Crazy Rebel(l)s
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02.04.2019 04:37
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CHICAGO -- Jon Lester felt better Friday, after some rough outings. He knows he wasnt perfect in six shutout innings. A pair of pointless, useless walks, as he put it, still bothered him afterward.Not that they mattered, in the end.The Cubs posted their highest-scoring game at home this season, routing the Seattle Mariners 12-1 Friday for their third straight win.The guys swung the bats really well, Lester said. I try to always tell them, 12 runs and an air-tight defense makes a pitchers job a lot easier, so that was good today.Lester (11-4) gave up four hits and struck out seven.The lefty had lasted just 16 innings over his previous four starts, going 1-1 with a 10.13 ERA. That skid came after he had gone 9-3 with a 2.03 ERA in his first 16 starts.Johnnie Lester, I thought, pitched really well again, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. I thought he had a really good fastball today. From the side, to me, it was obvious that his fastball had a lot of jump on it.Jason Heyward and David Ross homered as the NL Central leaders won for the 10th time in their last 15 games after a 1-9 slump. They are 9-5 since the All-Star break.Seattle lost in its first trip to Wrigley since 2007. The Mariners let infielder Luis Sardinas pitch the eighth, and he threw a perfect inning.Lester matched his win total from last season.Jon did a great job settling in after the first couple of innings there and never gave up anything, said Cubs right fielder Ben Zobrist, who doubled for the third straight game. I think all across the board, as a team, its a real feel-good win.Lester was already done when there was a 74-minute rain delay in the seventh.Mike Montgomery, traded last week from Seattle to the Cubs, pitched the final two innings. He gave up a single to Shawn OMalley in the ninth for the Mariners run.Hisashi Iwakuma (11-7) had won his last five starts, but gave up five runs and eight hits in three innings. His arm felt tight when he started warming up in the bullpen and never was on, manager Scott Servais said.He got loose and wasnt sharp, Servais said, missed in the middle of the plate a lot, obviously, against a good offensive club, and it was a rough day.The Cubs already led 5-0 when they scored six times in the sixth inning, with Anthony Rizzo hitting a three-run double.Heyward hit his first homer since June 11 and drove in three runs. He had been just 5 for 45 in his last 13 games.Kris Bryant reached base all five times he came up for the Cubs. He singled twice, doubled and walked twice. It was Bryants team-high eighth three-hit game this season.Sardinas, who played for Texas and Milwaukee the past two seasons, moved from first base to the mound and retired the Cubs on eight pitches.THE PUSHJavier Baez scored Chris Coghlans single in the second inning, then turned to see if Ross needed any guidance coming home. Plate umpire Eric Cooper also needed a clean look, and with Baez lingering outside the batters box, shoved the player out of the way.He pushed me really hard, Baez said, who added it was nothing personal.I guess everyone can laugh about it because Im not making a big deal out of it, he said.Ross scored easily.UPS AND DOWNSThe Cubs activated OF Coghlan (ribs) off the disabled list and optioned infielder Tommy La Stella to Triple-A Iowa. La Stella, who was hitting .295 in 105 at-bats with a .388 on-base percentage, didnt take the news well, according to Maddon.And he shouldnt take it well, Maddon said. Honestly, its just an unusual moment were in right now where we have so many guys. This is definitely an advocacy for a 27- or 28-man roster.La Stella had options remaining, which left him vulnerable in a crowded infield. Coghlan started in LF and the leadoff spot and opened the scoring with a two-run single in the second.NEWCOMERSeattles Guillermo Heredia made his major league debut when he went to right field in the seventh. He struck out in the eighth. The Mariners recalled him from Triple-A Tacoma before the game and optioned LHP David Rollins.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: RF Nelson Cruz returned to the lineup after fouling a ball off his shin Tuesday. He went 0 for 2 with a walk.Cubs: CF Dexter Fowler still has some soreness, Maddon said, so Heyward played center instead of right. Ben Zobrist started in right field for the second straight game.UP NEXTMariners: Its been a streaky season for LHP Wade Miley (6-8, 5.23). He lost his first two decisions, won his next six and has lost his last six starts.Cubs: Jake Arrieta (12-4, 2.76) is 0-2 with a 5.55 ERA in four July starts. He has allowed 20 earned runs over his last five starts after giving up 19 over his first 15 starts. Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Authentic .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Wholesale NHL Jerseys . JOHNS, N. http://www.wholesalenhljerseyschina.com/ . Schenn scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday. NHL Jerseys From China . