an early lead to

ATLANTA -- Gavin Floyd was impressive in his first start in a year, giving the Braves a chance to end their longest losing streak in two years. Justin Upton homered and scored the tiebreaking run on Chris Johnsons eighth-inning single, and the Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on Tuesday night to end their seven-game skid. "That felt good," Johnson said. "Its big. We werent panicking too much. We were relaxed, even though we lost seven in a row." Floyd allowed one run on six hits in seven innings. He made his first major league start since April 27, 2013, for the White Sox against Tampa Bay. He had season-ending Tommy John surgery 10 days later, and his comeback included six minor league rehab starts this year. "It felt good," Floyd said. "There were a lot of emotions, a lot of excitement through this process leading up to it and getting back out there ... not only starting for the first time but trying to get us back on the winning side." Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez had modest expectations for Floyds return. "I didnt expect that really," Gonzalez said. "I expected a guy who was going to scuffle through five, six innings for the first time out. He hadnt been in competition in a year but he sure came out with flying colours. You couldnt ask for anything more. "He was really, really good for the first time in a year." David Carpenter (2-0) had two strikeouts in the eighth. Craig Kimbrel added two more strikeouts in a perfect ninth for his ninth save. With one out in the eighth, Upton singled to centre. Freddie Freeman followed with a liner that bounced off the leg of Randy Choate (0-1) and bounced to third baseman Matt Carpenter for an infield hit. Right-hander Pat Neshek gave up Johnsons single to right field that drove in Upton and allowed Freeman to advance to third. Johnson called the at-bat against Nesheks side-arm delivery "a grind." "It wasnt easy," Johnson said. "That guy is funky. Hes nasty. ... That was just a battle between me and him and me trying to get something in play. I was able to finally stay on the ball and kind of go the other way a little bit." Choate was left to bemoan Freemans shot that hit his leg, setting up Johnsons run-scoring hit. "If it misses me its a groundball to (shortstop) Jhonny (Peralta), probably a double play," Choate said. "I didnt feel it. I didnt even see it. It just somehow found me and ricochets off me. Thats the way it bounces sometimes and it stinks but what are you going to do?" St. Louis left-hander Tyler Lyons allowed only one run on four hits, including Uptons homer, in six innings. "Great start," said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. "Its a shame we havent been able to score that guy any runs. ... He had everything working today." Lyons retired the first 10 Braves before Upton snapped a 0-for-12 streak with his team-leading ninth homer in the fourth. The Cardinals tied it in the sixth. Matt Hollidays single to right-centre drove in Carpenter, who led off with a walk. Floyd made the start originally planned for Ervin Santana, whose spot was skipped due to his swollen right thumb. Santana is listed as the probable starter against the Cubs on Saturday. Gonzalez stayed with the structure of the revamped lineup he unveiled on Monday in an attempt to snap the losing streak and hitting slump. For the second straight game, shortstop Andrelton Simmons hit ninth, one spot behind the pitcher. NOTES: Atlantas last win was a 1-0 decision in 10 innings over the Reds on April 27. ... The losing streak was the Braves longest since eight straight losses from May 21-28, 2012. ... Matheny said 2B Mark Ellis was held out for a normal day of rest. Daniel Descalso filled in. ... The series ends on Wednesday night when Braves LHP Mike Minor looks for his first win of 2014 against Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright. ... A scoring change gave Floyd an infield single on his grounder in the fifth originally ruled as an error on Carpenter. Cheap Running Shoes Online Outlet . - Justin Turner is at his best with runners in scoring position, and he delivered again in a big spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cheap Running Shoes Wholesale .The result meant Juventus will spend the winter break three points clear of Roma after the league leader beat Cagliari 3-1 on Thursday.Milan remained seventh ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures, but was provisionally two points behind third-place Napoli in their duel for the final Champions League spot. http://www.cheaprunningshoesaustralia.com/ .com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets rewarded starting goaltender and pending restricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky with a four-year contract extension on Friday. Wholesale Running Shoes Australia . INJURIES - Reds RF Jay Bruce is facing knee surgery for a torn meniscus and it could cost him a month of playing time. Chris Heisey, who has shown some pop (43 home runs, . Clearance Running Shoes Online . -- Pinch-runner Rajai Daviss decision to steal third base just as Oakland catcher Derek Norris was throwing the ball back to the pitcher caught most everyone by surprise -- including several of his Detroit teammates. MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The handshakes and backslaps exchanged in the Miami Dolphins locker room late Sunday afternoon were gestures of consolation, not celebration, before players quietly slipped out the back door at the end of another disappointing season. Miami was eliminated from the scramble for the AFCs final wild-card berth by the New York Jets, who thrived in the role of spoilers against their archrivals and won 20-7. The Dolphins blew an early lead to complete a December collapse that will keep them out of the playoffs for a fifth straight year. "Its definitely going to take a little while to get over this one," quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. New Yorks Geno Smith led three long scoring drives, ran for a touchdown and threw for 190 yards, while two interceptions by rookie Dee Milliner and one by 35-year-old Ed Reed prevented a Miami comeback. The Dolphins (8- Cool

