wanglei
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| Posted: 18 December 2017 at 02:44 | IP Logged
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TORONTO -- It took 36 games but Adam Lind finally found the fence. The Blue Jays first baseman/designated hitter ended the longest home-run drought of his career with a two-run shot in the seventh inning Saturday afternoon to power Toronto to a 6-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. It was just the fifth homer of the season for Lind, who has hit more than 20 four times in his career. "Nice to join the party," Lind said with a wry smile. The happy-go-luck Jay with the ZZ Top-style beard has been contributing in other ways with his bat even if his long ball has been falling just short of late. He has registered a hit in 15 of his last 18 games with seven doubles and one triple. Lind is hitting .328 this season but hadnt homered since June 23. His previous longest run without a homer was 29 games in 2012-13. "It definitely lessens it a little bit," Lind said of his overall hitting success. "But ultimately home runs are where its at, not doubles and batting average." Toronto manager John Gibbons calls Lind a natural hitter. "Lindys got one of the nicest pure swings youre going to find in all of baseball," Gibbons said. "And against right-handers, theres not a better hitter out there." Edwin Encarnacion followed Lind with a blast of his own one pitch later as the Jays snapped a 3-3 tie. The power surge made a winner of knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who has won his last four decisions and six of his last eight. Dickey (13-12) gave up three runs on four hits in seven innings, striking out five and walking two. With the Rays swinging freely in the early going, Dickey varied his speed more than usual. His knuckleball ranged from the lows 60s to the low 80s. "I changed speeds today early in the count probably more than I have all year," he said. "I threw a lot of knuckleballs under 70 miles per hour early in the count. "I doubled up a few times, which I hardly ever do, with slow knuckleballs." It marked the 19th straight game that a Toronto starter had gone six innings or more, matching a 1998 run. The starters earned-run average over that stretch is 2.52. The Jays (77-70) have gone 12-7 over that run. "The rotation has been on some kind of roll. Theyve been great," said Gibbons. "We score, we win. "Thats the way it is with most teams I guess." Toronto lost the series opener 1-0 on Friday night, snapping a four-game win streak. The Jays have now won 10 of their last 13 outings, outscoring the opposition 70-30 over that span. "Theyve really held up their end of the bargain. All five of them," Gibbons said of his starters. "And one thing thats done too is its allowed our bullpen to kind of regroup a little bit and keep those guys fresh." Said Dickey: "I think a lot of people have doubted our rotation throughout the year. So for us as a group it feels good as a group to kind of hang our hat on being able to go deep in games consistently, which weve been able to do." The 39-year-old Dickey has now pitched 196 2/3 innings, approaching the 200 mark for the fourth straight year. Casey Janssen pitched the ninth for his 23rd save as Toronto outhit Tampa 7-6. Linds drive over the centre-field fence also scored Jose Bautista, who was walked by reliever Brad Boxberger. Boxberger (5-2) gave way to Steve Geltz and Encarnacion drove his first pitch into the 200 level of left field for a 6-3 lead. Encarnacions 31st home run marked the eighth time this season the Jays have homered on back-to-back pitches. Encarnacion, who has hit five homers since coming off the disabled list Aug. 15, came into the game averaging a home run every 14 at-bats this season. Evan Longoria homered for Tampa Bay, his franchise-leading 183rd, before 31,268 spectators under the Rogers Centre roof. "The three balls that I hit well were probably the worst three knuckleballs hes ever thrown me," Longoria said of Dickey. "Sometimes thats just the way it works out." Tampa (71-78) is 4-4 in its last eight games, blowing leads of 4-0, 4-0, 3-0 and 2-0 in the losses. Tampas Jeremy Hellickson, making his 11th start since coming off the disabled list July 7 after elbow surgery in January, limited the Jays to three runs on four hits in six innings. He struck out eight and walked four Hellickson, the AL rookie of the year in 2011, has now faced Toronto in three of his last five starts. He lost 5-2 to Dickey and the Jays in Tampa on Sept. 2 but did not get the decision in the other two starts. Dickeys first inning lasted just seven pitches but the Jays were down 1-0 after six of them. Ben Zobrist led off with a double and scored on two straight infield ground balls. Tampa manufactured another run in the third after Kevin Kiermaier singled to right and advanced to second, having baited Bautista to throw to first. A groundout and wild pitch made it 2-0. Dickey escaped further damage when the Rays were unable to cash men on second and third after a two-out walk and Longoria double. Toronto went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of a messy third for the Rays. Ryan Goins got to first when a wild pitch saved him from a strikeout. He moved to second on an Anthony Gose single and scored on Hellicksons throwing error on a Jose Reyes sacrifice bunt. Gose then scored when Hellickson, a Gold Glove winner in 2012, couldnt handle a Bautista ball hit back to him. Linds fielders choice scored Reyes to put the Jays ahead. "That was an inning we cant let get away from us defensively and we did," said Tampa manager Joe Maddon. "Thats what got them back in the ball game." Toronto failed to take advantage in the fifth after loading the bases with two outs. Longoria tied it 3-3, leading off the sixth with his 21st homer of the season. The Rays benefited from slick fielding plays from Longoria at third base in both the first and second innings. Reyes matched him in the fourth, jumping high to stab a Yunel Escobar liner. Escobar pulled off a carbon-copy catch on Josh Thole in the bottom of the inning. Rays outfielder Matt Joyce was thrown out in the ninth for arguing balls and strikes. Gareth Bale Jersey . His Chicago Blackhawks teammates werent shocked when he found it. Kanes career has been defined by his brilliance in the Blackhawks biggest moments, and his tiebreaking goal with 3:45 to play in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals