cardinals in the NL Central.Mark Melancon finished for his 21st consecutive save and 25th in 26 chances.Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang, under investigation by Chicago police on an allegation of sexual assault, singled pinch-hitting to open the ninth.HOT BOXHarrison stayed alive in a rundown between third and home long enough for the hitter and runner to take two bases in the fifth. The Cardinals finally got him out on a play scored 3-2-5-3-6-4.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: RHP Ryan Vogelsong (facial fracture) threw 61 pitches in a four-inning simulated game. ... RHP Gerrit Cole (biceps) struck out six and allowed two hits for Triple-A Indianapolis to begin a rehab start.Cardinals: SS Jhonny Peralta was taken out after three innings with discomfort in his left thumb. The team said it was unrelated to the surgery for a torn thumb ligament in March.SLUMPINGMatt Adams, who replaced Peralta in the lineup, is in an 0-for-31 slump.UP NEXTPirates: Jeff Locke (8-5, 5.13) has won his last three starts with a 1.93 ERA and bested Oakland ace Sonny Gray his last time out.Cardinals: Jaime Garcia (6-6, 3.84) allowed one run in eight innings against the Brewers his last time out. He has a 0.57 ERA against Pittsburgh in six games, four starts. Felix Gotze Jersey . 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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- New York Jets defensive end Sheldon Richardson has been disciplined by the team for making a profanity-laced Snapchat video in the locker room two hours before losing to the Miami Dolphins last Saturday night.Coach Todd Bowles, who called Richardsons actions detrimental to the team, met Tuesday morning with Richardson. He refused to divulge details of the punishment, saying he wants to keep it in-house. Bowles, however, did say, The discipline has been taken care of.Richardson said Bowles didnt mention anything about being benched Saturday against the New England Patriots, leading him to believe his playing time wont be affected.When asked whether he was fined, Richardson said, No need to go into that. Its in-house.Richardson, who spewed three expletives and made a derogatory comment about women in the seven-second video, said it was meant to be a private conversation with a friend. He said he never thought it would go public.By Sunday morning, it was all over the internet.Do I regret it? It getting out, thats about it, Richardson told reporters at his locker. I dont regret saying it. I was having fun with a friend. I mean, yall have sent videos inappropriately to yall friends, too.I just play football, at the end of the day. I have fun. I sit back and relax and crack jokes and talk about stuff like that to people. Thats how I deal with my friendships and stuff like that. Thats just how it is.Richardson used teammate Rontez Miles Snapchat account to make the video. In fact, Miles can be seen in the background. Richardson apparently was referring to Miles in the video when he said, Dont f--- this guy.Miles, too, was summoned to Bowles office, but he apparently wasnt disciplined.Bowles described it as a social-media gaffe, adding:We dont condone what he did. He didnt go out and rob a bank, he didnt shoot anybbody.dddddddddddd He used two foul words on Snapchat. In the day of Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, anything you say in the line of the business were in is detrimental to the team.We dont condone it. We dont want it. It was a mistake on his part. He understands that. He was remorseful. We handled it internally. Thats the best I can give you.This wasnt Richardsons first transgression.Earlier in the season, he was benched for a quarter for violating team rules (late for a team meeting). He also has served two NFL suspensions -- a four-game marijuana violation at the start of the 2015 season and a one-game personal-conduct violation at the beginning of the current season.The latter suspension stemmed from a July 2015 arrest in which he was clocked at 143 mph while trying to elude police in suburban St. Louis. He wound up pleading guilty to resisting arrest.Bowles said its unfair to lump the incidents together to paint a picture of Richardson.The other situations were police related, he said. This was just immature. It was a big mistake on his part. We move on.The Jets tried to trade Richardson, a former first-round pick, before the Nov. 1 deadline. They had talks with the Dallas Cowboys, reportedly asking for a first-round pick in return. Its likely they will re-visit trade talks in the offseason.When asked whether Bowles was upset and disappointed by the video, Richardson said, Both. He knows me, so he knows I didnt mean no harm by it. I would never say that publicly.He said Bowles understood that he likes to be loose and have fun before games, but the coach also warned him to be more careful because hes tired of repeating himself.In 13 games, Richardson has only 1 1/2 sacks -- a career low. ' ' '
