LOS ANGELES -- Josh Beckett and Adam Wainwright were both on their game in a pitching duel that exceeded all expectations. China Jerseys . Pinch-hitter Justin Turner delivered an RBI single in the eighth inning off Wainwright, and the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0 Thursday night in their first meeting since last years NL championship series. Beckett pitched seven sharp innings in his showdown with the Cardinals ace, who held the Dodgers hitless through five. Left fielder Matt Kemp helped Beckett by throwing out a runner at the plate in the seventh. Beckett scattered four hits, walked two and struck out four. The right-hander has a 1.34 ERA over his last seven starts, a stretch that began with his no-hitter in Philadelphia on May 25. His season ERA is 2.11 in 15 starts. "I knew it was going to be tough, but I dont think I deserve very much of the credit," Beckett said. "My defence really picked me up tonight, and we got a late run off of a pretty tough pitcher." Juan Uribe, just off the disabled list after missing 34 games with a right hamstring strain, led off the eighth with a single and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Drew Butera before rookie Miguel Rojas infield single put runners at the corners. Turner, batting for reliever Brian Wilson, came through with his 20th RBI of the season. "I think hes used to that. Hes gotten some big hits for us this year," Kemp said. "Hes always ready to hit, and tonight he got the big hit. It was a battle today. It was a battle of the pitchers -- two good pitchers going at it, and we had to wait out Wainwright." Wilson (1-2) tossed a perfect inning and Kenley Jansen got three outs for his 24th save. "Thats how playoff games usually are -- 1-0. When we play them, its always two good teams going at it," Kemp said. "I think our pitchers match up with their pitchers, and vice versa. Weve had some battles over the years, and theyve gotten the best of us the last couple of years. But hopefully we can grind it out and see them in the playoffs again this year." The Cardinals won 97 games last season, five more than Los Angeles, and beat the Dodgers in the NLCS. Wainwright won Game 3 at Dodger Stadium. This time, Wainwright (10-4) took a hard-luck loss, giving up five hits while going the distance for the 19th time in 201 regular-season starts. The right-hander was runner-up to Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in last years NL Cy Young Award voting. "I think one run would have been enough tonight the way he was throwing the ball," said Cardinals second baseman Mark Ellis, a former Dodger. "He was typical Wainwright. He has four above-average pitches and throws them wherever he wants. He knows their lineup and how to throw those guys." Wainwright walked his first batter, Dee Gordon, then retired 15 in a row before Rojas led off the sixth with a clean single to left field. Beckett followed with a Texas Leaguer to right, and Allen Craig made a diving catch with the outfield playing shallow against the pitcher. Gordon followed with a bloop single to left, but Yasiel Puig grounded into a double play. Puig, the NL player of the month for May, is batting .242 with no homers, six RBIs and 25 strikeouts in 25 games since his last home run on May 28 against Cincinnatis Homer Bailey at Dodger Stadium. Craig hit a two-out double in the seventh, just beyond Puigs reach on the right-field warning track, then tried to score on Jon Jays sharp single to left. Kemp charged the ball and threw a perfect strike to Butera in front of the plate for a sweep tag as Beckett thrust both arms over his head in jubilation. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny challenged the call by umpire Vic Carapazza, but a replay review upheld the decision and the game remained scoreless. "I wasnt surprised they sent him. Right there in the late innings, its do or die," Kemp said. "I got a good jump on it, got to the ball quick and threw it. Butera made a good tag and we got the out. Defence is just as important as offence. Defence won us that game today." NOTES: Cardinals RHP Joe Kelly, on the DL with a left hamstring strain thats sidelined him for 66 games, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Friday with Triple-A Memphis. ... Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez missed his third straight game with a sore right shoulder and had an MRI. ... The Dodgers flight from Kansas City didnt arrive in Los Angeles until about 2 a.m. following their 5-4 win over the Royals, and manager Don Mattingly called off batting practice. ... The Cardinals began a five-game stretch in which they will face all three pitchers who have thrown no-hitters this season, including Kershaw on Sunday and San Franciscos Tim Lincecum on Tuesday. ... The Dodgers were 20-14 in Uribes absence. ... Adrian Gonzalezs RBI streak ended at seven games, one shy of the L.A. Dodgers record shared by Puig, Tommy Davis, Reggie Smith, Adrian Beltre and Shawn Green. NFL Jersyes China . But it isnt. That has been done, many times, including by myself in January. For similar reasons I had a year ago, I believe Ronaldo should win it this year, but a year is a long time in sport and, although my opinion on who should win it hasnt changed, my opinion on the award certainly has. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China .com) - Marylands Brad Craddock is the winner of the 2014 Lou Groza Award, given annually to the countrys top kicker.TORONTO - 12 months ago DeMar DeRozan carried the weight of an expiring contract into training camp as he prepped for his fourth NBA season with the Raptors. In many ways he was a different person with different responsibilities, different motivations. He had a lot to prove but he wasnt fully ready to prove it, not like he is now. He was still a young man. A year later, DeRozan finds himself in a similar setting - looking to end the Raptors playoff drought and reach the postseason for the first time in his professional career - but as training camp winds down and the regular season approaches, he appears to be a noticeably changed man. Now, hes a young adult. Fresh off the most eventful year of his life, the 24-year-old says he feels a lot older than his age suggests. The day after opening night will mark the one-year anniversary since DeRozan signed a $38 million extension keeping him in Toronto through the 2016-17 season. Since inking his new contact he put up career numbers playing in all 82 games last year, he participated in Team USAs minicamp this summer and more personally, he became a father. As he notes, he has grown up off the court just as much as he has on it. "I see a lot of