HOUSTON -- Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said after Saturdays game against Houston that Nelson Cruz is in a good place.
Vans
Old Skool Danmark . Great or excellent would be more fitting adjectives to
describe how the first-year Orioles star is playing. Cruz hit his major
league-leading 20th home run and drove in three runs to back a solid start by
Chris Tillman, and the Orioles snapped a four-game skid with a 4-1 win over the
Astros. "Nelson is letting the ball travel and letting it get deep," Showalter
said. "Hes come in with a reputation of being streaky and I dont think Ive ever
seen him locked in for this long a period of time. A lot of guys at his age
start figuring out who they are and learning from their mistakes through the
years in more ways than one." Cruz was suspended 50 games last year while
playing for the Texas Rangers as a result of Major League Baseballs
investigation into the Biogenesis drug scandal before signing a one-year deal
with the Orioles this off-season. He agreed with Showalters assessment of his
recent play. "I see the ball well," he said. "Like I said before, its hard to be
consistent for that long. I just take my routine and try to do it on a daily
basis so I can stay more consistent." The loss ends a season-best seven-game
winning streak for the Astros. Tillman (5-2) allowed one run on four hits over 6
2-3 innings to bounce back after allowing 14 runs combined in his last two
starts. Zach Britton pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save. The Orioles
took the lead when Dallas Keuchel (6-3) walked home two runs in the fifth and
Cruz extended the lead to 4-1 with his solo shot to left-centre off
Jerome Williams in the eighth. Cruzs 52 RBIs lead the majors and are the most in
team history at the end of May, surpassing the 50 RBIs Chris Davis had entering
June last year. Cruz, who also doubled on Saturday, has a 12-game hitting streak
with six doubles, eight homers and 15 RBIs in that span. He was pleased that the
was able to get the offence going on Saturday after scoring just two runs in the
previous two games combined. "As a team we know we can score runs. No doubt," he
said. "We have top to bottom one of the best lineups in the league. So it was a
matter of time (before) we came back and do what we were supposed to do. I think
today was a great example." Keuchel allowed six hits and three runs with three
walks in six innings to end a four-game winning streak. He was done in by his
lack of control on Saturday after walking just one batter in his previous four
starts combined. Keuchel was coming off two stellar outings where he posted a
1.02 ERA and was named AL player of the week. "I just didnt have a feel,"
Keuchel said of the fifth inning. "Give them credit for laying off a few
pitches. Thats a good team. I was lucky to get out of there with just three
runs." Manny Machado singled off Keuchel with one out in the fifth before a
two-out single by Caleb Joseph. Nick Markakis walked to load the bases before
the Orioles took the lead on a walk by Steve Pearce. A third straight walk --
this one by Cruz -- scored another run to push the lead to 3-1. Keuchel took
Adam Jones to a full count before striking him out to end the inning. Markakis
hit a leadoff double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cruz with one out to put
Baltimore up early. Jason Castro doubled with no outs in the second inning
before Tillman plunked two of the next three batters to load the bases with one
out. Robbie Grossman singled on a dribbler down the right field line to tie it
at 1-1. NOTES: The series wraps up on Sunday when Baltimores Wei-Yin Chen
opposes Scott Feldman. ... Saturday was the 1,000th career game for Jones. ...
Baltimore RHP Tommy Hunter, on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 21
with a left groin strain, will throw a bullpen session on Sunday. ... Machado,
who has hit in the No. 2 spot for most of his career, was moved down to the
seventh spot this week after struggling this season. Showalter is confident that
Machado, who had two hits Saturday, will get back on track and thinks this move
could help. "Were just trying to be patient for him to work his way back into
it, but thats a challenge," Showalter said. "He gets frustrated. He hides it
pretty well. Hes the same body language, the same everything that he was last
year, just not getting the return. And its frustrating for him."
Vans Sko Tilbud . -- Cole De Vries
had a couple of key strikeouts during what could have been the inning that
doomed him to defeat against the Kansas City Royals, allowing him to escape
further damage and keep the game tied up.
