LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Phil Mickelson will be the first to admit hes a bit streaky. Sure, its been more than a year since his last victory. Then he goes and makes 10 birdies while shooting 62 on the final day at Firestone. Just like that, Lefty is being mentioned as one of the favourites at the PGA Championship. Can he keep it up? Mickelson has no idea. "If I could answer that question, it would be a lot easier," he said Tuesday after a practice round at Valhalla Golf Club. "Its been 20-plus years and things are just that way. Rather than question it or try to find an answer, I just accept it as being the way it is and look forward to it when it does happen. Its fun when it does." Mickelson hasnt had a lot of fun since winning the British Open at Muirfield nearly 13 months ago. He failed to crack the top 20 at any of the last four majors. His highest finish on the PGA Tour is 11th. His putting got so shaky that he experimented with a claw grip during the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, only to switch back to a conventional style right in the middle of the tournament. He looked downright lost. Nothing changed through the first two rounds of the Bridgestone Invitational, when Mickelsons belief that his game was rounding into form was shattered by rounds of 71 and 73. "It would be out of nowhere for me to play well," he grumbled just last Saturday. The very next day, Mickelson put up his lowest round since a 60 at the 2013 Phoenix Open. "Its just kind of the way I play golf," he said. "Im streaky. Ill get on rolls and get some good momentum, and all of a sudden the hole looks huge. Then there are days where its just the opposite. Its just the way its always been for me. I dont have a great answer." More than anyone, Mickelson realizes the way he was feeling just a few days ago may be gone by the time he tees off in the final major championship of the year. "In this game, things can turn around, really, in an instant," he said. "Im interested to see how it goes Thursday and Friday. But certainly my confidence level and my practice sessions are totally different. I dont feel like Im searching. I feel like now Im just trying to acquire that same feel from Sunday, and I feel like Ive found what Im looking for. I just have to maintain it." At 44, Mickelson can no longer keep up with big hitters like Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler, who joined Lefty for Tuesdays practice round. Both struck it farther off the 10th tee during the PGAs long-drive competition. Someone asked Mickelson what it felt like to go against players who grew up idolizing him. "Just makes me feel old, thats all," he said, smiling. "When someone says, Yeah, I used to watch you on TV when I was 6, how do you respond to that?" Mickelson has another goal this week besides winning. Hes played his way onto every Ryder Cup team since making his first in 1995, but hes 10th in the points heading into the final event before the top nine spots are determined. If he doesnt move up at Valhalla, hell have to rely on a fallback position: being one of three picks by captain Tom Watson. That would seem a mere formality. Mickelson would prefer to claim his place without Watsons help. "Im confident that Ill get on the team on my own and wont require that pick," Lefty said. "I want to keep that going, of making the team on my own and not needing a pick." A win would remove any doubt. It also would end Mickelsons longest drought since 2003. "Ideally, you want to have some momentum through the course of the year, through the course of the month heading into big tournaments," he said. "When youre in contention, its a lot easier to stay up there than when you havent been playing well." Of course, Mickelson is never quite sure how things will turn out. He learned long ago to expect the unexpected. "You dont want to put too much emphasis," Mickelson said, "on just one round." Andrelton Simmons Angels Jersey . Of course that doesnt mean hes ignoring it. Thats actually rather impossible given the behind-the-scenes access to the Toronto Maple Leafs the network is getting. Noe Ramirez Angels Jersey . PAUL, Minn. https://www.cheapangels.com/1663j-adalbe...sey-angels.html. Coverage on TSN is underway now while action resumes on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. TSN GO also offers TSN subscribers bonus online coverage, with live streams of all four venues. Brian Goodwin Jersey . - The Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta reached agreement on a five-year contract Friday. Nolan Ryan Angels Jersey . The 24-year-old Pruneau played his CIS football with the Montreal Carabins. The six-foot, 200-pound Montreal native had 41 tackles, 3.ST. LOUIS -- Travis Wood made a beeline for fellow pitcher Jeff Samardzijas locker. He wanted to apologize for all of that run support. "I instantly came in here and gave him a hug and said sorry," the lefty said after the Chicago Cubs got six RBIs from Junior Lake in a 17-5 rout over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night. "The offence played great, they brought their A game." Samardzija has a 1.45 ERA, but is 0-3. The Cubs have totalled 15 runs in his eight starts. Lake homered and doubled twice for Chicago, which had lost seven of eight overall. The Cubs totalled just four runs while getting swept in a three-game series at Atlanta over the weekend -- Emilio Bonifacio scored five times himself in this romp. "Thats what we needed," Lake said. "Just play hard and something happened good." Chicago has the worst record in the league at 13-24, but is 4-3 against the defending NL champions. The Cardinals were forced to finish with infielder Daniel Descalso as a relief pitcher getting the final out in the ninth. Its the first time St. Louis used a position player to pitch since Rob Johnson against the Dodgers in a 13-4 loss at home Aug. 7. "Its embarrassing to have to put him into that spot," manager Mike Matheny said. "Hes a team guy and understands, but should have never been in that spot to begin with." "Its tough for all of us to watch." The Cubs hit for the cycle in the first five batters -- Bonifacio doubled, Anthony Rizzo singled, Starlin Castro tripled and Mike Olts two-run homer capped a four-run first inning. Bonifacio had four of Chicagos 20 hits and scored a career-best five times -- the most in the majors this season -- once on a play overturned by video review. Rizzo and Castro each drove in three as the Cubs set season highs for runs and hits. Cardinals reliever Randy Choate gave up a career-worst six runs in the ninth and left with two outs. Descalso made his first pro pitching appearance and retired the only batter he faced, getting Oltt on a fly ball.dddddddddddd "I just went out there and did what they asked me to do," Descalso said. "I really dont want to talk about this." Wood (3-4) beat St. Louis for the second time in three starts despite giving up five runs in six innings. He hit two batters in the fifth and both scored. Tyler Lyons (0-3) surrendered nine runs in four innings in his fourth start in place of injured Joe Kelly. "I felt a lot better the first two innings than I did in the third and fourth," Lyons said. "Its just one of those things. Sometimes you just get hit, I guess." Allen Craig drove in two runs for the Cardinals. Yadier Molina had two hits, an RBI and a steal when he caught Wood napping in the fifth and took third without a throw. Lake hit a three-run homer in the second for a 7-0 lead. He had an RBI double in the fourth and a two-run double in the ninth. Lake began the game with eight RBIs in 92 at-bats this season. Three of his four homers have come against the Cardinals. "Hes electric, for sure," Wood said. "When hes on, hes on. Hes got tremendous pop and nice to see it come out." Olt leads NL with eight homers, including four in the last six games, all on the road. In the fourth, Bonifacio was called out at the plate when he tried to score on Rizzos grounder to short with the infield in. The Cubs challenged the call, and the ruled was reversed. NOTES: The Cubs previous bests for runs and hits came at Comiskey Park on Thursday when they scored 12 runs on 15 hits against the White Sox. ... Bonifacio is the first Cubs player to score five runs since Jody Davis in 1987. ... Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright (6-2, 4.75) opposes Jake Arrieta (0-0, 2.89) in the second game of a four-game set. Wainwright is 9-7 for his career against Chicago but just 3-6 with a 4.83 ERA at home, and is coming off his first career loss at Wrigley Field on May 2. ... Cardinals LHP Jaime Garcia, rehabbing from shoulder surgery, allowed two runs on three hits in five innings for Triple-A Memphis. ' ' '