will rank among the best. Aaron Ramsey Jersey . -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are tightening the race for second place in the Atlantic Division. http://www.soccerwalesshop.com/ . Left back Armero opened the scoring in the fifth minute when his deflected shot rolled past Greece goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis. Striker Teofilo Gutierrez poked in Colombias second goal from a deflected corner in the 58th and James Rodriguez capped it off with a low shot in stoppage time after a slick backheel flick from Juan Cuadrado. Custom Wales Jerseys .Patterson marked his anniversary by proving his worth — once again.Lou Williams poured in 26 points, and Patterson drained two huge three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, as the Raptors topped the Denver Nuggets 112-107 in overtime Monday. Joe Ledley Jersey .The seventh-seeded Raonic was scheduled to play U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan, but was replaced in the Group B pool by Spanish substitute David Ferrer.Raonic, who was 0-2 at the year-end event, said he suffered the injury late in the first set of Tuesdays 6-3, 7-6 loss to Murray.April was always going to be a big test for the new-look Vancouver Whitecaps with games against some of Major League Soccers top teams. After back-to-back matches against LA Galaxy, the Caps now head to Rio Tinto Stadium - a place where they have never won - to face Real Salt Lake, the only remaining unbeaten team in Major League Soccer this season. The Form: The Whitecaps are winless in their last three matches, but after a hard fought defeat at LA and a 2-2 draw against the Galaxy at home, there are clear signs the team is growing under new head coach Carl Robinson. "In the last two games weve shown we can compete against one of the top teams in Major League Soccer," said Robinson. "Now its another great challenge for us. You look at the fixtures weve had and its been tricky against good teams. We get another big test. They are a squad that has been together for the last couple of years so its another marker to see where we are." The Big Question: Will Kekuta Manneh start? The 19-year-old has appeared in every match this season but has started only once. The young Gambian was impressive coming on as a half time substitute against LA Galaxy at BC Place a week ago. He injected life into the Whitecaps attack and scored the game-tying goal with a fantastic strike with just four minutes left to play. "I toyed with the idea of playing him from the start, said Robinson. "Me, being a young head coach thought is it better to be in the game and then unleash him on them." Theres no doubt Manneh has loads of talent and will have a big future in the game. But there is also still plenty that he needs to learn. Robinson doesnt want to rush the youngster, and acknowledges he needs to improve his defensive qualities before he becomes a regular starter. This is a long-term project. Robinson wants to build the Whitecaps around some fantastic young players, a job that doesnt need to be rushed. Manneh will continue to get his chance at the right times. That also applies for Erik Hurtado. The speedster was drafted along with Manneh in the first round in 2013. Hes still waiting for his first MLS goal, but was another big spark in the second half against LA when he came on as a substitute last week. "Hes been training very well over the last two or three weeks and from where he was last year to where he is now, it is night and day for the kid," said Robinson when asked about Hurtados form. "If he continues to push hell get plenty of opportunities." The Lineup: Aside from whether Manneh will come into the starting lineup, one of tthe other big decisions for head coach Carl Robinson is in defence.ddddddddddddIts extremely likely that Robinson will select Johnny Leveron in the team after bringing the Honduran on at halftime of the draw against the Galaxy. Robinson has made no secret of the fact that he admires the qualities Leveron possesses, particularly his ability with the ball at his feet. The Hondurans abilities match the way Robinson wants his team to play. Leverons only start this season was at New England where the Whitecaps registered their only clean sheet so far. On that day he was beside Andy OBrien. It will be interesting to see which one of the veterans - OBrien or Jay DeMerit - is replaced if Leveron gets the call to start. The Opposition: Stability has been a major factor in the success of Real Salt Lake over recent years. Despite losing head coach Jason Kreis at the end of last season when he departed to join expansion club New York City FC, RSL has started the season strongly under new head coach Jeff Cassar. He may be in his first season as manager, but Cassar has been at the club since 2007 and was a key part of Kreis coaching staff. They have also managed to keep a core group of players together over the last few seasons. Eleven of Salt Lakes current squad have been with the club for five years of longer. Real Salt Lakes 1-0 win at home to Portland Timbers last week leaves them four points ahead of the Whitecaps heading into Saturdays match. Their clean sheet against the Timbers was their fourth of the season, in just seven matches. Veteran goalkeeper Nick Rimando was the star of the show, winning the MLS Player of the Week award for his performance. The Odds: One of the areas the Whitecaps will need to improve upon if they are to make the playoffs this season is picking up points against Western Conference opposition. Both of Vancouvers wins so far wins this season have come against the East (New York and Houston). From four matches against Western opponents, they have two draws and two defeats. History isnt on the Whitecaps side as they head to Utah - theyve only won two of eight previous meetings against RSL, and have never won at Rio Tinto Stadium with three losses and a tie from their last four visits. With RSLs strong start to the season, the home team will be heavy favourites heading into the match, but the Caps showed against LA a couple of weeks ago they have the potential to go toe-to-toe with the leagues top teams, even on the road. Where to Watch: Vancouver Whitecaps at Real Salt Lake is live on CTV2 BC on Saturday at 6:30pm pt/9:30pm et. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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Rockezine Forums : Zandbak
Topic: have never won at Rio Tinto