film and a lot of pictures from my rookie year, my second year, my third year," DeRozan said in an interview with TSN.ca after a weekend practice in the Raptors gym. "You [can] just see how much Ive grown personality-wise [and] as a basketball player, especially now as a father, having a daughter and having [those] responsibilities to take care of. So its definitely [been] a major growth year." On May 12, DeRozan and his fiancee, Kiara, became first-time parents to daughter Diar; a day that forever changed his life, a day thats largely responsible for his transformation. "I cant even tell you in words, to explain it," he said, struggling to articulate how he felt in that moment. "It just put life all together for me and helped me understand the important things in life. Its definitely big, it means the world to me and theres not a word I can find to sum up the feeling." "It changes you most definitely for the better, it helps you become more of a man." Entering his fifth season, DeRozans growth has not gone unnoticed in training camp. As his coach and teammates have pointed out, that sense of responsibility and maturity has transcended his personal life and carried over on the basketball court where he seems poised to take his game to the next level. "Hes growing up," Rudy Gay has noticed of DeRozan. "Hes a father now, he has a family he has to provide for. Its the little things, not little things to him, but those little things on the outside make him seem more grown up, and he is. Hes spending more time in the gym, other than being with his kid. Hes really hungry and everybody around here sees it." "DeMar has grown," coach Dwane Casey echoed. "Hes grown as a person, as a young man, as an NBA player. Hes doing things now just instinctively where my first year, two years ago it was more teaching and talking to him about those situations where now theyre natural. So thats a sign of growth, thats a sign of maturity and he has really, really grown as a basketball player and most of all as a young man, which is great to see." Praised repeatedly throughout his time in Toronto for his unrelenting work ethic, DeRozan continued to refine his game this summer. When he wasnt changing diapers you could find him in the gym hoisting three-pointers - he would shoot until he made at least 300 per session - or perfecting an array of post moves he has displayed to perfection in the preseason. The fruits of his labour, for now, have resulted in a number of dominant moments during the exhibition season. Building off of last years improvement in the post, DeRozan has impressed with his footwork and creativity around the basket, getting to the rim and to the line with ease. He has handled the ball witth confidence, passed out of double teams and shown improvement on defence. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys. "Its beautiful because he is such a wonderful young man," Casey said of DeRozans evolution on the court. "Hes paid his dues, hes paid the price, hes put [in] his time in the gym. Hes done it himself. Every phase of the game hes worked on in the summer." To take the next step as an NBA player, DeRozan knows he has to put everything hes worked on together, staying consistent and efficient on both ends. While many professional athletes are motivated by money and the prospect of making more of it - something he already has covered, at least for the next four seasons - DeRozan is fuelled by his appetite to win and the fact that through four NBA seasons, he hasnt tasted much success. "[Making the playoffs] would completely mean everything," said DeRozan, now the longest tenured Raptors player (he and Amir Johnson are both entering their fifth year with the team). "Thats my biggest goal, just get us back there and get us back to winning and just get that joyful feeling again from the fans." Losing hasnt been easy on DeRozan, a born competitor, and hes done a lot of it since the Raptors selected him out of USC with the ninth pick in the 2009 draft. The team narrowly missed the postseason in DeRozans rookie season, going 40-42 before Chris Bosh bolted to Miami. Over the next three years Toronto had a combined record of 79-151. It hasnt been easy but its been a learning experience for DeRozan, an experience thats allowed him to play through mistakes and another contributing factor to the growth process. "When you go through rough times it helps you grow that much more and understand what you have to do to get better and help your team get better," he reflected. "Going through four tough years really helped me grow in every aspect. [Im] more of a leader, more of a man, more of an athlete." Leadership has been the biggest adjustment for DeRozan. A self-proclaimed recluse, he is reserved and mild mannered as a person but, with time, is becoming a more vocal player. "Hes still young," Gay pointed out. "I dont think people realize how young he is. You cant really expect him to know all the things there is. Hes played a lot of basketball but its a different kind of feel when youre playing winning basketball, and [its] not his fault at all, but now we have a team that can win and I think that everybody thats here that has won hes listening to and hes figuring out how to do it himself." "Everybody goes through it, Ive been through it so I can relate to him a lot," Gay continued, having also missed the playoffs in his first four seasons before reaching the postseason with Memphis in his fifth year. "Yeah, I can see hes hungry, hes talked about it a lot during the summer with me and I think we all are." DeRozan has experienced more in the last 12 months than most do in a single year. Hes come a long way since being drafted as a 19-year-old and playing his first game a couple months after his 20th birthday. Hes gone through things, both good and bad, that have forced him to mature faster than most people his age. Sometimes its easy to forget that hes only and just barely-turned 24. "Thats the thing about the NBA, you want players to dominate right now but when guys are young coming into the league its virtually [impossible]," Casey said. "I havent seen it happen yet and Ive been in [the league] now 21, 22 years. Any time a player comes in there is a growth process and you want it to happen yesterday but it takes time." "DeMar is right on schedule. Its time for him to do that, to grow and to be the player he was drafted to be. In some players the light doesnt come on and youll know that after the four-year period, or five-year period, but with him the light is on and theres someone in the house and hes ready to roll. Nows the time for him." 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