n Diego in July, then standing on the Progressive Field mo

ST. LOUIS -- The Los Angeles Dodgers gave St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Mike Mayers one of the worst major league debuts ever.Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam and Howie Kendrick added a two-run homer while the Dodgers exploded for nine runs in the first two innings off Mayers and held on for a 9-6 win over the Cardinals on a hot, muggy Sunday night.Mayers lasted 1 1/3 innings and became the first pitcher to allow nine or more runs with fewer than two innings pitched in his debut since at least 1913.Sometimes, it can be more difficult when you have a young kid out there you dont know anything about, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. So for us to get on him earlier and the home run early there by Adrian was big. To see that power surge come was a big boost for us. To tack on another three in the next inning was big for us.Then we basically held on.Scott Kazmir (9-3) pitched five innings to earn the victory. He allowed three runs on six hits.Those first two innings were a battle, Kazmir said. I didnt have a feel for my breaking ball at all. I didnt have a grip. I was about to get some outs. It was tough out there. I was drenched coming out of the bullpen.After a rainout earlier in the week forced a doubleheader, the Cardinals decided not to start Carlos Martinez on short rest and called up Mayers, 24, from Triple-A Memphis for a spot start. St. Louis was the last team in the majors to use a pitcher not in their starting five this season.Mayers threw 62 pitches and gave up nine runs on eight hits, including two home runs, with about 35 family members and friends on hand. His ERA is 60.75.I thought I did a pretty good job with the first two batters and then it felt like it snowballed on me, Mayers said. I felt like that was the probably the hardest part, just slow the game down. I definitely need to do a much better job of that.St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said he felt for his starting rookie.He was amped up for sure. Every kid thats picked up a baseball, thats their dream to be in that kind of situation and I thought he had pretty good composure overall, Mayers said. I thought he was in the zone a good bit but he was so amped up maybe he was overthrowing his off-speed pitches a little where he couldnt put guys away.Kenley Jansen got his 29th save in 34 opportunities with a spotless ninth.The Dodgers scored six runs in a 45-pitch first inning.Mayers loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Gonzalez crushed a fastball 427 feet to center for his fifth career grand slam and first since Aug. 26, 2010. After a double by Kendrick, Mayers struck out Yasmani Grandal and got a nice ovation from the crowd. With two outs, Joc Pederson walked and stole second. Kazmir singled up the middle for the final two runs and his first RBI of the year.Matt Holliday doubled home a run in the first. It was the first run scored in the first inning by St. Louis since July 3.After Los Angeles chased Mayers in the second with three more runs, Tommy Pham cut the Dodgers advantage to 9-3 with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning.Four St. Louis relievers combined for 7 2/3 scoreless innings.In the seventh, Los Angeles failed to score despite four walks.Dodgers reliever Adam Liberatore allowed three runs in the seventh inning. It was the first runs hes allowed since May 20 -- a span that covers 29 games. He had pitched scoreless relief in 41 of his previous 42 games this year.HOT HOT HOTThe temperature at the start of the game was 96 degrees.TRANSACTIONSDodgers: Los Angeles called up RHP Ross Stripling from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned LHP Grant Dayton, who threw two scoreless innings in his debut on Friday night. The Dodgers needed a fresh arm after using 17 pitchers in the previous two games.Cardinals: To make room on the teams 25-man roster for Mayers, St. Louis optioned RHP Miguel Socolovich to Memphis following Saturdays game. Socolovich made two relief appearances while in St. Louis.TRAINERS ROOMDodgers: RF Yasiel Puig (right hamstring) did not start for the third straight game.Cardinals: INF Matt Carpenter is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment this week. Carpenter, sidelined since July 6 with a strained right oblique, took swings in the outdoor batting cage and ran the bases Sunday.UP NEXTDodgers: On Tuesday, Bud Norris (5-9, 4.56) will square off against Tampa Bays Chris Archer (5-13, 4.60). Norris last start was July 20, but he pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief during Fridays 16-inning game against St. Louis and took the loss.Cardinals: Martinez (9-6, 2.83) faces the New York Mets Noah Syndergaard (9-4, 2.43). Martinez logged seven innings in a 4-2 win over San Diego in his last start despite suffering a bloody nose.Cheap Air Max 270 .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Air Max 270 White Sale . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. http://www.airmax270cheaponline.com/cheap-air-max-270-online/white-air-max-270-sale.html . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Buy Air Max 270 .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Cheap Air Max 270 Mens . