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DENVER -- St. Louis closer Edward Mujica appreciates a feel-good story as much as anyone. Only, he wasnt about to let this be Todd Heltons moment, not against him and especially not with his team in a tight playoff race. Mujica struck out Helton to end the game with the bases loaded as the Cardinals held off the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Wednesday night to expand their lead in the NL Central race. "Unbelievable," Mujica said, shaking his head. The cheering crowd thought this just might be another unbelievable memory in a career full of them for Helton, who will retire at the end of the season. Even starting pitcher Adam Wainwright thought things were setting up too perfectly for it to be anything but the stage for Heltons heroics. "When we load the bases there, as much faith as I have in Mujica, you hear, Now coming up to the plate, Todd Helton, and you go, Oh, man," Wainwright said. "Its too perfect. But (Mujica) pitched him perfect. That last pitch, it was like a thing of art." In this case, that art was a high fastball. "You couldnt have asked for a better moment," Helton said. "You couldve asked for a lot better result. You just learn from it and go on." Wainwright (17-9) gave up two runs in the first and then found his groove to earn his 17th win, second-most in the NL this season. He went 3 for 3 with a double and two RBIs to help the Cardinals stretch their lead to two games over Pittsburgh after the Pirates lost 3-2 loss to San Diego. St. Louis also reduced its magic number for clinching a playoff spot to three with 10 games to play. "Were playing good ball at the right time," Wainwright said. Tyler Chatwood (7-5) allowed four runs in six innings before being lifted for a pinch hitter. Chatwood is rounding back into form after missing nearly a month with an inflamed right elbow. The hard-throwing Wainwright allowed 10 hits and struck out eight before running into a jam with two on and two outs in the eighth. Reliever Trevor Rosenthal got Charlie Blackmon to ground out to end the threat. Mujica pitched his way out of a bases loaded mess in ninth for his 37th save in 40 chances. He set Helton up with a few splitters before throwing the high heat. "I was betting on Todd right there, to deliver the big hit like he has for years," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "He made a good pitch there." Michael Cuddyer remains the NL batting leader, keeping his average at .331 after going 1 for 3 on Wednesday. Cuddyer left the game shortly after making an inning-ending diving catch in the sixth. The team announced he was day-to-day with a bruised right forearm. St. Louis solved Chatwood in the third, stringing together four straight hits to tie the game at 2. Wainwright had an RBI double and Matt Carpenter followed with a run-scoring single. Carpenter now has 67 RBIs from the leadoff spot, the most by a Cardinals player since Lou Brock had 76 in 1967. The Cardinals took the lead for good in the fourth when Yadier Molina led off the inning with a double and was brought home by Wainwrights single. He now has five RBIs this season. "I always brag that the starting pitchers are the best athletes on the field," Wainwright said. "Usually, we dont back that talk up. Tonight, it was a good opportunity to back that up." The Rockies began the game with four straight hits off Wainwright, including a two-run single by Troy Tulowitzki. That was certainly more offence than the Rockies had off Wainwright in May, when the Cardinals ace took a no-hitter into the eighth and finished with a two-hitter during a 3-0 victory. Wainwright escaped more trouble in the first by getting Helton to hit into a 3-6-1 double play. Jordan Pacheco followed by lining out to Matt Adams to end the inning. This is Heltons last hurrah after announcing he was calling it a career after 17 years. Weiss said he plans to start Helton in each of the remaining nine games. "Im going to play him as much as hes physically able to do it," Weiss said. "Give the fans an opportunity to see him." Notes: Cardinals RHP Joe Kelly (right calf tightness) hopes to be ready for his next start. ... Adams left the game in the seventh with right elbow soreness. ... Rockies OF Carlos Gonzalez is visiting a hand specialist in Cleveland about his sprained right middle finger. Air Max 270 Wholesale Uk . There are practical ideas, like this Chewbaca inspired Star Wars jerseys. Star Wars themed jerseys for the Toledo Mud Hens. Nike Air Max 270 Cheap Uk .ca! Hi Kerry, The recent issues in the Boston-Pittsburgh game have highlighted a number of officiating, game control, and player sportsmanship aspects. http://www.airmax270cheapuk.com/ . "It feels good, Ive never had one before, not even in College," Hagelin said after the Rangers outgunned the Jets 4-2, behind some solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist following a pretty wide open first period. Air Max 270 Sale Uk . Bach, a 59-year-old German lawyer, was elected Tuesday as president of the International Olympic Committee. He succeeds Jacques Rogge, who stepped down after 12 years. Bach, the longtime favourite, defeated five candidates in a secret ballot for the most influential job in international sports, keeping the presidency in European hands. Nike Air Max 270 Uk No one was more surprised than Hurricanes captain Dane Coles when a turbulent final weekend of Super Rugbys regular season saw his Wellington side emerge as top qualifier. In a weekend that started with multiple permutations in play, the Hurricanes needed a bonus-point win over the Canterbury Crusaders, who led the competition until three weeks ago, and two other results to go their way. And that was how it panned out when the Hurricanes whipped the Crusaders 35-10 to catapult from fourth in the New Zealand conference to top overall and guaranteed home matches through the play-offs. The Chiefs only needed a win to overtake the Hurricanes but were instead beaten 25-15 by the Highlanders who, in turn, were unable to get the winning bonus point they needed to claim the top spot. The outcome then boiled down to the Lions, who started the weekend in pole position but paid dearly for their gamble to rest 15 of their stars when they went down to the Jaguares.It was an outcome that even amazed the usually confident Coles.I didnt expect to get a bonus point. I am not going to lie, he admitted. I knew we could perform and get the result, but to get the bonus point was pretty pleasing. After the Highlanders beat the Chhiefs, the Hurricanes had a nervous wait for the outcome of the Lions game, which was being played in Argentina as Coles and his team flew back to Wellington from Christchurch.ddddddddddddHurricanes coach Chris Boyd said they pushed the boundaries of air safety rules on the flight trying to monitor what was going on. Somebody was watching it on their phone until three minutes before the end when we lost reception and at that stage I think (the Jaguares) were up by 10 or 12 points so I guess that put the icing on the cake for us, he said on landing.The four conference winners - the Hurricanes, Lions, Stormers and Brumbies - will host the quarter-finals against the Sharks, Crusaders, Chiefs and Highlanders respectively. .Super Rugby Quarter-FinalsBrumbies v Highlanders in Canberra Hurricanes v Sharks in WellingtonLions v Crusaders in JohannesburgStormers v Chiefs in Cape TownWatch the Super Rugby Quarter-Finals live on Sky Sports. Catch all the action for £6.99 with a NOW TV day pass. 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