.Eight Cardinals batted in the three-run third, highlighted by Step

Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers gave in to the NFLs ultimatum that they cooperate with the leagues investigation into their alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs for one reason:We werent willing to fall on the knife for something we didnt do, Matthews told reporters in Kansas City following the Green Bay Packers preseason game Thursday night against the Chiefs, a 17-7 loss.Both maintained their innocence from the start when they were linked to PEDs by an Al-Jazeera America report in December, but they (along with Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison) werent cleared until Wednesday?-- a week after they finally agreed to sit down with league investigators.They agreed to talk after the NFL said the players could face a suspension if they didnt cooperate by Aug. 25.Peppers said he wouldve liked the situation to have been resolved sooner.I feel like we all couldve handled the situation a little differently to get better results, [but] Im pleased with how it turned out, Peppers said. Thats pretty much it.Matthews said he was never worried about being suspended until the league gave them a deadline to talk, but he is still bothered that he had to answer to what he called ridiculous allegations.Whos to say that somebody can just come out and say anything and next thing you know youre sitting down for something thats absolutely ridiculous, as it was in this case, Matthews said. Like I said, I maintained my innocence. I really had nothing to worry about until those ultimatums were put in place, and at that point, we sat down for the interviews and were ultimately cleared.When asked whether he made the decision to be interviewed by the league on his own or if the NFL Players Association told him to do it, Peppers said: It was a process.There was a lot of back-and-forth for months, Peppers said. We communicated with the PA back and forth about how to best handle it, so I think last week we came to a decision that we needed to just go ahead and do it and hopefully get it resolved, and thats what happened. Damian Lillard Jersey . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Gary Trent Jr. Blazers Jersey . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. https://www.blazerslockerroom.com/Georgios-Papagiannis-City-Edition-Jersey/ . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. Portland Trail Blazers Jerseys . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Nassir Little Blazers Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. HOUSTON -- Its all going wrong at once for the Houston Astros.Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Astros right-hander Doug Fister had another tough start and St. Louis beat Houston 8-2 on Wednesday.Weve got to play better if we expect to make a push here, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. The big numbers weve given up are obviously not helpful. On the offensive side, the more that we swing outside of the strike zone to try to do too much, we see some rough things. Its a tough league, tough schedule, and if we want to make a point of this season being a little more memorable, we need to be better.Fister (11-8) gave up four runs, seven hits and a walk while striking three in four innings.Fister has allowed four or more runs five times in his past 10 starts after reaching that mark once in his first 14 outings this season.It was a disappointing day, Fister said. Any loss is a tough loss to swallow. I felt good today. I felt strong, I felt in control, but they put a few good swings on balls, and the ball bounced their way today.Alex Bregman drove in Teoscar Hernandez with a single in the sixth. The rookie has seven RBI in the last 11 games and is batting .312 in that time.Houston has been outscored 29-11 during a four-game losing streak and surrendered eight or more runs in three straight games for the first time this season.We have confidence in the group of guys that we have here, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa said. We know we can get it done, and hopefully, we can do that for the rest of the year.Jeremy Hazelbaker and Brandon Moss hit home runs, and the Cardinals have won four straight. They have a slim lead for the second NL wild-card spot over the Pirates and Marlins.Martinez (11-7) pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing a run while striking out seven. He retired 15 of the first 16 batters before giving up a leadoff double to Hernandez in the sixth.dddddddddddd Martinez leads St. Louis pitchers with 11 starts of seven or more innings.Every day I go out on the hill focused on my work and ready to go through nine innings hopefully, Martinez said. Some days theres bad days, some days theres good days like today I stayed focused and I felt really good. I feel like its just part of the game and I went out and did the best I could.Martinez had allowed 14 runs over his previous three starts.Hes been impressive, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. I enjoy watching guys improve. When you see him pitch like that and maintain like that thats improvement.St. Louis is averaging 7.5 runs per game during this winning streak and began its offensive frenzy Wednesday in the third inning against starter Doug Fister.Eight Cardinals batted in the three-run third, highlighted by Stephen Piscottys two-run single and Yadier Molinas RBI double.Hazelbaker bashed a 3-2 pitch from Fister in the fourth for his first home run since July 29. Moss blew it open in the seventh with a three-run homer off Tony Sipp.Moss has hit four home runs in his last six games, while leading the Cardinals with 22.Seems like everybody discounted everything he did before he got to us, Matheny said. That was a bunch of homers. Then he comes over smoking the ball and not getting anything for it. You could just see where he was trending and where he continues to trend. This guys got legitimate big power.St. Louis has 49 home runs since the All-Star break to lead the National League.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Joe Musgrove (1-0, 1.47 ERA) starts against Baltimore on Thursday after getting his first major league win against Toronto on Friday. ' ' '