miaowang123: He probably wouldnt have imagined that

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CHICAGO -- This time, Chris Sale had to rely on Chicagos lineup to get the win. Mark Stone Golden Knights Jersey . Conor Gillaspie had a career-high four RBIs, leading Sale and the White Sox to a 9-6 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Friday. Sale (3-0) pitched five innings in his first win against Cleveland since May 1, 2012. The All-Star left-hander allowed three runs and six hits while throwing 105 pitches. Sale went 11-14 last year despite a 3.07 ERA. He also had four complete games, tying Tampa Bay star David Price for the AL lead. But he got a boost from his offence in his third start of this season. Leadoff hitter Adam Eaton had two hits and scored three times as the White Sox picked up their ace on a sluggish night. Chicago has scored 37 runs in its five home games this year. "I think if we keep doing what weve been doing and making strides in the right direction we can be a force, be a great team," Sale said. "Its fun to watch, I got to watch a lot of it tonight unfortunately." The White Sox have captured the first two games of their first series of the year against the Indians, who had a 17-2 record against Chicago last season. They play again on Saturday and Sunday. Indians starter Carlos Carrasco (0-2) was tagged for five runs and six hits in 4 2-3 innings. It was another shaky start for the right-hander, who allowed five runs in 5 2-3 innings of a 7-3 loss to Minnesota in his season debut. Cleveland pitching issued nine walks, including walking in two runs. Gillaspie hit a sacrifice fly in Chicagos two-run third inning, helping the White Sox build a 3-0 lead. Adam unn, who had two hits and walked twice, singled and scored on Alejandro e Azas base hit in the fourth. Sale, who went 0-4 with an 8.61 ERA in four starts against Cleveland in 2013, was unable to protect the lead. Asdrubal Cabrera had a two-run double in the fifth, and then scored the tying run on Nick Swishers single. But Clevelands pitching struggled throughout the game. "When you score and tie it up, you gotta go back out and take charge of the game," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "They just kept scoring every inning." The White Sox averaged 3.19 runs a game in Sales starts last season. "These guys are always tough on him," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "They were tough on him last (year) and for whatever reason they can foul off a lot of pitches. They probably see something off of him. I dont know what it is. You dont see that many teams foul that much off. He got up there with a high pitch count." The White Sox grabbed the lead for good in the fifth. Gillaspie singled in Eaton, and Carrasco was lifted for Marc Rzepczynski after striking out Jose Abreu for the second out of the inning. Rzepczynski walked Dunn to load the bases and then walked in a run as Dayan Viciedo came back from an 0-2 count to give the White Sox a 5-3 lead. "I thought Carlos in the fifth kind of slowed down his tempo, you could tell he was fighting some of his mechanics," Francona said. "Thats when we went to Zep and tried to snuff that out. Nothing, we couldnt put up a zero the rest of the way." Gillaspie committed an error in the sixth, allowing Michael Brantley to score, but he responded with a two-out, two-run double in the bottom half, making it 7-4. Alexei Ramirez added an RBI single for Chicago in the seventh. NOTES: OF Michael Bourn went 1 for 5 with a stolen base in his second rehab start for Double-A Akron. Francona said Bourn, who has yet to play this season with a left hamstring strain, would be examined after the game and though Bourn would prefer to return to the big leagues Sunday, Francona said the team may hold off due to the wet conditions expected that day. ... Indians DH Jason Giambi (broken rib) made his first rehab start for Akron. He was 0 for 2 with two strikeouts. ... The White Sox acquired OF Gorkys Hernandez from Kansas City for cash considerations and assigned him to Triple-A Charlotte. Cody Eakin Golden Knights Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. Nick Holden Jersey .C. -- LeBron James called comments on an audio recording of a man identified as Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling "appalling" and said hes not sure if he would suit up for the remainder of the NBA playoffs if he played for the Clippers.TORONTO - With the pressure of last nights season opener behind him and the swarm of media beginning to thin out after practice Thursday afternoon, DeMar DeRozan took some time to rank the Raptors most comedic players. First up on his list, after explicably giving himself the top spot, was the jovial Amir Johnson. Okay, no surprise there. Yall know Amir like we know him, said DeRozan. Hes funny as [expletive]. [If] you hang around with Amir all day, youre going to have the time of your life. He dont try to be that funny, but hes that funny. The next name he mentioned would raise a few eyebrows. Tyler Hansbrough. Hes another one thats funny as [expletive], DeRozan boasted, to our surprise. Hes a comedian. It dont seem like he is. Hes top three funniest dudes on the team, by far. Seriously. Trust me. A lot of people dont get to see his full personality, but Tyler is just… Tyler. Who is Tyler? After a full year spent in Toronto, hes still a bit of a mystery, at least to those who dont see him behind the closed doors of the locker room. On the floor, he brought his trademark energy and physicality, but often tried to do too much, searching for an identity and misinterpreting his role. Off it, he seemed quiet, introverted. Before and after games, he would mostly keep to himself. But there appears to be more to Hansbrough than meets the