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HOUSTON -- Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez ended a tough stretch in emphatic fashion Wednesday.Martinez took a no-hitter into the sixth, Jeremy Hazelbaker and Brandon Moss hit home runs and St. Louis beat the Houston Astros 8-2.Martinez (11-7) pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing a run while striking out seven. He retired 15 of the first 16 batters before giving up a leadoff double to Teoscar Hernandez in the sixth.Martinez had allowed 14 runs over his previous three starts.Hes been impressive, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. I enjoy watching guys improve. When you see him pitch like that and maintain like that, thats improvement.Martinez leads St. Louis pitchers with 11 starts of seven or more innings.Every day I go out on the hill focused on my work and ready to go through nine innings hopefully, Martinez said. Some days theres bad days, some days theres good days like today. I stayed focused and I felt really good. I feel like its just part of the game and I went out and did the best I could.The Cardinals have won four straight and have a slim lead for the second NL wild-card spot over the Pirates and Marlins.St. Louis is averaging 7.5 runs per game during this winning streak and began its offensive frenzy Wednesday in the third inning against starter Doug Fister.Eight Cardinals batted in the three-run third, highlighted by Stephen Piscottys two-run single and Yadier Molinas RBI double.Hazelbaker bashed a 3-2 pitch from Fister in the fourth for his first home run since July 29. Moss blew it open in the seventh with a three-run homer off Tony Sipp.Moss has four home runs in the last six games and leads the Cardinals with 22 homers in just 281 at-bats. Its a nice resurgence for the 32-year-old, who hit .250 with four homers in 51 games last season after being acquired from Cleveland in July.Seems like everybody discounted everything he did before he got to us, Matheny said. That was a bunch of homers. Then he comes over smoking the ball and not getting anything for it. You could just see where he was trending and where he continues to trend. This guys got legitimate big power.St. Louis has 49 home runs since the All-Star break to lead the National League.Its good were just having good approaches and obviously were having success at the plate, Hazelbaker said. It comes from preparation and just knowing what were capable of and just being prepared every at-bat.Fister (11-8) gave up four runs, seven hits and a walk while striking three in four innings.It was a disappointing day, Fister said. Any loss is a tough loss to swallow. I felt good today. I felt strong, I felt in control, but they put a few good swings on balls, and the ball bounced their way today.Fister has allowed four or more runs five times in his past 10 starts after reaching that mark once in his first 14 outings this season.Alex Bregman drove in Hernandez with a single in the sixth. The rookie has seven RBI in the last 11 games and is batting .312 in that time.Houston has been outscored 29-11 during a four-game losing streak and surrendered eight or more runs in three straight games for the first time this season.The rollercoaster ride that weve been on is no fun when were in this portion of it, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. This game will test your character, itll test your resolve, itll test your ability to come back from adversity and this is another test for us. Weve got the better part of six weeks left in the regular season, and we need to compile some wins.UP NEXTCardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (9-7, 4.72 ERA) starts against Philadelphia on Friday. Wainwright is looking for his eighth season with 10 or more wins and needs four to tie Dizzy Dean (134) on the Cardinals career list.Astros: RHP Joe Musgrove (1-0, 1.47 ERA) starts against Baltimore on Thursday after getting his first major league win against Toronto on Friday. D. J. Wilson Jersey . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bucks Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. http://www.nbabucksproshop.com/Authentic-Brook-Lopez-Bucks-Jersey/ . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Custom Milwaukee Bucks Jerseys . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Oscar Robertson Bucks Jersey . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. SONOMA, Calif. -- Andretti Autosport locked in driver Ryan Hunter-Reay and sponsor DHL Express through the 2020 IndyCar season.The contract extensions were signed Sunday before the season finale at Sonoma Raceway. Hunter-Reay had not been stressed about his future -- his existing deal ran through 2017 -- and he never considered testing the free-agent market.Still, it was a welcome development on this hectic week for Hunter-Reay. He welcomed the birth of his third son with wife, Beccy, just hours before his father-in-law was discovered dead in an apparent murder suicide. Beccys father, Baja Bob Gordon was discovered dead from a gunshot wound Wednesday evening alongside his wife Sharon, who had been strangled.Hunter-Reay had to travel to California for the season finale a day later, and hes used his time at the track as an escape to focus on only on his race car. He knew an extension was in the works, but wasnt sure it would be completed before the end of the season until he actually signed on Sunday morning.Im very happy about this, and obviously its been a lot of highs and a lot of lows, Hunter-Reay said. Just been a wild ride the last week.He praised the strength of his wife, who celebrated her birthday Friday, as well as her three siblings, which include racing star Robby Gordon.Beccy is doing an amazing. Shes strong, Hunter-Reay said. Focusing on a new baby has been a blessing at this time. Its amazing she is, how strong Robby has been, her sisters Robyn and Haylee. Its blown me away because this is nothing you can compare to, this isnt as simple as a life passing.Hes had the Andretti organization, his teammates, and a suppoortive team from DHL to keep him focused this weekend.ddddddddddddDHL has been with Andretti since 2011, and its renewal was revealed on the same day longtime IndyCar sponsor Target marked its final race after 27 years. Target has been the primary sponsor for Chip Ganassi and was considered one of the longest partnerships in sports.Now DHL will move into that role as this deal progresses. DHL first began working with Andretti in 2005 and expanded into a full-time sponsor of the No. 28 six years later.Hunter-Reay, who began with Andretti on a three-race deal, has grown into the most successful active American driver in the IndyCar Series with 16 victories, 36 podiums, a win in the 2014 Indianapolis 500 and a championship in 2012.Not too shabby for a driver who bounced around in the early part of his career, trying to make something stick.When it comes to getting in the car and opportunities, Im a fighter, he said. I was on the brink in 2006, 2007, it was maybe a month away from going and doing something else with my life. Every time I got in the car, I knew I had to prove myself immediately. It was never a two-year deal where I could take my time developing.So to have DHL and Andretti behind him through 2020 is a luxury IndyCar drivers spend an entire career chasing.You dont have to think about the pressure involved. You can just go out there and put everything on the line, he said. You can overstep the edge, or if you try to make that pass and it doesnt work out, its not going to be blowback on you. ' ' '