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NEW YORK -- With a 360-foot relay in the ninth inning, the New York Mets prevented a hard-fought victory from vanishing in the wind. Lucas Duda hit a long home run and New York threw out the potential tying run at the plate to hold off the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 Wednesday on a blustery night at Citi Field. Jonathon Niese earned his first win of the season, and shortstop Ruben Tejada cut down Matt Carpenter for the second out of the ninth on a strong relay from centre fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis. "My hearts still racing," Mets catcher Travis dArnaud said. "A 180-spin throw like that -- a perfect throw. I still cant believe I witnessed that." St. Louis manager Mike Matheny challenged the call by plate umpire Marty Foster, which was confirmed following a replay review of 1 minute, 20 seconds that showed dArnaud nicked Carpenter with a sweep tag behind his armpit. "I didnt feel the tag and I initially thought that I was safe," Carpenter said. "But I got a chance to look at it and it was a good call." With a runner on second, Kyle Farnsworth sealed it by retiring Matt Holliday on a tricky fly to right. Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha (2-2) set career highs with 10 strikeouts and five walks in the shortest of his 14 regular-season starts in the majors. A bizarre outing if ever there was one -- but it was that sort of night. Curtis Granderson snapped his career-worst hitless skid at 22 at-bats with a first-inning single, and the Mets got 6 2-3 effective innings from Niese (1-2) with wind gusting up to 41 mph on a 51-degree night. "Kind of throwing cue balls out there," Niese said. "It kind of felt like I was throwing with an ice pack on. Its tough to keep warm." Carlos Torres and Scott Rice escaped an eighth-inning jam before Farnsworth worked the ninth for his second save. He gave up consecutive singles and an RBI double to pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso that one-hopped the wall in left-centre, but New Yorks defence saved Farnsworth. "Two great throws," Carpenter said. "Thats a tough play thats not made a whole lot, especially with the game on the line." Carpenter had four hits and Yadier Molina added three for the Cardinals, but Jhonny Peraltas hitless streak reached 21 at-bats. Peralta popped out with runners at second and third in the eighth before pinch-hitter Matt Adams flied out to end the inning. Niese improved to 4-1 with a 1.87 ERA in six career starts against St. Louis. "I dont know what it is with Jon and cold weather, but he gets the call," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "He pitched absolutely great tonight in the conditions." The game began in a 31 mph wind at a mostly empty stadium. Workers hustled between innings to clean up all the flying napkins and hot dog wrappers that littered the outfield -- even bundled-up second base umpire Rob Drake helped out during a stoppage in play. "It was terrible. The worst. Not fun," Carpenter said. High popups and flyballs were an adventure. Tejada dropped one after retreating into the outfield, then scampering back to the infield. New York still got an easy forceout on the play. Wachas red cap blew right off his head as he was waiting for a new ball and rolled, like tumbleweed, to second baseman Mark Ellis. Duda homered against Seth Maness leading off the sixth, a laser beam of a line drive that cut under the wind and nearly reached the Shea Bridge walkway above the bullpens in right-centre. It was the first home run for the Mets in their past seven home games, ending their longest such drought since May 2012. Early on, it appeared the 22-year-old Wacha was headed to a record-setting performance. Last years NL championship series MVP overpowered the Mets with nine strikeouts in the first three innings but soon lost his control. He walked three in the fourth, including No. 8 batter Tejada and Nieuwenhuis with the bases loaded, forcing in two runs. Wacha was pulled for a pinch hitter in the fifth after throwing 93 pitches. Coming in, he had issued only three free passes in 26 innings this season. The Mets said Wacha joined Smoky Joe Wood (1909), Felix Hernandez (2013) and Danny Salazar (2014) as the only pitchers since 1900 to have at least 10 strikeouts in an outing that lasted no more than four innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Molina doubled home a run with two outs in the first, extending his hitting streak to 14 games, after Tejada and the Mets botched a rundown that should have resulted in an inning-ending double play. NOTES: Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright (knee) expects to make his next scheduled start Sunday against Pittsburgh, Matheny said. ... Mets leadoff hitter Eric Young Jr. was rested. Trey Flowers Jersey . And thats good news for Canada. Kelly, who plays No. 8 at the back of the scrum, is captain of the Canadian womens team. Cameron Fleming Jersey . -- On any given day here at his companys Silicon Valley headquarters, Vivek Ranadive is ready to compete against any employee who wants to challenge him to any contest. http://www.authenticpatriotsfanatic.com/c-25-patriots-brandon-bolden-jersey.aspx. Lack replaced an injured Roberto Luongo late in the first period then watched defenceman Chris Tanev score the winning goal midway through the third as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Jets 2-1 in a tight NHL game. Stephen Gostkowski Jersey . With the Rangers already leading 2-0, Carey Price was taken down early in the second period of New Yorks 7-2 pounding of the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday afternoon. Deatrich Wise Jr Jersey . "I had a pretty good year," the soft-spoken Granberg told TSN.ca with a grin from the teams annual rookie tournament in London. A fourth-round selection in 2010, Granberg is worth keeping an eye on with NHL training camps rolling around in less than a week. The six-foot-two, 200-pound defender may not possess the wow-inspiring theatrics of fellow prospect Morgan Rielly, but nonetheless has a chance to contribute with the Leafs when all is said and done this season. WEEHAWKEN, N.J. -- The Colorado Avalanche say they have crunched the numbers and they are looking for offence in Sundays NHL