CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Adam Wainwright won 19 games last season and finished second in the NL Cy Young voting. [url=http://www.twin

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Adam Wainwright won 19 games last season and finished second in the NL Cy Young voting. Custom Minnesota Twins Jerseys . So far, his encore is even better. Wainwright became the National Leagues first eight-game winner by dominating Cincinnati again, and the St. Louis Cardinals pulled away to a 4-0 victory Sunday night that completed another successful series against their division rival. The Cardinals are 6-3 against the Reds this season. Theyve won 10 of their last 11 series together. Overall, St. Louis has won nine of its last 11 games and moved within 1 1-2 games of first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central. Wainwright (8-2) beat Johnny Cueto and the Reds on opening day in Cincinnati, allowing only three hits during seven innings of a 1-0 victory. On Sunday, the right-hander gave up five hits in eight innings and matched his career high with 12 strikeouts. "Thats the epitome of pitching, in my opinion," manager Mike Matheny said. "The people watching today maybe on the national (television) game, I hope they had an appreciation for what this guy does and how he does it." Wainwright set the tone by striking out five of the first six batters on a total of 24 pitches. He got Brandon Phillips on three pitches that clocked 73, 91 and 93 mph. The one disappointment for Wainwright last season was his rough showing against the Reds -- 1-3 in four starts with a 7.77 ERA. Hes fixed that problem. "Last year I was a one-side-of-the-plate pitcher and they just crushed me," Wainwright said. "This year, Im pitching a lot differently. Im using both sides of the plate." Tony Cruz and Kolten Wong each had a pair of singles and drove in a run off Mike Leake (2-4). Wong also stole a pair of bases. The game drew 42,273 fans, the Reds third sellout crowd of the season. All three sellouts have come against the Cardinals. Leake went six innings and continued his streak of solid pitching. The right-hander hasnt allowed more than two runs in any of his last five starts, giving up a total of eight earned runs. With Wainwright on his game again, it was two runs too much. Wainwright lowered his ERA to 1.67. In his last two starts, he has given up only six hits and no runs in 17 innings. "Ive never felt like this," the 31-year-old pitcher said. "Thats part of of the evolution of me. I expected to get better as I got older, and a little wiser. "Now that Im over 30 years old, I dont think theres any reason for me to start to decline. I think I should still try to get better and expect to get better." Cruz led off the third inning with a single and advanced on Wainwrights sacrifice bunt. Wong singled up the middle with two outs for a run. Matt Adams singled, Allen Craig walked and Cruz singled home a run with two outs in the sixth. The Cardinals added a pair of runs in the seventh with the help of two errors by the Reds, who lead the majors in fielding percentage. Wainwright pitched out of Cincinnatis best threat in the fifth, when the Reds got runners to second and third with two outs. He got Billy Hamilton on a called third strike to end the inning. Hamilton struck out four times against Wainwright on opening day and three more times Sunday, leaving him 0 for 7 with seven strikeouts and a walk off the right-hander. NOTES: The Cardinals return home for an afternoon game against the Yankees on Monday, with Michael Wacha (3-3) facing Chase Whitley (0-1). The Reds fly to Los Angeles for an evening game against the Dodgers, sending Cueto (4-3) against Hyun-Jin Ryu (4-2). ... Wong extended his hitting streak to seven games. ... C Yadier Molina got a day of rest. ... OF Peter Bourjos was better, but still out of the lineup a day after he got a stomach virus. ... RHP Mat Latos made his first rehab start for Triple-A Louisville on Sunday, allowing three hits and two runs in four innings. The Reds want him to make at least two more starts in the minors. ... RF Jay Bruce went 1 for 12 with seven strikeouts during the series, which marked his return from torn knee cartilage. Glen Perkins Jersey . At least 90 players who had college eligibility remaining are expected to enter the draft, shattering last years record number of 73. "Its a humongous number, so the first reaction is it makes you step back a little bit," said NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout with the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. Kirby Puckett Jersey . Saskatchewans Darian Durant is expected to miss the rest of the Roughriders season with a torn tendon in his right elbow. The 32-year-old, who will undergo surgery in the next couple days to repair the injury, was added to the teams six-game injury list Tuesday. http://www.twinsrookiestore.com/Twins-Jake-Odorizzi-Kids-Jersey/ . As each game passes (each has played close with the exception of last night) it becomes clearer just how evenly matched these two teams are and how one mistake, or one bad inning, is likely to sway the result.TORONTO - Veteran mixed martial artist Nick Diaz says