ST. LOUIS -- Two long shots was all it took for the St. Louis Cardinals. Not that Lance Berkman or Yadier Molina were swinging for the fences. Berkman hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning and Molina had a three-run shot in the second, helping the Cardinals overcome a pair of deficits to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 on Friday night. "Youre not stepping in the batters box saying I need to hit a home run right here," Berkman said. "I dont know that anybody ever does that and if they do, I may have done it a few times, it never works. "Generally, youre just saying Hey, lets get a good pitch to hit." Matt Holliday walked with one out in the eighth against Jose Veras (2-4) before Berkman hit his 30th homer. Berkman didnt think the Cardinals were reliant on the long ball, but pointed out that most top offences have a lot of power. "Youre not going to score a lot of runs in the major leagues unless you have guys who hit the ball out of the ballpark," Berkman said. "If you want to assemble a different roster, if you dont like home runs, dont watch us play." Andrew McCutchen had three hits and an RBI for the Pirates, who have dropped seven of 10 and are in a 10-27 tailspin since July 19 when they were seven games above .500. Pittsburgh opened with three runs in the first but could have made it a much deeper hole for St. Louis. "A big hit would have blown it open, theres no doubt," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Weve been shaking the pom-poms for that throughout the season -- one more hit in the big time with runners in scoring position. "We were looking for one more hit and we didnt get it." Hurdle gave no thought to getting closer Joel Hanrahan into the game in the eighth given Veras reliability. The right-hander had allowed one earned run in 12 1-3 innings his previous 13 appearances and leads Pittsburgh with 68 games. The homer was the first allowed by Veras since July 31. "Veras has probably done as much as any eighth-inning setup guy this year as far as pitching through the meat of the order and getting the ball to the closer," Hurdle said. "It was down, but it was working back towards the barrel and into his swing path." The Pirates had one hit in their final 13 at-bats -- McCutchen was caught stealing after singling to start the seventh -- and they didnt get the ball out of the infield against Kyle McClellan. Manager Tony La Russa said McClellan was pitching so well he had to let him start the ninth, but said Jason Motte would have relieved if Pittsburgh got a man on base. Berkman reached 30 homers for the sixth time in his career, leaving him one behind teammate Albert Pujols for the NL lead, coming off a career-worst 14 homers in an injury-plagued 2010. The Cardinals 3-4-5 hitters had been 0 for 8 with three walks before the homer. "Hes had a fantastic year," Hurdle said. "You talk about some fine shopping in the off-season." St. Louis wore throwback 1985 jerseys in honour of Willie McGee bobblehead night, with the fan favourite centre fielder throwing out the first pitch while accompanied by Ozzie Smith and Vince Coleman. McClellan (10-6) struck out two in two perfect innings for the Cardinals, who overcame a shaky start from Jake Westbrook. Westbrook gave up three runs in the first and matched his season-high with five walks. "When you have a slow start like that, its one of those things where you have to tell yourself you cant give up anymore and thats all they get," Westbrook said. "Yaddy had a big homer and Lance an even bigger homer and thats the reason why you have to hang in there and put up zeroes." The first four Pirates reached safely in the first, with McCutcheon and Ryan Doumit getting an RBI apiece, and Josh Harrison added a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead. Molinas fourth homer in seven games and 12th of the year, adding to a career best, tied it in the second. He has three homers and eight RBIs against the Pirates. James McDonald had been bidding to beat the Cardinals for the second time in three starts. He was lifted after Rafael Furcals single to start the seventh, leaving up 4-3. "I made one mistake, one pitch, and it was a three-run homer," McDonald said. "It was a bad pitch and he made me pay for it. Overall, I was pleased." Notes: Fans lined up at least four hours before game-time to get the McGee keepsakes. "Thats the kind of tribute he deserves," manager Tony La Russa said. ... Pujols had three walks Wednesday night, two of them intentional and scored three runs. The Cardinals are 60-1 when Pujols scores three times. ... Chris Carpenter (8-8, 3.57) is 12-2 with a 2.33 ERA against the Pirates heading into Saturdays start against Brad Lincoln (0-0, 4.58). ... Five Cardinals pitchers have at least 10 wins counting Edwin Jackson, who won his first seven games with the Chicago White Sox. ... McCutchens 33rd multi-hit game followed a 1-for-13 slump. wholesale jerseys .C. -- Kyle Busch apologized repeatedly Thursday for showing a "lack of judgment" in driving 128 miles per hour in a 45 m. nfl jerseys china . After 45 long years, including two near-misses in the last week, the Los Angeles Kings have finally been crowned Stanley Cup champions. http://www.wholesalejerseychinast... . Following a shock 3-0 home defeat to rival West Ham, the London club claimed its fifth league win of the season to