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. ATLANTA -- This was merely an annoyance for Alabama, a chance to add another trophy to its overflowing cases. The Crimson Tide did just enough things wrong to give Nick Saban something to complain about over the next month, but in the end it was another dominating victory for the nations top-ranked team.Florida coach Jim McElwain was certainly impressed after his No. 15 Gators took a 54-16 whipping in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday. He called it Sabans best team yet in a dynasty that shows no signs of stumbling.I dont see a lot of weaknesses, marveled McElwain, Sabans offensive coordinator from 2008-11. Theyve really accumulated a lot of speed at some spots where they were always big.Alabama (13-0, No. 1 CFP) unleashed all its weapons against the overmatched Gators, scoring off an interception and a blocked punt in the first half, snuffing out their last gasp with a goal-line stand, and wearing down Florida at the end with a dominant running game.The Tide now heads to the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row, most likely returning to Atlanta for a semifinal game on Dec. 31. Alabama will be seeking its second straight national title and its fifth crown in the last nine years. Saban already has five national titles , counting his first at LSU, and is one shy of Bear Bryants record for the most by any coach.Challenging his players, Saban said they have a chance to do something to create a legacy for this team. Thats something they should think about, how important that is, what they are willing to do to do it. Because all the teams you play from here on out are really, really good.The Crimson Tide bolted to a 16-9 lead in the first quarter, despite being held to minus-7 yards and no first downs. Minkah Fitzpatrick returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown, and Josh Jacobs went 27 yards for a score with a blocked punt. A field goal was set up by another pick -- one of three thrown by Florida quarterback Austin Appleby in the first half.The Tide led 33-16 at halftime and iced the victory with scoring drives of 98 and 91 yards, sparked by a goal-line stand that finished off the last gasp by the Gators (8-4, No. 15 CFP). It was most points surrendered by Florida since a 62-24 loss to Nebraska in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl.A 24-point underdog , the Gators marched the length of the field on their opening possession, the first touchdown given up by the Tide in more than 17 quarters. They had another long TD drive near the end of the first half to give themselves a glimmerr of hope.ddddddddddddIt wasnt perfect, said Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster, who was named the games MVP. We had to persevere, overcome some hard times.The last of those hard times came when Florida drove to the Crimson Tide 1 in the third quarter. Jordan Scarlett attempted to leap over the line on third-and-goal, but he never got off the ground. Rashaan Evans, who took over after Shaun Dion Hamilton went out with a likely season-ending knee injury, blew by his blocker and slammed the running back for a 1-yard loss.Appleby then threw incomplete in the back of the end zone on fourth down, giving the Tide all the momentum.Alabama finished with 174 yards rushing in the second half. The bulk of the carries went to bruising sophomore Bo Scarbrough, who had two short touchdown runs and finished with 91 yards on 11 carries.We just wanted to do what we do best, and thats run the ball, Scarbrough said.THE TAKEAWAYAlabama: Freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts wasnt all that sharp, completing 11 of 20 passes for 138 yards, and the Tide will want to clean up some busted plays that led to big losses. But thats merely nitpicking. This team is the clear favorite heading into the playoff.Florida: The Gators must address their offensive woes after another shaky performance. Developing a quarterback is McElwains top priority. Thats something weve got to do, sooner than later, he said.BLOCK PARTYDuring a wild sequence in the first quarter, each team scored off blocked kicks on back-to-back plays.Jacobs TD came after Derrick Gore blocked a punt, giving Alabama a 16-7 lead. But when Adam Griffiths extra-point attempt was swatted down by Jabari Zuniga, David Reese scooped up the ball and went the length of the field to give the Gators a 2-point conversion.POLL IMPLICATIONSAlabama will remain No. 1 in The Associated Press poll, as well as the College Football Playoff rankings. Florida can expect to drop at least four or five spots.UP NEXTAlabama: Projected to meet the No. 4-ranked CFP team in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.Florida: Two straight blowout losses probably cost the Gators a shot at the Sugar Bowl. More likely, they will settle for either the Dec. 31 Citrus Bowl or the Jan. 2 Outback Bowl.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---For more AP college football coverage: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' ' |
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