seconds! Losing to Diaz twice shouldnt kill all the momentum

ST. LOUIS -- Milwaukees Ryan Braun fouled off the pitch he liked before coming through for the Brewers.Braun hit a solo home run in the ninth inning and the Brewers beat St. Louis 2-1 on Sunday, dropping the Cardinals back in the NL wild-card race.The Cardinals are a half-game behind the Mets for the second wild-card slot.Braun connected on a 3-2 fastball off Kevin Siegrist (5-3) for his 27th homer of the season and 19th in his career against the Cardinals.The 0-1 pitch was the best pitch to hit, said Braun, who fouled it off. It was better than the one I hit. The one I hit out was on the black in.Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell liked Brauns approach in the at-bat.He hit a couple of foul balls there where he took really good swings, Counsell said. Hes (Siegrest) tough on rightys, always has been. Braun got himself back in the count and he made a mistake. It was a no-doubter.St. Louis had tied it in the eighth when Matt Carpenter doubled and scored on Stephen Piscottys sacrifice fly off Tyler Thornburg (6-5).Thornburg struck out three in the ninth.We only used Thorny once in the last week so he was well rested, Counsell said. We gave him the extra outs. Hes got a great mentality in this role.The Cardinals fell to 32-39 at home this season.Its always disappointing, St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. In these close games, you feel like you got a real shot and theyre always hard to swallow when it doesnt work out.The Brewers other run came in the first on singles by Scooter Gennett and Braun and a sacrifice fly from Chris Carter.Milwaukee had just four hits in the game, with Braun getting the only one after the fifth inning.Zach Davies pitched 7 1/3 innings and gave up one run on five hits while striking out seven and walking one.This is a game where you have to battle even harder, Davies said. Every pitch counts.Cardinals rookie Luke Weaver allowed three hits in six innings. He struck out eight with one walk.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: RHP Michael Wacha, who has missed 29 games with shoulder inflammation, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Monday. He threw one Friday.ACTIVATEDThe Cardinals activated All-Star shortstop Aledmys Diaz from the disabled list. Diaz, 26, had missed 36 games since he broke his right thumb when he was hit by a pitch from the Marlins Andrew Cashner. At the time he was injured, Diaz was hitting a team-leading .312 with 14 homers and 57 RBI in 96 games.ATTENDANCEThe Cardinals eclipsed the 3 million mark in attendance for the 13th consecutive year and joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as the second team to pass the figure this season. It is the 20th time overall St. Louis has passed the 3 million total.UP NEXTBrewers: Wiley Peralta (6-9) will face Cincinnatis Keyvius Sampson(0-1). Peralta, the opening day starter, earned a win in his last start Sept. 6 in a 12-5 victory over the Cubs.Cardinals: Mike Leake (9-9) will face Chicagos Kyle Hendricks (14-7) on Monday night at Busch Stadium. It will be Leakes 199th career start. He was activated from 15-day DL (shingles) before his last start on Sept. 7 and allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings for no-decision in a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh. Custom Astros T-shirts . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. Cheap Astros Jerseys . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. http://www.customastrosjersey.com/ .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Custom Jeff Bagwell Jersey . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Jeff Bagwell Jersey Large . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Each week, ESPN.com writer Brett Okamoto provides his take on the hottest topics in the world of mixed martial arts.This week, Okamoto squares off with UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar?to debate all things UFC 202 ahead of Saturdays pay-per-view card from Las Vegas. Bonnar (15-9), 39, retired following his 2014 loss to Tito Ortiz?under the Bellator MMA banner. He is the host of The Final Round with Stephan Bonnar podcast.?1.?How much star power does Conor McGregor lose if he suffers a second consecutive loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 202?Bonnar: I dont get it. I mean, hes such a big star and its one thing to have your big star get the s--- kicked out of him once, but why do it again right away? It would be one thing if the fight was close but Conor is a 145-pound fighter. Diaz is a big guy. Conor got full extension on his punches, hit him with his best shots and Diaz laughed at him. I dont get it. Yeah hes gonna lose star power. Honestly, I dont see this fight playing out too much different than the first. Conors got a big following in Ireland and people can say he was fighting out of his weight class, which is true if you look at what hes done at 145. Id say hell lose about 20 percent of his star power but its recoverable. Hell lose it short term but not long term.Okamoto:?Keep in mind: McGregors star power could diminish by half and hed still have more than just about anyone on the UFC roster. So, take this with a grain of salt -- but yes, his star power would take a significant hit. Honestly, it shouldnt. Casual fans seem to hold MMA fighters to an impossibly high standard. Like Bonnar said, McGregor is fighting outside his weight class and taking risks. Whatever happens, hes still the featherweight champion of the world. He still knocked out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds! Losing