limited opportunities.Martinez sliced an opposite-field pinch-hit single to the right-center field gap off Wade Davis with one out in the ninth inning Alan Trammell Jersey , driving in the tying and go-ahead runs and lifting the St. Louis Cardinals over the Colorado Rockies 3-2 on Thursday.”Trying to put the ball in play, trying just to get one run, that’s the most important thing,” Martinez said.Greg Garcia singled with one out against Davis (1-4) and took third on a single by rookie Harrison Bader.Bader stole second, and Martinez singled on a high fastball, giving the Cardinals their ninth walk-off win this season.It was the first career walk-off RBI for Martinez, whose playing time has decreased since Mike Shildt became the interim manager on July 14.”It’s a great teammate. That’s probably one of the best compliments I can give Jose,” Shildt said. ”He’s still getting opportunities. He’s not getting quite as many, but he’s determined to make the most of them and showed up ready to take a really quality at-bat with a nice plan.”Davis has a career-high five blown saves in 36 chances.”I left it over the plate,” he said. ”A couple of line drive hits there. Obviously, the stolen base didn’t help either.”Colorado, which began the day one game back for the NL’s second wild card, lost three of four at the Cardinals. The Rockies had been seeking to tie the franchise record of nine straight series without a series loss but instead lost a series for the first time since dropping two of three at San Francisco from June 26-28.”We’re in every game now, which is good http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey , and we’ve won most of them,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. ”We’ve got to continue to pitch well. If we do that we’ll be fine.”Chasen Shreve (3-2), acquired from the New York Yankees on Saturday, pitched a perfect ninth in his second appearance for the Cardinals.”This is a focused group that’s really dedicated to playing good baseball and to moving this thing forward and to win games and to put us in position even further than where we are now,” Shildt said. ”This team wants to play in the playoffs.”St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas allowed two runs – one earned – and seven hits in seven innings. Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela gave up one run and five hits in six innings.After the Cardinals loaded the bases in the sixth, Senzatela struck out Bader on a curveball in the dirt with an 0-2 count.Tyler O’Neill put St. Louis ahead with a sacrifice fly in the third. Gerardo Parra had a tying single in the fourth, and Colorado went ahead when Ian Desmond hit a bouncer to the third-base side, and Mikolas made an off-balance throw that hit the tarp in foul territory in right field. Desmond was credited with a single, and Nolan Arenado came home from third on the error.MAKING A SPLASHO’Neill made a running catch against the wall right-field wall in the first inning to rob Arenado of an extra-base hit and a diving catch of a liner off of Trevor Story’s bat in the fourth.”If I can help on the defensive side of the ball that’s what I’m going to do,” O’Neill said. ”I was just able to make a couple of plays out there to help the boys get the game going.”TRAINING ROOMRockies: 2B DJ LeMahieu (left oblique strain) was reinstated from the 10-day DL and 2B Garrett Hampson was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque.Cardinals: OF Marcell Ozuna left in the fifth inning because of discomfort in one of his left toes. 2B Kolten Wong (left knee inflammation) began an injury rehabilitation assignment at Class A Peoria and is expected to join the team this weekend in Pittsburgh.UP NEXTRockies: RHP German Marquez (9-8, 4.82 ERA) starts Friday’s opener of a three-game series at Milwaukee. He is 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA in his last five starts.Cardinals: RHP John Gant (3-4, 3.49 ERA) starts a three-game series on Friday at Pittsburgh, where RHP Chris Archer (3-5, 4.31 ERA) is to make his Pirates debut after his acquisition from Tampa Bay. Gant is coming off his shortest outing of the season Lance Parrish Jersey , lasting 4 1/3 innings in a 5-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night.— DETROIT (AP) — Jordy Mercer found out quickly that the Tigers had him on their radar.“They were one of the first clubs that we had talks with,” Detroit’s new shortstop said Tuesday. “It was early on in the process, so I know they were interested. They didn’t back down.”The rebuilding Tigers aren’t a team likely to turn many heads this offseason, but they’ve wasted little time in pursuing their objectives, making three quiet free agent signings already. Mercer reached a one-year deal with Detroit, and so did pitchers Matt Moore and Tyson Ross. Those moves don’t figure to shift the balance of power in the AL Central, but after two straight 98-loss seasons, the Tigers have been content to give out short-term contracts while waiting for some of their top prospects to reach the majors.While other teams have proceeded more slowly this offseason — perhaps waiting to see how the bidding goes for stars like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado — the Tigers have moved fast. So have the Texas Rangers, who have already added free agents Lance Lynn, Jeff Mathis and Jesse Chavez. The Rangers are also coming off a last-place finish.Detroit’s previous shortstop, Jose Iglesias, is now a free agent, so the Tigers brought in Mercer, who played his first seven seasons with Pittsburgh.“He was one of the players we targeted heading into the offseason http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey ,” general manager Al Avila said recently. “We’re really drawn to his consistency, both on the field at a premium position and in the clubhouse as a player that is a true veteran leader.”Mercer discussed some of those qualities on a conference call Tuesday. He noted his stats have looked remarkably similar for several seasons now. From 2014-18, he hit between .244 and .256 every year, and in four of those five seasons, his OPS was between .693 and .733.“I try to play as many games as I can,” Mercer said. “I try to be consistent — no highs, no lows.”Mercer spent time on the disabled list with a calf issue in 2018 but has averaged 135 games over the past five seasons. He admitted he was nervous entering free agency, given how slowly the market progressed last offseason. Neil Walker, Mercer’s former teammate with Pittsburgh, waited all the way until March before taking a one-year, $4 million contract from the Yankees. That was down from the $17.2 million he’d earned the previous season after accepting a qualifying offer from the Mets.Mercer’s deal with the Tigers is for $5.25 million, plus performance bonuses.“They were the first one to push the envelope,” he said. “It seemed like a great fit right away.”The Tigers also added Moore and Ross in moves reminiscent of last offseason, when Detroit signed Mike Fiers and Francisco Liriano to bolster the pitching staff. Fiers was solid for the Tigers Travis Wood Jersey , and they were able to trade him to Oakland for a pair of minor league pitchers.Detroit looks nothing like the high-payroll team that just a few years ago was contending for World Series titles with Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera. Only Cabrera is left from that group, and he’s coming off a biceps injury that limited him to 38 games this year.Jordan Zimmermann also has a big contract, but Victor Martinez’s deal ended after last season, and he retired.One of the big questions for the rest of this offseason is whether Detroit will trade Nicholas Castellanos, a 26-year-old outfielder who hit 23 home runs last season. Castellanos, again eligible for arbitration, made more than $6 million this year.