KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Cardinals manager Mike Matheny could have come up with more promising road trips than one against the red-hot Cubs and World Series champion Royals, with a long flight to Seattle smashed right in between.The fact that St. Louis won five of eight left him grinning like a schoolboy.Thats a good trip. This was a tough ask, Matheny said after an 8-4 victory over Kansas City on Tuesday night evened their four-game, two-city series. This has been a tough month, a lot of games on the road.Just about everybody in the Cardinals lineup contributed to the offense, while Michael Wacha (4-7) allowed four runs over six bumpy innings -- he served up nine hits and three walks.His bullpen nearly gave away the win, too: Seung Hwan Oh loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before getting pinch-hitter Alex Gordon to pop out and inducing Eric Hosmer into a routine fielders choice.I dont want to put the team in that situation, Oh said through a translator.Meanwhile, Yordano Ventura (6-5) allowed seven runs on seven hits, three walks and a hit batter in 5 1/3 innings for Kansas City. Ventura had only allowed one run over his last two starts, both of which came before an eight-game suspension for his role in a benches-clearing brawl during a game June 7 in Baltimore.As if things werent bad enough for Kansas City, Lorenzo Cain grabbed his left hamstring while trying to beat out an infield hit in the seventh inning. The All-Star outfielder left the game and declined to speak to reporters in the clubhouse, though he was walking without much of a limp.I wish I had an answer for you but it doesnt happen that quick, Royals manager Ned Yost said. Well have an MRI soon as they can get him in. Well determine how much fluid is on it and what the extent is.The cross-state series shifts to St. Louis for two more games beginning Wednesday night.Ventura actually breezed through the first inning on just 12 pitches, but trouble came promptly in the second. He gave up three hits, walked two and Yadier Molina, Kolten Wong and Greg Garcia drove in runs.He appeared to settle down over the next couple innings before more trouble hit in the fifth.Matt Carpenter started it with a homer to center, the 48th allowed by a Kansas City pitcher this month -- the club record is 51 in May 2006. Matt Adams added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to make it 5-2.Venturas night was done in the sixth, when another hit and walk brought Yost ambling from the dugout. Carpenter provided an RBI double and Brandon Moss and Matt Holliday made it 8-2 before reliever Brian Flynn finally got the Royals out of the inning.Kansas City tacked on two runs in the bottom half before its comeback collapsed in the ninth.We had some opportunities. We capitalized in the second inning, Yost said. We had a couple of more opportunities. We made it exciting in the ninth inning, but couldnt make anything happen.YOURE OUTTA HEREPlate umpire Tim Timmons tossed Royals RHP Edinson Volquez from the bench during the third inning, though it was unclear what prompted the ejection. It was the second time Volquez has been ejected in his career.ROSTER MOVESThe Cardinals activated C Brayan Pena (left knee surgery) from the DL and designated C Eric Fryer for assignment. Pena signed a $5 million, two-year deal to backup Yadier Molina but has not played this season.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals SS Aledyms Diaz had no structural damage after fouling a ball off the ground Monday night that ricocheted back off his forehead. He experienced blurry vision in his right eye and visited the hospital after the game, but manager Mike Matheny said Tuesday that Diaz should be back in a few days.UP NEXTRHP Carlos Martinez takes the mound for the Cardinals while Kansas City counters with Volquez on the mound at Busch Stadium. Martinez is 3-0 in his last five starts. Custom AC Milan Jerseys . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Custom Soccer Jerseys Outlet . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. http://www.customjerseyssoccer.com/ . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. Wholesale Custom Soccer Jerseys . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. Custom Soccer Jerseys Sale . