miaowang123: Emelin lost his balance and what started as a shoulder-to-shoulder hit,
Emelin lost his balance and what started as a shoulder-to-shoulder hit,
TORONTO -- Six games into the 2014 season and the Toronto Blue Jays already have two shutouts under their belt. MLB Jerseys China . "Thats been a rarity around here," Toronto manager John Gibbons said dryly. "Maybe were on to something." It took the 2013 Jays 53 games to collect that many shutouts. They were 2-4 at this stage. Of course, Toronto (3-3) has also had three games this season in which the pitching staff has surrendered 11-plus hits. The Jays lost all three of those. What does it all mean? That, as Gibbons predicted repeatedly during spring training, Toronto will go as far as its pitching takes it this season. On Saturday, knuckleballer R.A. 
ickey outduelled Michael Pineda with late home-run help from Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista as Toronto blanked the New York Yankees 4-0. Dickey (1-1) pitched a gem of the game but Torontos early lack of offence meant the contest was balanced on a knifes edge as he worked to protect a slim 1-0 lead. He was aided by some nifty defence, some of which was his own handiwork. Centre-fielder Colby Rasmus also made two sparkling defensive plays to help blunt New York attacks. "Our defence has been superb to start the year ... Weve played great defence, weve had timely hitting," said Dickey. "Hopefully we can keep pushing forward." The former New York Met has now allowed just one earned run in his last 20 innings against the Yankees. Gibbons, who got the other shutout in Tampa from Mark Buehrle, savoured what he called a bounce back game after 7-2 and 7-3 losses to the Rays and Yankees, respectively. "It was a big game this early in the year," said Gibbons. "
Dickey) stepped up and the bullpen did their thing. "It was good to see the offence open it up late and give us a little breathing room. Thats huge in this game, especially in this ball park." An Adam Lind double and Josh Thole RBI single gave the Jays a 1-0 lead in the second inning. It could have been more but Thole was thrown out trying to take second with Ryan Goins at the plate. Goins subsequent double was wasted. A solo homer by Cabrera and two-run shot by Bautista, both off reliever David Phelps in the eighth, added some insurance for the Jays. It was Cabreras second home run in as many days and Bautistas third of the season. Toronto outhit New York 8-7. Dickey exited with two out and one man on in the seventh, having held the Yankees (2-3) scoreless on five hits. The veteran right-hander struck out six and walked one in a 108-pitch performance that included 69 strikes. "You never know what youre going to get there, you have no idea," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of the knuckleballer. "You have no idea whos going to hit him or not hit him. Its probably the most unpredictable day that youre going to have as a manager." The top of the Yankees order threatened in the eighth with men on first and second with none out against Brett Cecil. The left-hander got two out and then gave way to right-hander Sergio Santos with men on second and third. Santos struck out Alfonso Soriano to preserve the lead for Toronto. Rasmus made a dazzling over-the-shoulder catch of a Francisco Cervelli blast to deep centre in the ninth to deny the Yankees. Santos survived putting two men on in the ninth to record his second save, striking out the red-hot Jacoby Ellsbury to end the game. The afternoon contest drew an announced crowd of 45,446 to Rogers Centre, the second straight sellout under the dome. Pineda (0-1), in his first Yankees start after a lengthy injury absence, gave up one earned run on five hits in six innings. He threw 83 pitches, 58 for strikes, and struck out five with no walks. The 25-year-old Pinedas last big league start was Sept. 21, 2011 as a Seattle Mariner. He was traded to the Yankees after the 2011 season in a deal that sent catcher Jesus Montero to the Mariners. But the 2011 all-star was shelved by a shoulder injury during 2012 spring training. The six-foot-seven 265-pound pitcher from the Dominican Republic returned to action last July, going 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 10 starts in the minors. Dickey lost the season opener 9-2 to Tampa Bay, giving up a career-high six walks in five innings work. He also struck out four. He credited higher velocity for part of the turnaround from the Tampa to Toronto games. "Part of its the pitch, I mean really," he said of the mercurial knuckleball. "And some of its the fact that I was able to climb to those higher velocities today. "But look, youve got to live and die with the pitch. Thats part of what makes it very difficult to do at the big league level and its part of the thing that makes it very special." Cervelli doubled off Dickey to open the third after the first six Yankees went down in order. Dickey struck out the next two Yanks and Rasmus gunned down Cervelli at the plate on a single by Ellsbury. The play survived a review, initiated by the umpiring crew to see whether Thole was blocking the plate. The perfectly placed throw was in front of Thole down the third-base line, meaning the catcher had to step over the plate to get to it. The two collided at the plate but Thole held on to the ball. The Yankees had something going in the sixth with a single and walk and none out. But Dickey, who received his Gold Glove award Friday, hauled in a Carlos Beltran hard liner to trigger a double play. A lineout completed the escape. Yankees veteran Derek Jeter, who was rested Friday, was denied in his bid for a 3,319th career hit which would tie Paul Molitor for eighth on MLBs all-time list and fourth on the AL career list. The Yankees have now gone the first five games of the season without a home run for only the fifth time since 1932. Cheap MLB Jerseys From China . Chile applied pressure in midfield right from the beginning, challenging aggressively and continually surging forward. Eduardo Vargas beat the offside trap and fired home a stinging shot for Chiles opening goal in the fifth minute. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic .ca. Hello Kerry, After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for interference.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Vancouver Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows has been suspended for three games without pay by the NHL for his late, illegal check to the head of Montreal Canadiens defenceman Alexei Emelin. Burrows slammed into Emelin at 8:23 of the second period of the Canucks 3-2 overtime victory over the Canadiens on Thursday night. Emelin left after the hit, but returned later in the game. There was no penalty on the play. Burrows said after the game that he did not intend to hurt Emelin with the hit. Canucks general manager Jim Benning, who was present for Burrows hearing on Friday, agreed with his player and added that he didnt expect a three-game suspension to be handed down. Discount MLB Jerseys. He (Burrows) tried to hit shoulder-to-shoulder, Emelin lost his balance and what started as a shoulder-to-shoulder hit, he ended up clipping him in the head, Benning said. Hockeys a fast game and those things are going to happen. Theres nothing we can do about it. Were going to live with the league ruling and move forward. Under the terms of the NHLs collective bargaining agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Burrows will forfeit US$72,580.65. The money goes to the Players Emergency Assistance Fund. ' ' '
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