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  February 21, 2018 5:48 PM PST

  ST. Fabio Coentrao Jersey . LOUIS -- A.J. Burnett had a special fan watching him pitch for the first time Friday night and he wanted to impress. He did. Burnett scattered seven hits for his first complete game of the year and the Philadelphia Phillies won their season-high fifth in a row, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1. "It the first time in my career my grandmother has seen me pitch," Burnett said. "It was extra special. She came up from Little Rock, Arkansas, with my mom and brother. It was awesome. She saw a good game." "Im giving her the game ball," he said. The Phillies winning streak has come on the road. They have won nine of 11 overall. "Everybody is feeding off one another and its clicking," Burnett said. "Were having fun." St. Louis has dropped three in a row after winning five straight. "Were trying real hard," said Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who had two hits. "But were facing good pitchers. A.J. threw a good game, kept us off balance." Burnett (5-6) threw 111 pitches to earn his 24th complete game. He struck out three, walked one and hit two batters. "Complete games dont happen very often," Burnett said. "I got quick outs, groundball outs. I threw my changeup a lot. I bet I threw 20-plus tonight. It was one of the days when the hook wasnt there. Normally, we keep pounding the hook trying to get it, but the changeup was effective. That pitch helped more than anything." That was the key, Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. "He had command of three pitches and he seemed to really pound the zone," Sandberg said. "When we gave him the lead, he really held his stuff. He still had good stuff in the ninth inning. He did a lot of things to help himself win the game." That included his bat. Burnett, who came into the season as a career .110 hitter, contributed an RBI double and scored. The ball bounced on the track in front of the 400-foot mark. "With the infield in, Ive got hit it in the air, right?" Burnett said with a laugh. "I put a pretty good swing on it thought. Thats all I got, though. If that ball doesnt leave, its not going to leave at all." Marlon Byrd homered and John Mayberry Jr. added two hits and scored twice. Jimmy Rollins drove in two runs and extended his hitting streak to 14 games with two hits. Jaime Garcia (3-1) pitched into the sixth inning, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks. He lost his third start in a row to the Phillies. "He pitched close enough to give us a chance," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "He had good movement, he just got hit a couple of times." The game began after a 50-minute rain delay. St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the third when Matt Carpenter was hit by a pitch with two outs and later scored on a single by Matt Holliday. The Phillies scored twice in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Mayberry, Burnett and Rollins doubled in the fifth. Burnett drove in his first run of the season and Rollins stretched his longest hitting streak since a 14-game run in 2007. "Any way I can help," Burnett said. "Whatever it takes." The Phillies chased Garcia in the sixth. Byrd led off with a homer. After Domonic Brown doubled, Seth Maness relieved. Mayberry hit an RBI single and scored on Rollins sacrifice fly. NOTES: The Cardinals did not take batting practice before the game. ... The Phillies activated 3B Cody Asche (left hamstring) from the 15-day disabled list and put 3B Reid Brignac on the DL with a sprained left ankle. Brignac hurt his ankle in a play at first base Thursday when he tried to beat pitcher Shelby Miller to the bag. Asche grew up in nearby St. Charles County and played for the first time at Busch Stadium. ... Cardinals P Kevin Siegrist (strained left forearm) played long toss from 120 feet. He has not pitched since May 23. He said he might throw bullpen session Sunday. ... Cards GM John Mozeliak said P Trevor Megill, the Cardinals third-round pick in the amateur draft, has opted to return to Loyola Marymount for his senior season. Mozeliak said the team no longer will scout Megill, adding that Megill wanted more than the designated slot value of $504,400. ... Mozeliak said P Joe Kelly will have a "rigorous bullpen" Sunday and then a "baseball decision" will made about when Kelly might begin a rehab assignment. ... Rosemary Depler, of Peoria, Illinois, celebrated her 101st birthday by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Danilo Pereira Jersey .com) - Jimmy Butler made four key free throws down the stretch to lift the Chicago Bulls over the Boston Celtics, 109-102, on Friday. Adrien Silva Jersey .55 million euros (US$18.6 million) to Spanish tax authorities on Monday to cover any potential irregularities in its signing of Neymar, all the while maintaining its innocence of the fraud charges levied against it.BEREA, Ohio - Browns Pro Bowl wide receiver Josh Gordon called his yearlong NFL suspension the "worst experience I had in my life" but vowed to come back a better person once hes allowed to play again. Gordon, who hasnt spoken to local media members since April, did an extensive interview with ondecker.com in which he claims hes not addicted to drugs and believes his case is affecting the possibility the NFL will change its drug policy. During the interview, Gordon maintains he failed a drug test for marijuana because he was exposed to secondhand smoke. Before his positive test, Gordon said he was clean and had passed 70 tests. He denied having a drug problem. "Definitely not," he said. "In this case I was exposed to it from secondhand and prior to Ive been drug free and been staying that way. This incident has been causing a backlash of negative attention and negative media of me being an addict or junkie or using drugs terribly too much, which is definitely not the case. Id definitely like to have that out in the open and be clear with that for sure." The 23-year-old said learning he had been suspended shook him deeply. "I was definitely upset, heartbroken because you wont able to play ultimately for a full year," he said. "You get emotional, you get depressed. You touch all of the emotions I believe at once. It was definitely a dark period of time for me. Definitely the worst experience I had in my life for sure, having your livelihood possibly taken away so now were just trying to turn it into a positive and take the best things out of it we can." Gordon believes his case is part of the negotiations taking place between the league and the players union for a revamped drug policy. The NFLPA has delayed a vote on the leagues proposal for changes that potentially could implement HGH testing. Gordon, who was suspended two games last season, feels his muddled situation has partly provided an impetus for change. "I do believe my situation had a lot to ddo with it," he said, "for the mere fact I guess the disparity and controversy with the policy and how close it was. Rui Patricio Jersey. It somewhat made me the poster child for advancing into a new, a different policy. Im sure its a good thing and a bad thing as well. Sad I had to be the example for it as well. Its good to see, I guess, progression made in the league and that theyre doing something about it." Gordon acknowledged checking into a rehab clinic in California following a drunken driving arrest in July. He said the clinic found that he "wasnt addicted to anything." As Gordons saga has dragged on, several of his teammates are holding out hope hell be reinstated or have his suspension reduced. "Yeah, we have hope alive for that," safety Donte Whitner said. "You always want that. He was our best player on offence. He was the leading receiver in the National Football League last year. That would be a huge boost for us if he does come back. If not, we still have guys that can make plays. We hope for the best. Prepare for the worst." Gordon said hes grateful for the support hes received from the Browns. "Im sure another team wouldnt mind letting me go or cut me or something like that, but they believed in me and knew that there was something more to my character not only from the negative but more so than the positive they saw in me and they wanted to stick with me," he said. "So I appreciate them for that." Gordon led the league in receiving yards last season, when he established himself as one of the leagues elite playmakers. Hes determined to come back, and when he does, Gordon intends to be better than ever — on and off the field. "Im looking forward to not letting anyone down, myself included," he said. "I think I can go above and beyond expectations and be a figure head in the community and be something for Cleveland to be proud of." ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL        ' ' '