draft. Top prospects Nathan MacKinnon and Seth Jones insist they are both in the dark about whose name will be called first at the Prudential Centre in Newark., N.J. But the Avalanche are not shy about saying that they are leaning towards MacKinnon, a forward, with their first overall pick. Jones, a defenceman from the Portland Winterhawks, is the top-ranked North American skater on the NHL Central Scouting list. But Rick Pracey, Colorados director of amateur scouting, says their research shows that picking an elite forward at the top of the draft pays dividends. Pracey notes that four of the top five scorers this season were No. 1 overall picks in the draft (Steven Stamkos, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane). The exception was the undrafted Martin St. Louis. And over the last five years, some 48 to 50 per cent of the top 20 scorers were selected in the top five of the draft. So the Avs -- who ranked 27th in scoring this season with 116 goals -- are looking to a forward. "Were leaning towards Nathan MacKinnon," Pracey told The Canadian Press, adding his voice to that of Avs executive vice-president of hockey operations Joe Sakic and new coach Patrick Roy. Colorado likes the 17-year-old MacKinnons history of elevating his game when it counts and his ability to handle pressure. "We think he has elite speed. We like his (hockey) sense, we like his offensive ability and we think he comes to play," Pracey said. "His competitive nature is another factor in his game that were fond of." Halifax Mooseheads winger Jonathan Drouin and Finnish Elite League centre Aleksander Barkov are also on the Avs radar. Scouts say Drouin reminds them of a young Joe Sakic, according to NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr. Barkov, who is coming off a shoulder injury, has been playing against men since he was 16. The three forwards, along with Jones, represent the cream of a crop seen as rich towards the top. Colorado has first crack at the talent, followed by the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes. NHL Central Scouting ranked Jones first ahead of MacKinnon and Drouin among North American skaters. Barkov was rated the top international prospect. Ask MacKinnon and he will tell you Drouin is the most skilled player in the draft. "The things he can do with the puck are pretty cool," he said. "He slows the game down, he kind of controls the tempo." But as to who goes where Sunday, Marr said nothing would surprise him. "Its going to be a difficult choice but its going to be a great one for their franchise," Marr said Friday at a New Jersey media availability overlooking Manhattan. Marr said all four could be NHL-ready. Of course, Colorados open-door policy on its pick could be subterfuge. But Pracey repeated the franchise line, that the Avs wanted to keep their fan base in the loop. That Jones has Denver ties might be a factor in that transparency. The prized defenceman essentially took up the sport in Colorado whhile his NBA-playing father Popeye Jones was with the Nuggets.dddddddddddd By pointing to MacKinnon, the Avs have played down talk of taking the local boy. Still, Pracey had dinner with Jones in Dallas last week. Marr sees Jones as a rare talent built for todays NHL -- smart, a fluid skater with a good passing touch and with a big-game sensibility. Both MacKinnon and Jones are old beyond their years, both on and off the ice. They handled the media with aplomb Friday, having done it all before at the NHL Combine and Stanley Cup final. Although MacKinnons Mooseheads beat Jones Hawks in the Memorial Cup final, the two have become friends and are rooming together here. Asked about what Jones is like away from the ice, MacKinnon mischievously offered that he is always willing to order room service. They both say they are in the dark about who will go where on the draft menu Sunday. MacKinnon says he is not paying attention to draft talk, saying he doesnt want his expectations too high. The Avs have said nothing to them, the two players said when asked. MacKinnon did say he would look forward to working under Roy, who coached Quebec in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season. "It would be an awesome experience," MacKinnon said. "He develops young players very well." Colorado won the opportunity to go first in the draft lottery, dropping Florida to second spot. The Panthers had the worst record in the league in 2012-13 at 15-27-6, finishing three points behind Colorado (16-25-7). The Avalanche, during their days as the Quebec Nordiques, picked first overall three time before. They scooped up some marquee names in Mats Sundin (1989), Owen Nolan (1990), while Eric Lindros (1991) held out and forced a trade to Philadelphia. At No. 6, Calgary holds the highest pick among Canadian teams. The Flames also pick 22nd (St. Louis, via the Jay Bouwmeester deal) and 28th (Pittsburgh, Jarome Iginla trade) in the first round. Edmonton selects seventh followed by Winnipeg at No. 13, Ottawa at No. 17, Toronto at No. 21, Vancouver at No. 24 and Montreal at No. 25. Like Calgary, Columbus has three first round-picks -- its own at No. 14, the Rangers 19th pick (from the Rick Nash trade) and L.A.s 28th pick (from the Jeff Carter deal). Buffalo (eighth and 16th) and Dallas (10th and 19th) have two first-round picks apiece, meaning four teams -- Buffalo, Calgary, Columbus and Dallas -- control one-third of the first round going into the draft. That combined with the decrease in salary cap for next season could lead to deals ahead of Sunday. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defenceman Darnell Nurse is also expected to go high. Marr sees him as having a bit of Shea Webber in him. Nurse, the son of former CFL receiver Richard Nurse and nephew to former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb, says he has pondered over who might take him. But he added ultimately it doesnt matter. "Id like to play anywhere in the NHL," said Nurse, who grew up a Devils fan. "Thats the honest truth." The goalie crop is seen as thin but not without talent. Marr enthused about Halifaxs Zachary Fucale, citing his mental toughness. Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys 2019 Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys From China NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '