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MIAMI -- With Jose Fernandez on the mound, Dee Gordon returning from suspension, Ichiro Suzuki continuing to chase 3,000 hits and two teams battling for wild-card playoff spots, there will be no shortage of story lines on Thursday when the Miami Marlins play host to the St. Louis Cardinals.Fernandez is nearly unbeatable at Marlins Park. The way he has pitched at home -- 26-1 with a 1.47 ERA -- he can pretty much throw his glove on this mound and win.Overall, he is 12-4 with a 2.54 ERA. The 12 wins match a career high for the two-time All-Star. And dont sleep on Fernandez offensively, either. He has six RBI this season.The Cardinals will counter with Michael Wacha (5-7, 4.37 ERA), who was a bit shaky in his most recent start, allowing 10 hits but just two runs. Overall, though, Wacha has held opponents to three or fewer runs in eight straight starts.Wacha vs. Fernandez should be a good matchup. Wacha, the 19th overall pick in the 2012 draft, is only 25, but he is already an All-Star (2015) and a National League Championship Series MVP (2013).In that same year when Wacha was MVP, Fernandez was the NL Rookie of the Year. Fernandez is only 23 years old, but he already ranks as one of the games best.As for Gordon, he is due back after an 80-game ban for using performance-enhancing suspension.His return should inject some life in a lineup that earlier this week went 24 innings without scoring before breaking out on Wednesday with an 11-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.Gordon led the NL in steals and batting average last year, and he will also be an upgrade defensively at second base.Suzuki, who is three hits from 3,000, is a reserve outfielder, and it is unknown when he will get his next start. His most recent start came Tuesday, when he went 1-for-5.Well play what we think is our best lineup and move forward, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. Its a little uncomfortable when you get that close with Ich because you dont want to put him out there just to (get to 3,000).We have been playing in the concept of the team the whole year. Youd like Ich to get (No. 3,000) at home, but I dont want to force it.If its a good matchup or if a guy needs a day off and its a good thing for our team, well do it.As for the pennant race, the Marlins (55-46) lead the Cardinals (54-47) by one game and the New York Mets (53-47) by 1 1/2 games for the second wild-card spot.The Cardinals scored twice in the ninth inning off Mets closer Jeurys Familia on Wednesday night, rallying to win 5-4.St. Louis won two of three in the important series, and the Cardinals also earned the distinction of ending Familias streak of 52 consecutive saves.So there you have it -- a confident Cardinals team travels on little rest to visit a confident Marlins team with a lot on the line in a hot playoff race.And, oh yes, Fernandez takes on Wacha, Gordon returns from suspension and Suzuki chases 3,000. Alan Trammell Jersey Large . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. Wholesale Custom Tigers Shirts . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. http://www.customtigersjersey.com/ . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Tigers Jerseys China . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Custom Tigers T-shirts . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. LONDON -- Before looking ahead to the Wimbledon final between Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber on Saturday, take a moment to look back at the Americans second-round match last week.After dropping the opening set against Christina McHale in a ragged tiebreaker, Williams plopped herself in her sideline chair and proceeded to smack her racket repeatedly against the grass, before flinging the equipment so far behind her that it landed in the lap of a TV cameraman.That display earned six-time Wimbledon champion Williams a $10,000 fine. And, more importantly, she has won all 10 sets shes played since.Sometimes when I release that energy, I get kind of calm, Williams said. I just sometimes feel like maybe I need to release.So maybe there was something to the theory, espoused by some, that Williams has been having so much trouble winning her 22nd Grand Slam title because she cared too much about tying Steffi Grafs Open-era record.Listen to the way Williams described the state of her game heading into Saturdays final:I feel good. I felt great in other tournaments, as well. But I feel a little different, Williams said. I just feel more relaxed and more at peace than I may have been in the past.A few minutes later, she was asked to elaborate on what, exactly, she meant.Well, you know, just sometimes, when you are fighting, sometimes you want something so bad, it can hinder you a little bit, Williams explained. Now Im just a little bit more calm.The No. 1 player in the WTA rankings insisted, meanwhile, that her so-close-yet-so-far pursuit of Graf has not been weighing on her.My goal has never been 22, Williams said after her 48-minute workout of a 6-2, 6-0 semifinal victory over Elena Vesnina on Thursday. I dont talk about that anymore.Since winning Wimbledon a year ago for her fourth consecutive Grand Slam title and 21st of her careeer, Williams count has stalled.ddddddddddddShe lost to Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals, to Kerber in the Australian Open final, and to Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final.That meeting on a hard court at Melbourne in January was the first major title match for Kerber, a 28-year-old from Germany who considers Graf an idol and has received advice from her.Speaking about Kerbers play in the three-set Australian Open final, Williams said: She came out swinging, ready to win. She was fearless. Thats something I learned. When I go into a final, I, too, need to be fearless like she was.The No. 4-seeded Kerbers left-handed, counter-punching game -- watch during baseline exchanges as she bends so low that a knee touches the ground -- gave Williams trouble that day. Its also created problems for every opponent this fortnight: Kerber has won all 12 sets shes played so far, including during a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Williams older sister Venus in the semifinals.Might Venus offer Serena any advice about how to beat Kerber?Ill give her a few pointers, Venus said. For the most part, shes got to go out there and play the match she wants to play, not that I want her to play.Williams-Kerber II represents the first time in a decade that two women play each other in a pair of Grand Slam finals in the same season: Amelie Mauresmo defeated Justine Henin for the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2006.Can Kerber go 2-for-2 against Williams?I will just try to (go) out there like in Australia, Kerber said, trying to show her, `OK, Im here to win the match, as well. I know that I have to play my best tennis to beat her in the final.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '