TORONTO - Jermain Defoe is back in Toronto, but the question remains for how long. Is he here for the duration of his lucrative MLS contract with Toronto FC or is this just a stopover until the international transfer window reopens in January? The star striker flew in Monday after nursing a groin injury back home in England. He was met by club officials and will likely have a soft re-entry into club ranks with the team having a scheduled off day Tuesday. The 31-year-old England forward has missed 12 games this season through injury or suspension but still leads the team in scoring with 11 goals in 16 MLS contests. He has played 150 minutes with appearances in two of TFCs 11 league games since July 19. Toronto (10-11-7) hosts the Portland Timbers on Saturday but Defoe may be held back until the following weekend for an Oct. 4 game against the Galaxy in Los Angeles. Manager Greg Vanney has said he wont know how fit Defoe is until he sees him on the training pitch. Vanney has said Defoe is anxious to be back but the long-term forecast remains cloudy. Stories have swirled about Defoes future since manager Ryan Nelsen was fired Aug 31 and news that the club had turned down a franchise-record transfer fee for Defoe at the closing of the summer transfer window. Tim Leiweke, the outgoing CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment who brought Defoe to Toronto, told a group of Ryerson MBA students recently that he does not expect Defoe to be back next season. But no one has said anything concrete on the record. Back in England, the Daily Mirror reported on the weekend that West Ham and Queens Park Rangers both plan to go after Defoe when the transfer window reopens in January. A public poll on the English tabloids website had 85 per cent of respondents, as of late Monday afternoon, expecting Defoe to be back in January in the Premier League. Defoe is expected to talk publicly Wednesday for the first time since disappearing into an injury black hole. He has limited himself to two tweets in the interim, wishing his teammates good luck and saying he cant wait to get back to scoring goals. Defoe has missed the last five games since coming off in the 77rd minute of a 2-2 tie with the Chicago Fire on Aug 23. He was out the three games before the Chicago contest. Team officials said the injury problems were all related to the groin area, pointing to Defoes back-to back English and MLS campaigns. Should Defoe make his return in Los Angeles, he would have five regular-season games left to help Torontos playoff push. Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Air Max Outlet Online Italia . The Yankees made the moves before Tuesdays game against Baltimore. Robertson was listed retroactive to Monday. Robertson posted two saves in three games as the replacement for retired Yankees closer Mariano Rivera before getting hurt. Air Max Outlet Italia . The Yankees made the moves before Tuesdays game against Baltimore. Robertson was listed retroactive to Monday. Robertson posted two saves in three games as the replacement for retired Yankees closer Mariano Rivera before getting hurt. http://www.outletairmaxitalia.it/scapre-nike-sb-outlet.html . a€“ All signs point to the Maple Leafs having their top offseason acquisition in the lineup on opening night. Air Max Plus Saldi . -- When Steve Blake checked in at the scorers table with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter, Stephen Curry shook his head and shouted across the court, asking Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson not to take him out. Nike m2k Tekno Scontate . McCutchen was cut before the series opener against Seattle on Monday night, when Lewis was set for his first start for Texas since July 18, 2012. Texas selected Lewis contract from Triple-A Round Rock. CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The defending National League champions opened the season with a lot of waiting. And a couple of wins, too. The St. Louis Cardinals overcame another long delay and Todd Fraziers two homers on Thursday, holding on to beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 and take two of three in their season-opening series. The first pitch was delayed 3 hours, 42 minutes because of rain. Some of the Cardinals spent their down time by studying Cincinnatis pitchers again and getting a little extra work in the indoor batting cages. "Its tough to stay mentally into it," said Matt Adams, who had a single and a pair of doubles. "Thats what we had to do to make sure we could go out there and perform. Were watching video and taking swings in the cage and stretching and making sure were ready to go." Finally on the field, the Cardinals emerged from their two-game hitting slump by knocking Homer Bailey (0-1) out of the game in the fifth inning. Jhonny Peralta homered to get it going. It wasnt perfect -- St. Louis stranded eight runners -- but it was much better. "We had a lot of opportunities that we missed, too," manager Mike Matheny said. "We had a lot of guys in scoring position." St. Louis pulled away with three runs in the seventh, when Matt Hollidays single off the top of the outfield wall was upheld by the only video review of the series, this one initiated by the umpires. Lance Lynn (1-0) gave up Jay Bruces two-run homer and Fraziers solo shot during five innings. Frazier added a three-run homer in the seventh that cut it to 7-6. Trevor Rosenthal got the last four outs for his second save. The series involved nearly as much waiting as playing. There was a 2-hour, 40-minute delay before Wednesdays game, a 1-0 victory by Cincinnati. Along with the delay on Thursday, the teams wound up waiting 6 hours, 22 minutes to play during the two days. As Thursdays delay stretched on, Reds reliever Sam LeCure tweeted: "Uncle." "The whole series was kind of weird with all the rain and stuff," Frazier said. "It really put a damperr on things.dddddddddddd" The starters had a rough time after the delay. Lynn beat the Reds three times last season, but couldnt get a 1-2-3 inning on Thursday. Bruce and Frazier hit back-to-back homers in the first for a 3-0 lead. Even Bailey had a single off Lynn, who gave up eight hits while throwing 107 pitches. Peralta hit a two-run homer in the second off Bailey, and the Cardinals tied it with a breakthrough hit in the fourth. Adams doubled and came around on Jon Jays double, the Cardinals first hit with a runner in scoring position this season. They had been 0 for 17. Jays hit also extended his hitting streak to 15 games, including the end of last season. Hollidays first hit of the season, an RBI double, put the Cardinals up 4-3 in the fifth. Bailey lasted only 4 1-3 innings, giving up seven hits, three walks and four runs. The Cardinals added three in the seventh, when they loaded the bases on a pair of walks and Hollidays single off the top of the wall. The ball went over Billy Hamiltons glove and deflected to Bruce, who caught the ball. The umpires correctly ruled that it a hit off the top of the wall, and a 2-minute, 8-second review initiated by the umps upheld the call. They wanted to make sure the ball hadnt cleared the wall. Allen Craig and Yadier Molina followed with RBI singles as St. Louis pulled ahead 7-3. NOTES: The game ended 7 hours, 23 minutes after it was originally scheduled to start. ... Shelby Miller starts for the Cardinals in Pittsburgh on Friday against Gerrit Cole. Mike Leake goes for the Reds in New York against the Mets Jenrry Mejia. ... Adams dived into the stands trying to catch a foul ball, and pushed a fan who reached up and caught it before he could get it. "I was trying to stop myself from going into the stands," Adams said. "People came up to me and said I shoved him. I didnt even know. Im not that type of guy to go after anybody." ... It was Fraziers fourth career multihomer game. ... Hamilton walked in the eighth inning, reaching base for the first time this season. He is 0 for 12 with six strikeouts. ' ' '