ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Brian Matusz gave the sliding Baltimore Orioles a huge lift. Matusz gave up two hits in 7 1-3 innings and the Orioles ended a six-game losing streak by holding off the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 Saturday. "Every time I step on the mound, I want to go out there and compete and bring my best game, but to end a losing streak is definitely a good feeling," Matusz said. "Its nice to go out there and get back on the winning side of things." Matusz (5-5) didnt give up a hit until the fifth inning. He struck out seven and walked three. "I just attacked the zone and got ahead, and the Rays were swinging the bat so I got a lot of outs early in the count," Matusz said. "When you have a good rhythm and good flow, its nice to just go out there and pound the strike zone with confidence." Reliever Pedro Strop got Ben Zobrist to ground into a bases-loaded double play in the eighth. Jim Johnson pitched the ninth for his 17th save, completing the combined two-hitter. "You know youve got a really good one when they can close a one-run game out on the road against the American League East, and Jimmys done that for us this year," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. Baltimore broke a 1-all tie in the seventh. Mark Reynolds, who had doubled, scored with two outs when third baseman Drew Sutton made a wild throw to first on Robert Andinos grounder. Zobrist tracked down Suttons bad throw in right field and threw out Ryan Flaherty, who also tried to score on the play. "I rushed it," Sutton said. "I didnt know how much time I had. I just kind of spiked it. It didnt work out." Endy Chavez, mired in a 3-for-35 slide, put the Orioles ahead 1-0 in the third with a home run off Jeremy Hellickson (4-2). It was Chavezs first homer since last Aug. 9 against Seattle. "Both pitchers pitched great," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. Elliot Johnson reached with one out in the Rays eighth when Reynolds misplayed a grounder for an error. After Matusz walked Carlos Pena, Strop relieved. Strops wild pitch moved up the runners and B.J. Upton walked to load the bases. But Strop worked out of the jam by getting a double-play grounder from Zobrist. "Unfortunately Zoe hits the ball right at the second baseman," Maddon said. Hellickson gave up four hits in 6 2-3 innings. The right-hander struck out eight and walked one. "Threw a lot of strikes," Hellickson said. "Didnt get deep into counts." Sean Rodriguez got the Rays first hit, a double to start the fifth. He later scored the tying run on Suttons grounder. Zobrist also made a couple nice catches, including a diving effort to take away a leadoff hit from Flaherty in the fifth. NOTES: Matusz is 5-2 in eight overall starts against Tampa Bay. ... Hellickson has allowed two earned runs or less in eight of 11 starts this season. ... Baltimore acquired OF-1B Steve Pearce from the New York Yankees for cash and designated INF-OF Bill Hall for assignment. ... Maddon said RF Matt Joyce was out of the lineup because he is under the weather. ...Orioles LHP Tsuyoshi Wada, who underwent elbow ligament replacement surgery on May 11, is set to start shoulder exercises. Stan Mikita Blackhawks Jersey . It sure took a while. Cook went six innings for his first victory of the season, and Dexter Fowler and Mark Ellis each had three hits and drove in a run as the Colorado Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-4 on Friday night. Peter Regin Jersey . Chad Owens caught three passes and returned four kicks to set pro footballs record for all-purpose yards in a season. http://... .Y. -- Tim Tebow had one of his best days of training camp, throwing two long touchdown passes in practice as the New York Jets had their final on-field preparations for their preseason opener at Cincinnati. [url=http://www.blackhawkshockeyproshop.com/Keith-Magnuson-Blackhawks-Jersey/]Ke... Magnuson Blackhawks Jersey . Baltimore was tied with the Yankees atop the American League East standings 10 times over the final month of the season, but was never able to move ahead of them. The Orioles again find themselves even with the Yankees in this series after another one-run win in Game 2 on Monday, but now the set shifts to the Bronx, where they were 6-3 this season and won all three of the series there. Mar... Havlat Blackhawks Jersey ., scored three goals to lift Canada to a 6-0 win over Argentina in its opening match of the under-20 Womens World Cup