ST. LOUIS (AP) – Juan Rivera homered and knocked in three runs and the Los Angeles Dodgers scored an early knockout of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second straight day, completing their first road sweep of the season with a 9-4 victory on Wednesday.  The Cardinals were outscored 24-7 in the Dodgers’ first three-game sweep in St. Louis since Aug. 20-22, 1993, and have dropped seven of nine overall. They failed to take advantage of a rare loss by NL Central-leading Milwaukee, remaining 10 games back with 32 to go.  Hiroki Kuroda (10-14) worked seven solid innings and A.J. Ellis hit his first career homer off of Jaime Garcia (10-7) to give the Dodgers a two-day total of six long balls. Matt Kemp had two singles and two RBIs and James Loney had three hits with a pair of doubles and an RBI.

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – There may be no more important piece to the Kansas City Chiefs’ puzzle this season than quarterback Matt Cassel.  After paying his dues at USC and with the New England Patriots, Cassel was given a chance to shine when he was traded to the Chiefs. His first season was one of progress, but his tremendous growth last year was a big reason the Chiefs went 10-6 and won the AFC West.  Coach Todd Haley understands that the team’s fortunes again rest on Cassel’s right arm.  Haley said the biggest thing that Cassel needs to do is understand his own players, and the match-ups they create. That has been difficult with wide receivers Jonathan Baldwin and Steve Breaston missing time because of injuries.

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – Lance Berkman would like to stay in St. Louis, no matter how the Cardinals finish the season.  The Cardinals signed Berkman to a one-year, $8 million free
agent contract last December and he’s having a big comeback year with 29 homers, 78 RBIs and a .290 average. He’s been healthy, too, appearing in 114 games and making routine plays in right field.  Berkman said Wednesday he believes the Cardinals are not far away from being contenders, although they’re fast running out of time this year. The Cardinals are 10-13 since acquiring Edwin Jackson and Rafael Furcal at the trade deadline and are 10 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers, who are on a 24-5 tear.