CINCINNATI -- St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny isnt ready to concede the National League Central title to the Chicago Cubs even though the magic number is dwindling by the day.Not backing off that, Matheny said.Still, the Cardinals are very much in the thick of the playoff chase, holding a two-game lead over the New York Mets for the second NL wild-card spot entering Saturday.Despite the Cardinals rash of key injuries, Matheny is pleased with his teams position despite the outside noise to the contrary.It does feel like were a last-place team with some of the stuff you hear, Matheny said. We have high expectations from our fan base, our organization, and for ourselves. Sometimes it gets a little out of sight how well these guys are doing.St. Louis wraps up a three-game series in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.Right-hander Carlos Martinez will start Sundays series finale against the Reds at Great American Ball Park. In two starts this season against Cincinnati, Martinez is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in seven innings. In his career, Martinez is 4-1 with a 2.72 ERA in four starts against the Reds.Martinez struck out a career-high 13 batters through six innings in his last start on Aug. 29 at Milwaukee. He has given up one run in each of his last three outings.Cincinnati will counter with right-hander Tim Adleman, who will make his eighth career start on Sunday and first against the Cardinals.Adleman is 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA in three starts since being recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Aug. 16.Adleman is in his second stint with the Reds this season, going 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA in his first four career starts before suffering a strained left oblique that landed him on the disabled list. Hes one of 11 Reds players this season to make their majorleague debut.The Cardinals hope to have Mike Leake back with the ballclub Sunday. Leake has been on the disabled list following a bout with shingles. The infection is gone, but the right-hander is working to regain his strength. Leake, a former Red, is expected to arrive in Cincinnati by Sunday morning and throw a bullpen before the game.Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was given a day off Saturday, so Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton will have to wait until Sunday to resume wreaking havoc on the veteran backstop. Coming into Sunday, Hamilton is 23 of 25 on stolen base attempts against Molina. His 23 steals are the most by any player against Molina. Hamilton began his career 10-for-10 against him.Cincinnati hopes to have second baseman Brandon Phillips back in the lineup. He missed Saturdays game after fouling a pitch off his left foot. Its yet another in a series of injuries suffered this season by the Reds second baseman.Despite a 9-1 loss on Saturday, the Cardinals have won 19 of the past 25 series between the clubs. In the past 12 series at Great American Ball Park, St. Louis has gone 8-5. Chuck Howley Womens Jersey . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Michael Gallup Jersey . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. https://www.cowboyssportsgoods.com/Womens-Jason-Witten-Inverted-Jersey/ . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. Michael Irvin Youth Jersey . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. Jaylon Smith Womens Jersey . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season.Dylan Hartley and George Ford say England still have plenty of room for improvement despite their 58-15 win over Fiji on Saturday. England made it 12 wins in a row and kept their unbeaten record under Eddie Jones with a nine-try victory at Twickenham, adding to their 37-21 triumph over South Africa in their autumn opener last weekend. Highlights of Englands Autumn International clash against Fiji at Twickenham. However, Fiji scored three tries of their own and both Ford and skipper Hartley believe there is plenty for England to work on ahead of next weeks clash with Argentina, live on Sky Sports 2. I thought there was some good stuff, attack-wise, Ford said. There is always stuff to work on. I thought it was a bit loose at the breakdown first-half. We tidied that up a little in the second half and played some good stuff at the end. George Ford admits England can still improve after their win over Fiji We put an emphasis on the first 20 minutes to get a good start, we let ourselves down a little bit there last week so we are happy to make improvements in that area but fair play to Fiji, to be honest, it was a tough game and it took some doing. Dylan Hartley gives his reaction to Englands win over Fiji at Twickenham I thought it was a little bit off defensively.ddddddddddddA little bit of urgency in the first half and not where we needed to be anyway, especially for the next two games and Argentina this week so well be hard on ourselves there and look to get better. England vs Argentina November 26, 2016, 1:30pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Hartley said he was happier with the opening exchanges against Fiji but insists England need to work on maintaining their intensity. Alex Goode of England is tackled by Albert Vulivuli and Sunia Koto of Fiji I think there is plenty to work on, definitely. It can always be better, he said. I think we started the game very well but probably dropped off intensity-wise. Thats something we need to sort out.They are an attacking threat, they are amazing rugby players. The threat with them is they are big, physical guys who can move the ball pretty sharpish, they have got good feet and they offload out of every tackle, so weve got plenty to work on but weve got to respect the threat they posed. Also See: Jones: Wales complacent again Nine-try England thrash Fiji England fixtures WATCH: Reaction from Twickenham ' ' '
