Dolphins, including Jarvis Landry, Reshad Jones an

DENVER -- The St. Louis Cardinals picked up a win before a pitch was even thrown when reserve outfielder Jose Martinez captured a playful, pregame staredown with Colorado reliever Carlos Estevez.Too bad for the Cardinals that didnt count in the standings. They sure couldve used it.Nolan Arenado hit a grand slam, German Marquez pitched five solid innings for his first major league win and the Rockies slowed the Cardinals playoff chase with an 11-1 victory on Wednesday.The Cardinals, who had won four straight, entered the day tied with New York and San Francisco atop the NL wild-card standings. The Mets and Giants both played later.Arenado broke open the game in the second with his NL-leading 39th homer of the season. His fourth career slam made it 6-1.Its a pitch that simply caught too much of the plate.Stayed straight, starter Luke Weaver said. For it to flatten out at such a big moment right there is disappointing.Weaver (1-4) was roughed up by the Rockies, surrendering seven hits and six runs in two innings. Before this game, the right-hander had allowed 12 earned runs in his last seven starts combined.The Cardinals had some early momentum when that standoff went their way just after the anthem.Heres how it unfolded: Estevez and Martinez stood near their dugouts -- with their baseball cap over their heart -- and refused to back down until the other moved first.Estevez blinked first and made a winner of Martinez, who celebrated before retreating to the dugout. Estevez said manager Walt Weiss pulled him in out of fear of being ejected.Its not fun to have one less bullpen guy, Estevez explained.Martinez was going to see this thing through to the end -- no matter the consequences.The umpire asked me, `Why you do that? Im like, `When youre a rookie and a big league guy asks you to stand up there, I stand up there, said Martinez, who had a pinch-hit single in the seventh. The most important thing is we have fun and the fans enjoyed it.This was a memorable day for Marquez (1-0), who made his first big league start after three appearances out of the bullpen. He allowed one run and struck out three.At 21 years, 212 days, Marquez was the second-youngest pitcher in Rockies history to earn his first win, the team announced. The youngest was Jamey Wright (21-206).A great pitching performance from the kid today, Weiss said. Its easy -- easy velocity. Very effortless.The hard-throwing Marquez was acquired in January as part of the deal that sent outfielder Corey Dickerson to Tampa Bay. Marquez pitched a majority of the season for Double-A Hartford, where he was chosen as the pitcher of the year in the Eastern League.Marquez worked his way out of several dicey situations against the best road team in baseball. He allowed his only run in the second, when Jeremy Hazelbaker led off with a double and later scored on Kolten Wongs sacrifice fly.The Cardinals took two of three from Colorado during a series in which their starting pitchers were brilliant at the plate. Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainwright and Weaver went a combined 4 for 4 with two doubles and six RBI. Weaver had a single in his only plate appearance.DJ LeMahieu got two hits and drove in two runs to raise his average to .351. He holds a slight lead over Washingtons Daniel Murphy in the NL batting race.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: OF Matt Holliday (broken right thumb) is hoping to take live batting practice Friday at Wrigley Field before the Chicago Cubs series. ... C Yadier Molina had the day off.Rockies: Third base coach Stu Cole sat out another day after being hit in the head by a ball that caromed off another during batting practice Tuesday.THIS & THATRockies catcher Tom Murphy had a three-run homer as part of a five-run seventh. ... Arenados grand slam gives him 128 RBI this season, which leads the majors.UP NEXTCardinals: After a day off, RHP Mike Leake (9-10, 4.54 ERA) opens a three-game series Friday in Chicago. RHP Jake Arrieta (17-7, 2.96) goes for the Cubs.Rockies: RHP Tyler Chatwood (11-9, 4.13) takes the mound Thursday to begin a four-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Chatwood is 7-1 with a 1.77 ERA in 11 road starts this season.NHL Jerseys . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Cheap NHL Jerseys . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. https://www.cheapnhljerseysjustwholesale.com/ . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. NHL Jerseys China . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. NHL Jerseys 2020 . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early.DAVIE, Fla. -- When Mike Wallaces two frustration-filled seasons with the Miami Dolphins came to an end, he was on the bench rather than in the playoffs.The Dolphins then discarded him for a fifth-round draft pick, an acknowledgement the $60 million, five-year deal they gave Wallace had failed to pay off.Even so, he said he has no regrets about his time in Miami in 2013-14.They gave me a lot of money in two years, Wallace said Wednesday. Its all love on my end. My life is a lot better because of those guys. So I have no grudges against them whatsoever.Wallace is now with the Baltimore Ravens and will face the Dolphins on Sunday for the first time since he left under strained circumstances. Hes anticipating the game so eagerly he tweeted a countdown to kickoff on Sunday night: 7 days!A lot of people probably took it the wrong way, Wallace said with a chuckle. But I have nothing against those guys. It just didnt work out.The Dolphins under coach Joe Philbin went 8-8 in each of their two seasons with Wallace. One of the NFLs fastest players, he fell short of 1,000 yards receiving both years, and he never got in sync with Ryan Tannehill on deep passes.I definitely have fault on my end, he said. There was a lot of other fault, too.Frustration boiled over in the final game. Circumstances remain fuzzy as to whether Wallace refused to re-enter the game or was told by the coaching staff to stay on the sideline.It was a frustrating incident where you wanted to do well and wanted the team to do well, and it just wasnt going that way, he said. But I would never do anything to quit on my team.After leaving Miami, Wallace had one disappointing season with the Minnesota Vikings, who then released him.At 30 he has revived his caareer in Baltimore, ranking among the top 15 receivers in yards (792) and yards per catch (15.dddddddddddd5).He has done great, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. It has been great to have him here. I love his attitude. He works. Hes a competitor. He has a great personality. He wants to be a great player and has had some huge plays for us, and weve needed them.Wallace has four touchdowns, one on a 95-yard catch. Is he as fast as ever?Youll see, he said. I think Im forever young. I could be 45 years old and still run past people. I dont think thats ever going to be a problem, the way I feel today. Maybe tomorrow that might change. As of today, I feel Ill never slow down.Wallace said he remains friends with some Dolphins, including Jarvis Landry, Reshad Jones and Mike Pouncey. He said he had good relationships with Philbin and Tannehill.My whole time was good until the last game, he said. I was always good with Ryan. I like Ryan. I think hes a great guy, a hard worker, and I see him getting better.Tannehill is thriving under first-year coach Adam Gase, and the Dolphins (7-4) bring a six-game winning streak to Baltimore (6-5).Does Miamis success make Wallace wish he was still there?`No, he said. Im happy for those guys. No ill feelings. But I feel like Ive been taken on this path for a reason.And he loves Baltimore.The way the organization is run is more my speed here, he said.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL .---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/steven-wine ' ' '