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost.CLEVELAND -- There are 333 synonyms for the word stoic in the online power thesaurus, and Cleveland Indians starter Corey Kluber has displayed every one during the 2016 Major League Baseball postseason. He has been stoic working on short rest, impassive on his way to the dugout after each inning, and serenely oblivious to all the pitching icons he has passed on the way to going 4-1 with a 0.89 ERA in October.Now it has come to this: The Indians, bedeviled by bad karma and an oppressive postseason history, will hand the ball to their ace one final time with a plea to rescue the 2016 season and the World Series. All things considered, its a good thing Kluber projects the air of a man without a pulse.In the clubhouse after a deflating 9-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs in Game 6, the Cleveland players expressed misgivings over their failure to put up much resistance against the Cubs. Each postmortem ultimately took a positive turn because of the rainbow on the horizon.Were still in good shape, said reliever Andrew Miller. Weve got Corey Kluber going tomorrow, and hes as good as they come. Youve got to like our chances. We have a chance to win at home, with our best guy on the mound. Its every kids dream. How many times have we all pretended were in Game 7 of the World Series? Well, here we are.When the Indians failed to close out the Cubs in Game 5 on Sunday night at Wrigley Field, they could take solace in having won two of three games in Chicago to seize a 3-2 lead in the Series. But the combination of Josh Tomlins early woes and the Tyler Naquin-Lonnie Chisenhall outfield hijinks sucked all the energy out of Progressive Field and made Indians fans wonder if they werent about to be subjected to a uniquely Cleveland brand of sports torture.Never mind Earnest Byners fumble, The Drive or all the torment the Browns have endured over the past few decades. Indians fans with long memories have plenty of worst-case scenarios embedded in their brains. The Tribe endured a 41-year stretch of postseason-free baseball from 1954 through 1995. Cleveland fell to Atlanta in the 95 World Series after going 100-44 in a strike-shortened season and lost the 1997 World Series to the Florida Marlins when closer Jose Mesa failed to seal the deal.More recent examples of Clevelands postseason baseball failings are particularly stark. Since 1999, the Indians are 3-13 in potential series-clinching games in October, and theyve been outscored 119-49.The track record would be suffocating if the Cleveland players allowed any trace of negativity to pervade their thoughts. So they use some things for motivation and weed out the rest.We want to win for these fans just as much as we want to do it for ourselves, closer Cody Allen said. I think we owe it to this city and to each one of these guys in here to leave it out there tomorrow. Thats all we can do.Does the Indians team history pose an extra burden as they try to craft a positive ending? Not really.I mean, look at their history, Allen said of the Cubs.While its a challenge to find positive omens in a 9-3 loss, the Indians showed a few signs of life on the way to being steamrolled in Game 6. When Jason Kipnis hit a solo homer off Jake Arrieta in the fifth inning to cut Chicagos lead to 7-2, his teammates picked him up and carried him through the dugout in a wedding chair celebration, as theyve done all season. They certainly didnt look defeated or uptight.Even down in the bullpen, if they showed us onn camera during the game, we looked pretty loose, Miller said.dddddddddddd Theres a never-give-up mentality. That looseness is something we strive for. What those guys were doing in the dugout wasnt fake. Its what works for us. Theres just this assumption that well find a way to come back, or show up tomorrow, or whatever it is.Were here for a reason. Were a really good team, and weve won a lot of games, and we just have to find a way to win one more.The Indians also forced Chicago closer Aroldis Chapman to throw 20 pitches before he gave way to Pedro Strop in the ninth inning. In contrast, Clevelands big three relief contingent of Miller, Allen and Bryan Shaw all had the night off.Thats us kind of fighting back and putting on a little pressure and saying, Hey, they had a big lead, but lets get something out of this game, Kipnis said. Maybe its setting yourself up with some big swings so you can take some positivity into tomorrow. Even if it just means we have some guys who have now seen [Chapman] a little bit more and can have a different approach against him the next day, thats a silver lining.Ultimately, all conjecture and conversation circled back to Kluber, who has embraced every challenge the Indians have thrown his way this month. It all began during the division series, when he returned from a quadriceps strain to beat Bostons David Price on 10 days rest.Kluber threw on short rest for the first time against Toronto in the league championship series and will become only the seventh pitcher in the past 30 years to make three starts in a World Series. The list includes Bostons Bruce Hurst (1986), the New York Mets Ron Darling (also 1986), Minnesotas Frank Viola (1987) and Jack Morris (1991), Arizonas Curt Schilling (2001) and St. Louis Chris Carpenter (2011).With each new honor or historical precedent thrown his way, Kluber keeps the focus on pitching and nothing more. During an interview session Tuesday, he was asked about joining Cincinnatis Jose Rijo as the first pitcher since 1990 to win Games 1 and 4 of a World Series.I know he pitched for the Reds in the World Series, Kluber said. But as far as appreciating the historical significance, probably not.Could Kluber appreciate the cosmic significance of having won the All-Star Game in San Diego in July, then standing on the Progressive Field mound in Game 7 almost four months later because of a home-field advantage that he helped create?No, I never connected those dots at that point in time, he said.When Kluber reports to work Wednesday for the biggest game of his life, he will prepare with the same tunnel vision that he brings to a postseason game or a garden-variety start in spring training. He maintains the same high standards all season long, and his teammates take heart in that, because they know hell bring his best.Who else would you want? Kipnis said. Thats our guy. Thats our stud. Thats our bona fide ace. You ask everybody in here who we want on that mound, and youre going to get Corey Kluber as the answer.Earlier in this series, Kipnis expressed puzzlement that Kluber isnt already a household name. If Kluber beats the Cubs in Game 7 to end Clevelands 68-year World Series drought and extend Chicagos dry spell to 109, it will be hard for America not to take notice. It might even be enough for Corey Kluber to crack a smile. ' ' '