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CINCINNATI, Ohio -- St. Louiss drive toward a Central Division championship hit a Cincinnati speed bump. Johnny Cueto pitched eight scoreless innings to beat Lance Lynn and send the Cardinals to their third consecutive loss, 1-0, Thursday. Cueto (18-8) allowed just three hits and hit a batter to help the Reds win their second series in the last 13 against Central Division-leading St. Louis. The Cardinals have lost three straight for the first time since a four-game losing streak Aug. 26-30 and finished their eight-game road trip 4-4 after winning three out of four in Milwaukee. "Were heading home," said centre fielder John Jay, who came up short of making the crucial play. "We just have to keep playing." Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his 33rd save and third in the last three games. "We created an environment where we play the spoiler," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "There is no secret weve struggled with the Cardinals the last several years." Lynn (15-9) retired 15 straight before Brandon Phillips led off the eighth inning with the Reds first walk of the game. He went to third on Jay Bruces single to centre field and scored on Ramon Santiagos sinking liner to short centre that Jay got a glove on but couldnt hold. Bruce had to hold up to see if the ball was caught and was forced at second. "I just missed it," Jay said. "I knew I couldnt leave my feet. If I slide, hes tagging. I tried to be aggressive." "Hes made great plays all year," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "Thats one he makes all the time. That one just got away." The Reds have won three straight games for the first time since August 5-7 against Cleveland. They finished their home stand 4-3 after losing two out of three against the Mets. Lynn went into the game 3-0 with a 4.00 ERA in three starts against the Reds this season. Cueto was 0-2 with a 3.75 ERA in two starts against St. Louis. "Today, he just outpitched me," Lynn said. "Thats part of it." Cueto retired the last 14 batters he faced after Matt Adams led off the fourth inning with a single and was eliminated in a double play. Cueto finished with seven strikeouts. Lynn allowed three hits and a walk with six strikeouts in eight innings. Bruce kept the game scoreless with a leaping catch at the right-field fence to rob Adams of a home run leading off the seventh inning. Adams appeared to doff his batting helmet to salute Bruces play. K MAN: Cuetos seven strikeouts give him 220 this season, the most since Jose Rijo led the National League with 227 in 1993. HIT MAN: Jay was hit by a pitch for the 19th time this season, the most in the majors. He was plunked for the third consecutive game. TRAINERS ROOM: Cardinals: Catcher Yadier Molina got Thursdays game off after playing all of Wednesdays night game. Molinas surgically repaired right thumb still is an issue, manager Mike Matheny said. "You can see the splint," Matheny said. "Hes still protecting it and doing things to strengthen it." Reds: Catcher Brayan Pena was scratched from the original starting lineup with an illness. Devin Mesoraco started in Penas place. UP NEXT: Cardinals: Adam Wainwright starts as St. Louis opens a 10-day, nine-game home stand with the first of three against Colorado. Reds: Mat Latos strives for his first career win at Miller Park as the Reds open a 10-day, nine-game road trip with the first of three at Milwaukee. Latos is 0-4 in six starts at Miller. . Alen, 28, hit .315 with five home runs, 59 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases for the Goldeyes last season. He is the longest serving catcher in Goldeyes history, having already spent five seasons with the organization. . You can listen to the game live on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal or on TSN.ca/Montreal. Also, TSN.ca features live streaming of the post-game news conferences from the Bell Centre. The Rangers grabbed a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final after Sundays 3-2 overtime victory against the visiting Habs. . The Leafs were back on the ice Wednesday following an 10-day break. It apparently wasnt long enough, as Team Canadas 2-1 win over Latvia didnt conclude before the Leafs began practice. "I was thinking we might get a little delay, but it was nice to get out there," said Tyler Bozak of watching Wednesdays game. . Louis Blues were workmanlike, methodical and -- most of all -- effective on Monday night. . -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Carl Hagelins goal with 2:05 remaining in overtime sent the New York Rangers into the All-Star break with a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Hagelin added an assist in regulation to help the Rangers enter the break with wins in three straight games and 16 in their past 19 outings. Henrik Lundqvist aided New Yorks cause with a 33-save effort, with Kevin Hayes and Chris Kreider also registering goals in the triumph. Its definitely a character win, Kreider said. We probably didnt have the start we wanted. We had a few lulls, but it says a lot about the leadership in the room that we were able to gather ourselves and be ready to play. Ottawa, which had prevailed in seven straight regular-season visits to Madison Square Garden coming in, received 32 saves from Craig Anderson in a losing cause. Erik Karlsson and Milan Michalek accounted for the Senators two scores. The Rangers overcame a 2-1 deficit after two periods, with Kreider netting the equalizer 2:42 into the third. The young forward got behind the Ottawa defense and beat Anderson 1-on-1 after taking in a pinpoint pass from Marc Staal. Lundqvist kept it tied after 60 minutes by recording 13 saves in the third, and Hagelin charged the net to redirect a give from a spinning Derek Stepan past Anderson to give New York the two points. We just seemed to be short a man there for some reason, said Anderson of the game-winning goal. They got a guy behind our line of defense. The Senators two goals came within a 63-second span in the second period after Hayes had givven the Rangers a 1-0 lead earlier in the stanza.dddddddddddd Lundqvist stopped Erik Condra in close but the Rangers couldnt clear the puck on the first goal, which set up Karlsson to connect on a wrist shot from the right circle with 6:22 remaining in the middle session. A high-sticking penalty to New Yorks Lee Stempniak led to Ottawas second score. Just nine seconds into the ensuing power play, Michalek slipped the rebound of Alex Chiassons initial attempt under Lundqvists pad to give the Senators a 2-1 edge. The Rangers had a 5-on-3 advantage for over a minute late in the second, but werent able to convert. After a scoreless opening period in which both teams appeared to lack energy, the action picked up considerably in the second. Hayes broke the stalemate 9:29 into the stanza by crashing the net to put in the carom of Dan Girardis long drive, with the goal coming just moments after Lundqvist turned away Bobby Ryan from close range. Game Notes The Rangers last defeated Ottawa on home ice during the regular season on Oct. 3, 2009, while Anderson had won all six of his previous non-playoff starts at MSG ... New York improved to 22-0-1 this season when allowing two goals or fewer ... Ottawa forward Mark Stone extended his point streak to six games with an assist on Karlssons goal ... Senators forward Chris Neil played in his first game since Dec. 11, having missed the teams last 16 contests with a knee injury ... Ottawa will host Toronto on Wednesday in its final game prior to the All-Star break. ' ' '
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