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. A roundup of the past weeks notable boxing results from around the world:Sunday at New YorkErrol Spence Jr. KO6 Leonard Bundu, Title eliminator Welterweights Records: Spence (21-0, 18 KOs); Bundu (33-2-2, 12 KOs)Rafaels remarks: From the moment Spence, 26, of Desoto, Texas, turned pro following his stint on the 2012 U.S. Olympic team most expected him to blossom into a contender and to eventually win a world title. As his career has moved along, Spence, the 2015 ESPN.com prospect of the year, has become a bona fide contender. It seems not only if he will win a title but when he will, and when he will crash the top 10 pound-for-pound rankings. He has that kind of talent and potential and, boy, was it on display in the Premier Boxing Champions card on NBC. If you thought Spences fifth-round annihilation of former junior welterweight titleholder Chris Algieri in April was impressive, the knockout of Bundu, 41, of Italy, was even more massive as he opened the new Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk in Brooklyn, New York, with a big bang.It took Spence, a southpaw, a couple of rounds to really get into the fight but he won every round, showed off a sharp right jab, a strong body attack and knocked Bundus mouthpiece out in the fourth round. Then he obliterated the typically durable Bundu in the sixth round. He floored him with a clean left uppercut but referee Johnny Callas was out of position and ruled it a slip. It was anything but, as Bundu got nailed and was badly hurt. Moments later, Spence hammered Bundu with another left uppercut and a right hand to the chin, and it was good night as Callas stopped the fight at 2 minutes, 6 seconds with Bundu limp on the mat. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution to be examined after the fight, while Spence made a big statement and became the mandatory challenger for the welterweight world title held by Kell Brook, who will either have to fight him after he challenges unified middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin on Sept. 10 or give up the title. One way or another, Spences next fight will be for a world title and he deserves it.Claudio Marrero?TKO4 Luis Hinojosa Featherweights Records: Marrero (21-1, 15 KOs); Hinojosa (28-10, 17 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Marrero, 27, of the Dominican Republic, was supposed to fight Derrick Murray (13-0-1, 5 KOs), of St. Louis, but he bowed with a hand injury and Hinojosa, 29, also of the Dominican Republic and a former Marrero sparring partner, took the fight on four days notice. It showed as he had nothing to offer Marrero in a one-sided blowout.Marrero, who won his seventh fight in a row since a decision loss in an interim world title bout against Jesus Cuellar in 2013, scored five knockdowns in total en route to the knockout. He floored Hinojosa seconds into the fight with a left-right combination and never was threatened. He scored two more knockdowns in the third round. After the round, the ringside doctor gave Hinojosa a long look. In the fourth round, Marrero dropped him with a powerful left hand to the chin and finished him with a left-right combination that dropped him to his knees in the corner, prompting referee Danny Schiavone to stop the bout at 2 minutes, 55 seconds.Also on the card, Brooklyns Heather Hardy (18-0, 4 KOs) scored a hard-fought decision against Shelly Vincent (18-1, 1 KO), 37, of Providence, Rhode Island, in a womens featherweight grudge match between the two, who had trash-talked each other for years before settling things in the ring in a crowd-pleasing scrap. Hardy got the nod on scores of 99-91 (way too wide) and 97-93, while one judge had the fight 95-95.Saturday at Ensenada, MexicoJose Uzcategui?TKO2 Fabiano Pena Super middleweights Records: Uzcategui (26-1, 22 KOs); Pena (18-6-1, 14 KOs)Rafaels remarks:In 2014, Uzcategui, 25, a native Venezuela fighting out of Mexico, lost a decision to middleweight Matt Korobov in an opportunity to fight on HBO. After the defeat, Uzcategui moved up to super middleweight and has won four fights in a row, including this blowout of Pena, 28, a Brazil native who also fights out of Mexico. Uzcategui is the mandatory challenger for 168-pound titleholder James DeGale but will be waiting a bit for that fight because DeGale is slated for a unification fight this fall with Badou Jack. So Uzcategui stayed busy and blitzed Pena. He dropped him twice in the second round, first with a right hand and then with a barrage of punches. When Pena hit the deck for the second time the referee waved off the bout at 1 minute, 16 seconds.Also on the card, Mexican welterweight Carlos Chema Ocampo (20-0, 12 KOs) dominated countryman Alvaro Robles (19-6, 17 KOs), winning a near-shutout decision, 100-90, 100-90 and 98-92.Saturday at Sanda, JapanKatsunari Takayama?Tech. Dec. 6 Riku Kano Wins a vacant strawweight title Scores: 59-55 (twice), 58-56 Records: Takayama (31-8, 12 KOs); Kano (10-2-1, 5 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Earlier this year Japans Kosei Tanaka relinquished his 105-pound world title to move up in weight, paving the way for Takayama, 33, of Japan, who lost a version of the strawweight title in December, and countryman Kano, an 18-year-old southpaw, to meet for the