move to fifth in the standings, three points behind leader Arsenal. "The opening goal was important to bring confidence and we really played well in the second half," Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas said. [url=http://www.wholesalejerseychinastore.com/]wholesale nfl jerseys . - A trainer flooding the field with five horses. cheap jerseys . -- Orlando forward Glen Davis has been suspended for two games by the Magic for conduct detrimental to the team. MILWAUKEE -- Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings had tried to dismiss Wednesday nights matchup against his former team as simply another game on the teams schedule. The closer it got to tipoff against the Milwaukee Bucks, the harder that became. "I was nervous in the beginning because Im not used to being on the other side," Jennings said. "There were a lot of emotions going on. The whole time I felt like it was just another game. But once it got closer to game time, my nerves were just going." Jennings struggled considerably in the first half, but finished with 17 points and 11 assists in helping the Pistons to a 105-98 win over the Bucks in his return to Milwaukee. "Once the second half started, I settled down and just played basketball," Jennings said. Andre Drummond had 24 points and 19 rebounds and the Pistons rode a strong second half to victory. Greg Monroe contributed 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons, who had five players score 15 or more points. "Going into the game, we were really concerned about matchups," Bucks coach Larry Drew said. "We felt they were just too big and wed have to mix our defences up and hopefully outrebound those guys. We just could not physically overcome that size." Detroit hadnt had two players pull down at least 15 rebounds apiece since Feb. 10, 2005, when Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace accomplished the feat. "Were starting to jell, starting to find ourselves and an identity," Drummond said. "The first half was tough for us. We let the fatigue get to us a little bit." That led to a change of strategy in the second half. "We got it down low because we knew our jump shots werent really going to fall because our legs were tired. So we drove to the hoop and got the foul calls," Drummond said. Detroit shot 42 foul shots and Milwaukee had 22. Jennings spent four seasons with the Bucks after the team drafted him 10th overall in 2009 out of Oak Hill Academy. He joined the Pistons in July after a sign-and-trade deal that sent Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton to the Bucks. A restricted free-agent at the time, Jennings inked a three-year, $24 million deal with the Pistons. The sparse crowd at the BMO Harris Bradley Center booed loudly when Jennings was introduced before the game and each time he touched the ball early in the contest. Jennings missed all four of his shots from the field in the first quarter but had two early assists that led to dunks.dddddddddddd "The boos didnt hurt," Jennings said. "I still have a lot of fans here. At the end of the day, the fans supported us through the good and bad. It didnt bother me." Jennings didnt score until sinking a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:03 remaining in the second quarter. He finished 4 of 16 from the field. "We tried to get him a basket early to kind of settle him down a little bit," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "But he missed a couple shots that he normally makes." In the first meeting between the teams on Nov. 25 in Detroit, Jennings had 15 points and 13 assists, including four of six from 3-point range, in sparking Detroit to a 113-94 win. "Brandon handled himself like a professional," Drummond said. "He got booed, but its all part of the game." Ersan Ilyasova, who has been plagued by injuries that include a sore ankle, scored a season high 22 points, including 16 in the first half, and had 10 rebounds off the bench to lead the Bucks, who have lost 13 of 14. Middleton added 14 points for Milwaukee. "Its the first time I feel healthy. My ankle is getting better," Ilyasova said. We have to find a way to play much better. We have to come together and find a way to win games." The Pistons trailed by five at the half, but used a 16-0 run midway through the third quarter to take a 10-point lead. The Bucks got within five points on Knights 3 with 1:36 remaining in the game, but thats as close as they would get. Ekpe Udoh had five blocked shots in the second quarter for Milwaukee, tying his career high. He finished with six. The Bucks used a 15-1 run to open a 38-31 second-quarter lead and held at 50-45 advantage at halftime. Detroit made just 33 per cent of its shots over the first two quarters. NOTES: Police issued municipal citations to Bucks centre Larry Sanders for disorderly conduct and assault and battery stemming from a fight last month at a downtown Milwaukee nightclub. Drew had no comment when asked about the citations. Sanders had surgery on his right thumb on Nov. 11 after getting hurt during the scrum. He initially was expected to be out four to six weeks. Drew on Wednesday had no update on a timetable for Sanders return. ... Pistons guard Chauncey Billups remained sidelined with left knee tendinitis and guard Will Bynum was inactive with an adductor strain. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '