LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matt Adams could see something special going on with the St. Louis Cardinals from the opposing side of the field with the Washington Nationals.He recognized the solid pitching and timely hitting that have made the Cardinals baseball’s hottest team in the dog days of August. So Adams couldn’t believe his luck when he found out St. Louis had claimed him off waivers earlier this week.The move brings Adams back to the organization that drafted him in 2009. More importantly http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-mike-trout-jersey , he’s on a team that has gone from wild-card hopeful to threatening the NL Central-leading Cubs.“They’re playing with a fire and taking every pitch like it’s the last pitch they’ll ever play,” Adams said. “How they go about their daily business is something special to watch.”St. Louis has undergone quite a transformation since firing manager Mike Matheny on July 14.At that time, the Cardinals were 47-46 and trailed the Cubs by 7 ½ games. After sweeping the Dodgers on Wednesday to win their eighth consecutive series, the Cardinals have won 24 of 35 and are 17-4 this month to pull within 2 ½ games of Chicago.They’re tied for the NL’s top wild-card spot, too.Riding an eight-game road winning streak, St. Louis visits Colorado on Friday. The Cardinals are 37-29 away from home this season.“Everyone’s kind of getting amped up,” second baseman Kolten Wong said.The turnaround is happening under bench coach Mike Shildt, who replaced Matheny when he was fired after seven years in a dramatic move by a club that hasn’t changed managers often. Matheny was just the second since 1996.Shildt began as a scout with the Cardinals organization and eventually combined those duties with being a part-time minor league coach. Elevating the 50-year-old veteran to interim status has gone over well in the clubhouse.“Shildt’s been really good at letting us play our own game and letting us play the way we want to play. That’s the biggest thing,” Wong said. “We have so many different personalities and different guys in this clubhouse. You just have to allow people to be themselves and eventually people are going to mesh together.”Adams is eager to contribute, although there is no defined role for him. He could see time at first base against right-handed pitching or in left field with Marcell Ozuna on the disabled list or in right field.The Cardinals could use his left-handed bat off the bench. He hit 56 homers in his six previous seasons with the team.“I just kind of want to stay out of everybody’s way and do my part and mesh with them Kole Calhoun Jersey ,” Adams said. “I don’t want to be that guy who comes in here and tries to do too much and messes up something special.”The Cardinals outscored Los Angeles 13-6 over three games in their first sweep at Dodger Stadium since 2006, putting the five-time defending NL West champions into a tailspin.St. Louis is succeeding with a mix of youngsters and veterans that have embraced each other.Rookies Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson and Jordan Hicks combined to hold the Dodgers to two hits Wednesday, when rookie Tyler O’Neill tied the game with a homer and Paul DeJong won it with a two-run shot.Yadier Molina has found his stride, too, hitting a go-ahead two-run homer Tuesday. Wong made what Shildt called a “Gold Glove-caliber” defensive play the same night. The defense is holding the opposition to an average of 3.44 runs, best in the NL since the All-Star break.“These guys have ability and they have aggression. They believe in themselves and they’re in attack mode,” Shildt said. “It’s about not giving in, regardless of the situation.”In just over a month, the Cardinals have gone from a team in line to miss the playoffs for a third straight year — something they haven’t done since 1997-99 — to contending for a division title.Adams has fond memories of his previous playoff runs with the Cardinals.“I want to get back there this year Garrett Richards Jersey ,” he said. TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Rays refuse to go away in the American League wild-card race and the Toronto Blue Jays will play a big role in how long they remain in contention.The Rays and Blue Jays play seven games in the remaining regular-season schedule starting Thursday with the opener of a four-game series at the Rogers Centre.The teams finish their schedules with three games against each other at Tropicana Field. The Rays are 9-3 against the Blue Jays this season.Article continues below ...The Rays defeated the Texas Rangers 9-3 on Wednesday afternoon but remain 5 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second wild-card spot. The Athletics routed the Los Angeles Angels 10-0 on Wednesday night. Tampa Bay had gained 3 1/2 games on the A’s in the previous four days.The Blue Jays had a four-game winning streak end Wednesday night with a 2-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.Tampa Bay is a major league best 31-13 since the beginning of August.“We need help, there’s no doubt about that,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I like the way the guys have continued to go about their business day to day. That’s very cliche, but sometimes you have to go with that and control what you can control.”The Rays (85-66) will open Thursday night with right-hander Ryne Stanek (2-3, 2,49 ERA), who will pitch about an inning and will be followed by right-hander Yonny Chirinos (4-5, 3.89), who is expected to work most of the innings. The Blue Jays (69-83) will start right-hander Sam Gaviglio (3-8, 5.25 ERA).Tampa Bay has won five in a row Andrew Heaney Jersey , 14 of 17 in September and 23 of their past 28.The players are enthusiastic about their postseason chances despite the long odds against them.“I think everybody in this clubhouse is just getting ready for a wild-card game,” pitcher Tyler Glasnow told the Tampa Times.The Rays have some reinforcements joining them Thursday with Triple-A Durham having ended its season.Outfielder Austin Meadows, left-hander Hoby Milner and right-handers Chih-Wei Hu and Austin Pruitt will join the team in Toronto.Stanek has been used frequently as the opener this season and has made 26 starts with 28 relief appearances. He is the first pitcher with at least 25 relief appearances and 25 starts in a season since the Philadelphia Phillies Hugh Mulcahy (26 starts, 30 relief appearances) in 1937. He is the first American League pitcher with a 25-25 season since Eddie Rommel (31-25) of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1923.Stanek has opened four games against the Blue Jays this season and has made one relief appearance against them. He is 0-0 and has allowed no runs, two hits and one walk while striking out seven in six innings.Chirinos has made one appearance against Toronto this year, allowing four hits and one run over seven innings of relief on Sept. 3.Gaviglio will be making his third start of the season against the Rays and the fourth of his career. He is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA aginst Tampa Bay this season, and 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA against the Rays for his career.In three starts after winning Aug. 21 for the first time since May 25, he is 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA.The Blue Jays have been using September to break in prospects from the minor leagues and that means catcher Russell Martin has barely played in September. He missed some time because he was on paternity leave, but mostly the Blue Jas are taking a good look at young catchers Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire. Martin understands.“We have a couple of young catchers that need work,” Martin told reporters Wednesday. “They probably haven’t played that many seasons deep into September Huston Street Jersey , so it kind of gives them an idea of what it’s like, how it taxes your body playing that extra month. But the obvious answer is, I love to compete. I do love to play, but I just feel in this type of situation, what’s best for the team is to see what the young players can do.”