DETROIT - As of now, Max Scherzer is the only pitcher representing Detroits starting rotation on the American League All-Star team.
Bruce Miller Jersey . Hed like to help change that. Scherzer is lobbying fans to support teammate Rick Porcello in the online vote for the ALs final spot. The 25-year-old Porcello threw back-to-back shutouts recently to put himself on the fringe of the All-Star roster, but hes not a member of the team yet. "We need our fans to really show up and vote for Rick," said Scherzer, who started the All-Star game last year and eventually won the Cy Young Award. "Come on fans, vote for Rick." With or without an All-Star invite, Porcello is developing into the pitcher many thought he could be after the Tigers drafted him in the first round in 2007. He made his debut as a 20-year-old, winning 14 games in 2009. Since then, hes been a consistent presence in the rotation, but hes never been able to match the 3.96 ERA he posted as a rookie. Until this year, perhaps. Porcello is 11-5 with a 3.53 ERA so far, helping the Tigers remain in first place most of the season despite Justin Verlanders struggles and Anibal Sanchezs brief injury problems. The candidates for the final All-Star spot in the AL are all pitchers: Porcello, Dallas Keuchel of Houston, Corey Kluber of Cleveland, Garrett Richards of the Los Angeles Angels and Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox. "Obviously, it would be awesome to be able to go, but at the same time, it doesnt take anything away from how well I feel like Ive pitched the first half," Porcello said. "Im proud of the work Ive done the first half." Porcello set a career high with 142 strikeouts last year, but thats never been his calling card. He succeeds when hes able to keep the ball down — with a career groundball percentage of 53.1. "Hes throwing strikes at a really high rate," Scherzer said. "Hes not walking guys, which is always a recipe for success. His offspeed pitches have really sharpened up. ... Hes always had the sinker. Nothings changed in the sinker, its what hes doing with his other offspeed pitches that allows him to be more effective." Immediately after being included in the final vote for the All-Star team, Porcello allowed seven runs Sunday night in a loss to Tampa Bay. Not an ideal audition on national television. But before that, Porcello had a 25-inning scoreless streak. "Weve said all along the key for him is being down with his sinker," manager Brad Ausmus said. "When it gets up, it gets flat and you see more flyballs." "He made the adjustment, he actually started getting the ball down in the zone. He got some groundballs, a couple of them found holes and ended up being hits but he got the groundballs he was trying to get," Ausmus said. Detroit has three players in the All-Star game at the moment: Scherzer, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez. Ausmus had been hoping Porcello and second baseman Ian Kinsler would get in as well from the AL Central leaders. "Its tough when you have that many guys on one team with the All-Star game roster rules, its tough for all of them to make it," Ausmus said. "But if Rick can win, we get four out of five and who knows what can happen between now and the All-Star game, maybe Kins gets on there as well. All of them were deserving." NOTES: Cabrera said he was invited to participate in the All-Star home run derby, but hell sit out because he doesnt want to mess with his swing. "Im going to enjoy watching," he said.
Shareece Wright 49ers Jersey . The London derby, played with rain swirling around the Emirates Stadium, failed to produce the drama expected, with few attempts on goal. "They defended well, were well organized, and we didnt find our zippy movements to play between the lines as we can," said Wenger, whose side lost 6-3 at Manchester City in its last game.