vacant belt.ddddddddddddakayama, known for shedding blood, suffered a cut over his left eye from an accidental head butt in the third round. The cut got worse as the fight went on, before the bout was finally halted by referee Danrex Tapdasan at 58 seconds of the sixth round and sent to the scorecards for a technical decision. It came as little surprise that Takayama, who kept his hands moving and landed sharp combinations to the head and body throughout the bout, came out on top. Had Kano won he would have set the Japanese record as the youngest world titleholder.Friday at Rochester, New YorkJarrell Big Baby Miller?TKO3 Fred Kassi Heavyweights Records: Miller (18-0-1, 16 KOs); Kassi (18-6-1, 10 KOs)Rafaels remarks: The 6-foot-4, 296?-pound Miller, 28, of Brooklyn, New York, is a mountain of man with a chance to make waves in the heavyweight division. He talks a great game, has a lot of charisma and a fan-friendly style. And he can bang. Headlining on Showtimes ShoBox: The New Generation, Miller was facing a durable veteran with a lot of experience in Kassi, 36, a native of Cameroon living in New Orleans, who was a heavy underdog but expected to at least give Miller a decent workout. That did not happen -- Miller dominated. He pressured Kassi and worked him over with an excellent body attack with a few nice combinations mixed in and looked to be in total control -- and perhaps on the verge of a knockout. However, Kassi, citing a right hand injury suffered in the second round, quit on his stool after the third round to give Miller yet another win, and another opportunity post-fight to call out the top heavyweights, champion Tyson Fury and titleholders Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.Mason Menard?TKO9 Bahodir Mamadjonov Lightweights Records: Menard (32-1, 24 KOs); Mamadjonov (19-3, 11 KOs)Rafaels remarks:?On an April 15 ShoBox card, Menard, 27, of Rayne, Louisiana, scored a sensational knockout of the year contender against Eudy Bernardo. This one was perhaps not as explosive, but it was still pretty sweet. After six competitive rounds, Menard took command with a pair of knockdowns, both on body shots, in the seventh round. Not much happened in the eighth round, but Menard was back on the attack against Mamadjonov, 29, a Uzbekistan native living fighting out of Houston, in the ninth round. He put together a big flurry of punches that left Mamadjonov dazed. When referee Steve Smoger broke them apart along the ropes, Mamadjonov was so out of it from the punishment he had taken during the flurry of shots that he took a step back and collapsed to the mat on a delayed reaction, prompting Smoger to halt the fight at 2 minutes, 26 seconds. Menard was on his way to a win at that point as he was ahead by two points on two scorecards and four points on the third at the time of the knockout.There were two other bouts on the telecast. Bantamweight Antonio Nieves (16-0-2, 8 KOs), 29, of Cleveland, and Alejandro Santiago (11-2-2, 3 KOs), 20, of Mexico, who was a late replacement for injured Nikolay Potapov, battled to a split draw with one judge scoring the fight 96-94 for Nieves, one by the same score for Santiago and one 95-95. Santiago, who landed a lot more punches, appeared to have gotten a raw deal from two of the judges.In the opener, welterweight puncher Bakhtiyar Eyubov (11-0, 10 KOs), 29, a Kazakhstan native based in Brooklyn, New York, was forced to the go the distance for the first time (and past the third round for the first time) in a debatable split decision victory against veteran Karim Mayfield (19-4-1, 11 KOs), 35, of San Francisco. Two judges scored the fight 95-94 in favor of Eyubov, while one had it 95-94 for Mayfield, who dropped his second fight in a row and his fourth in his last five. It was a tough loss for Mayfield because the fight easily could have gone his way with few complaints.Friday at Los AngelesVyacheslav Shabranskyy?TKO3 Oscar Riojas Light heavyweights Records: Shabranskyy (17-0, 14 KOs); Riojas (10-6-1, 3 KOs) Rafaels remarks:?Shabranskyy, 29, a Ukraine native fighting out of Los Angeles, is a rising light heavyweight contender who made his name three fights ago with a decision win against Yunieski Gonzalez. Shabranskyy, who had been in the running to get a fight with Andre Ward on Aug. 6, did not get it and was staying busy in scheduled eight-round the main event of Golden Boy Promotions Boxeo Estelar series on Estrella TV. He had little issue with Riojas, 32, a Mexico native living in Laredo, Texas. Shabranskyy cut Riojas over the left eye in the second round and knocked him down hard with a right hand to the chin in the third round. When the fight resumed, Shabranskyy immediately landed three more punches that staggered Riojas, and referee Raul Caiz Jr. stepped in at 1 minute, 43 seconds. ' ' '