on Monday.ST. LOUIS -- Lance Lynn learned a lot from his 18-day stint in the St. Louis bullpen. Lynn, making his second start since an Aug. 25 demotion, tossed 6 1-3 innings and David Freese and Yadier Molina both hit their 20th home run of the season to lead the Cardinals to a 5-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday night. The Cardinals, who have won seven straight against Houston, moved two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the race for the second wild card in the National League. Milwaukee is 2 1-2 games back. St. Louis has won three straight for the first time since a four-game streak from Aug. 21-24. The Cardinals have five players with at least 20 homers for the first time in franchise history. Carlos Beltran (29), Matt Holliday (27) and Allen Craig (21) already hit the milestone. Lynn (16-7) allowed three hits, struck out five and walked two in a 102-pitch stint. It was his second successive strong effort since posting a 6.56 ERA in five August starts. "I got away from what I was all about early on in the season," Lynn said. "I got off track, and tried to start nibbling and throwing breaking pitches. "Now, Im going right after hitters and its making all my stuff better." Lynn is 2-0 with 12 strikeouts, four walks and one earned run in 12 1-3 innings since his return. Lynn, who leads a talented staff in wins, retired nine straight batters after Jose Altuves double to start the game. The All-Star was removed from the rotation after an Aug. 24 outing in which he gave up four earned in two innings at Cincinnati. He made six appearances in the bullpen before returning to the rotation last Thursday at Los Angeles. He gave up one run and five hits in six innings of a 2-1 win. Manager Mike Matheny believes Lynn has returned to the rotation a smarter and more aggressive pitcher. "He didnt go down to the bullpen and sulk, he tried to make himself better," Matheny said. "I think he learned a lot about his demeanour. He shortened up his mechanics, really tightened everything up." Molina said Lynn was at his early season form. Lynn was 8-1 through the first two months of the season. "He was outstanding, he was keeping the ball down and he was aggressive," Molina said. Freese hit a two-ruun homer off Lucas Harrell (10-10) in the second inning.dddddddddddd. Harrell, winless in six starts, gave up three runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings. He struck out seven and walked one. "They have some guys that can hit the ball and you just want to work hard and try and get through the game," Harrell said. Craig led off the second with a single to set the stage for Freeses shot. The Cardinals are 16-3 when Freese homers. Molina homered in the fourth with one out to push St. Louis lead to 3-0. The 20 homers for Freese and Molina are both career highs. "If you are a guy thats trying to solidify himself, thats the number that I think everybody else looks at," Freese said of the 20-homer mark. "Its nice to get to that number. Weve got a good number of guys that have 20 or more. Its fun to be a part of." Molina was pleased to get to the magical plateau. "I cant lie, its feels so good," he said. Houston interim manager Tony DeFrancesco was impressed with Molinas game-calling skills as well as his new-found power. "Hes proven that hes one of the best players in the game right now both offensively and defensively," he said. Jason Motte recorded his 37th save in 44 opportunities. Motte entered the game in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and one out, and ended it by striking out Chris Synder and Jimmy Paredes. Mitchell Boggs had struck out the side in the eighth on 12 pitches. The Cardinals tacked on two runs in the eighth on successive hits by Jon Jay, Beltran and Holliday, and a sacrifice fly by Craig. Notes: St. Louis RHP Jake Westbrook completed a successful bullpen session before the game. Westbrook, who strained a right oblique muscle on Sept 8, will throw again Friday. He is hoping to rejoin the rotation next week. ... Houston, which has used 11 rookies this season, has the youngest active roster in the majors, averaging 26.3 years. ... The Astros are 8-9 in September after rough stretches in August (5-22) and July (3-24). ... Former St. Louis OF Jim Edmonds was in attendance. ... Cardinals LHP Jaime Garcia (4-7, 4.24 ERA) will face Bud Norris (5-12, 4.93) in the series final on Thursday afternoon. Norris is 7-4 with a 2.61 ERA in 14 career starts against St. Louis. ' ' '