to Diaz twice shouldnt kill all the momentum he built but the reality is that it would to a certain degree. Like Bonnar though, I do think any star power McGregor might lose, hed have an opportunity to get it back.2.?Win or lose, McGregors next fight should be a featherweight title unification bout against Aldo. Agree or disagree?Bonnar:?Absolutely. Conor should be back fighting at 145 right now. He shouldnt be fighting out of his weight class. I dont understand why hes doing it. Diaz is rangy, tall -- hes unlike anyone else Conor would be facing at 145. So, yeah, Conor needs to go back to 145.Okamoto:?Im surprising myself a little here ... but I disagree. If he loses, yes, go back to 145 and defend your title. If he wins, Id have interest in him fighting Eddie Alvarez for the 155-pound championship. That was where this whole thing started, before Rafael dos Anjos broken foot turned everything upside-down. I dont mind seeing McGregor get that opportunity. Hes undefeated at 145. And not only is he undefeated, he has been dominant at that weight. If he beats Diaz, hed be coming off a quality win against a former lightweight title challenger. There are definitely worthy contenders already at lightweight, but not one that truly stands above the rest. Khabib Nurmagomedov is the closest thing, but he has been inactive. If McGregor wins, I dont mind him chasing a second title at all.3.?If McGregor wins and evens his rivalry with Diaz, how soon should the UFC promote a trilogy?Bonnar:?No thoughts on this because its not gonna happen. I hope the betting odds come out and, you know, Nate is only a small favorite and not a 4-1. I think its a pretty safe bet. Its not gonna happen, Conor winning this fight. If it somehow did, for MMA? Oh, itd be awesome. The trilogy would have to be the following fight and it would draw record numbers. Thats the best thing that could happen for this sport is Conor pull off the upset and have a trilogy fight.Okamotto:?You could argue they would owe it to Diaz to do it right away.dddddddddddd As Diaz has mentioned numerous times leading up to this rematch, where were his rematches? He lost fights in the past and the UFC moved on, never giving him an opportunity to right some of those wrongs. On the other hand, I dont think youd do it right away. In fact, I think its better for everyone, Diaz included, if you dont do it right away. It will always have legs. Always. Thats the good thing about a 1-1 rivalry, you can go back to it pretty much any time. So, if McGregor wins, Id say move on, book McGregor to a 155-pound title fight. Book Diaz to another big-name fight. Let the want build up to see this again, maybe a year or even two down the line.4.?If Diaz wins, whom should he fight next?Bonnar:?I think he has got a lot of pull after this. Conor has really given Nate some huge paydays. Compared to the other guys Nate has fought in the division -- he has been in some solid fights -- but main eventing a card against a star like that really gives you a heck of a lot of power. If he wins, which I think he will, it needs to be a big fight. Id say, why not give him a title shot at 155 pounds against Eddie Alvarez? Stylistically, I dont like that matchup for him, but star power-wise, he has got to main event a fight. His weight class is really 155. He does well at 170, but Id say the next fight for him would be a title fight at 155.Okamoto:?Yep, Alvarez for the lightweight title. I guess that means I vote for the winner of this fight (whoever it is) to face Alvarez. Again, that goes back to my opinion that there are several solid contenders in this division but no one who truly, truly stands out. And I have a great deal of love for Nurmagomedov, but I dont have to see him in a title fight right now. Have him win one more against a highly ranked opponent and then I will feel that way. Alvarez wants to fight Diaz because he knows its a big fight. The two have history. Its a sellable fight and Diaz would deserve it.5.?Anthony Johnson and Glover Teixeira?will meet?in the UFC 202 co-main event. Which one is a greater threat to Daniel Cormiers?light heavyweight title?Bonnar: Anthonys punching power is the best shot. That guy catches you, hes putting you out. We saw him land that overhand right on Cormier [at UFC 187 in May 2015, Cormier won via submission] and it surprised him. Cormier said, Wow, this guy can hit. I better not mess around too much standing with him. The fight between Johnson and Glover is really interesting. Glover is really solid on the ground but if he cant out-wrestle you -- Anthony Johnsons hips are so strong, Glover is not gonna be able to take him down. I think Anthony, defensively, is a phenomenal wrestler and offensively, I think hes better than what weve seen. We rarely see him use it. If hes smart, hell use his offensive wrestling to make it easier. I think he has the stronger hips and better wrestling than Glover.Okamoto:?I agree with Bonnar here, too. I would favor Cormier against either of them, but Johnsons punching power makes for a dicey title defense. That doesnt mean I wouldnt enjoy a Cormier-Teixeira fight, though. Teixeira is dangerous in multiple areas and even though hed be at a complete disadvantage from a wrestling standpoint against Cormier, I dont think it would be to the extent where it would essentially ruin the bout -- as in, Cormier taking him down so easily itd be a drama-free snoozefest. In other words, I believe Teixeira could at least give Cormier a challenge. But if one has a better shot at beating Cormier than the other, I think its clearly Johnson. ' ' '