PHOENIX — For the first time in 52 days Oren Burks Color Rush Jersey , A.J. Pollock was back Monday where he belonged — in center field and hitting fourth in the Arizona lineup after missing time with a fractured left thumb.

St. Louis, meanwhile, seems to be in a juggling mode where its outfield is concerned. Jose Martinez, who has spent most of the first half at first base, did pregame work in right field for the second straight day, and that appears that is his position moving forward.

Pollock was hitless in four at-bats and scored a run, but the Cardinals took the first game of the series when Yadier Molina had two hits, including a homer and three RBIs in a 6-3 victory Monday.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo apologized to Molina behind the batting cage before the game for language he used in an argument the second inning of an April 8 game in St. Louis. Lovullo was ejected and Molina had to be restrained as players from both teams entered the field.

“Everything is in the past,” Molina said. “I have a bunch of respect for him and the organization in Arizona.”

Arizona right-hander Zack Greinke is to oppose St. Louis right-hander Jack Flaherty in the second game of the series Tuesday.

St. Louis broke a four-game losing streak and, with four runs in the first inning, had a lead for the first time since last Tuesday. The Diamondbacks have lost four in a row.

“It is frustrating,” Lovullo said. “I think we are a better team then we have showed these last four games. The season has its ups and downs and we should know that. We had a situation just like this before.”

Pollock Orlando Brown Jr. Color Rush Jersey , who has missed extended time because of injuries the last two seasons, will be monitored, Lovullo said.

“He wants to play every day. He makes that perfectly clear,” Lovullo said. “He does not like to come out of the lineup, and I love that. But I explained to him that we’re going to control his playing time and his innings until he’s one hundred percent removed from any more things popping up.”

Pollock was slashing .293/.346.503 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs in 40 games before his injury.

Martinez leads the Cardinals with 52 RBIs, but he also leads NL first basemen with seven errors. Rookie Tyler O’Neill started in right field Monday, with Matt Carpenter at first.

“One of those tough conversations,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said of Martinez’s position shift.

“He is so good offensively. And trying to figure out ways to maybe help our defense a little bit on the infield. We’re going to be working him as hard as we can to get him comfortable there and plug him into the equation. There are still going to be some opportunities at first.”

Martinez, slashing .299/.367/.496 with 13 and a team-high 52 RBIs, has played 72 games at first base this season after basically splitting time between first and the corner outfield spots in last season. Left field is now covered by free agent sign Marcell Ozuna.

“Tyler O’Neill is going to play,” Matheny said. “We know when he gets hot, he’s got the potential to do good things for us. Try to get a good look at him while he is in play mode. He’s been swinging it well. Just some different looks. Get some other guys engaged in the infield Boone Logan Milwaukee Brewers Jersey , too.”

Greinke, 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA, has 13 scoreless innings in his last two starts, victories at Pittsburgh and Miami as part of a three-win road trip. He has won three starts in a row and was 5-1 with a 2.95 ERA in six June starts, dropping his ERA to the lowest it has been since the second week of the season.

“He’s on a Zack Greinke run,” Lovullo said. “He had a real nice run from the middle of May last year until the end of the season, where he just grinds up innings. Fast innings, which equal wins.”

Greinke is 12-5 with a 3.42 ERA in 19 career appearances against the Cardinals. He has more victories against only team, Detroit (13). Greinke is 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA in eight home starts this season and is 16-2 at Chase Field the last two years.

Rookie Flaherty, 3-3 with a 2.92 ERA, has made quality starts in four of his 11 appearances and had a career-high 13 strikeouts while giving up only one hit in seven innings of a no-decision against Milwaukee on June 22. He gave up four runs in four innings in his last appear, a 5-1 loss to Cleveland.

Flaherty Saquon Barkley Jersey Giants , 1-1 with a 2.20 ERA in five starts on the road, has never faced Arizona.

MINNEAPOLIS — A series that was solely in the Rockets’ favor in Houston took a turn in Game 3 in Minnesota.

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni was his usual calm self after the 121-105 loss on Saturday, but he knows his team will have to match the Timberwolves‘ intensity in Game 4 on Monday night in Minnesota.

“Yeah, it’s disappointing,” D’Antoni said after Houston lost its first game of the series and just the third in 23 meetings against Minnesota. “But, hey guys, you have a playoff series and they’re a good team. They played better than we did today. We’ll make some adjustments. We’ll figure this out.

“On Monday, we’ll have to match their intensity. If we don’t, we’ll get beat again. It’s pretty simple.”

Driven by the Target Center crowd that hadn’t witnessed a home playoff game since 2004, the Timberwolves pulled to 2-1 in the seven-game series with the top-seeded Rockets. Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, Jeff Teague added 23 and Minnesota hit 15 3-pointers in Saturday’s win.

The Timberwolves, who hit the fewest 3s per game in the NBA during the regular season Ryan Switzer Color Rush Jersey , matched Houston’s total. The Rockets led the league in 3s per game in the regular season.

“They’re a great team,” Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We know we’re going to have to play better on Monday. I think we’re capable of playing better. We’re learning more each day.

“We learn. We improve. Same thing, we know we can’t feel too good about ourselves. We have to get in tomorrow, study the film, get ready. We know Monday will be an intense game.”

The Timberwolves hope they’ve found a combination to be able to keep up with the Rockets. Minnesota’s defense, which was among the worst in the league during the regular season, has slowly come around and helped trigger a big second half on Saturday.

From Karl-Anthony Towns engaging defenders down low to power forward Taj Gibson defending James Harden one-on-one resulting in a poor shot attempt, the Timberwolves’ defense effort became contagious team-wide.

The Rockets shot 47.5 percent from the field in the second half but had seven turnovers and were just 6 of 19 (31.6 percent) from 3.

“We’re a young team in playoff experience, so we’re growing, getting better every game,” Teague said. “Tonight we took a big step. I think we picked up our intensity and played a lot harder, but it’s still a long way to go.”

Minnesota also got Towns more involved on the offensive end. His lack of shots has been a topic all series. The All-Star center had nine shots in each of the first two games of the series and scored a total of 13 points.

On Saturday Derrick Nnadi Color Rush Jersey , he had 18 points, including 12 in the second half.

“I think it is a sense of patience,” Towns said. “First quarter, I don’t think I shot a shot. So it’s letting the game come to me naturally, not trying to rush and trying to find shots. Letting the shots find me and my teammates were amazing.”

Harden scored 29 points and Chris Paul had 17 points and six assists, but the Rockets now need to make an adjustment.

Houston wants to get back to its defensive approach and limit Minnesota as it did in the first two games of the series. The Timberwolves averaged 91.5 points per game in the first two games and shot just 38.8 percent from the field in Game 2.

“We knew that was going to be a lot more comfortable coming home,” Paul said. “They make a lot more 3s tonight, 15 for 27, and we got to be better defensively. We were just opening up the lane and letting Teague drive and all the other guys, so we know we got to be better.”

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