ST. Deebo Samuel Super Bowl Jersey . LOUIS - It didnt take Tony Cruz long to consider all of his home runs and rank his latest. Hes only had three in his 100-game career and the first two came on the road. Cruz hit a three-run homer and the St. Louis Cardinals connected three times, beating the Cincinnati Reds 8-4 on Saturday night and moving closer to their fourth straight playoff berth. "It was a really good feeling," said Cruz, who also had the first curtain call of his career. "The first one of the year is always a really good feeling and my first one at home. You know you hear the crowd. Its amazing." Milwaukee beat second-place Pittsburgh 1-0 on Saturday to give the St. Louis a 3 1/2-game lead in the NL Central. The Cardinals cut their magic number to one for clinching a post-season berth, and five for their second NL Central title in a row. Kolten Wong and Randal Grichuk also homered as St. Louis won for the seventh time in eight games. The Cardinals have hit five homers in the past two games, but have just 104 for the season — among the lowest total in the majors. Their lack of power has provided an ongoing issue manager Mike Matheny has had to address. "I like the home runs," Matheny said in his postgame interview. "You guys always accuse me of not liking them, but especially those three-runners that Tony did. We know we have the kind of team that can do that and its nice to see them." Cincinnatis four runs were as many as it scored in the previous five games. The Reds have lost six in row and has been outscored 30-8 in that stretch. They are 20-40 since the All-Star break. "Youre seeing us having to go out there and really struggle so mightily to try to find a way to win a ball game," manager Bryan Price said. "Certainly nobodys enjoying this current portion of our schedule. The way weve played for the last 60 games has been miserable." Jason Motte (1-0) needed just three pitches and one out to earn the win. He came in relief of starter Michael Wacha and got Todd Frazier to foul out to right. Wacha didnt qualify for the win because he lasted just 4 2-3 innings. He was seeking his first win since June 17 before going on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. Wacha gave up two runs and six hits on 78 pitches, the most since returning at the start of the month. "I felt a lot better, today," he said. "More secondary stuff was working for me. My command was a little bit better. I felt it was a step in the right direction." Mike Leake (11-13) allowed six runs in five innings. He also walked two and hit a batter, all of whom scored. He gave up two homers and has surrendered 22 this season. Cruz hit his first homer in more than a year, connecting in the second. His last home run was Aug. 4, 2013, at Cincinnati. Wong hit his 12th, a two-run shot in the third. Grichuck added a pinch-hit homer in the sixth — it was his third of the season and his second in two nights. Grichuck later added an RBI bloop double. Zack Cozart homered for the Reds and Kris Negron doubled twice. TRAINERS ROOM Cardinals: 1B Matt Adams and 3B Matt Carpenter both were out of the starting lineup with a stomach virus. Matheny said they were "quarantined," though it wasnt clear if they were at Busch Stadium and available or sent home. ... Star C Yadier Molina got his first start of the season. Reds: C Devin Mesoraco was pulled in the sixth inning because of a stomach bug. Price said Mesoraco could have continued but the manager didnt think it was worth it. UP NEXT Reds: RHP Alfredo Simon (14-10, 3.35) has given up five hits in seven innings during each of his past two starts, including in a 4-2 win against St. Louis on Sept. 10. The Cardinals have batted .228 in 101 at-bats against Simon over 22 2-3 innings. Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (15-9, 2.68) has given up two runs over his past 15 innings and went 0-1 in those games, including a 1-0 loss at Cincinnati on Sept. 11. He has a 2.00 ERA this month over four starts and goes after his fourth win against the Reds. He is 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA in four games against them division rivals this season. Steve Young Super Bowl Jersey . Now comes an off-season of questions about manager Matt Williams decisions and a handful of key roster choices, including what to do about Ryan Zimmerman, whether to sign Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond to long-term deals, and how to upgrade an offence that fell flat in October. Matt Breida Super Bowl Jersey . - Free agent defensive end Will Smith has signed with the New England Patriots. http://www.authenticsf49erspro.com/Richard-sherman-49ers-jersey/ .C. -- With a chance to start over and maybe drive in any series he wanted, Juan Pablo Montoya thought long and hard about what mattered most at this stage of his career.MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Memphis Grizzlies have parted with team CEO Jason Levien and director of player personnel Stu Lash in a front-office shake-up that follows the Grizzlies elimination in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Grizzlies announced the moves Monday. General manager Chris Wallace assumes interim responsibility for basketball operations. Jason Wexler, the Grizzlies chief operating officer, remains responsible for business operations. Robert Pera, the Grizzlies controlling owner, thanked Levien for his hard work in a statement. "Rest assured that we remain as committed as ever to bringing a championship to this great city, and we are confident that when the new season begins our fans will be excited about both our roster and the direction of our organization," Pera said. Levien had been the Grizzlies CEO since Pera and his ownership group took control of the team in November 2012, and one of his biggest decisions was the hiring of Lash as director of player personnel and former ESPN writer John Hollinger as vice-president of basketball operations. The first season went well as the Grizzlies reached the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. Then Grizzlies decided not to bring back coach Lionel Hollins, instead promotting Dave Joerger to head coach. Jimmie Ward Super Bowl Jersey. Under the first-year coach, the Grizzlies went 50-32 and reached the playoffs for the fourth straight season. But Memphis lost in seven games to Oklahoma City in the opening round of the playoffs. Under Joerger, the Grizzlies struggled at the start of the season going 10-15. He also lost centre Marc Gasol 23 games with a sprained left knee, and guards Mike Conley and Tony Allen also missed games with injuries. Joerger wound up using 17 different starting lineups with Levien and the front office making a variety of moves bringing in Courtney Lee, James Johnson from the D-League and Beno Udrih off waivers. The Grizzlies had to win the final five games of the regular season to earn the No. 7 seed. But guard Nick Calathes was suspended for 20 games for violating the leagues anti-drug policy by testing positive for tamoxifen, Memphis was blown out with a chance to close out the Thunder on its own court in Game 6 and then Zach Randolph was suspended for Game 7. Memphis has some big decisions to make this off-season. Randolph has a player option for next season at more than $16 million, and Gasol has two more seasons left on his contract. "Wow," Allen wrote on Twitter. ' ' '