ST. LOUIS -- Brett Gardners leaping catch in the 11th inning gave the New York Yankees life. Patient at-bats and their first hit since the fifth inning put them over the top. "I just tried to get back there as fast as I could," Gardner said of his catch at the top of the left field wall that denied Yadier Molina of at least extra bases and perhaps a game-ending two-run homer in the Yankees 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in 12 innings Monday. "It was an easy play, just go back and make sure I get the ball in the glove before my back hits the wall." Brian Roberts bases loaded single was the go-ahead hit in a three-run 12th fueled by two walks and a hit batter. The Yankees won for the fourth time in extra innings on the season, three of them in the last six games. "Its a grind," Gardner said. "But weve been playing pretty well and we seem to really stay focused." Pinch-hitter Alfonso Soriano and Brendan Ryan each added an RBI for the Yankees, who took the opener of a three-game interleague series for their third straight win. Alfredo Aceves (1-2) worked two scoreless innings and David Robertson earned his 11th save in 12 chances. "At that point, youre just trying to get the guy in," Roberts said. "You need to be selective and find ways to win." Jon Jay had an RBI double in the 12th for the Cardinals, who lost for the third time in 12 games. "Just a really bad day," reliever Randy Choate said. "I felt fine coming in, just didnt have good stuff." A standing-room crowd of 47,311, the third-largest at 9-year-old Busch Stadium, showed up to see an opponent making only its second appearance in St. Louis since losing to the Cardinals in the 1964 World Series. The enthusiasm did not appear to be dampened by a 61-minute weather delay -- for rain that did not materialize -- before the first pitch. Cardinals pitchers retired 20 of 21 batters before the 12th, when Choate (0-2) faced five batters and four reached safely. Five Yankees relievers were stingy, too, permitting two hits in seven innings. "It comes down to doing little things and getting big hits," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "Thats no secret. We had a couple of opportunities to get the big hit. You cant do it all the time." Jacoby Ellsbury got the rally started when he walked to lead off the inning and stole second, a call upheld after Matheny challenged. After coming through, Roberts is 3 for 6 in extra innings. "Another big hit for us," manager Joe Girardi said. "I thought the bottom of the lineup was extremely productive." Molina slammed his helmet in frustration after Gardner came down with his drive at the top of the fence with a runner on and one out in the 11th. Derek Jeter got a standing ovation before his first at-bat, and thousands stood again when he singled, although they also roared when he took a called third strike to end the eighth against Carlos Martinez after Molinas pinpoint throw on Gardner attempting to steal. Michael Wacha dealt with a rain delay for the fourth time in his 11 starts -- total idle time of 4 hours, 52 minutes. After nine pitches the Yankees had the lead, with a walk by Gardner and a single by Jeter setting up Ellsburys RBI single. The first three batters reached in a two-run fifth, too, with Kelly Johnsons RBI single and Gardners sacrifice fly putting the Yankees up 3-1. New York rookie starter Chase Whitley was vulnerable early, too. The Cardinals needed two at-bats to tie it in the first when Matt Carpenter tripled off the right-field wall and Kolten Wong doubled, but they missed a chance for more when Wong overslid third and was caught stealing for the first time in eight attempts this season. Whitley qualified for a win for the first time in three career starts, but left with the bases loaded and none out in the sixth before the Cardinals tied it against Preston Claiborne. Allen Craig had an RBI groundout and Jhonny Peralta followed with a sacrifice fly. Wacha bounced back after taking a foul liner off his elbow while sitting in the dugout his last time out, giving up three runs on four hits in seven innings. He had a season-low two strikeouts, the first against Ellsbury leading off the sixth. NOTES: In a pregame ceremony, Jeter received Stan Musial cuff links and a $10,000 check for the captains Turn 2 Foundation. ... The Cardinals also paid tribute to their 1964 team. ... Whitley is the first Yankees pitcher to make his first three career starts on the road since Ramiro Mendoza made four in a row in 1996. ... Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (5-2, 3.60 ERA) opposes David Phelps (1-1, 3.18) on Tuesday night. Lynn is 1-3 with a 5.08 ERA in six career interleague starts. ... Wacha hasnt permitted more than three runs in any of his starts. Ray Ban Sunglasses Outlet . Amare Stoudemire had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony scored 21 and the New York Knicks won their eighth straight game, 93-92 over Philadelphia on Friday night, sending the Sixers to their 23rd straight loss. Ray Ban Sunglasses Clearance . Both of Padakins goals came in the second period while Zane Jones added a single in the first period for Calgary (13-6-4). Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger finished with 30 saves for the shutout. http://www.raybancheap.us/ . He just didnt expect them to be this good. Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points to lead No. 6 Villanova to a dominating 77-59 victory over Georgetown on Saturday, preserving the Wildcats hopes of a No. Ray Ban Sunglasses Cheap Online . The 23-year-old Poland international is back as first choice at Arsenal after losing his regular spot in the team on occasions over the last three seasons. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses . -- Among the 31 players at the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp, none feels closer to cracking the NHL roster than right winger Aaron Palushaj.MIAMI - LeBron James has learned an important lesson during his journey from 19-year-old rookie to two-time NBA champion: Never talk back to the coach during a film session. "Let him make his point, whether hes right or wrong, and you live with it and move on," James said. Especially when the coach has as much to show his players as Erik Spoelstra did to James and the Miami Heat on Wednesday. Miamis defence didnt offer much resistance early in Game 3 of the NBA Finals; the San Antonio Spurs played like they were on the court by themselves. San Antonio made 19 of its first 21 shots and shot a finals-record 75.8 per cent in the first half of a 111-92 victory. Just like last year, Game 3 was a blowout that left the Heat facing a 2-1 deficit. Miami came back to win the series, so nobody was overreacting to what happened Tuesday, especially since the Spurs themselves dont expect to shoot that way again. But the Heat have things to clean up before Game 4 on Thursday, or they risk going back to San Antonio facing the end of their title reign. "Youre always on edge in the post-season, but I dont want to be concerned at this point," James said. "For us, we have to make the adjustments." The Spurs had the same lead last year after a 113-77 victory in Game 3, a start-to-finish beating that was even more thorough than Tuesdays win. So they were taking no satisfaction in their position, and certainly not comparing it. "I dont think about last year at all at this point," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I dont think about last year Game 3, Game 4, at all. This is a different animal and Im just concerned about the game tomorrow night." The bigger concerns belong to the Heat, whose defence was also sliced up by the Spurs in the fourth quarter of Game 1. So Spoelstra gathered his team to look at the painful tape of Tuesdays performance, which featured among its problems: —Chris Bosh getting only four shot attempts after scoring 18 points in Games 1 and 2. —James trying to do too much to rally the Heat and ending up with seven of their 20 turnovers.dddddddddddd. —Mario Chalmers missing all five shots and falling to 3 for 12 in the finals. "We did not play a good basketball game," Spoelstra said. "All of us have owned that. It doesnt matter ultimately how many you lose by or what the game is like. You have to learn from it, move on." Spoelstra said watching themselves get clobbered on tape was "painful" and "frustrating," but necessary. He wouldnt reveal what he told his players, but whatever it was, James wouldnt have argued. Thats a lesson he said he learned "quite a few years ago, when you realize that it wouldnt change anything." "You know, the coach is always right," James added. "Its like a teacher. Theyre always right, and thats fine. Thats fair. They make the rules and weve got to live by them." Spoelstras process suits the Heat, who have won 13 straight post-season games following a loss. They followed last years Game 3 no-show with a rout of their own to swing the series back in their favour, and are confident they can make corrections before Thursday. But the Spurs, who didnt think they played that well in the first two games, have shown that not even the respected Miami defence can stop them when they execute the way they did Tuesday. "We finally put a game together for not the full 48, but for as long as we could, where we did exactly what we planned to do and executed in that respect," Tim Duncan said, "and thats what were going to need again." No team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals, and a victory Thursday would guarantee the Spurs two chances to win the series on their home floor, starting with Game 5 on Sunday. Dwyane Wade said the Heat arent thinking that far ahead. "Were an in-the-moment team," he said. "And right now in the moment is the day after a loss, getting better mentally, physically and then coming into tomorrow and playing the game of basketball here on our home floor and trying to win Game 4. That is all we focus on." ' ' '