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ST. LOUIS -- Aledmys Diaz made a vow Monday to the family of childhood friend Jose Fernandez, the late Miami Marlins ace who died in a boating accident early Sunday.I told them that every single time I put on the uniform, I would be thinking of him, Diaz said. And that I would give 100 percent because thats how he played the game.Fernandez would have been proud of his longtime buddy on Tuesday night.Back in the lineup after attending a private ceremony for Fernandez in Florida on Monday, Diaz hit his first career grand slam and the St. Louis Cardinals finished with five home runs in a 12-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.St. Louis remained one game behind San Francisco for the final NL playoff spot, and 1 1/2 games behind the New York Mets.The Giants routed Colorado 12-3. The Mets, who lead the wild-card standings, won 12-1 at Miami.Jhonny Peralta had a three-run homer and drove in four runs for the Cardinals, who had lost four of five. Matt Carpenter, Randal Grichuk and Matt Adams also homered.Joey Votto and Scott Schebler went deep for the Reds, who beat St. Louis 15-2 on Monday.Diaz slammed a 2-1 pitch from Cincinnati starter Robert Stephenson over the left-field wall. The 408-foot drive erased a 2-1 deficit and served as a wake-up call for the Cardinals, who grabbed their first lead since Saturday.The Cuban-born Diaz pointed to the sky after he crossed home plate and fell into the arms of teammate Yadier Molina. Diaz had tears in his eyes as he came out of the dugout for a curtain call.I felt some serious goose bumps when he hit that, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright said. I almost got choked up. I know he was. He wanted to make some good swings for Jose.The emotional home run triggered an 11-run outburst in a span of three innings.Watching him cross the plate, and watching his reaction as he (shook hands) with the guys, really hit me on how much that meant to him, St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. You can never understand what each persons going through when they suffer a loss like that. The show goes on and so does life. But its a tough thing for anyone to go through.Stephenson (2-3) ended up allowing five runs in four innings.Wainwright (13-9) gave up five runs and 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings.Adams connected for a pinch-hit homer in the sixth, extending the franchise record to 16 this season.St. Louis has hit an NL-leading 218 homers this year.Carpenter hit his 20th home run, giving the Cardinals five players with 20 or more.The Cardinals broke out of a hitting slump after scoring just three runs in their previous two games.Theres no telling how big this could be, Wainwright said.Votto was 3 for 5 and finished a triple shy of the cycle.Stephenson rolled through the first three innings, giving up just a solo homer to Carpenter.I felt a lot better today, especially at the beginning of the game, Stephenson said. I was a lot more under control. Just a nightmare inning in the fourth inning.Stephenson was aware of Diazs relationship with Fernandez.I thought that was real unfortunate timing for me, Stephenson said. But really, a special moment for him.TRAINERS ROOMReds: SS Zack Cozart, who has not played since Sept. 10 due to a sore right knee, was placed on the disabled list and will not return this season. ... 2B Brandon Phillips left in the seventh after hurting his wrist when he checked his swing. He is day to day. ... Schebler had a cramping issue and was removed in the eighth.Cardinals: Carpenter was back in the starting lineup after missing Mondays game with a right finger injury.UP NEXTReds RHP Anthony DeSclafani (8-5, 3.38 ERA) faces RHP Mike Leake (9-11, 4.72) in the third game of the four-game series Wednesday. DeSclafani has 13 quality starts in 19 starts this season. Leake is 0-1 with an 8.31 ERA in three starts against his former team.Adidas Continental 80 Dames . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Yeezy Boost 350 v3 Belgie . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. http://www.nmdbelgie.com/ . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Adidas NMD R1 Dames Sale . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Adidas NMD XR1 Heren . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night.YPSILANTI, Mich. -- After only seven wins in four years, it seemed the outlook couldnt be much worse for the Eastern Michigan football team.Then came April, when a student and faculty report called on the school to consider dropping the sport altogether -- or perhaps stop playing it at the Division I level.Well, the team is still playing -- and playing well. The Eagles have won four of their first five games for the programs best start since 1995, and players know well where things stood just a few short months ago.It just lights a fire under us, defensive lineman Jeremiah Harris said. It doesnt bother us. We just know that the haters are going to hate.Coach Chris Creightons team has won at home, on the road and even against last years Mid-American Conference champions, and the stage is set for the Eagles to play their homecoming game Saturday against Toledo.Theres definitely a buzz, Creighton said. You get more emails, you get more texts and people are excited.EMU hasnt gone to a bowl since 1987. The Eagles came close in 2011 under Ron English, when they snapped a streak of 15 straight losing seasons by going 6-6, but two of their wins were against FCS teams, so they didnt have enough to become bowl eligible.The program declined again immediately after that, and the April report raised concerns about athletic spending at the school, citing a USA Today database that said 80 percent of EMUs athletic budget was subsidized by the rest of the university in 2015. The figure underscores the financial challenges of playing football in Division I without access to the type of revenue generated by schools like Alabama and Michigan -- and its an issue EMU athletic director Heather Lyke does not take lightly.Our goal is definitely to try to continue to increase revenue so we can become less dependent, said Lyke, who took over the athletic department in 2013. Were never not going to be dependent. I dont know if its 90 percent of the schools in the country are dependent on some level of general support, but I think when you look at the television exposure that our team has had -- playing on national television five times this year, compared to none when I first got here -- when were on an ESPN platform, were in 99 million homes, and that is good for the university.EMU responded quickly to the student and faculty report, releasing an open letter saying the school had no plans to drop football or leave the MAC. Lyke played softball at Michigan and worked for over a decade in the athhletic department at Ohio State, so shes experienced Division I sports at both ends of the financial spectrum.dddddddddddd She says its important for a school like Eastern Michigan to be realistic about who it is measuring itself against -- and that the Eagles can certainly be competitive within the MAC.Still, it can be hard for EMUs football team to find a niche if it isnt winning, especially since the Eagles play about six miles from Michigan Stadium, where over 110,000 fans regularly show up to watch the Wolverines.A couple years ago, when it was time to replace the turf at EMUs home stadium, the school changed the color of the field to gray, trying to create sort of a Midwestern version of what Boise State has done.To connect with this part of the country, southeast Michigan, where its blue collar, Lyke said. The student-athletes love it. Theyll say, `Gray is the new black.This is Creightons third season at the helm, and it began with a 61-14 victory over Mississippi Valley State, the teams highest scoring output since 2004. After a blowout loss at Missouri, the Eagles won at Charlotte and then returned home to play Wyoming in a game televised by CBS Sports Network.In the week leading up to that game, racist graffiti was found on an EMU building, and after the Eagles beat Wyoming, protesters marched on the field . Creighton said his team had met the night before to discuss what was happening on campus and around the country, and he was happy with the dialogue.It was pretty intense, but it was really good, Creighton said. It was a rich discussion, and some people from really kind of opposing viewpoints, but we were still unified. So it was pretty neat.Last weekend, EMU played at Bowling Green, the defending conference champion. The Eagles held on for a 28-25 win, earning their first 4-1 start in 21 years.Now Eastern Michigan will host a high-scoring Toledo team that is favored to beat the Eagles by over two touchdowns, but no matter what happens this weekend, EMU has a start it can build on. Creighton says he wants the program to succeed on the field and off, citing the fact that his team led the MAC in grade-point average the last two seasons.Its not just to win games, Creighton said. I want our program to become a source of pride for this campus and for Ypsilanti and for this region.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister ' ' '