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juries and a very tough division. The Blue Jays have 49 games left

in Here is your first Forum Fri Nov 08, 2019 7:19 am
by sakura698 • 630 Posts

PHILADELPHIA - Jimmy Rollins, Wil Nieves and the Phillies picked up Sunday right where they left off the night before. Fake College Jerseys . Rollins and Nieves opened the first inning with back-to-back homers and Philadelphia went deep four times in all to back Cliff Lee in an 8-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Cody Asche and Marlon Byrd also homered for the Phillies, who broke out of their offensive doldrums with a 12-1 rout Saturday night. Lee (4-4) pitched effectively into the seventh inning for his first home victory of the season. Devin Mesoraco had a career-high four hits for Cincinnati, including two doubles and an RBI. The Reds again played without slugger Joey Votto, who remained in Cincinnati during the three-game series with a left knee injury. Philadelphias offence busted loose for a second straight day. Despite playing in hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies entered Sunday second-to-last in the NL in home runs with 27. But they were riding the confidence of homering twice while scoring a dozen runs in Saturdays victory, which snapped streaks of four straight losses and 23 consecutive scoreless innings. "Todays game was a momentum game and a build off (of Saturday)," Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. "It was a carry-over game on the offensive side." Cincinnati starter Tony Cingrani (2-3) returned from the disabled list and gave up three home runs in six innings. After the Reds went up 2-0 in the first on Brandon Phillips RBI groundout and Mesoracos run-scoring double, Rollins hit his 46th career leadoff homer. Nieves followed with a shot to left that tied the game. It was the fifth time the Phillies began a game with consecutive homers, the last coming on Sept. 9, 2004, at Atlanta when Rollins and Placido Polanco accomplished the feat. Chase Utleys fifth-inning groundout scored Lee and put Philadelphia ahead for good. Byrd opened the sixth with a homer to right to push the lead to 4-2. That was enough offence for Lee, who had received very little support at home this season. He entered 0-3 in four home starts despite a 1.55 ERA. Lee gave up two runs and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings with three strikeouts and a walk. He was happy to get some runs for a change. "Its definitely easier to pitch with a lead," Lee said. "Its easier to attack the strike zone, and you can use a little more of the plate and not worry so much if you give up a solo home run or whatever. Its not going to hurt you as bad. If its a close game or a low-scoring game, every pitch is important. Not that its not with a lead, but theres definitely more room for error and you can get away with more mistakes." Without Votto, who remained in Cincinnati for treatment during the series for a distal quadriceps strain in his left knee, and slugger Jay Bruce (knee), who went on the disabled list May 6, the Reds were without two key pieces that might have helped in a comeback bid. "The elephant in the room is the fact we have Votto and Bruce unavailable," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "Those are pretty essential pieces. That being said, we do have players getting an opportunity to play and do some things. I was very, very optimistic going into todays game that we were going to do some really good things offensively. We got some things started but we werent able to finish." Price said there is no timetable for Vottos return and wasnt sure whether the four-time All-Star and 2010 NL MVP would make the trip to Washington, where Cincinnati begins a three-game series Monday night. The Phillies took two of three from the Reds and improved to 7-0-1 in home series against Cincinnati since 2006. Byrd upped his team-leading RBI total to 24 with a run-scoring single in the seventh. Asche followed him and broke the game open with a three-run homer to right off Manny Parra that gave Philadelphia an 8-2 lead. "I think good at-bats are contagious, up and down the lineup. You saw that the last two days," Asche said. Cingrani allowed four runs and seven hits while striking out seven and walking three. Cingrani, who hadnt pitched since April 30 because of left shoulder tendinitis, had given up three homers all season in 32 1-3 innings before Sunday. "I felt pretty good today," Cingrani said. "Everything was coming out well. I was spotting it pretty much all day." NOTES: The Phillies improved to 11-3 in Saturday and Sunday games. They are 8-19 during the week. ... To make room for Cingrani, the Reds optioned catcher Tucker Barnhart to Triple-A Louisville. ... Reds RHP Mike Leake (2-3, 3.09 ERA) opposes Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg (3-3, 3.48) on Monday. ... After a day off Monday, the Phillies travel to Miami for three games against the Marlins, with Philadelphia RHP A.J. Burnett (2-3, 3.13) facing Marlins RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1-0, 3.00) on Tuesday. ... Phillies CF Ben Revere was available to pinch-hit. Revere missed games Friday and Saturday due to a stomach virus. Fake NBA Jerseys .J. Barea during a three-game shooting slump that was getting him booed off his home court with regularity. Fake Jerseys Free Shipping . 