" Cheveldayoff said Tuesday after the NHLs board of governo

NEW YORK -- With a 360-foot relay in the ninth inning, the New York Mets prevented a hard-fought victory from vanishing in the wind. Lucas Duda hit a long home run and New York threw out the potential tying run at the plate to hold off the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 Wednesday on a blustery night at Citi Field. Jonathon Niese earned his first win of the season, and shortstop Ruben Tejada cut down Matt Carpenter for the second out of the ninth on a strong relay from centre fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis. "My hearts still racing," Mets catcher Travis dArnaud said. "A 180-spin throw like that -- a perfect throw. I still cant believe I witnessed that." St. Louis manager Mike Matheny challenged the call by plate umpire Marty Foster, which was confirmed following a replay review of 1 minute, 20 seconds that showed dArnaud nicked Carpenter with a sweep tag behind his armpit. "I didnt feel the tag and I initially thought that I was safe," Carpenter said. "But I got a chance to look at it and it was a good call." With a runner on second, Kyle Farnsworth sealed it by retiring Matt Holliday on a tricky fly to right. Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha (2-2) set career highs with 10 strikeouts and five walks in the shortest of his 14 regular-season starts in the majors. A bizarre outing if ever there was one -- but it was that sort of night. Curtis Granderson snapped his career-worst hitless skid at 22 at-bats with a first-inning single, and the Mets got 6 2-3 effective innings from Niese (1-2) with wind gusting up to 41 mph on a 51-degree night. "Kind of throwing cue balls out there," Niese said. "It kind of felt like I was throwing with an ice pack on. Its tough to keep warm." Carlos Torres and Scott Rice escaped an eighth-inning jam before Farnsworth worked the ninth for his second save. He gave up consecutive singles and an RBI double to pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso that one-hopped the wall in left-centre, but New Yorks defence saved Farnsworth. "Two great throws," Carpenter said. "Thats a tough play thats not made a whole lot, especially with the game on the line." Carpenter had four hits and Yadier Molina added three for the Cardinals, but Jhonny Peraltas hitless streak reached 21 at-bats. Peralta popped out with runners at second and third in the eighth before pinch-hitter Matt Adams flied out to end the inning. Niese improved to 4-1 with a 1.87 ERA in six career starts against St. Louis. "I dont know what it is with Jon and cold weather, but he gets the call," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "He pitched absolutely great tonight in the conditions." The game began in a 31 mph wind at a mostly empty stadium. Workers hustled between innings to clean up all the flying napkins and hot dog wrappers that littered the outfield -- even bundled-up second base umpire Rob Drake helped out during a stoppage in play. "It was terrible. The worst. Not fun," Carpenter said. High popups and flyballs were an adventure. Tejada dropped one after retreating into the outfield, then scampering back to the infield. New York still got an easy forceout on the play. Wachas red cap blew right off his head as he was waiting for a new ball and rolled, like tumbleweed, to second baseman Mark Ellis. Duda homered against Seth Maness leading off the sixth, a laser beam of a line drive that cut under the wind and nearly reached the Shea Bridge walkway above the bullpens in right-centre. It was the first home run for the Mets in their past seven home games, ending their longest such drought since May 2012. Early on, it appeared the 22-year-old Wacha was headed to a record-setting performance. Last years NL championship series MVP overpowered the Mets with nine strikeouts in the first three innings but soon lost his control. He walked three in the fourth, including No. 8 batter Tejada and Nieuwenhuis with the bases loaded, forcing in two runs. Wacha was pulled for a pinch hitter in the fifth after throwing 93 pitches. Coming in, he had issued only three free passes in 26 innings this season. The Mets said Wacha joined Smoky Joe Wood (1909), Felix Hernandez (2013) and Danny Salazar (2014) as the only pitchers since 1900 to have at least 10 strikeouts in an outing that lasted no more than four innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Molina doubled home a run with two outs in the first, extending his hitting streak to 14 games, after Tejada and the Mets botched a rundown that should have resulted in an inning-ending double play. NOTES: Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright (knee) expects to make his next scheduled start Sunday against Pittsburgh, Matheny said. ... 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Zack Greinke Jersey .com)LeBron clearly likes his Italian sports cars, and thats ok with me, so up next up is the 458 Spider. Randy Johnson Jersey .J. Fair didnt have many chances to be the main option for Syracuse last season. PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Winnipeg will most likely host a Heritage Classic soon, though NHL commissioner Gary Bettman sought to clarify that it has not been promised to the Jets for the 2015-16 season. The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Jets will have a future game at Investors Group Field, and that chairman Mark Chipman wants to hold it in 2016. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff didnt provide any more details than what was in that report. "I think its a very exciting proposition," Cheveldayoff said Tuesday after the NHLs board of governors meeting. "Certainly lots of work probably needs to get done on it. I think its all very preliminary." Bettman struck the same chord, refusing to confirm the 2016 Heritage Classic in Winnipeg and saying the story "seems to hhave taken on a life of its own.dddddddddddd" "We had a discussion with Mark Chipman where we said wed like to have an outdoor game in Winnipeg, Heritage Classic, and Mark said thats great," Bettman said. "We said were not ready to make any announcements, and what is your preference on dates? He gave us a preference of 16, but theres no formal agreement, announcement or anything else. "Its still a work of progress, but at some point in the next few years, perhaps 16, perhaps not, well have an outdoor game in Winnipeg." The Free Press reported that Chipman was interested in having the Heritage Classic as part of the Jets fifth anniversary season. The Vancouver Canucks are set to host the Ottawa Senators in the Heritage Classic March 2 at BC Place. ' ' '