miaowang123: each horse -- have sold out under race-related demand.

miaowang123

WASHINGTON -- Its not every day a manager intentionally puts the potential winning run on base in the ninth inning against a red-hot offence. Nate Thompson Jersey . Philadelphia rookie manager Ryne Sandberg did just that Saturday night against the Washington Nationals and went home a winner. Reliever Jonathan Papelbon retired Wilson Ramos on hard grounder to short and the Phillies held on for a 5-4 win over the Nationals, snapping Washingtons seven-game winning streak. Ryan Zimmerman doubled off Papelbon to start the ninth. After Jayson Werth flied out and Ian Desmond popped out, Bryce Harper, who had singled in his previous at-bat, was walked intentionally. "Just the better matchup," Sandberg said. "Sometimes Harper seems to make things happen, as he did earlier with the broken-bat base hit." Ramos hit a smash toward short, but Jimmy Rollins threw him out to end the game and give Papelbon his 27th save. "Rollins) made a very nice read on that, retreating back," Sandberg said. "That was an in-between hop that he made a little bit longer. A heck of a play right there, it really was." Carlos Ruiz had two doubles and three RBIs and John Mayberry homered for the Phillies. The Nationals, who had scored three in the seventh to pull within 5-4, fell 5 1/2 games behind the Reds (winners in Milwaukee) for the second NL wild card. "Were still fine, weve just got to win the games," manager Davey Johnson said. "Just got to keep winning." Cole Hamels (8-13) won his fourth straight decision, allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits in six-plus innings. Washingtons Denard Span went 3 for 5 to extend his hitting streak to 25 games and stole a career-high three bases. Gio Gonzalez (10-7), coming off a one-hitter against the Mets, allowed four runs on nine hits in six innings. "Its a tough loss right there, especially when these guys battled all the way to the end," Gonzalez said. Pinch-hitter Scott Hairston, Span and Ryan Zimmerman singled to load the bases in the seventh and end Hamels night. Facing Justin De Fratus, Jayson Werth grounded to third and Cody Asche threw home for the out. Ian Desmond plated Span with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2. Left-hander Cesar Jimenez came in to pitch to Harper and Harper blooped a single to centre scoring Zimmerman. When centre fielder Cesar Hernandez overran the ball, Harper went to second and Werth scored from first. B.J. Rosenberg fanned Ramos on a called third strike. Philadelphia took the lead in the fifth. With one out, Mayberry hit an 0-1 offering from Gonzalez into the visitors bullpen to tie the score. The Phillies werent done as Hamels and Hernandez followed with singles. Rollins flied out, but Chase Utley walked to load the bases. After pitching coach Steve McCatty visited Gonzalez, Ruiz hit the left-handers first pitch over Werths head in right for a bases-clearing double. "Hes using the whole field. I mean the double down left field line his first at-bat. The double down the right-field line," Sandberg said. "Hes the right guy up with men on base for us, for a month." Since Aug. 8, Ruiz is batting .583 (14 for 24) with runners in scoring position, with six doubles and 19 RBIs. "Im not trying to do too much," Ruiz said. "Just put the ball in play and see what happens." Utley added what turned out to be a crucial RBI-single in the seventh to make it 5-1. Washington took the lead in the first. Span singled, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Werths sacrifice fly. NOTES: The Reds win officially eliminated Philadelphia from playoff contention. ... Johnson said RHP Stephen Strasburg (forearm tightness) will play catch Sunday. If that goes well, the next step is a bullpen session Monday in anticipation of a start on Thursday, one day after what would have been his next regular turn. RHP Ross Ohlendorf, who started Friday in place of Strasburg, will start on Wednesday. ... LHP Ross Detwiler (back strain), on the disabled list since July 4, threw a bullpen session Saturday. Johnson said hell throw one more before facing hitters in a simulated game or batting practice session. ... Phillies RHP Luis Garcia (bruised foot) was unavailable after being hit by a Wilson Ramos grounder Friday. ... Washingtons Jordan Zimmerman (17-8, 3.36) opposes Tyler Cloyd (2-4, 4.56) in Sundays series finale. Ben Harpur Jersey . Ronaldo failed to connect on an ample number of opportunities at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. But Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez scored in each half for Madrid to come out of the first leg with the firm advantage. Logan Brown Jersey .C. -- Lucy Li made two double bogeys, a triple bogey and finished her historic round at the U.NEW YORK -- Martin Panza celebrated California Chromes charge to Preakness Stakes victory three weeks ago like most fans at the packed Pimlico Race Course -- bumping fists, slapping hands and thinking ahead to Saturday and the possibility of the first Triple Crown winner in 36 