squandered a shot at their first post-season berth since 2008 by losing the final two games to non-playoff teams, including a shutout defeat at last-place Buffalo. It was a dismal end to a roller-coaster season that included a four-game losing streak, a bullying scandal that drew national scrutiny, and a December surge that briefly left the Dolphins in control of their playoff destiny -- but turned out to be a tease. "Our record is 8-8, and thats the definition of average," cornerback Brent Grimes said. "We felt like we could be a much better than average team, so were disappointed. We messed up in the last two games. Weve just got to live with that." The Dolphins were outscored 39-7 in those final two games. Now owner Stephen Ross must decide whether to shake up a regime led by second-year coach Joe Philbin and sixth-year general manager Jeff Ireland. "You have to earn your way into the playoffs. Clearly we didnt do that," Philbin said. "The results start with me. The head coach is responsible for the results. The offence, the defence, the special teams, the record -- it starts with me. Lets not stand here and blame the players." The Jets (8- Cool

celebrated as though theyre playoff-bound but will sit out the post-season for the third year in a row. After the game, owner Woody Johnson announced that coach Rex Ryan would return for a sixth season in 2014. Ryan, whose future had been in question, said Johnson gave him the news before the game. When players were told afterward, they cheered in the locker room. "Ill say this -- I love being the head coach of the New York Jets, plain and simple,&quoot; Ryan said.dddddddddddd "You put everything youve got into it. I never wanted to go out this way. Weve missed the playoffs three straight years, and that bothers me, no question." The Jets made sure they were joined on the post-season sideline by Miami. The only points of the seasons final two weeks for the Dolphins put them ahead 7-0 in the second quarter, but the Jets rallied by mounting touchdown drives of 71 and 80 yards on their final possessions of the first half. When Smith scored on a 7-yard, third-down keeper up the middle with 3 seconds left for a 14-7 lead at halftime, an excited Ryan ran on the field to celebrate with his players. Fans were booing in the first half and streaming for the exits in the final minutes. Smith drove the Jets 63 yards to set up a field goal that gave them a 17-7 cushion with 4:18 left, and on the next play Reed grabbed a deflected pass for his 64th career interception to all but seal the victory. Milliner stopped a Miami threat in the third quarter with a diving interception of Tannehill one play after Mike Wallace dropped a potential touchdown pass that would have tied the game. The Jets played like a team with nothing to lose, which they were, and eager to spoil Miamis season. They kept the Dolphins off balance with swarming defence and imaginative play-calling, including 294-pound defensive lineman Sheldon Richardsons 1-yard plunge for his second rushing touchdown this season. Running back Bilal Powell threw a 30-yard completion to set up the Jets field goal. Dolphins receiver Brian Hartline left the game in the first quarter with a left knee injury, while Wallace and Tannehill found it difficult to click all day. Tannehill overthrew an open Wallace deep, and Wallace slipped and fell on Milliners first interception. They did combine for a 5-yard touchdown to cap an 89-yard drive. But the Dolphins running game sputtered, as usual, and Tannehill finished with a woeful passer rating of 42.1. "It cant get worse than this," Wallace said. "We let them win. We let them dominate the game. We knew what we had on the line, and we didnt come up with the plays we needed." Notes: Hartline limped out of the game after a 25-yard reception that put him over the 1,000-yard mark for the second year in a row. ... Jets reserve CB Kyle Wilson left in the first half with a knee injury and didnt return. ... Before the game, former LB-DE Kim Bokamper, WR O.J. McDuffie, RB Mercury Morris and G Keith Sims were inducted into the Dolphins Walk of Fame. ' ' '