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ST. LOUIS -- Without much fanfare, Kyle Lohse is having a sensational season. The right-hander pitched six spotless innings to earn his 12th win and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 on Sunday night for a three-game sweep. Lohse (12-2) allowed four hits and threw 100 pitches while winning his sixth consecutive decision. He struck out six, walked three and lowered his ERA to 2.79. "I have an idea of what Im trying to do out there and Im just going out and executing the game plan," Lohse said. "Its fun out there to throw strikes and let the defence do its work." Daniel Descalso had a season-high three hits for the Cardinals, who have won five of six and 12 of 16. It was their first three-game sweep at home against the Brewers since March 31 to April 3, 2003. Milwaukee has lost its last nine road games. Lohse has recorded quality starts in 11 of his last 12 games. He has emerged as the ERA leader on a talented staff that includes Adam Wainwright, Jake Westbrook and All-Star Lance Lynn. At times, Lohses efforts have gone unnoticed, but he doesnt mind flying under the radar. He is not big on publicity. "I dont play this game for that stuff," he said. "I like the fact that my teammates and my manager appreciate what I am doing." Lohse has gone at least six innings in his last 12 starts and this time he got plenty of help from his bullpen. Edward Mujica, Mitchell Boggs and Jason Motte shut out the Brewers on two hits over the final three innings. Motte earned his 24th save in 28 chances. "Its a nice feeling to know that if we get to the seventh with the lead, its going to be held," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. The Cardinals wore 1982 powder blue replica uniforms to mark the 30th anniversary of their World Series win over Milwaukee. Back then, the Brewers were in the American League. St. Louis has won 14 of the last 19 regular-season games between the teams. The Cardinals also beat Milwaukee in last years NL championship series. Descalso drove in Jon Jay with a two-strike triple off Marco Estrada (0-5) in the second inning following a one-out walk. Allen Craig pushed the lead to 2-0 with a run-scoring double in the seventh. Craig has 56 RBIs in his last 67 games. David Freese, who had two hits, brought in Carlos Beltran with a single in the eighth. Beltran doubled off the bag at first base. Descalso also singled in the fifth and seventh to finish 3 for 4. He struggled earlier in the year but has six hits in his last 10 at-bats to raise his average to .250. He was hitting .197 on May 11. "I wasnt happy with the way I was playing," Descalso said. "I expected a lot more out of myself. Ive been working hard to try and turn it around and relax up there." With the series sweep, the third-place Cardinals moved within seven games of first-place Cincinnati in the NL Central. "Its still a little early to be checking scoreboards and stuff," Descalso said. "But weve been playing pretty well. Its nice to come home and get three wins." Estrada turned in one of his best performances of the season but remains winless in 13 starts. He gave up one run and seven hits over six innings. "I made a couple of mistakes that they hit, but overall I was pretty happy with the way I threw the ball," he said. The Brewers, who have lost 12 of 16, were 2 for 22 with runners in the scoring position during the series. Milwaukee loaded the bases in the fourth before Lohse struck out Estrada to end the threat. The Brewers put two on in the third, but Lohse got Ryan Braun to pop out. "We had a lot of chances with Lohse," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. "Hes really good, but we needed a big hit somewhere and were just not getting that hit." Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez went 1 for 4 in his return to the lineup after missing the previous two games with a sore left wrist. NOTES: The Brewers had given up six or more runs in their past five road games. ... Milwaukee pitchers have a major league-best 915 strikeouts. ... St. Louis hosts San Francisco in the first of a four-game series Monday. Westbrook (10-8, 3.79 ERA) will face Matt Cain (10-4, 2.82). ... The Brewers host Cincinnati in the first of a three-game set Monday. Yovani Gallardo (9-8, 3.92) pitches against Bronson Arroyo (7-6, 3.87). Cheap NBA Jerseys . We want to reward the best teams from Matchday 1, while also keeping in mind the teams that they are and what they should become. Cheap MLB Jerseys . LOUIS -- Before James McDonald headed to the mound for the bottom of the first inning, A. http://www.azulvirtual.org/hot.html . "I told him it was his fault we were playing," DeRozan said, laughing. Laughing was about all the Toronto Raptors guard could do after dropping a 140-133 loss to the Utah Jazz in triple overtime -- a game that was in Torontos grasp until Jefferson drained just the second three-pointer of his career with 2. Gregg Popovich sent his best players home, deciding they reached the end of the road before the trip was over. For that, and for keeping it a secret, the San Antonio Spurs were fined $250,000 by the NBA on Friday. Commissioner David Stern said the Spurs "did a disservice to the league and our fans" when they didnt bring Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili or Danny Green to Miami for the final game of the six-game