BALTIMORE -- The Minnesota Twins were counting on their best pitcher to pull the team out of its latest funk, and Phil Hughes delivered.
Alex
Petrovic Panthers Jersey . Hughes held Baltimore without an earned run
over eight innings, Joe Mauer had four RBIs and the Twins won 6-4 Monday to
avoid a four-game sweep. Nelson Cruz hit his major-league leading 36th home run
and Nick Hundley had a three-run shot for the Orioles, whose lead in the AL East
over the idle New York Yankees slipped to 8 1/2 games. After being outscored
24-11 in the first three games of the series, Minnesota won for only the second
time in nine tries. Hughes (15-9) gave up five hits, no walks and three unearned
runs. The right-hander has allowed one earned run or fewer in five of his last
six starts. "Hes been huge," Mauer said. "Whenever we give him the ball, we feel
like we have a real good chance of winning." Following a 4-14 season with the
Yankees last year, Hughes has accounted for 25 per cent of Minnesotas 60 wins.
"I feel like I got away with a lot of mistakes today," the right-hander said.
"But I had good enough stuff to overcome that and was able to make some pitches.
That was kind of the story." Mauer tripled in two runs in the sixth inning and
added a two-run single in the eighth to put Minnesota ahead for good. The
victory provided the last-place Twins with reason to believe they can put a
positive finish on a miserable season. "Were 1-0 in September and we need Joe to
pick us up," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Lets have a good September here.
Thats kind of our battle cry, and its going to be led by him, no doubt." Hughes
should play a part, too. "Hes had a solid year for them," Orioles manager Buck
Showalter said. "Hes always taking the ball, giving innings. Hes a good
addition." After Hughes left, Glen Perkins gave up a leadoff homer to Cruz in
the ninth before getting three straight outs for his 33rd save. Hughes and
Orioles rookie Kevin Gausman (7-7) matched zeroes until the sixth inning, when
the Twins took a 3-0 lead. Danny Santana and Brian Dozier hit one-out singles
before Mauer hit an opposite-field liner to left that bounced off the wall
toward centre. Mauer ended up with his second triple of the season, and Kennys
Vargas followed with a sacrifice fly. In the seventh, a single and a throwing
error by third baseman Trevor Plouffe preceded Hundleys two-out drive into the
left-field seats. The deadlock didnt last long. Gausman gave up a leadoff walk
in the eighth, and an error by third baseman Jimmy Paredes put runners on second
and third with no outs. Mauer singled off Andrew Miller, took second on the
throw to the plate and scored on a single by Vargas. "It kind of (stinks) that I
walked the leadoff guy in the eighth inning," Gausman said. "That kind of came
back to bite us." Gausman allowed five hits and four earned runs in a
career-high 7 1-3 innings, losing his third straight start. "I thought I threw
the ball where I wanted to," he said. "A lot of their hitters are down hitters,
so I think fastball up was a big pitch for me today. I used it effectively. I
mixed in all my pitches." TRAINERS ROOM Twins: C Kurt Suzuki, who sat out
Sundays game after taking a foul tip in the chin on Saturday night, returned to
the starting lineup. Orioles: 1B Steve Pearce missed a third straight game with
an abdominal strain, but Showalter said Pearce is improving and should be back
in a day or two. Also, SS J.J. Hardy was pulled after the seventh inning with
back spasms. "I sure hope Ill be in there (Tuesday)," he said. "I think getting
out of there today was probably the right decision." UP NEXT Twins: The Twins
return home to face the White Sox on Tuesday night. Minnesota starter
Tommy Milone is 1-0 with an 0.86 ERA against Chicago. Orioles: Baltimore opens a
three-game interleague series against visiting Cincinnati. The Orioles havent
lost two in a row at home since June 28-29.
James
Reimer Panthers Jersey .com Tours Nova Scotia Open. The 27-year-old Sloan,
a former Texas-El Paso player from Calgary matched first-round leader Rodriguez
at 10-under 132 on Ashburn Golf Clubs New Course.
