ST. LOUIS -- Milwaukee Brewers rookie Tyler Thornburg found himself in the middle of a pennant race Thursday night, even though it was only in a spoiler role. "You always want to try and make it as tough for those teams who have something to play for," he said. Thornburg did just that, tossing six solid innings to lead the Brewers over St. Louis 5-3. Sean Halton homered for Milwaukee, which snapped the Cardinals five-game winning streak. St. Louis fell into a tie with Pittsburgh for the top spot in the NL Central. Both teams are 85-61 with 16 games remaining. The idle Cincinnati Reds are 2 1/2 back. Milwaukee broke a three-game losing streak against St. Louis and beat the Cardinals for only the fourth time in 16 meetings this season. "Its important to beat these guys. Theyve been taking it to us pretty good," manager Ron Roenicke said. "We played a good game today. There were a lot of good things that happened." The Cardinals are 5-1 on their nine-game homestand. Thornburg (2-1), making his eighth career start, gave up two runs and three hits. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Nashville, going 0-9 with a 5.79 ERA in 15 starts. Thornburg struck out six and walked two. He has allowed two runs or fewer and gone six innings in all five major league starts this season. Jim Henderson earned his 25th save in 29 opportunities. "I thought I threw the ball pretty well," Thornburg said. "I was locating my fastball pretty well. Everything felt good." St. Louis outfielder Carlos Beltran was impressed with the right-hander. "The first couple of at-bats youre kind of like wondering, watching what hes trying to do," he said. "We just couldnt do anything against him." Halton, who had three RBIs, hit a two-run homer off Joe Kelly (8-4) in the fourth to put the Brewers up 4-0. Halton also had a run-scoring single in the second. The round-tripper was the biggest hit of the season for Halton, a rookie starting his 15th game. "This is as good as it gets for a guy like me," he said. "Getting called up in September, thats all you can ask for is to be a factor." Like Thornburg, Halton loves the spoiler role. "Were in a (pennant) race all right, a race to knock someone else out," he said. The Brewers jumped on Kelly, who allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits in five innings. He won his previous five starts, and the Cardinals had won his last eight. "My stuff felt good, I just missed on a couple pitches," Kelly said. "They didnt hit the ball extremely hard. I just left some pitches up." Matt Adams hit a two-out solo homer in the ninth, his 13th of the season. The Brewers scored single runs in each of the first two innings. Scooter Gennett and Jonathan Lucroy singled in the first, and Gennett came around on a groundout by Aramis Ramirez. The Cardinals pulled to 4-2 in the fourth on a run-scoring double by Matt Holliday and a sacrifice fly by David Freese. They also put two on with one out in the sixth, but Thornburg retired Beltran and Freese to end the threat. "We just had a lot of things not really going the way we wanted them to," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "We hit a few balls hard, but (Thornburg) threw a good game against us." Norichika Aoki tripled in Yuniesky Betancourt in the ninth. NOTES: All three games in the series lasted 3 hours, 2 minutes. ... St. Louis RHP Trevor Rosenthal missed the game. His wife, Lindsey, was in labour awaiting their first child. ... Cardinals C Yadier Molina missed his second successive game due to an illness to his mother, Gladys. General manager John Mozeliak said Molina could be back Friday. ... St. Louis 1B Allen Craig is making progress with his injured left foot. "Were still optimistic hell play again," Mozeliak said. "Hes feeling a lot better. Its one of those things where youre just going to have to let some time progress." Craig sustained a left mid-foot strain on Sept. 4. ... The Brewers begin a 10-game homestand Friday against Cincinnati. Kyle Lohse (9-9, 3.59 ERA) will face Reds RHP Mat Latos (14-5, 3.02) in the opener of a three-game series. ... St. Louis ends its homestand with three games against Seattle beginning Friday. Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright (16-9, 3.03) faces Hisashi Iwakuma (12-6, 2.97). Cheap Shoes Online UK Sale . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. Shoes UK Online Shop Cheap .During the week, McCoy told reporters he respected Hoyer for his intelligence, athleticism and how he conducts himself on and off the field. This wasnt an act, some attempt at psyching out Hoyer. http://www.clearanceshoesuk.com/ . The Canadiens captain, who underwent surgery on his injured biceps in the off-season, had been skating with the team in a non-contact capacity since last week. UK Shoes Clearance Sales .ca. Hi Kerry, Love reading your column and loved watching your analysis on the TSN broadcasts!And were now in Round 2! Bruins! Canadiens! We know all about the great games of the past from the players, the broadcasters and the writers. Cheap Shoes UK Free Delivery . Kadri was dressed in a green jersey at Thursdays practice and