trip. "The result here is dictated by the totality of the facts in this case," Stern said in a statement. "The Spurs decided to make four of their top players unavailable for an early-season game that was the teams only regular-season visit to Miami. The team also did this without informing the Heat, the media, or the league office in a timely way. Under these circumstances, I have concluded that the Spurs did a disservice to the league and our fans." Teams are required to report as soon as they know a player will not travel because of injury. The leagues statement said the Spurs were in violation of league policy reviewed with the board of governors in April 2010 against resting players in a manner "contrary to the best interests of the NBA." The Spurs didnt comment on the penalty. The issue of resting healthy players has been debated before, though usually at the end of the season, not a month into it. And the Spurs have been right at the centre of it, Popovich using the rest strategy for an aging team that could use more time off than the NBA schedule often allows. They even made a joke out of it last season, the box score listing "OLD" next to the 36-year-old Duncans name as the reason he didnt play. Stern wasnt laughing Thursday. He has a nearly $5 billion a year industry to protect and cant like it when teams arent willing to put their best product on display in a marquee game televised by national TV partner TNT. Fans and viewers were excited about seeing the Spurs try to complete an unbeaten road trip against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the NBA champions, so there was an understandable letdown when they learned of the absences. But theres never a guarantee that any players are going to play, and Stern himself has previously made it clear he wasnt going to impose rules to change that. The Cleveland Cavaliers rested a healthy James for four straight games at the end of the 2009-10 regular season. Owners discussed the issue later that week at a meeting in New York, and Stern reported that there was "no conclusion reached, other than a number of teams thought it should be at the sole discretion of the team, the coach, the general manager, and I think its fair to say I agree with that, unless that discretion is abused." In the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts rested a healthy Peyton Manning even with an undefeated record late in the 2009 season, and the league eventually started trying to schedule as many divvision matchups as possible for the final two weeks of the season in an effort to make late-season games matter.dddddddddddd Popovich doesnt wait until the end of the season to start resting players. He was both praised and ripped for the way he navigated the lockout schedule last season, twice surrendering 11-game winning streaks by playing without his Big Three. Even those who didnt like it conceded that a coach who had won four championships with whats long been considered the NBAs model organization probably knew what he was doing, and more defence came Thursday night. "Popovich has done this before and he knows whats best for his team," former NBA star Shaquille ONeal said on TNT. "Its his job to manage his players and do whatever hed like. Hes thinking about the big picture." Another former player turned TNT analyst, Steve Kerr -- who played for Popovich -- also defended the franchises actions. "If the NBA punishes the Spurs for sitting players, it opens up a huge can of worms," he wrote on Twitter. "This is a serious legal challenge for the league." Celtics coach Doc Rivers didnt think the penalty would keep teams from resting players. "I dont like it," he said. "Its a tough one. Youve got to coach your team to win in the long run and you have to do whatever you need to do. If thats sitting players, you sit players." That San Antonio -- largely unloved in its championship days but suddenly a plucky underdog cheered by those who felt Stern overstepped his bounds -- nearly won the game before the Heat rallied for a 105-100 victory didnt sway the commissioner. The league has an expectation that fans paying hundreds of dollars should get what they paid for. On Friday, the Phoenix Suns announced a "satisfaction guaranteed night" next Thursday against Dallas, offering fans a rebate if they didnt enjoy their experience in what the team called a first-of-its-kind promotion in the league. But nobody buying a ticket can be assured of seeing his favourite players. The Heat occasionally sat their superstars late last season for what the organization termed a "maintenance program," and a late-season matchup against the Celtics included the following DNPs: James, Wade, Bosh and Bostons Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo. Then there are the neutral-site preseason games the league stages in markets where fans rarely get to see the NBA live. Signs outside the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. before a Celtics-Knicks matchup in October featured pictures of Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony, although neither played despite being healthy. With Stern reaching in now, does he reach that far? Or are there be a separate set of guidelines depending on the calendar? The league wouldnt clear that up, not commenting beyond its statement. The Spurs were unavailable Friday after the long trip. They were resting. ' ' '