CHICAGO -- Carlos Beltran had a forgettable 2,000th game in the majors on Thursday. His 2,001st might stay with him for a while. After going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts one day earlier at Wrigley Field, Beltran bounced back Friday with three hits -- falling a home run short of the cycle -- and an RBI to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. "Yesterday wasnt a good one and today was better, for sure," said Beltran, who had a run-scoring triple, double and single. "Thats baseball. Some days you feel like you come to the ballpark and you try and nothing works out your way, and today it seems like everything worked out my way." Beltrans offence bolstered a second straight spot start for reliever-turned-starter Joe Kelly (1-3), who won his first game of the season. "I just attacked with everything -- slider, curve ball, change-up, four-seam, two-seam (fastball)," Kelly said. "When you throw a couple of those for strikes, you make it easier on yourself. If youre throwing some off-speed and command both sides of the plate with the heater, it makes for a little better time out there." It was the second straight start for Kelly, who had a no-decision against Miami last Saturday. Hes unsure if hell get another start soon or will head back to the bullpen. "I dont look too far ahead about anything," said Kelly, who allowed three hits and a run in 5 1-3 innings, struck out four and walked two. "I go out there and when they tell me to pitch, I pitch. Thats whats good about being versatile, and Im just still happy to be here." Edward Mujica pitched the ninth for his 26th save in 27 opportunities. Thursdays 3-0 loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Cardinals. An added bonus was a seventh inning pinch-hit triple by Rob Johnson, whose contract was purchased Tuesday from Triple-A Memphis. Johnson then scored on Matt Carpenters go-ahead double. "We needed it," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Johnsons clutch hit. "Its a feel-good for a guy whos been doing a lot of things right for us in our system. In a situation, he helped us produce and we wound up getting a run out of it." St. Louis jumped on Cubs starter Carlos Villanueva (2-5) for two runs in the top of the first inning. Carpenter singled and scored on Beltrans triple, followed by Allen Craigs RBI single. The Cubs cut St. Louis lead to 2-1 in the third. Luis Valbuena walked, went to second when Starlin Castro was hit by a pitch, Anthony Rizzo hit into a fielders choice that pushed Valbuena to third and then Alfonso Sorianos single scored Valbuena. After Carpenters double scored Johnson in the seventh to make it 3-1, Castro closed the score to 3-2 with a leadoff homer in the eighth -- but the Cubs would get no closer, stranding seven runners in the game. Even with Villanuevas shaky first inning, Cubs manager Dale Sveum still liked what he saw from his starter. "Six innings, 90 pitches, obviously settled down after the first inning," Sveum said. "Everything got much sharper and he did a great job." The Cubs are 12-8 in their last 20 games, and are 3-5 against St. Louis this season. They faced the best team in baseball for the second straight week. Last weekend, they took two of three from Pittsburgh, which had the best record in the majors at the time. NOTES: Cardinals LF Matt Holliday was held out Friday with right hamstring tightness and is day-to-day. ... In addition to signing first round draft pick Kris Bryant, the Cubs also inked 12th round RHP Trevor Clifton and 19th round C Will Remillard. ... Saturdays pitchers will be the Cardinals Lance Lynn (11-3, 3.67 ERA) and Matt Garza (5-1, 3.22). Garza has been the subject of trade rumours in recent days. "Hes obviously throwing extremely well and hes very healthy and there are teams out there looking for pitching who are going to call and try to acquire him," Cubs president Theo Epstein said before Fridays game. "Hes helping us win games right now, theres a chance to possibly retain him beyond this year, so well just balance all that out and do whats best for the organization." ... The Cubs have used 42 players this season, a pre-All-Star break team record. ... The Cubs came into Fridays game leading the National League with 293 extra-base hits. Nike Air Max 90 Grey . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. Nike Shoes Air Max 90 Womens . PAUL, Minn. http://www.airmax90outletonline.com/ .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Nike Air Max 90 Blue . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Nike Air Max 90 White .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. HOUSTON -- Lakers center Tarik Black on Monday night added his name to a long list of wounded rotation players whose absence is undermining the promise that marked the first few weeks of this season in Los Angeles.Black suffered an ankle sprain in a 107-101 home loss to the Utah Jazz, increasing the number of sidelined rotation players to five for the Lakers (10-13). Relatedly, the Lakers have dropped three consecutive games, four of six and six of eight as they ready for their second meeting with the Rockets on Wednesday night at Toyota Center.When the Lakers topped the Rockets at Staples Center on Oct. 26, it seemed to mark the start of something surprising. But one by one, the Lakers have succumbed to injuries, with Black following guards DAngelo Russell (left knee), Jose Calderon (right hamstring) and Nick Young (calf) and forward Larry Nance Jr. (right knee) to the injured list. The Lakers momentum has suffered in lockstep with the lost bodies.Just continue to play, continue to work, Lakers guard Lou Williams said. Its still early in the season. Weve hit a little turbulence right now and hit a little rough patch. Weve got to have other guys step in and weve got to continue to compete.The Lakers were forced to utilize a patchwork lineup against the Jazz, starting rookie forward Brandon Ingram at point guard. The experimentation was borne out of necessity and strategy, with the Lakers attempting to employ a personnel package capable of switching everything defensively. A similar gambit might be required against the Rockets, whose pick-and-roll proficiency has yielded the third-ranked offense in the NBA.For Ingram, opportunities aabound with Russell and Calderon unavailable.ddddddddddddts great for him. Its absolutely great for him, Lakers coach Luke Walton said. To be able to call plays and bring the ball up and play from that position whether he struggles or has a good game, its still great learning opportunities and experience for him.The Rockets (14-7) thought theyd been made whole with the news that the front office had matched the Brooklyn Nets offer sheet for restricted free agent forward-center Donatas Motiejunas, at least until his agent -- former Bulls guard B.J. Armstrong -- declared Tuesday that Motiejunas would not show for his mandatory physical.Assuming that the issue is resolved, Motiejunas provides the Rockets something theyve lacked in his absence: A big who can pass and help facilitate their offense. Motiejunas posted a career-high 12.2 assist rate last season. Currently, second-year forward-center Montrezl Harrell leads all Houston big men with an 8.0 assist rate.Thats where hell fit in, Rockets coach Mike DAntoni said. He will move the ball a lot. Most of our guys move it toward the rim, which is good. I like that. Its hard to get into specifics with what he can do because hes not with the team but his role will be a good one. He knows how to play so I cant see why it would be anything but positive.Added Rockets guard James Harden on what Motiejunas brings to the table: His passing. Hes versatile. Hes smart, playmaking. Hes not one-dimensional. Hopefully he can get acclimated in our system and be ready to go. ' ' '