ST. LOUIS -- Michael Morse rewarded his manager for giving him a rare day off. Morse homered and drove in three runs and Pablo Sandoval homered and scored twice to propel the San Francisco Giants to a 6-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series. "It looked like the day off served him well," said manager Bruce Bochy, who sat Morse for the first time this season Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs. "A home run and that big hit off of one of the more dominant closers in the game with the power arm that he has." The Giants, at the start of a seven-game trip to St. Louis and Cincinnati, have won seven of eight. The Cardinals have dropped three of four to start their nine-game home stand. Gregor Blanco scored from second on Angel Pagans single to centre to tie the score at 4-all in the eighth. Third base coach Tim Flannery initially held Blanco at third because of centre fielder Peter Bourjos strong arm. But Blanco scored when the throw bounced on the home plate side of the mound and past three Cardinals, including Carlos Martinez (0-3), who was in front of catcher Yadier Molina rather than backing up the throw. Pagan moved up to second on the throw. Trevor Rosenthal came in after Martinez intentionally walked Sandoval, but Morse doubled just past a diving Bourjos to drive in Pagan and Sandoval and give the Giants a 6-4 lead. "I knew he was going to come with something hard," Morse said. "I just tried to be short. I just tried to touch something." Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Martinez stopped when he saw Blanco stayed at third. He stabbed at the throw from Bourjos, keeping Molina from making the catch and allowing the ball to go to the screen. "Yaddy never was able to see the ball," Matheny said. "As soon as that balls hit, they all know, theyve got to get behind the catcher. He was in the wrong spot and it ended up hurting." Javier Lopez (1-0) got two groundouts in relief of Ryan Vogelsong for his first win since Sept. 22, 2013, at the New York Yankees. Sergio Romo gave up a run on Matt Carpenters two-out single, but held on for his 17th save in 19 chances. Romo has surrendered four runs in the past three games and had his ERA rise to 3.52. Morse, in his first season with the Giants, has nine hits in his past 16 at-bats, with five doubles, a triple and the home run. Hes driven in eight during that five-game span and has a team-high 37 RBIs for the year. "Were just playing," he said. "The mentality we have and the fun were having, I think winning is contagious and we love to win. Were just going to keep going at it." Vogelsong allowed four runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out five in 6 1-3 innings. Sandovals eighth homer of the season tied the score at 3-3 in the sixth inning. The third baseman has an RBI in each of the past nine games. Hes the first Giant to do that since Barry Bonds in 2000. Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia went seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits. He struck out seven and has yet to issue a walk this season. He was in line for the victory after Allen Craig hit his sixth homer of the season and second in three games off Vogelsong in the bottom of the sixth. "We definitely had a bead on that game," Craig said. "It felt like we were going to win it, but thats baseball. We didnt make enough plays." Vogelsong got into trouble in the fourth when the Cardinals loaded the bases with none out on Matt Hollidays single and consecutive walks to Craig and Molina. Jhonny Peralta, batting .111 (5 of 45) with runners in scoring position, grounded into a double play, plating Holliday. John Jay drove in Craig with a single to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead. Morse tied the score at 1-1 with his ninth homer of the season, a 442-foot blast to left centre to lead off the second. Brandon Hicks scored on Blancos single to give the Giants a 2-1 lead. St. Louis snapped Vogelsongs scoreless streak at 13 2-3 innings with a run in the first. Craigs ground-rule double brought home Carpenter, who singled to lead off and stole second with two outs. NOTES: Carpenters first-inning single extended his NL-best hitting streak to 11 games. ... The Giants improved to 9-14 when their opponents score first. ... Holliday has reached base safely in all 25 home games. . San Francisco C Buster Posey didnt play because of an ongoing back issue. Bochy said he is day to day. ... St. Louis 1B Matt Adams sat for the second consecutive night with a stiff left calf, though he was available as a pinch hitter. . The Cardinals entered the game without a home run off Vogelsong in 68 at-bats, and all but three of their 24 hits were for singles. The Giants had just one