Lawson
Crouse Panthers Jersey . Cruz set the tone with a two-run homer in the
first inning, and Baltimore scored eight times in the eighth to pull away for a
12-3 victory in Game 1. The major league leader with 40 homers during the
regular season, Cruz added an RBI single to his early blast off Max Scherzer.
http://www.hockeypanthersofficialonline.com/brian-campbell-hockey-jersey/ . The Stampeders announced the move on Wednesday. Bell spent his first two CFL
seasons with the B. NEW YORK -- In advance of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference
final, the coaches put on a show. First Rangers coach Alain Vigneault fired back
at the Canadiens, dismissing the assertion by Montreal counterpart Michel
Therrien that there is a gentlemans agreement among coaches that they not watch
the other team practise on off-days. And he said Therriens comments that
Montreal knows where Rangers forward Derick Brassard was hurting might come back
to haunt the Habs coach. "Let me put it this way. I just hope nothing happens to
(Brassard) or Michel could be in trouble," a feisty Vigneault said. The coaches
friendship, he suggested, was on hold. "I think (Therrien) said prior to the
series, for this two-week period, were not really friends and hes probably
right," Vigneault, whose smile seemed a little forced, said after the morning
skate Sunday. Vigneault was followed by a grinning Therrien, who looked to kill
his rival coach with kindness. "Alain Vigneault, first of all hes a good
friend," said Therrien. "Im privileged to be one of his friends. Hes an
important person in my life. Hes one of the guys that pushed for me to get into
pro hockey. And I will respect that. "And over the years, we become great great
friends. And Ive got tons of respect for him. And hes a good coach. But right
now were battling for the same thing ... Weve got to put our friendship aside,
for what two weeks? But Im sure when everythings done and over, as soon as get a
chance to see each other, were going to have a nice cold beer, like we did in
the past. "Nothing is going to change, but right now were competing for the same
goal. And thats normal." Vigneault, renowned for his calmness, has had a bee
under his bonnet in recent days. In three games -- the Rangers led 2-1 going
into Game 4 -- there has been one surgery, two suspensions and a lot of talk.
The Rangers coach seemed to have a chip on his shoulder Sunday. He has lamented
the officiating that led to a Game 3 flare-up which resulted in Brandon Prust
breaking Derek Stepans jaw and Rangers forward Dan Carcillo being suspended for
jostling a linesman in the aftermath. "Were trying to play whistle to whistle,"
Vigneault said. "Were trying to do the right things. I know in the hockey world
we were painted as dishonest and dishonourable. Were not. We follow the rules.
We follow the rules on the ice, and we will follow the rules off the ice." The
Habs have complained about the Rangers play, questioned some of their injuries
and looked to get under their skin at every turn. "Hockey is a beautiful game,"
Vigneault said. "Its done by great competitors on both teams. I wish a lot of
this stuff didnt happen." It has been a series where the two coaches have hardly
said a word without considering their impact.
Aaron
Ekblad Panthers Jersey. While Prust was awaiting a league sanction for his
hit, Vigneault detailed the extent of Stepans injury. After Carcillo asked that
his 10-game ban be reviewed by commissioner Gary Bettman, Vigneault questioned
the role of linesman Scott Driscoll in the play. Therrien dismissed the
suggestion that the Habs may be looking to capitalize on Brassards return to the
lineup from injury. "Hes a good player. There is no free pass. Were in the
playoffs. But the intention is not to hurt the guy. I mean, come on," he said.
"We have to play Derick Brassard hard like we have to play all those New York
Rangers hard with emotion and the best playoff hockey," he added. Therrien said
he was giving Vigneault some of his own medicine. "I was saying the same thing
Alain said about Carey Price, that he knew before, he knew what the injury was
and that the hockey world its a small world," he said. "Its true, its a small
world. So we knew exactly what happened to Derick Brassard. And by the way, hes
a good player. Hes an important player." As for the Canadiens asking the Rangers
assistant coaches to leave Montreals practice Saturday, Vigneault responded
Sunday by saying his staff was treated unfairly. "There is no rule. There was no
agreement between both teams. That is the exception not the rule." If there is a
deal, its only because the opposing coach or GM calls to ask for it. "Never
happened," he added. Vigneault called the Montreal behaviour regrettable, adding
it was lucky the situation did not escalate. Therrien stuck to his guns,
although he did say perhaps there was a breakdown in communication. According to
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun, NHL Director of Hockey Operations Colin
Campbell met with Therrien and Canadiens GM Marc Bergervin on Sunday to discuss
the issue. "My staff and my coaching staff were under the impression that there
is a gentlemans agreement. So probably there was a miscommunication. ... But
from our standpoint, we still believe that there is a gentlemans agreement."
Asked about personnel, Vigneault said Stepan was recovering at home from surgery
although he had visited his teammates Sunday morning. Dominic Moore was expected
to move up and replace Stepan with J.T. Miller replacing Carcillo on the fourth
line. Therrien was asked zero questions about his lineup, with all the talk on
the gamesmanship in the series. Michael Bournival is expected to replace Prust,
who was suspended for two games for the Stepan hit. NOTES: Sunday marked 20
years since Mark Messier, after promising the win, scored a natural hat trick to
help the Rangers defeat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 in Game 6 of the Eastern
Conference final.
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