Darnell Dockett 49ers Jersey . Nearly half the field, including defending champion Charl Schwartzel, failed to complete their rounds on the West Course following a four-hour afternoon delay because of thunderstorms at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - With the No. 1 player in the world already out of this years Masters, injuries are clearly the top storyline heading into the first major of the season. Tiger Woods, as we all know, had back surgery last Monday and is out of the tournament. If that wasnt enough, three of the next four players in the world rankings are also ailing. Henrik Stenson, the third-ranked player in the world, continues to play with wrist pain that he has been dealing with since last year. No. 4 Jason Day hasnt played since winning the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, while No. 5 Phil Mickelson is battling the newest injury. The three-time Masters champion and reigning British Open champ hurt his oblique at the Texas Open, and withdrew. After some practice at Augusta, he shared 12th at the Houston Open. While those four battle with injuries, the remainder of the field deals with a lack of momentum. Outside of the last two Masters winners, not many players have any momentum heading into Augusta. Reigning champion Adam Scott has six top-25 finishes in six starts this season. However, he did close the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a 76 to lose the title. The man who slipped the green jacket onto Scotts shoulders, 2012 Masters winner Bubba Watson, also has six top-25 finishes in eight starts this season. Watson also has a win and two runner-up finishes in that span. That victory for Watson was his first since donning the green jacket in 2012. Watson already has more top-10s this year than he had all of 2013, so his game is clearly in fine shape. As for the remainder of the field, two of the biggest storylines early in the 2013-14 wrap-around season have been Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed. Walker has three victories and Reed has a pair, making them the only multiple winners of the season. Thats the good news. The bad news for both, this is their first appearance in the Masters. Why is that bad news? Only Fuzzy Zoeller won the Masters in his first appearance. Could one of those players add their name to that short list? Since winning three times in eight events, Walker has cooled with five top-25 finishes, but none better than tied for 16th at the Texas Open. Reeds only start since his second victory ended in a tie for 52nd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. What about the other two reigning major champions? U.S. Open champ Justin Rose has three top-10 finishes in seven starts, but is coming off a missed cut at Bay Hill and he has broken par in four of his last 10 stroke-play rounds. PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner has three top-10s in eight starts and he has been off since the Valspar Championship. Tough to say what to expect from either of them. As you can tell, the seasons first major is wide openn with no clear-cut favorite.
Dan Skuta Jersey. Will either of last years combatants be in the mix again this year? Scott and the man he beat in the playoff, Angel Cabrera, both are valid picks, but also have question marks. Scott, as mentioned above, blew the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the final round. Cabrera, on the other hand, has missed the cut in six of his seven PGA Tour starts dating to last October. Honestly though, that doesnt mean much when it comes to Cabrera and the Masters. He had two missed cuts and one finish inside the top 30 in seven starts last year before playing his way into the playoff with Scott. In 2011, the Argentine had missed three cuts in six starts, then tied for seventh at Augusta. When Cabrera won in 2009, he was coming off back-to-back missed cuts and hadnt finished better than tied for 13th. There is something about Augusta with Cabrera. Last year, Scott and Cabrera both birdied the final hole of regulation to get into the playoff. Scott made his first as Cabrera stood in the fairway and watched. Cabrera responded by stuffing his approach inside three feet. The 2009 Masters champion kicked that in for birdie to force the extra session. In the playoff, both players spun their approach shots off the front of the green on the first extra hole. Cabrera nearly holed his chip as it skirted the edge of the cup. Scotts chip stopped three feet short of the hole. They both made their par putts, and it was off to the 10th. Cabrera left himself 18 feet for birdie, but failed to convert. Scott drained his 12-footer for birdie and the win. It was a huge turnaround for Scott, who had bogeyed the final four holes of regulation at the 2012 British Open to lose the title. Watson also won his title in a playoff in 2012. Those were the first back-to- back playoffs since 1989-90, when Nick Faldo won consecutive green jackets. There has never been three straight playoffs at the Masters. How the scoring plays out depends on the condition of the course and the weather. Augusta was hit with several ice storms over the winter, and the biggest result of those storms was the loss of the Eisenhower tree that framed the tee shot on No. 17. The long range weather outlook shows dry conditions for the four tournament rounds after some rain earlier in the week. That sets up perfectly for how the tournament tends to play out. As the week goes on, the course gets firmer and faster making it harder to score. You will hear over those first few days that the tournament doesnt really start until the back nine on Sunday. Well, the last two years, the combatants were determined on that final nine, but settled in a playoff. Will it take another playoff this year? Time will tell, but one thing is for sure - this Masters is as wide open as any in recent memory.
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