1 overall pick in the draft by the Houston Texans, is recovering from sports hernia surgery. http://www.fakejersey.com/fake-adidas-jerseys/ . -- Lara Gut of Switzerland regained the overall World Cup lead with Sundays super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta.There have been many major leaguers who switched from being pitchers to position players; Babe Ruth, "Smokey" Joe Wood and Tim Wakefield just to name a few. A few went the other way from position player to pitcher, such as Blue Jays reliever Sergio Santos, who started as a shortstop and is trying to earn another shot with the Blue Jays pitching in relief for Triple "A" Buffalo. This story takes the conversion process one step further. You, no doubt, remember the name of left-hander Adam Loewen. The strapping 66 Vancouver native was taken fourth overall by Baltimore in the June 2002 draft. That was the highest a Canadian had ever been selected since our country was first included in the draft in 1985. Loewen made it to the bigs with the Orioles in 2006 at age 22, but he had his struggles over the next three seasons, compiling an 8-8 record with a 5.38 ERA over 35 appearances, including 29 starts. Worse than that were the injuries; suffering stress fractures to his left elbow in 2007 and 2008. At that point, Loewen wondered where to turn. He remembered he had been a pretty good hitter in his younger days and decided he might be able to re-establish himself as a position player. In 2009, he signed on with the Blue Jays organization and finally got a shot with the big club when the rosters expanded in September 2011. Loewen didnt look out of place in the outfield but in 14 games, he hit only .188 with one homer, a double and four runs batted in. In 2012, he played in the Mets minor league system and then bounced back to the Jays organization last year, spending the bulk of the year at Double "A". That brings us to this season. After playing winter ball in Venezuela, Loewen wondered if his time had come and he wasnt going to get another major league offer. At that point, seven years after his first elbow injury, he decided to give pitching another shot when he returned home to Arizona. After a short while, scouts from four teams checked him out. Then the Phillies took a look-see. Finally, Loewen got a call from Pat Gillick, who still works in the Phils organization, and ultimately received an offer of a minor league contract and an invitation to extended spring training in Clearwater. Loewen moved ahead to the Phillies "A" ball franchise in Clearwater and then jumped to the Double "A" Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League. While not mind blowing, his numbers arent that bad and he has been improving steadily. Loewen has made 12 starts and has one complete game. Hes 2-4 with a 3.45 ERA, 49 strikeouts and 32 walks. He had arguably his best start yet on Monday night this week against the Harrisburg Senators. He pitched into the eighth inning in a 5-1 victory, giving up five hits while striking out four and walking three. Fake Jerseys From China. Time clearly is not on Loewens side with about a month to go in the minor league season. But he is a lefty and he has incredible determination. On top of that, the Phillies are a last place team that needs help in multiple areas and just might give him a look in September. What a story it would be if Loewen could make it all the way back after all hes been through. --- The Colorado Rockies will equal an unusual record, if you want to call it that, which most probably didnt know existed on Tuesday. They are due to send left hander Brett Anderson to the mound. This game will mark the 20th straight game the Rockies have started a southpaw and will equal the mark of the 1982 Kansas City Royals. The 82 Royals included lefties Paul Splittorf, Bud Black, (Padres Manager), Vida Blue and Larry Gura (known as a Blue Jays killer). Colorados southpaws include Jorge De La Rosa , Brett Anderson, Tyler Matzek, Franklin Morales and Pedro Hernandez. The left hand tilt hasnt really helped the Rockies. Theyve dropped seven out of 10 and have a dismal record of 44-67 - second worst in the majors to Texas at 43-69. The record wont be broken, though, as Colorado intends to use right hander Jordan Lyles on Wednesday night. The Texas Rangers have a chance to make a little history of their own. They are just short of the pace needed to become only the third team in major league history to go from 90 wins one season to 100 the next. The other two teams were affected by ownership tightening the purse strings. In 1914, Connie Macks Philadelphia As made it to the World Series but the next year the "outlaw" Federal League started bidding for players and stealing other teams stars. Mack refused to go dollar for dollar with the Feds and his team lost a number of quality players. They went from 99 wins to 109 losses in 1915. In 1997, the Florida Marlins won their first of two World Series in seven years. But after 97, owner Wayne Huizenga ordered a massive payroll rollback and the 1998 Marlins fell from 92 wins to 108 losses. The Rangers problem hasnt been spending or lack thereof. Theyve just been brutalized by injuries and a very tough division. The Blue Jays have 49 games left - 28 at home, but the next nine could go a long way towards making or breaking their season. Starting Tuesday night, they are home to AL East leading Baltimore followed by three games at home against Central leading Detroit, and then they kick off a road trip with three against Seattle - a team just two games behind them in the race for that second Wild Card position. Going 6-3 in this stretch should keep them in the thick of the postseason battle with 40 games to play. ' ' '

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