ead of second-place Los Angeles (11-14-4).New York

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The noise Josh Hamiltons bat made when it connected with Edward Mujicas changeup was music to his ears, and those of his Los Angeles Angels teammates. Hamilton hit a tying two-run homer in Los Angeles three-run ninth inning, and the Angels rallied for a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night. "It was just a good feeling to hear that sound come off your bat," Hamilton said. "... It couldnt happen on a better day for the crowd on the Fourth of July. They got a little more fireworks and a little more bang for their buck than they thought they were going to get. It was cool. "Anytime you can contribute like that, especially in the late innings and have a comeback like that, its a pretty special feeling." Mark Trumbo belted his 19th homer and Mike Trout had two RBIs for Los Angeles, which took two of three in the series. Scott Downs (2-2) got three outs for the victory. "Whether we won that game or not, this team never gives up," Albert Pujols said. "I mean, weve got 12 or 13 position players that really compete every day. Our bullpen threw the ball well to keep us in the game." St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright, the NL pitcher of the month for June, took a 5-3 lead into the ninth before giving up a leadoff single by Pujols, who was 1 for 11 in his first series against his former team. Manager Mike Matheny then brought in Mujica, who had converted 21 of 21 save opportunities this season. But Hamilton drove the right-handers second pitch into the centre field trees for his 11th homer, extending his hitting streak to nine games and raising his average to .226. "Players Ive talked to about him said hes not afraid to throw his split five or six times in a row because thats his go-to pitch. So hes going to stick to what has been working for him," Hamilton said. "I didnt try to do too much with it. I didnt try to yank it or anything like that -- just hit it back up the middle." Howie Kendrick and Trumbo followed with singles, and Mujica (0-1) retired his next two batters before Erick Aybar drove in the winning run with an opposite-field single to left. Aybar had three hits and scored a run for Los Angeles. Mujica acknowledged that he shook off batterymate Yadier Molina on the ill-fated pitches to Hamilton and Aybar. "I made two big mistakes. I didnt follow Yadier on a couple of pitches, and that was the ball game," Mujica said. "He called for a fastball on Hamilton and I threw the changeup. On Aybar, he called for a fastball again and I decided to throw my changeup. I threw a couple good changeups and got two popups so I figured Id go with my best pitch." Wainwright, the only Cardinals pitcher averaging at least seven innings per start, defended Mathenys decision to take him out after 104 pitches. His season high is 120, on May 11 in a two-hit shutout against Colorado. "Weve always liked that situation. Hes the right guy in that situation," Wainwright said of Mujica. "Hes been great all year. Thats what happens when you let a leadoff guy on in the last inning. Thats on me, right there. I have to go out and get that guy out." Angels starter Joe Blanton gave up five runs, four earned, and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings. The right-hander, who signed a $15 million, two-year contract with Los Angeles over the winter, is 0-4 with a 5.17 ERA in nine starts this season at Anaheim Stadium. Blanton averaged 13 pitches through the first three innings while retiring nine of his first 10 batters. But just three batters into the fourth, the Cardinals pulled ahead 3-2 on a single by Carlos Beltran, a walk to Matt Holliday and Allen Craigs homer. Craig leads the majors with a .469 average with runners in scoring position. It was the seventh straight start in which Blanton gave up a home run. The Angels tied it in the bottom of the fourth on Trumbos drive to centre. But the Cardinals got the run back in the fifth on Matt Carpenters sacrifice fly, and then made it 5-3 in the sixth on a two-out RBI single by Daniel Descalso that chased Blanton, who has given up a major league-worst 135 hits. The Angels opened the scoring in the third on a two-out, two-run single by Trout, after Wainwright gave up singles to Alberto Callaspo and Aybar, and J.B. Shuck advanced them with a sacrifice bunt. NOTES: Hamilton, the only player in the Angels starting lineup who had faced Wainwright previously, was 0 for 2 against him after coming in 3 for 7. ... St. Louis Jon Jay played his 227th consecutive game in centre field without an error, breaking Curt Floods franchise record for any outfield position. ... Holliday was back in the Cardinals lineup as the designated hitter, going 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk after missing two games because of a pinched nerve in his neck. ... Trout leads the Angels with 55 RBIs, just two fewer than he had through his first 84 games last season, when he finished with 83 and was named AL rookie of the year after spending the first month of the season at Triple-A. ... RHP Lance Lynns next start for the Cardinals will be Sunday at home against the Miami Marlins. He has two chances left to become the sixth pitcher in Cardinals history to post at least 11 wins before the All-Star break in consecutive seasons, and the first since Joaquin Andujar (1984-85). The others were Dizzy Dean, Bob Gibson, Mort Cooper and Gerry Staley. Tyler Higbee Rams Jersey . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Orlando Pace Youth Jersey . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-robert-woods-rams-jersey/ . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Andrew Whitworth Jersey . Ancelotti says Ronaldo has recovered from a hamstring injury but "but he doesnt feel comfortable yet so we wont risk him." Madrid is third in the Spanish league, six points behind leader Barcelona, going into Saturdays game against Valladolid. Greg Gaines Jersey . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. One of the most anticipated matchups of the MLS season takes place Saturday at Yankee Stadium, where New York City FC puts a five-match home streak on the line against U.S. Open Cut titlist FC Dallas.FC Dallas enters the match atop the Western Conference with a 15-6-8 record and plus-8 goal difference ahead of second-place Los Angeles (11-14-4).New York City FC is in third in the Eastern Conference at 12-8-9. It is tied on points with the second-place New York Red Bulls with 44 but its goal differential at minus-1 is well behind the Red Bulls (plus-12).Leading the Eastern Conference is Toronto FC, which is 13-7-8 with 46 points and also a plus-12 goal differential.New York City FC, coached by Patrick Vieira, still has an opportunity to finish at the top of the standings, which would qualify it for next seasons CONCACAF Champions League. Vieiras team has won five straight in front of its home fans and also has performed well the whole season against the Wests best teams.NYCFC dominated the Colorado Rapids 5-1 and achieved an impressive sweep of LA Galaxy. FC Dallas presents the greatest challenge, however, with Oscar Parejas team featuring playmaker Mauro Diaz and the center back pairing of Walker Zimmerman and Matt Hedges.FC Dallas is playing on only thrree days rest after defeating the New England Revolution on Tuesday night to capture the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.ddddddddddddS. Open Cup. Parejas team also leads the MLS Supporters Shield award chase with the leagues best regular-season record. Pareja hopes his team does not overexert itself with the multiple competitions.It has been tough to face all three competitions, and not just three competitions, but four competitions as we have five players in international duty, Pareja said. They are playing the Open Cup. They are playing CONCACAF (Champions League). They play in the league. They play national team qualifications. We need to be smart with them. Theres not too much you can do when you have to face so many competitions.New York City FC is coming off a 3-1 loss at New England last Saturday, a setback that knocked it from the top spot of the Eastern Conference.We just werent good enough to get what we wanted out of the match, said fullback RJ Allen. Overall we just need to be better. I think we need to learn from