ST. PETERSBURG
http://www.dolphinsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-daniel-kilgore-jersey , Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays were beaten by the slimmest of margins in the series
opener, and the Houston Astros‘ dominating starting pitching gets another chance
to showcase itself at Tropicana Field on Friday night.
On Thursday, it was Lance McCullers pitching a gem close to his hometown of Tampa, and on Friday, the Rays will try to create some offense against Gerrit
Cole, who has been stellar in his first season in Houston.
Cole is 9-1 with a 2.56 ERA, and his only start without a win in his last five appearances came against the Rays on June 18. He threw seven innings and
gave up four earned runs on three hits and five walks, and the Astros still won
in his only career outing against the Rays.
Houston (55-28) is 18-3 in its last 21 games, with pitching leading the way. The Astros got a solo home run in the seventh inning from Jake Marisnick on
Thursday, and that’s all they needed in a 1-0 victory that handed the Rays their
20th one-run loss of the season.
“It stinks when you lose 1-0. We won a ballgame 1-0 two days ago, so everything has to go right. … That’s the way it goes sometimes. Very, very
pleased with our pitching. It kept us in every inning to give us a chance to tie
it or take the lead.”
On Friday, the Rays will again turn to a converted reliever as the starter, though Wilmer Font (1-3, 6.46) has had the best success of any Rays “opener” at
stretching himself out into longer outings. He has managed to go a little longer
than his previous start in each of his four starts in June. That includes going
5 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball against the Yankees last time out.
In those four June starts
Byron Jones Jersey , his ERA is 1.80, allowing just three earned runs in his last 16 innings. That’s remarkable for a pitcher who came to the Rays four weeks
ago with a 11.37 ERA.
Friday’s start will be his first appearance against the Astros as a member of the Rays, but he has appeared in two other games against Houston this season —
one as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and one as a member of the Oakland
A’s.
With the Dodgers, he faced Houston in April, giving up three runs (on three solo home runs) in two innings. In May, Font faced the Astros while with
Oakland, this time allowing seven hits and five earned runs in 2 2/3 innings.
His season ERA against Houston is a whopping 15.43.
The Astros are leading their division and the defending World Series champions may still be picking up momentum. Marisnick, for instance, hit .143 in
April and .171 in May, but is hitting .286 in June and his on-base percentage is
more than double what it was entering the month.
“He’s not carrying the negativity that came with the first part of the season with him, and it’s good to watch him play relaxed,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch
said. “He’s a tremendous athlete when he’s relaxed, and it’s translating into
some really good at-bats.”
Houston is already two games into the second half of its season, while the Rays will hit their midway point with Friday’s game, still trying to get back
above .500 for the season.
Anthony Lynn left Texas Tech in 1992 for a life in the NFL
Cheap Austin Corbett Jersey , he was only six class hours shy of earning his degree.
Although he won two Super Bowl rings as a running back before beginning a coaching career that eventually put him in charge of the Los Angeles Chargers
last season, Lynn never forgot about missing his college graduation.
On Saturday, the Chargers’ 49-year-old head coach will take that long-delayed walk to get his diploma when he receives his bachelor’s degree in
interdisciplinary studies at UNLV.
”Football has always been my No. 1 priority, and sometimes that’s good, sometimes that’s bad,” the Chargers’ head coach said Friday after running a
workout with their rookies and undrafted free agents. ”But I chose football over
education. I thought, at some point, `No more excuses. Just go back and get it
done.”’
While he led the Chargers to a 9-7 record last season, Lynn was also hitting the books. He spent the past 18 months completing his coursework while
simultaneously navigating his first head coaching job.
Lynn didn’t say much about his studies to his Chargers assistants or players, but he strategized like any good coach to manage his workload. With the help of
a counselor, Lynn used a five-week down period in last summer’s schedule to line
up his daily educational goals and deadlines for the following year.
”It requires you to be a master planner,” Lynn said with a grin.
He recently completed his 30-page capstone research project about the challenges and pitfalls facing athletes as they make the transition into
post-competitive life. After starting out with the goal of learning more about
the mental health of athletes with head injuries, Lynn eventually took 30 hours
of online classes in subjects such as sociology, public health and
psychology.
”Mental health is broader than what I thought,” Lynn said. ”Things like identity crisis. Things like boredom with athletes post-career
Youth Rick Leonard Jersey , and how that can lead to other sicknesses that are sometimes fatal. So that’s probably the biggest thing I learned.”
The seeds of Lynn’s return were planted in 2014 while he was on Rex Ryan’s staff with the New York Jets. Dave Szott, Lynn’s good friend and a former Jets
lineman who became a coach and executive with the club, finished his degree 15
years after leaving Penn State with the encouragement of his own wife,
Andrea.
”I remember she looked at me and said, `Coach, you should do the same,”’ Lynn recalled. ”`There’s no reason why you shouldn’t do that, no excuses.’ And that
just gave me a little push and inspired me to go back, or at least investigate
it.”
Lynn put it off for a couple of years while he moved with Ryan to Buffalo and attempted to land his own head coaching job. He eventually connected with an
educational firm that has expertise in such endeavors, and he committed to his
studies in earnest in 2017.
”I said, `You know what? It’s now or never,”’ Lynn recalled with a smile. ”And then I become a head coach.”
But with the Chargers’ encouragement, Lynn decided to continue his educational pursuits. He did most of his coursework remotely, but also went to
UNLV recently for face-to-face discussions with his professors.
Lynn also was motivated by his highly educated children. His daughter, Danielle
Authentic Jaire Alexander Jersey , is receiving her master’s degree in business administration from the University of North Texas next week. His son,
