ST. LOUIS -- After failing to hold three-run leads in two straight games, Allen Craig and the St. Louis Cardinals put their series final against Milwaukee out of reach. Craig homered on a four-hit day that included three RBIs, and Matt Adams hit a three-run homer as the Cardinals beat the Brewers 9-3 Wednesday. "Its nice to see some big production that we know is going to come from certain guys" said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, who slept on his office couch after an 11-inning loss Tuesday night. Jon Jay had three hits and a walk his first four trips to the plate. The Cardinals avoided a three-game sweep against the team with the best record in the major leagues. "Ive been feeling pretty good at the plate for a little while now, hitting some balls hard," Craig said. "Frustrations part of it. Things are going to turn around." Shelby Miller (3-2) worked around homers to Mark Reynolds and Carlos Gomez, allowing three runs and six hits in six-plus innings. "Kind of little rough early on," Miller said. "Its always nice to have a lot of runs scored for you, but at the same time, youve got to act like its a close game no matter what." Milwaukee is 20-8, a franchise record for wins through the seasons first full first month. Matt Garza (1-3) joined the lengthy list of injured Brewers when he was removed in the fourth inning because of a bruised right thumb from getting jammed on an at-bat to end the third. He said there was no doubt hed be ready for his next start. "Im going to make sure Im OK by then," Garza said. "Im not here to skip a start, Im prepared to pitch. I want to get right back out there." Ryan Braun (oblique) and Jean Segura (cut on head) didnt start during the series, and Aramis Ramirez (elbow) was out the last two games for Milwaukee, which batted light-swinging Scooter Gennett third. Segura and Ramirez are expected to return Thursday for the start of a four-game series at Cincinnati, though Braun remains day to day. Manager Ron Roenicke said Braun will not start Thursday and added, "In a couple days, he needs to be ready to go." Segura played the eighth at shortstop and doubled in the ninth. It was 50 degrees at game time. The sun popped out of the clouds a few times, each time getting a big cheer. Matt Hollidays RBI single put the Cardinals in front in the first, Reynolds hit a two-run shot in the second and Adams answered in the third with his second of the season, estimated at 439 feet, for a 4-3 lead. Craig doubled for the second straight at-bat in the fourth, driving in two runs off Wei-Chung Wang, and RBI doubles by Miller and Jay made it 8-3 in the fifth. The four-hit game matched Craigs career best. He had seven hits in the series, including two homers, lifting his average to .220. Miller allowed three runs and five hits the first three innings, but no runs on one hit and three walks the rest of his outing. Hes given up seven homers. Garza was charged with five runs and rookie Wei-Chung Wang gave up four runs in three innings. Backup catcher Martin Maldonado pitched the eighth for the Brewers, the 13th reliever needed to cover 16 innings in the series. Roenicke told Maldonado not to throw too hard. NOTES: The Cardinals are skipping the fifth spot in the rotation, taking advantage of a day off Thursday and planning to start Adam Wainwright against the Cubs Travis Wood on Friday in Chicago. Marco Estrada (2-1, 2.87) is to pitch for the Brewers on Thursday, opposing Homer Bailey (1-2, 6.15). ... The Cardinals said Jim Edmonds, Willie McGee, Mike Shannon and Marty Marion will be inducted into the teams Hall of Fame in August. ... Jay is 8 for 13 against Garza. ... Miller has 19 career wins, including a 5-0 record against Milwaukee. Fake Air Max . The Italian football federation announced the appointment, three days after new president Carlo Tavecchio was elected. Tavecchio and Conte spoke on the phone early Thursday. 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In the calls, Hernandez discussed the murder of Odin Lloyd, including his "belief about his criminal liability" and the "extent of his control over persons charged as accessories," according to the request filed Thursday in Fall River Superior Court.TSN Soccer analyst Gareth Wheelers Midweek Musings on the Barclays Premier League. Welcome to the goal-line technology era in British top-flight football. Seamless, wasnt it? I bet you hardly noticed. Makes you wonder whats taken so long. One of the sights of the opening weekend in the Barclays Premier League came Sunday (as seen on TSN, heard on TSN Radio) as Chelsea right-back Branislav Ivanovic had his header on goal cleared off the line by Hull City goalkeeper Allan McGregor. The play ominous, as it was the first decent shout for the use of the goal-line technology. Instead of running over to the linesman or shouting at the match official, all Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho had to do was turn to the fourth official for a verdict. A simple look and he had his answer. Mourinho, in his always-colourful fashion, arms flailing, turned to fourth official Andre Marriner. Holding his wrist, Marriner showed Mourinho his red and black watch. The device wasnt vibrating. No flash of the word goal. And it was understood the ball didnt cross the line. The two men had a laugh. As did Hull City manager Steve Bruce. The two managers even shared a hug. And it was over with. The television replay and subsequent graphic confirmed what we all knew. No lengthy debate. No prolonged protestations. The situation was over. No goal. The technology got it right. Simple. Quick. And effective. Hawk-Eye goal-line technology has been developed since 1999 and used in the Premier League for the first time on the weekend. Its the same technology thats revolutionized tennis with instant replays on hotly contested shots; in or out and a decisive answer. It takes less than a second for the high-speed cameras to determine whether the ball has crossed the line on the pitch. Although its inevitably at the referees discretion to ask the fourth official for the goal/no-goal verdict based upon the encrypted wristwatch, the man in charge would be a fool not to use his help through technology. Sunday was exhibit A how efficient it was executed. Many fought diligently to keep goal-line technology out of football. FIFA president Sepp Blatter dragged his feet accepting the clear benefits of technology, saying rejecting hi-tech progress put the game in a special place, creating more fascination and popularity in the game. Human error was deemed to be charming and a catalyst for conversation and debate. Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand concurs, speaking out against goal-line technology before the season. Ferdinand believes "Incidents like that add to the game because it runs into radio phone-ins, people talk about it in the pub and in other media. Was it a goal or wasnt it." I strongly disagree. Debate will always exist in football. Various approaches to the game, and more importantly, the subjective nature of officiating provides substantial fodder to argue and discuss. A match-officials interpretation and implementation of the rules of the game, what is a foul and how to manage proceedings varies from match to match. Just ask Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway how he felt about the opening weekend officiating. Holloway provided plenty of food for thought. The conversation to do with on field injustice is going nowhere. Penalty calls, foul calls around the box, what constitutes a proper caution or sending off, even a flag offside are entirely unpredictable and an imperfect science. Whether a ball crosses a goal-line is black and white. Its not subjective in nature. Its a game-changing call. And it has to be correct. I covered the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and was in attendance in Bloemfontein for Englands 4-1 loss to Germany in the Round of 16. Germany held a 2-1 lead in the first half. Frank Lampards shot from outside the box hit off the bottom of the crossbar and over the goal-line before spinning back out of the net. The linemans flag stayed down. No goal. The crowd was irate. Mere seconds after the play, a photographer in front of me turned and showed photo evidence. It wasnt even close. The ball crossed the line. The match was immediately riddled in controversy. And England lost their way. In 2005, Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll was bailed out by the linesman for what could have been one of the biggest howlers in Premier League history. Spurs midfielder Pedro Mendes hit the ball from just inside Uniteds half. It was a flooater.dddddddddddd Carroll stumbled, failed to cover and put the ball into his own net. In a moment of panic, Carroll scooped the ball out and the play carried on. It was a shocking miss by the match officials. And a clear sign technology was needed to help during such critical moments. The match ended in a scoreless draw. And Carrolls blushes were saved. The embarrassment of the referees was not. Goal-line technology is the ultimate helping hand. Argument over whether the ball crossed the line is nonsensical with video replay from multiple angles providing irrefutable evidence. Lets save our debate for the subjective side of the game. Hawk-Eye goal-line technology ensures that. And the Premier League is better for it. - Newcastle manager Alan Pardew and Everton boss Roberto Martinez have criticized transfer activity and the approaches of their players as the transfer window remains open despite the start of the Premier League season. The window stays open until September 2nd. Pardew has called for the transfer window to be closed before the first ball of the season is kicked. And hes absolutely right. Get rid of the distraction. Get rid of the excuse. A team should be forced to do team business in the run-up to the season. The preseason instead has become a time to trek around the world on sponsorship and business endeavours. Take care of your transfer business first. And dont let it linger. Close the window early. - Manchester City showed their title credentials in Mondays 4-0 win over Newcastle. The bad news, captain Vincent Kompany will miss three weeks with a groin injury, putting his fitness in question for the match-day five meeting with Manchester United. The positive news, Citys next three matches come against newly promoted Cardiff and Hull, as well as lowly Stoke. Kompanys loss mitigated by poor competition. - Widespread questioning of Manchester Uniteds title chances seemed to have quelled to a certain degree after scoring four at Swansea. But the need for upgrades in the transfer market has not. Uniteds double swoop attempt for Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines is a curious one, with Everton going public about the move. Its a curious tactic Everton revealing Uniteds approach. The tactic signals a possible negotiating ploy out of Goodison Park to drive up the price of the players, rather than being insulted by the bid, as Martinez proclaims. There has to be more than what appears. Uniteds bid for Fellaini makes sense to fill a need at central midfield. A move for Baines doesnt make much sense at all. Patrice Evra has been fantastic at left-back for United for the better part of the last two years. United would be better off pursuing a younger successor for the position. A player like Southampton 18-year old Luke Shaw makes much more sense. - It looks like Yohan Cabaye will leave Newcastle for Arsenal. A price needs to be settled, but it seems the Emirates is the most likely destination for the Frenchman. The bigger question; would Cabaye solve Arsenals problems? Arsene Wenger is under pressure to buy, but the team would be better off investing in a new goalkeeper, a reliable centre-back and a top class striker. A player like Cabaye falls further down a preferred shopping list. - Its always good seeing smaller clubs buy intelligently, bringing in players specific to the clubs needs. After a terrible start to last season upon promotion and through a managerial change, Southampton has emerged a dangerous club showing ambition. The spine of the team up the middle is all-important to competing week after week in the Prem. And the Saints have significantly upgraded those areas. Centre-back Dejan Lovren (Lyon), central midfielder Victor Wanyama (Celtic), and striker Pablo Osvaldo (Roma) bring substance to an already talented side. A push for a Europa League spot is not crazy to suggest. - Impressive teams not picking up three points: Everton, Swansea. - Not sure what they are: Fulham, West Brom, Liverpool. - Performer of the week: Robin van Persie (Manchester United) - Biggest disappointment: Arsenal. - Underrated players: Kevin Nolan (West Ham), Steven Pineaar (Everton), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), Sascha Riether (Fulham) - Match-day two fixture(s) to watch: Manchester United v Chelsea, Tottenham v Swansea You can reach Gareth at gareth.wheeler@bellmedia.ca or follow him on Twitter, @WheelerTSN ' ' '