homer off Garcia in 66 at-bats, but seven of their 19 hits went for extra bases. . Cardinals prospect Tim Cooney had a no-hitter broken up with two outs in ninth Thursday for Triple-A Memphis. He settled for one-hitter. . St. Louis is set to start Adam Wainwright (8-2, 1.67) against San Franciscos Madison Bumgarner (6-3, 3.15) on Friday night. Nike Shoes Wholesale Canada . He still wanted out. "It just seemed like the direction they were going didnt fit what I thought my career was going to be," Kesler said. "At the end of the day I want to win a championship and I want to win it now, and four years is a little too long for me. Nike Shoes Canada Outlet .com) - Bayern Munich winger Xherdan Shaqiri is expected to miss the next two weeks because of a thigh injury. http://www.cheapnikeshoescanada.com/ . Jeter doubled high off the left-field wall and scored on Jacoby Ellsburys first hit in pinstripes in the fifth. Hiroki Kuroda (1-1) pitched 6 1-3 sharp innings in the Yankees 112th opener in New York. In what manager Joe Girardi said would be a season-long lovefest for Jeter, the shortstop was cheered every step of the way by an adoring crowd of 48, 142 -- even when his double-play grounder back to Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez (0-2) scored Solarte in the third inning for the first run. Nike Shoes Discount Canada . Scott scored a career-high 30 points, Jeff Teague added 28 and the Hawks rallied to beat the New York Knicks 107-98 on Saturday night. "We were down Paul, down so many bodies," Scott said. Nike Shoes Canada Clearance . Josh Mazzola drove in five runs to lead the Goldeyes (20-12) past the Capitales 11-5 Friday night at Le Stade Municipal in Quebec City.With the NHL Draft coming up on June 27 and free agency opening on July 1, discussions between NHL general managers are heating up towards a busy off-season. Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Going D-eep Ordinarily, one would assume the Edmonton Oilers were once again in prime position to improve their future, holding the third overall pick in Fridays NHL Draft. Trading down, however, might be the best course of action for the Oil - according to The Hockey News Matt Larkin. Larkin suggests that with the Florida Panthers likely to make Aaron Ekblad the first-overall pick on Friday, Edmonton would be better served to trade down from the No. 3 to acquire "an established asset" and scoop the Drafts consensus second-best blueliner, Red Deers Haydn Fleury. The Oilers have long needed to bolster their blue line and started that process by taking Darnell Nurse seventh overall last June. Larkin floats the hypothetical idea of the Oilers looking to deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, possibly getting a young defender like Jake Gardiner along with the eighth overall selection in exchange for the third overall pick. The scenario would offer the Leafs a crack at a top-end forward like one of Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett or Leon Draisaitl while allowing the Oilers to have a realistic shot at Fleury. Wait and C? From the sounds of it, the Montreal Canadiens may not be searching for a new captain come July 1? ESPN The Magazines Craig Custtance tweeted Saturday morning that Habs captain Brian Gionta will be meeting with his agent to discuss his future options.dddddddddddd According to Giontas agent Steve Bartlett, Gionta has "no strong inclination to leave" Montreal. A pending unrestricted free agent, Gionta is coming off a five year deal that paid him $5 million per season. The 35-year-old American scored 18 goals and 22 assists in 81 games last season. Foreign Markets Teams may look beyond North American shores on July 1 to scoop up additions for the 2014-15 season. In another tweet, Custance mentioned a couple intriguing options could be returning to the NHL, namely Kontinental Hockey League forward Leo Komarov and former first-round pick Peter Mueller. Custance mentioned that Komarov is still talking to his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs hold Komarovs NHL rights until July 1 since he opted to return to the KHL for 2013-14 while still eligible for restricted free agency in the NHL. The Finn has spent parts of each of the last five seasons with Moscow Dynamo, including a brief stint during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Komarov was a popular grinder and depth forward for the 2012-13 Leafs team that became the first to make the playoffs since 2003-04. Mueller, meanwhile, led the Swiss League in goals in 2013-14. He scored 24 in 49 games with Kloten. The eighth overall selection by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2006, Muellers NHL career-high was 22 goals in his 2007-08 rookie season. ' ' '