ST. Baltimore Orioles Gear . LOUIS -- The Los Angeles Dodgers gave St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Mike Mayers one of the worst major league debuts ever.Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam and Howie Kendrick added a two-run homer while the Dodgers exploded for nine runs in the first two innings off Mayers and held on for a 9-6 win over the Cardinals on a hot, muggy Sunday night.Mayers lasted 1 1/3 innings and became the first pitcher to allow nine or more runs with fewer than two innings pitched in his debut since at least 1913.Sometimes, it can be more difficult when you have a young kid out there you dont know anything about, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. So for us to get on him earlier and the home run early there by Adrian was big. To see that power surge come was a big boost for us. To tack on another three in the next inning was big for us.Then we basically held on.Scott Kazmir (9-3) pitched five innings to earn the victory. He allowed three runs on six hits.Those first two innings were a battle, Kazmir said. I didnt have a feel for my breaking ball at all. I didnt have a grip. I was about to get some outs. It was tough out there. I was drenched coming out of the bullpen.After a rainout earlier in the week forced a doubleheader, the Cardinals decided not to start Carlos Martinez on short rest and called up Mayers, 24, from Triple-A Memphis for a spot start. St. Louis was the last team in the majors to use a pitcher not in their starting five this season.Mayers threw 62 pitches and gave up nine runs on eight hits, including two home runs, with about 35 family members and friends on hand. His ERA is 60.75.I thought I did a pretty good job with the first two batters and then it felt like it snowballed on me, Mayers said. I felt like that was the probably the hardest part, just slow the game down. I definitely need to do a much better job of that.St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said he felt for his starting rookie.He was amped up for sure. Every kid thats picked up a baseball, thats their dream to be in that kind of situation and I thought he had pretty good composure overall, Mayers said. I thought he was in the zone a good bit but he was so amped up maybe he was overthrowing his off-speed pitches a little where he couldnt put guys away.Kenley Jansen got his 29th save in 34 opportunities with a spotless ninth.The Dodgers scored six runs in a 45-pitch first inning.Mayers loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Gonzalez crushed a fastball 427 feet to center for his fifth career grand slam and first since Aug. 26, 2010. After a double by Kendrick, Mayers struck out Yasmani Grandal and got a nice ovation from the crowd. With two outs, Joc Pederson walked and stole second. Kazmir singled up the middle for the final two runs and his first RBI of the year.Matt Holliday doubled home a run in the first. It was the first run scored in the first inning by St. Louis since July 3.After Los Angeles chased Mayers in the second with three more runs, Tommy Pham cut the Dodgers advantage to 9-3 with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning.Four St. Louis relievers combined for 7 2/3 scoreless innings.In the seventh, Los Angeles failed to score despite four walks.Dodgers reliever Adam Liberatore allowed three runs in the seventh inning. It was the first runs hes allowed since May 20 -- a span that covers 29 games. He had pitched scoreless relief in 41 of his previous 42 games this year.HOT HOT HOTThe temperature at the start of the game was 96 degrees.TRANSACTIONSDodgers: Los Angeles called up RHP Ross Stripling from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned LHP Grant Dayton, who threw two scoreless innings in his debut on Friday night. The Dodgers needed a fresh arm after using 17 pitchers in the previous two games.Cardinals: To make room on the teams 25-man roster for Mayers, St. Louis optioned RHP Miguel Socolovich to Memphis following Saturdays game. Socolovich made two relief appearances while in St. Louis.TRAINERS ROOMDodgers: RF Yasiel Puig (right hamstring) did not start for the third straight game.Cardinals: INF Matt Carpenter is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment this week. Carpenter, sidelined since July 6 with a strained right oblique, took swings in the outdoor batting cage and ran the bases Sunday.UP NEXTDodgers: On Tuesday, Bud Norris (5-9, 4.56) will square off against Tampa Bays Chris Archer (5-13, 4.60). Norris last start was July 20, but he pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief during Fridays 16-inning game against St. Louis and took the loss.Cardinals: Martinez (9-6, 2.83) faces the New York Mets Noah Syndergaard (9-4, 2.43). Martinez logged seven innings in a 4-2 win over San Diego in his last start despite suffering a bloody nose. Fake Orioles Jerseys . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. Baltimore Orioles Pro Shop . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. https://www.cheaporioles.com/ . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. New Zealand fast bowler Doug Bracewell has said he has been working on his batting for the last couple of years to become a batting allrounder. Bracewell, currently in Pretoria for a training camp, is part of the 16-man squad that will play two Tests in Zimbabwe later this month. The same squad will then head to South Africa for two Tests next month.Ive always wanted to be [a batting allrounder] ever since I started playing first-class, Bracewell said in Pretoria. Over the last couple of years I havent really produced the numbers that I would have liked but Ive put in quite a lot of hard work over the last year or two and starting to slowly see a few improvements. Hopefully I can keep working hard at it and get some runs.In 25 Tests since his debut in 2011, Bracewell has scored 520 runs at an average of 13.33, with a high score of 47. In ODIs, he averages 9.83 in seven innings and in T20Is, he has 77 runs at an average of 25.66. Bracewell said he was happy with his performances last season before taking a break during the New Zealand winter.Overall, I was pretty happy with how the season went. Obviously, a lot of work-ons going forward, you always want to get better and improve. Ive been working on the batting quite a lot and trying to improve on that and churn out some more runs. I dont reflect too much over the last summer, its been done and now weve got some cricket to look forward to over here and a big summer coming up.Bracewell took 18 wickets in four matches for Central Districts in the Plunket Shield, and averaged 33 with the bat in seven innings, with a highest score of 75. His batting fared much better in the Ford Trophy - New Zealands domestic one-day competition. He struck two fifties in five innings and averaged nearly 40 with a strike rate of 98.14.I have had timee off in off season and didnt go anywhere, rested after a long season, he said. Orioles Jerseys 2020. . Ive had a bit of time off actually. I havent gone overseas and played, Ive just had the body have a bit of a rest after a long season. Looking forward to get back into some cricket.Fast bowler Matt Henry also joined the New Zealand squad in Pretoria this week. Henry was in England for over three months, representing Worcestershire. He played 11 matches in the NatWest T20 Blast, collecting seven wickets. He had more success in the County Championship - he took 27 wickets in six matches at an average of 26.51.Matts bowled well and hasnt always had the reward so to see him get his reward at Northampton (8 for 88) was really satisfying, Worcestershire coach Steve Rhodes said. He really clicked with his rhythm and swung the ball nicely. Maybe with him going away with the New Zealand team and readying himself for a Test series, it has put him in a good spot mentally as to how he feels about his bowling and form-wise.We shouldnt forget Matts batting this year. This guy is averaging 45 in first-class cricket and played some important knocks as well in the white ball format. He is very good all-round cricketer but is also a tremendous bloke and he has fitted in so well in our dressing room. We really do wish him well in his time with New Zealand.Would I like to see him back one day? Yes, he is definitely the type of cricketer who appeals to us because he is whole-hearted, tries hard, is a talented bowler and we all know he can strike a rocket ball as well. He is definitely the type of cricketer, who, at some stage in the future, we would definitely love to have back. ' ' '