skated as an extra forward on the teams fourth line as the Leafs.FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Rex Ryan bolted out of his office the moment he heard Ed Reed was cut. He wanted to make sure general manager John Idzik knew one of his favourite players was available for the New York Jets to pursue. "Its only a rumour that I pulled a hamstring," Ryan said, grinning. "Thats not true." The Jets signed the nine-time Pro Bowl safety Thursday, bringing one of the NFLs greatest playmaking defensive players to a secondary on a defence that ranks 24th against the pass. The 35-year-old Reed was released Tuesday by Houston, cleared waivers Wednesday and joined less than 24 hours later. "John had a big smile on his face," Ryan said about the Jets GM. "I think he anticipated it, but he had already beaten me to the punch. He had already set it in motion with our scouts." Reed joined his new Jets teammates on the practice field wearing a green No. 22 jersey; his familiar No. 20 is currently worn by cornerback Kyle Wilson. Reed laughed when he was asked if he thinks hes got anything left. "I dont think Id be here if they didnt think that," he said after his first practice with the Jets. "I know what I know. I know how I feel and I know what Ive put in my off-season workouts. Im ready to go. Youll see. "You guys can be the judge of it." The Jets released outside linebacker Ricky Sapp to make room on the roster for Reed. Ryan and defensive co-ordinator Dennis Thurman coached Reed for eight years in Baltimore. Reed has always been a favourite of Ryan, who once labeled him the greatest safety to play the game. While his physical skills no longer make him one of the games elite players, Reed will be able to serve as a leader in the secondary and help bring along young safeties Antonio Allen, Jaiquawn Jarrett and Josh Bush. "This had nothing to do with sentiment," Ryan said. "We believe that Ed will be a great signing for us and hes going to help this football team, without question." Reed said New England also showed interest, as well as one other team, but everything seemed right about coming to the Jets. "It just fits," he said. "I know the system. Rex was like, Go ahead and lets see what youve got." The fact that the Jets (5-4) are in the playoff hunt was also a plus. "Thats a huge factor," Reed said. "It was a huge factor in playing this year, in general, being with a team that was going to contend and be in the playoffs." Theres a good chance Reed will be ready to play Sunday at Buffalo, at least in certain situations, and it is a low-risk, high-reward situation for thee Jets.dddddddddddd. "Weve had some issues with the deep ball," Ryan said. "Let them throw it there now." Reed would like to start, of course, but added that hes fine with whatever the coaches want him to do, including playing in dime packages or special teams. "They had a good thing going before I came," Reed said. "I dont plan on rocking the boat." That was a bit of an issue in Houston, as Reed missed the Texans first two games after off-season hip surgery and was relegated to a backup role, making just 16 tackles with no interceptions. He was unhappy about not starting after signing a three-year, $15 million deal in the off-season following 11 years in Baltimore. Reed also criticized the team for being outplayed and outcoached after the Texans seventh straight loss last Sunday. "To put it simple for you," Reed said, "it wasnt a good fit." Texans defensive co-ordinator Wade Phillips said Thursday that Reeds criticism was not why he was released, but rather because the teams younger players were performing well and Reed wasnt getting a lot of playing time. Phillips laughed when he was asked if the Texans thought they were going to get more out of Reed when they signed him. "Yeah, I think thats probably an understatement," Phillips said. "We all thought he was going to be J.J. Watt in the secondary. And things didnt work out that way." Reed, who won a Super Bowl last season with the Ravens, was the NFLs top defensive player in 2004. In 11-plus seasons, the ball-hawking Reed has 61 interceptions, including seven returned for touchdowns. Hes a five-time first-team All-Pro who also holds the NFL record with 1,541 yards on interception returns. His nine career post-season interceptions, including one in the Ravens Super Bowl win, tie him for the league mark. Reed said recent criticism of him has come as a result of being held to higher standards than most safeties. "I created that monster, and Ive been blessed to create that monster," he said. "I love it." Reed had a whirlwind 24 hours, which began with him working out in Georgia when he cleared waivers around 4 p.m. Wednesday. Less than six hours later, he was on a plane to New Jersey. "We had him at hello," Thurman said. Reed met with Idzik before going to bed around 2:30 a.m., and then heading back to the facility after a few hours of sleep. "We put him in some defences just to see what he could remember with his partner (Dawan) Landry out there," Ryan said. "It was like, Whoa, here we go. "It was like he hadnt missed a beat." ' ' '