|
OAKLAND, Calif. Clay Harbor Jersey . -- When the Seattle Mariners were in the midst of a recent eight-game losing streak, manager Lloyd McClendon reminded his players such stretches happen, and they will happen again. Then he challenged them to respond in a positive way. The club is now doing a little bit of everything right to get back on track. Rookie Roenis Elias struck out six while pitching into the seventh to win consecutive starts for the first time, Justin Smoak drove in three runs and the Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 8-3 on Tuesday night for their season-best fourth straight victory. "Its been something incredible," Elias said. "Everybodys together doing their job. I like my team how theyre playing baseball." Smoak hit an RBI double and Dustin Ackley a run-scoring single in the first to back Elias (3-2), who followed up a 10-strikeout gem at Yankee Stadium his last time out with another impressive start once he settled down. The Mariners jumped on Jesse Chavez (2-1) to take a quick first-inning lead for the second straight game against the As -- and Seattle scored all three of its first-inning runs with two outs on the way to its ninth win in 11 games overall. "We know that were not going to win a playoff spot in April," Michael Saunders said. "However, that being said, losing eight straight was a definite learning experience for us. Its not going to be the last time." Chavez got a scare and escaped injury in the fourth when he saved himself from a hard-hit liner by Saunders by catching the screamer that was going right for his face. "It was all reflexes, I just put my glove up," Chavez said. "As soon as I let go of the pitch I saw him make contact. Ive jumped out of the way at balls at my lower body, but Ive never had one like that at my face before." Making the play knocked him off his feet to end the fourth, and the small Coliseum crowd of 12,106 briefly fell silent. "Luckily no one got hurt. I havent seen the replay but guys said it had a chance to hit him square in the face," Saunders said. Chavez got a double play to face the minimum in the fifth, but his night ended after allowing Mike Zuninos sixth-inning sacrifice fly following a hit batsman and a walk. Oakland No. 9 hitter Nick Punto pulled Oakland back in it with a two-run, two-out single in the second. Yoenis Cespedes, back in the starting lineup after nursing a left hamstring injury, hit a leadoff home run in the sixth. The As squandered a scoring chance in the seventh against Dominic Leone, leaving the tying run on third as they again struggled with runners in scoring position. Elias allowed three runs and five hits with three walks in 6 1-3 innings in his seventh career start. Sean Doolittle struck out all four batters he faced in relief of Chavez. But Seattle added on four unearned runs in the top of the ninth against 2013 AL saves leader Jim Johnson, who was booed off the mound when pulled by manager Bob Melvin as fans headed for the exits. Smoak added a two-run single. For Wednesdays doubleheader, Felix Hernandez will pitch Game 1 for Seattle and Erasmo Ramirez the second. As manager Bob Melvin didnt announce his choice for the nightcap, though Dan Straily pitches the opener. Oakland will make right-hander Arnold Leon its 26th player for the second game but is likely to start Drew Pomeranz since he didnt pitch in relief Tuesday. The 25-year-old Leons family was scheduled to fly in from Mexico for his likely major league debut after nine seasons in the minors. The teams are playing two after an April 4 game was called because of a soggy field that had mistakenly gone without its tarp during a heavy rainstorm. NOTES: Saunders, who came in batting .393 with a homer and five RBIs in seven games batting leadoff, went 0 for 4 atop the order. "I dont like messing with success," McClendon said. "Hes been doing great, weve been doing great. Its kind of hard to change that."... As reliever Eric OFlaherty, on the disabled list since undergoing Tommy John surgery in the off-season, threw a 30-pitch bullpen session and could begin throwing to hitters soon, and Melvin said an announcement on the pitchers next step would come Wednesday. ... Melvin said Triple-A catcher Stephen Vogt, an As playoff star last October currently on Sacramentos disabled list, is close to returning from a strained oblique muscle. 02:32ET 07-05-14 Blake Bortles Jersey . Filion, from Laval, Que., and Montreals Benfeito finished third with 326.10 points. Ruolin Chen and Hao Wang of China won gold with 360.66 points and Paola Espinosa and Alejandra Orozco of Mexico were second at 327. John Cyprien Jaguars Jersey . For Kyle Lowry, its become an accepted reality. He will be traded. The question is, when and where? The Raptors point guard is widely believed to be next on general manager Masai Ujiris chopping block after the first domino - Rudy Gay, Lowrys best friend - fell last week.Next up for Michael Phelps comeback: Two events that produced Olympic gold. Phelps has entered the 100-meter butterfly and the 200 freestyle at the Charlotte Grand Prix meet in North Carolina next week, his coach, Bob Bowman, told The Associated Press on Monday night. With both events on May 16, Bowman can stick to the plan of building up Phelps endurance while staying away, at least for now, from the grueling, multi-day programs that were once the norm for Phelps. There will be morning preliminaries and evening finals, though the coach said hes not yet certain Phelps will actually compete in both races. Phelps returned to competitive swimming at a meet in Arizona less than two weeks ago, his first since retiring after the 2012 London Games as the most decorated athlete in Olympic history. He is the three-time defending Olympic champion in the 100 fly, so its obvious that race would be part of any plans to compete at the Rio Games. He won the 200 free at the 2008 Beijing Games -- during his record eight-gold performance -- but dropped the event in London. Phelps also competed in two events at the Mesa Grand Prix, finishing second to longtime rival Ryan Lochte in the 100 fly and matching the fourth-fastest time in the world this year. The other event, the 50 freestyle, wassnt nearly as serious. Josh Scobee Jersey. That race has never been part of Phelps program at a major meet, and he even used his preliminary heat to work on his butterfly stroke. Not surprisingly, he finished 42nd overall against swimmers who were using the much faster freestyle. Still, it was a good starting point for what the Phelps camp is describing as a low-key comeback. "We were encouraged by his performances in Mesa and look forward to trying a 200 in Charlotte," Bowman said in a text message. Phelps has also put his name in for the final Grand Prix meet of the season in Santa Clara, California, next month, though he is taking the comeback one step at a time and not committing to any long-term goals. Still, its clear he wouldnt be putting in the work if the 2016 Olympics were not his primary focus. Phelps has already competed in four Summer Games, winning 18 golds and 22 medals overall. The Grand Prix schedule provides tuneups for the U.S. national championships in August, where spots will be earned for the Pan Pacific Championships later that month and next years world championships in Kazan, Russia -- an important steppingstone for the Olympics. After the Charlotte meet, Phelps will head to Colorado for high-altitude training beginning May 27. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