he is ready to return to the cage despite the fact that he does not enjoy fighting. The 30-year-old Diaz, who has long marched to his own drummer, has not fought since March 2013 when he lost to then-welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 in Montreal. He had announced his retirement 13 months before after losing to Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit but returned to face GSP for the title. Diaz (27-9-1) then dropped out of the spotlight although his name kept resurfacing, usually with UFC president Dana White saying that Diaz had refused another bout. "They were offering me fights and I wasnt really interested in the fights that they were talking about for pretty much the last year," Diaz told a media conference call Wednesday. "I was looking pretty much for the biggest fight I could get myself into. Just like always." Mission accomplished. A Jan. 31 date with former middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva at UFC 183 — the UFCs marquee Super Bowl card — along with a new contract extension proved to be enough to bring the rebel fighter from Stockton, Calif., back into the UFC fold. The 39-year-old Silva has not fought since suffering a horrific leg injury in a loss to middleweight champion Chris Weidman last December at UFC 168. The return of Diaz and Silva gives the UFC two more marquee names sorely needed due to injuries and the proliferation of fight cards. The pay-per-view show originally slated for December in Montreal, for example, may be pushed back to March — likely due to lack of a suitable main event. Diaz is a polarizing figure, an accomplished Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with prickly boxing skills who fights with a sneer on his face — usually while talking trash to his opponent. No lover of media commitments, his refusal to play by the rules was demonstrated when he failed to show up for a Toronto news conference when he was originally scheduled to meet St-Pierre. The UFC promptly pulled him from the title bout. Still his "I dont give a damn" attitude has won him plenty of fans. Diazs time away from the sport after the Condit loss was also enforced after he was suspended a year for a positive marijuana test (he was also banned for the same reason following a 2007 Pride fight). Diaz told the Nevada State Athletic Commission after the most recent failed drug test that he had been prescribed a medial marijuana card to help deal with his ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Younger brother Nate is equally abrasive with a signature win that included flexing his muscles and displaying two middle fingers while opponent Kurt Pellegrino was locked iin a triangle choke. Eddie Rosario Jersey. Nick Diaz says his time away from the sport was beneficial and productive, both physically and mentally. "I spent the last what, almost 16 years with some sort of tournament, competition or an MMA fight," he said. "Its been a real experience." Diaz said it seems like he has always had a fight looming, be it in real life growing up or the UFC. "After 37 fights, what 16 years, being extra-serious, thatll do something to somebody," he said. "Its pretty rough. I dont recommend anybody to be a fighter. Fighting is not something I enjoy doing. Its something I do that I feel I have to do and thats just the way it is." "I dont like to hurt anybody," he added. "Im a non-violent person." The six-foot Diaz has fought at both welterweight (170 pounds) and middleweight (185). He says he walks around at close to 200 pounds and that making 170 has been "pretty rough" in the past. He said he had never really quit the sport, saying you never retire from martial arts. He just wasnt going to take a fight he wasnt happy with. "I just pretty much needed some time off regardless and you dont really get time off in the UFC without returning sometimes or getting hurt. I guess I dont break easy, like some of these guys." Asked about his new contract extension, he said: "I cant complain. I cant ask for anything more. Im happy with the deal that I made." "Its hard out there," he added. "Especially when the rest of these guys arent getting paid what they should be getting paid. And they sit around and they cant open their mouth about anything for the most part when it comes to what they do." Diaz said hes willing to speak out, where others arent. "Its a really complicated road if youre an MMA fighter," he added. Diaz demonstrated that when asked if he was excited to fight a legend like Silva. "I dont use that word (excited) in this sport," he said. "I use that word like maybe if Im starving and foods showing up. Or Im excited to have a couple of days off." Asked again if he would enjoy getting in the cage with Silva, he was definite. "Definitely not. Would you enjoy fighting Anderson Silva?" Asked what he expects from Silva given his injury layoff, Diaz was noncommittal. "You never know what youre going to get. Life is like a box of chocolates," he replied, referencing the film "Forrest Gump." Diaz said he was taking his career "day by day, fight by fight." "I dont need much. I can survive without fighting. The thing is I just want to do the best I can, like everybody else." ' ' '