Vans Sko . His actions are much
louder on the Fenway Park mound. De La Rosa had another strong home start, going
seven solid innings to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas
City Royals on Saturday night.
http://www.oldskoolvanstilbud.com/vans-sk8-dk.html . -- Antoine Bibeau bought the Val-dOr Foreurs valuable time at the Memorial Cup
with his 51-save shutout Friday.WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals attempts
to jump-start their season have so far been false starts. Perhaps, on the Fourth
of July, the return of Wilson Ramos and an "epiphany" change in the batting
order provided the final pieces that can sustain some momentum. Back after
missing 44 games with a strained left hamstring, Ramos hit a go-ahead, three-run
homer in the seventh inning Thursday, leading the Nationals to an 8-5 matinee
win over the Milwaukee Brewers. "Hes a statement player," shortstop Ian Desmond
said. "And definitely somebody whos waiting for his turn in the spotlight."
Ramos put a 1-0 slider from Brandon Kintzler into the left-field stands and
received a curtain call. He finished with three hits and a career-high five
RBIs. "Im excited, happy for this day, for me, for my family, for my team,"
Ramos said. "They were waiting for me for my return, and Im happy for this day,
and hopefully I will help the team to win a lot of games." The Nationals earned
a split of the four-game series and moved back above .500 in their seesaw
season. Theyve already had plenty of emotional wins this year that might have
sparked a chase at the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East, but each time
theyve fallen flat within a few days. Getting desperate to try anything, manager
Davey Johnson joked before the game that he was "going crazy" figuring out how
to get the bats going and said he was "having a problem" with his Ouija board.
He decided to flip-flop Desmond and Jayson Werth, batting Desmond second and
Werth sixth. Asked why, he said: "I dont know. Because Im supposed to do
something. I had an epiphany last night about 9:30 and I called Desi, and I
said, Desi, Im changing something." For at least one day, it was managerial
genius. Desmond had three hits, stole two bases and scored two runs and ignited
two scoring rallies. Werth had three hits, an RBI and scored twice. "Yeah, that
came out all right," Johnson said after the game. "You know, once in a while I
have a great idea." Taylor Jordan allowed two runs over 5 2-3 innings in his
second major league start, and Drew Storen (3-2) got the win despite blowing a
5-2 lead by allowing two home runs in the sevventh inning.
Vans Sk8 Hi x
Supreme. Ramos and the Nationals quickly bailed out Storen with a two-out
rally. Werth singled off Tom Gorzelanny (1-1). Brewers manager Ron Roenicke then
brought in Brandon Kintzler to face Anthony Rendon in a righty-righty matchup.
The move backfired. Kintzler walked Rendon and gave up the homer to Ramos. "Just
hung a slider," Kintzler said. "What are you going to do? Itll not be the last
slider I hang, either. I just didnt make the adjustment quick enough." Rafael
Soriano pitched the ninth for his 22nd save, but he allowed the tying run to
come to the plate with two out. It might have been Carlos Gomez, who had homered
earlier in the game, but Gomez had been taken out in the double switch that
brought Kintzler into the game. Roenicke said he made the switch because Gomezs
bothersome shoulder had tightened up after a collision with the outfield wall.
Gomez said he was fine. "It surprised me when I got out of the game," Gomez
said, "especially after I hit a home run." It was a star-spangled day in the
nations capital. The game began at 11:06 a.m. and featured a national anthem
sang by Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a new
"Freedom Song" performed by Neil Diamond. There would be fireworks on the later
on the National Mall, but only after Ramos had lit up Nationals Park. Johnson
essentially called the shot while chatting with bench coach Randy Knorr. "I was
talking to Randy, I said, Hes had a good day, he might as well just hit one out
here," Johnson said. "And, boom, sure enough he did." NOTES: Ramos must love
national celebration days. His last three-hit game came on Cinco de Mayo. ...
Desmond was doing so well that he was intentionally walked to put Bryce Harper
at the plate with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth. Harper grounded out
to first, and he is 1 for 15 since returning from a knee injury, and the only
hit was a home run in his first at-bat. ... The Brewers were hurt by minor
league mistakes. They failed to execute a rundown when Harper was caught between
first and second in the third inning, and Juan Francisco strayed too far off
first and was thrown out by the cutoff man after an RBI single in the sixth.
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