Pro Sports

David Freese hit a home run and Lance Lynn threw eight strong innings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday afternoon.

Kansas City hit four home runs in a 8-2 victory Wednesday night over host Cleveland.

The Blues and Los Angeles Kings were the two lowest-scoring Western Conference teams to make the playoffs. The Blues (165) and Kings (179) also allowed the fewest goals in the league during the regular season.

The loss ends St. Louis' run of 13 consecutive series wins, which includes both this season and last.

The Royals have been outscored 73-44 during the streak — the team's third-longest losing streak in its history.

The Rams have three of the top 39 picks in the draft after a blockbuster deal with the Redskins during this offseason.

The Kansas City Chiefs' veteran quarterback knew his team's front office was actively involved in the Manning sweepstakes this offseason. But he understood, and refused to mope about the prospect of losing his job.

Goals would seem to be at a premium for the teams after their opening round wins, and the Blues are confident they've got two goalies who are just as stingy as Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick, who was ruled out Monday because of an injury.

The Blues are in the playoffs for just the second time in seven seasons. St. Louis will face Los Angeles in the second round.

After squeaking into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the West, Los Angeles dominated the NHL's best regular-season team and earned a matchup with second-seeded St. Louis.

The Cardinals lost in the ninth on Jason Mather's two-run single.

The Blue Jays improved to 6-1 with a win over the Royals, who they beat 4-1.

The Chiefs have the No. 11 selection in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday.

The Cardinals extended their strong start behind another superb outing from Kyle Lohse (3-0), who struck out five without issuing a walk while pitching into the eighth inning Sunday.

The Royals franchise has only six skids longer than 10. It is Kansas City's longest losing streak since dropping 12 consecutive games from May 19 to May 30 of 2008.

St. Louis, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, won a playoff series for the first time in a decade against a franchise that reached the conference finals the previous two years.

Greg Biffle says Carl Edwards is still the top driver at Roush-Fenway. But it's Biffle who has dominated this year with top-3 finishes in the first three races and a sixth-place run at California a few weeks ago.

The Cardinals mustered three hits in seven innings against the Pirates' A. J. Burnett then couldn't capitalize on a couple of late chances in a 2-0 loss.

Kansas City's losing streak is its longest since dropping 10 in a row April 10 to April 24 of 2009. The Royals have lost a club record nine consecutive at home, dating to last season.

The efforts of former backup goalie Brian Elliott has helped lift the St. Louis Blues to a 3-1 series lead over the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the NHL Playoffs. The two teams will play Game 5 on Saturday.