years. And then Belmont Parks director of racing operations thought about everything else: the tens of thousands of additional people who show up for the Belmont Stakes whenever a horse has a chance at history; the millions more in expected wagers; and the need for more of everything, from seating, concessions to bathrooms, security and about 1,000 additional workers. You can watch the Belmont Stakes on TSN this Saturday, with coverage beginning at 2:30pm et/11:30am pt. Local officials and business leaders celebrated too, seeing the race and the added interest of a Triple Crown contender as a boon of sold-out hotel rooms, dinners out and free publicity, so long as the writers and broadcasters were aware the track is actually on Long Island, as NBCs Bob Costas noted Wednesday, and not in New York City. If California Chrome triumphs, it will happen on Panzas turf -- or rather, his dirt -- at an marquee New York-area event that the tracks new management team reimagined earlier this year as a fusion of sports and entertainment worth attending even when the Triple Crown is not on the line. They have filled the undercard with high-stakes races, increased the days total purse to $8 million -- the second-richest day in American horse racing behind the final slate of the Breeders Cup -- and surrounded the action with music from rapper and actor LL Cool J, former New York Yankees centre fielder Bernie Williams and Frank Sinatra Jr. singing "New York, New York." "For the first year of us doing this, under this new format, its not going to get any better than this," Panza said in an interview near his track office, which was filled with boxes of Belmont Stakes caps and bags of other race souvenirs. "From our end, what we need to do now is observe how the day goes and see what we can do for next year, always thinking that there could be another Triple Crown on the line." California Chrome is the 12th horse to reach Long Island with wins in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, since Affirmed won all three in 1978. Attendance for those 11 races averaged nearly 30,000 more than in years without a contender -- going from a low of 37,171 in 1995 when Thunder Gulch and Timber Country split the Derby and the Preakness, to a record 120,139 in 2004 when Birdstone upsett Smarty Jones in the last of a three-year stretch of Triple Crown contenders in the Belmont Stakes. Chris Driedger Jersey. On-site wagering on the race-day program also surged in those years, according to track records, jumping from $6.8 million in contender-less 1996 to $9.2 million the following year when Silver Charm took the first two races, and from $8.8 million in contender-less 2007 to $13.3 million when Big Brown raced for history in 2008. Ill Have Anothers wins in Louisville and Baltimore sent attendance for the 2012 Belmont Stakes to nearly 86,000 and on-site wagering to $13.8 million even though the horse was withdrawn the day before the race due to a leg injury. The head of the tracks management team said ticket sales for this years Belmont Stakes, with its emphasis on high-level racing and daylong entertainment, were already brisk before California Chrome broke from the gate at Churchill Downs in May. More than 70 per cent of tickets and premium tables for the race were sold before the Derby and all were gone before the Preakness, according to New York Racing Association president and chief executive officer Christopher Kay. After the Preakness, Kay said, they added a trackside tent and additional seating to accommodate the surge of interest in a potential California Chrome coronation. General admission and grandstand tickets costing $10 remained available through the track late in the week and more than 3,000 tickets, ranging from $12 for grandstand to $2,300 for a table for two at the Garden Terrace Restaurant, were available on the secondary ticket sales website StubHub.com. Good weather -- 82 degrees and sunny, according to the National Weather Service -- could push the crowd into record territory. "Our intent is to make Belmont Stakes day an important day year in and year out," Kay said. This year it has been an important day -- and week -- for business. The largest hotel on Long Island, a Marriott with more than 600 rooms in Uniondale, and the ornate Garden City Hotel -- where management said all of the owners, trainers and jockeys in the Belmont Stakes were staying and where the menu includes a cocktail named for each horse -- have sold out under race-related demand. Other hotels were also booked solid, officials said, forcing some out-of-town fans to find lodging in Suffolk County, about 20 miles east, or stay in Manhattan, about 15 miles west. "This Triple Crown opportunity doesnt come too often," state hotel association chairman John Tsunis said. "But, whoever wins in the race, the real winners will be Long Island and New York State." Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Outlet Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys China NFL Gear NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL T-shirts From China ' ' '