eye, evident in his mindful and reflective conversation with TSN.ca and The Globe and Mail on Thursday. The 28-year-old forward has been something of a revelation this fall, overlooked in a Raptors training camp filled with feel-good stories. In addition to extending his range beyond the three-point line, Hansbrough came back to work with a new, more easygoing mindset. It has not gone unnoticed in the gym. Theres just so many focus things that Tyler is doing now that are very noticeable to the coaching staff and I think its off the charts, said coach Dwane Casey, who has been raving about Hansbrough, a player quickly rising in his rotational hierarchy. Hes more comfortable, hes opened up a little bit, hes relaxed. Hes more familiar with what were doing. Hansbrough signed with the Raptors in the summer of 2013, expecting to play a prominent role off Caseys bench. He was logging nearly 20 minutes per game in November before an early-season trade welcomed Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes to Toronto, relegating Hansbrough to situational duty and mop-up minutes for the duration of the year. His role going into this season, the final on his contract, looked to be just as cloudy. For me personally, obviously, everyone wants to play, he said. So I think thats something that drove me to work as hard as I did in the off-season. The former Tar Heels star and the 2009 13th-overall pick says he put in more work this summer than ever before. Thanks in part to his experience on the bench last season and the advice of Torontos coaches, he was beginning to realize that his previously one-dimensional skill set - and reluctance to accept it - would eventually make him obsolete in an evolving NBA. So he vowed to evolve along with it. I think the league is getting smaller and smaller and teams like to be able to spread the court, he recognized. A lot of teams are having a big and four players around him just to be able to spread the floor. I think to be in the league, eventually all power forwards are going to have to be able to shoot. So, he enlisted the help of a shooting coach, reworked his mechanics and shot threes. A lot of them. Daily. He would focus primarily on launchinng them from the corners, understood to be one of the most efficient shots in basketball. Max Pacioretty Golden Knights Jersey. Im about as confident as you can be in the corner, he said. So yeah, definitely, if Im left open Ill definitely shoot it. Hansbrough, 0-for-12 from long distance in his first five seasons, made two of his four attempts during exhibition. More than being able to make them, Casey has credited him for knowing when to take them. His newfound restraint and acceptance of a complimentary role is the biggest reason hes back in the coachs good graces. I think a lot of it is he didnt understand last year, more so, Casey said. He felt like that was the way he could contribute. No fault to him, I think most new guys feel like they have to score to contribute but, I think hes figured out now - if I screen, if I rebound, if I defend, thats helping the team and thats going to help me get more time. Everybody wants to go and improve as a basketball player, but you have to know what you need to do to be on the court to help the team, said Hansbrough, who averaged 8.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in four seasons with the Pacers before coming to Toronto. So talking with the coaching staff, theres some things that we went over that I can improve on. Definitely my shot, but I spent more time on kind of studying and seeing the things I can do when Im on the court. In Wednesdays season opener, Hansbrough was the first player off Caseys bench, called upon early after Jonas Valanciunas picked up two quick fouls. Of Torontos reserves, only Patterson logged more than his 20 minutes. As promised, he proved that less is more. He attempted just two shots, making both and harnessed his effort on the defensive end, where whe battled All-Stars, Paul Millsap and Al Horford. While Patterson will likely be the first big off the pine on most nights, Hansbrough should continue to play a role, acting as the back-up centre in smaller lineups, assuming he maintains his recent progress. Thats all hes looking for - a chance to play, a chance to contribute to a winning team. Its taken some time to come to terms with the reality - hes not going to replicate the record-breaking numbers he put up at the collegiate level, not in the NBA. Instead, hes had to adapt. He was willing to do so this summer, more than ever. It was definitely changing some things up, but I think the big thing is really being open to change, he admitted. Not having a hard mind about doing things differently and accepting you need to improve on some things. Mentally, the adjustment has been more challenging than most players, certainly most people, could identify with. Hansbrough was a special player at North Carolina. A national champion, ACC Player of the Year, three-time consensus All-American. He often relied on brute force to make an impact in Indiana. Hes always been a physical player, sometimes to a downfall, he pointed out. His career hasnt exactly unfolded the way he might have expected it to, but he doesnt sound like a man with regrets. He probably wouldnt have imagined that hed be taking a step back in order to take a step forward heading into his sixth year in the league, but hes proud of the changes hes made to his game. I wish I would have made them sooner, he said. Everybody has big aspirations. But Im glad to be here, where I am right now. I love my teammates. I really couldnt be in a better situation. I feel like we just keep improving and improving. Im on a great team with a lot of guys I like, so thats pretty special, especially in the NBA. ' ' '