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LOS ANGELES -- The Cardinals have been this close to the World Series before, and they dont want to blow it this time. St. Louis got home runs from Matt Holliday and pinch-hitter Shane Robinson -- the first of the NL championship series -- and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 Tuesday night for a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven playoff. The Cardinals have lost the NLCS both times they owned such a commanding lead, most recently last season when they dropped three in a row to San Francisco, the eventual World Series winner. "Thats something that we thought last year -- up 3-1 and all we have to do is win one more and were there," closer Trevor Rosenthal said. "But that didnt work out, so weve just got to keep the same approach." With a quick turnaround for Game 5 Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles, the Dodgers will try to forget the loss, and hope the Cardinals remember their recent past failures. "We get into a Game 7, those things (losing a 3-1 lead) will creep into their heads over there," Dodgers infielder Adrian Gonzalez said. "Our goal is definitely to push this to a Game 7." Joe Kelly will start Game 5 for the Cardinals, looking to clinch their 19th pennant. The Dodgers will turn to Zack Greinke, and if he can help deliver a win, theyll call on ace Clayton Kershaw for a potential Game 6 back in St. Louis. "Ive got one of the best pitchers in baseball pitching tomorrow," manager Don Mattingly said. "If we come out here and play well tomorrow and get a win, Ive probably got the best pitcher in baseball pitching the next day." The Dodgers hope star shortstop Hanley Ramirez can again start despite a broken left rib. He left in the middle of the sixth after striking out three times. "It felt worse than yesterday," Ramirez said. "It makes me angry." Cardinals infielder David Freese came out after six innings for defence. He left Mondays game with a cramp in his right calf, but manager Mike Matheny said Freese was fine. In a series starved for offence, the Cardinals scored as many runs as they did in the first three games combined, when the teams totalled nine. Hitless in his previous 22 at-bats at Dodger Stadium, Holliday drove a two-run shot off Ricky Nolasco an estimated 426 feet to left field, capping a three-run third inning that gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. "Thats about as good as I can hit one," said Holliday, who was 0 for 13 in the series before connecting. "I wasnt really doubting my swing at all. I felt actually really good with my at-bats. Sometimes in this game you dont always get the results that you want even if you feel like youre having good at-bats, so I just wanted to stay with it," he said. Seeking a second World Series title in three years, St. Louis turned three important double plays and picked off a runner at second base in the seventh. Defensive standout Pete Kozma, inserted at shortstop in the sixth, started a difficult double play and darted in to complete the pickoff. "A great heads-up play by him," Matheny said. "Then it has to be natural instincts and athleticism by (reliever) Carlos Martinez, and I dont know many guys pull that off. He has such athletic moves. Hes quick in everything he does. Then to have the guts to wheel and let it fly like that in a game like we have right now, its off the charts." Second baseman Matt Carpenter also keyed St. Louis sharp work with the gloves, one night after some sloppy play was costly in a 3-0 defeat. Carpenter had an RBI double in the third that scored Descalso, who hit a leadoff single. Carpenter came around on Hollidays homer after there were none in the first three games for the first time in NLCS history. Martinez pitched two scoreless innings to help nail down the win for starter Lance Lynn, who allowed two runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. He struck out five and walked three. Trevor Rosenthal got three outs for his second save in the series. After a leadoff single by Andre Ethier in the ninth, Yasiel Puig grounded into a double play. Juan Uribe struck out to end it, leaving the Dodgers on the brink of elimination. Robinsons home run bounced off the top of the wall in left field on a 1-0 pitch from J.P. Howell with one out in the seventh, extending the Cardinals lead to 4-2. "For a little guy, hes got surprising power," Holliday said. "I mean, honestly, hes got some thump." The Dodgers were down 4-2 in the seventh when Nick Punto doubled with one out. Martinez, however, picked off Punto before throwing another pitch and then retired Carl Crawford on an inning-ending groundout. "It was a lonely place to be," Punto said. Trailing 3-2, the Dodgers put the potential tying run on base in the sixth when Puig singled to chase Lynn. Uribe grounded into a double play against Seth Maness to end the inning. Nolasco allowed three runs and three hits in four innings. He struck out four and walked one. "I felt my stuff was good for the most part," he said. "Just that one pitch was the difference in the game." MLB Jerseys China . At this rate, the Flyers captain is set to be remembered more for a fantastic finish. Wholesale China Jerseys . -- Damian Lillard couldnt believe when he got a clear look at the rim. http://www.cheapjerseysauthenticmlb.com/ . Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic said his team will include 9th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic and 27th-ranked Viktor Troicki as he decided to let the top-ranked Djokovic rest. Wholesale MLB Jerseys Online . They know how difficult it is to beat the San Antonio Spurs. George scored 28 points and Indiana defeated San Antonio 111-100 on Saturday night, snapping an 11-game skid against the Spurs. Authtentic MLB Jerseys Cheap . Or at least on everyone elses expectations. Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another World Cup stunner on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy 1-0 to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process.NEW YORK -- They lost often, 67 times in all for the Milwaukee Bucks. Sometimes they lost always, such as 26 straight times for the Philadelphia 76ers. Now the NBAs biggest losers have a chance for a huge win. Watch all the drama of the NBA Draft Lottery unfold on TSN and TSN GO live NOW. The draft lottery is tonight, a night some teams appeared to be aiming toward for months during a season that featured plenty of talking about tanking. The winner gets the No. 1 pick in next months draft, when an Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker might make this seasons misery worth it. Its a potential make-or-break night for some teams, which is why a program about the results of a random drawing ends up as the prime-time lead-in for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals. "To me its part of the mystery and part of the enjoyment in seeing whos right, whos wrong," Commissioner Adam Silver said recently. "Will these perceived great players coming into the draft really be in a position to turn around teams? So its part of the fun." The Bucks and 76ers sure are enjoying it, and trying to get their fans in on the good times. Theres a viewing party in Milwaukee where all fans get a pingpong ball. The 76ers were giving away a trip to New York, where they were to be represented on stage by Hall of Famer Julius "Dr. J." Erving. Silver is aware of the tanking speculation and uneasy that fans might think NBA teams were willing to take their money without caring if they win the games. But he understands that teams sometimes need to rebuild, and that may mean going straight to the bottom if they think thats the quickest route to the top. "The jury is out on the strategy and I think that makes for good copy as well. Im intrigued," Silver said. "I read both sides of it in terms of, is that the right way to build a team, what impact does it have on culture, can you rebuild a team in two years, can you rebuild in three years, whats the track record of teams trying to do that," Silver added, "and I am mindful that in a leaague of 30 teams that were also selling competition on a nightly basis and I dont want to create a sense that we want to subject fans to subpar performances because dont worry, its going to be great three years from now.dddddddddddd" The Bucks have a 25 per cent chance to win and give incoming new ownership a great welcoming gift. Philadelphia (19.9 per cent), Orlando (15.6) and Utah (10.4) have the next-best chances, with longtime powerhouses Boston and the Lakers behind them after rare poor seasons. But this was a season where for some teams, a job well done meant doing their jobs poorly. After a forgettable draft in 2013, this one is considered much more promising, good enough that some teams which knew they werent going to win decided they would be better off if they lost. Philadelphia owner Joshua Harris even called his teams season a "huge success" after its 19-63 record included a 26-game skid that matched the longest in NBA history. The Sixers may have topped the list, but they were hardly alone among suspected tankers this season. "I thought it was pretty crazy that teams were doing that. But theyre saying this is going to be one of the toughest draft classes since 2003," Indiana University star Noah Vonleh said. That class produced LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony, so if this draft really is that good, its hard to blame any teams for trying to get to the top of it. The fact that so many did has sparked new calls to change the lottery process so as to not invite tanking. Silver said it will be looked at over the summer, but as the lottery turns 30, there isnt a perfect idea for how to run it. "I think for us, weve got to make sure we understand whether theres an aberration here because of the perception of a particular draft class, whether indeed there is a better way of do it," Silver said, "because of course at the same time you want to properly align incentives, but the very purpose of the draft is to help the worst teams restock." ' ' '