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Joined: 26-04-2024
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Subject :SAN FRANCISCO -- Michael Morse looked baffled after missing wildly on a wicked curve from Minnesota
SAN FRANCISCO -- Michael Morse looked baffled after missing wildly on a wicked curve from Minnesota starter Ricky Nolasco in the fifth inning. Cheap NFL Jersyes Wholesale . It was one of the few pitches the Giants slugger guessed wrong on, and the last one from Nolasco he let get by. Morse hit a bases-loaded double on Nolascos next offering -- one of three doubles by San Franciscos first baseman -- helping the Giants to an 8-1 win over the Twins on Sunday that completed a three-game sweep. The crowd at AT&T Park gave Morse a loud ovation after the hit when his face was shown on the giant scoreboard in centerfield. "Moments like that make you feel so humble and happy that youre here," said Morse, who signed a one-year deal with San Francisco in the off-season. "Every day feels like the playoffs here. Its awesome." Madison Bumgarner pitched seven innings to remain unbeaten in May, Gregor Blanco had three hits while filling in for leadoff man Angel Pagan and Hunter Pence homered for the Giants, who improved to 6-0 in interleague games this year and improved their majors-leading record to 32-18. Bumgarner (6-3) earned his fourth straight win while relying mainly on his fastball and slider to baffle the slumping Twins. He struck out 10 with no walks and allowed only two runners past second base. "Madison was Madison," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He had his normal stuff and pitched great." It was a far different result than Bumgarner got in his only other appearance against Minnesota in 2011 when the left-hander was knocked out of the game after retiring one batter. This time around, the left-hander was dominant. Bumgarner fanned Joe Mauer three times, recorded six consecutive strikeouts during one stretch and struck out the side in the fifth after getting called for a balk. Its just the fifth time in Mauers career that hes struck out three times against the same pitcher. George Kontos pitched the final two innings for San Francisco, which has won seven straight games against American League teams dating to 2013. "I for sure didnt forget about that," said Bumgarner, who reached double digits in strikeouts for the 15th time in his career. "There wasnt a whole lot of talk about it but its something thats tough to forget, to go through a start like that one." Eduardo Escobar singled and scored Minnesotas only run in the third. "I dont think we had a hit with runners in scoring position and that never bodes well," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Well try to find a way to get hits in the right places and win some ballgames." The Giants jumped on Twins starter Ricky Nolasco (2-5) early with a pair of bloop singles in the first and a run-scoring hit by Pablo Sandoval that left fielder Eduardo Nunez got a late jump on. Morses sacrifice fly made it 2-0. Pences home run in the bottom of the third gave the Giants a 3-1 lead. It was Pences sixth home run of the season and his fifth career shot off Nolasco. Morse doubled and scored in the fourth to snap a 2-for-14 slump and make it 4-1, then broke the game open with his bases-clearing hit in the fifth. San Franciscos power-hitting first baseman smiled and pumped his fist while standing on second base as the crowd at AT&T Park gave him a roaring standing ovation. That chased Nolasco, who had won in four of his six previous starts at the Giants waterfront ballpark. He allowed nine hits over 4 2-3 innings, struck out three and walked one. Minnesota scored its lone run in the third on back-to-back singles and a sacrifice fly from Brian Dozier. The Twins, who were outscored 16-4 in the series, managed just three baserunners over the final six innings and were swept for the third time this season. Mauer snapped his skid with a single off Kontos in the ninth but was replaced by a pinch-runner. NOTES: Minnesota announced plans to activate Josh Willingham off the disabled list Monday after the veteran outfielder missed 41 games with a fractured left wrist. The team also plans to call up OF Oswaldo Arcia. To make room, the Twins will option backup C Chris Herrmann and IF Chris Colabello to the minors. ... Nolasco, the Twins opening day starter, is winless in five May starts. ... RHP Yusmeiro Petit (3-1) will start in place of Cain in the series opener against the Cubs. ... Minnesota RHP Kevin Correia (2-5) pitches against Texas on Monday. Cheap NFL Jerseys .C. Lions signed cornerback Dante Marsh to a contract extension on Friay and released receiver Paris Jackson. Cheap Jerseys Fans . -- Canadas Nicole Vandermade won the Four Winds Invitational on Sunday for her first Symetra Tour title, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory. http://www.cheapjerseysfans.co/ . Sure, Josh Browns 45-yard field goal on the third drive of overtime lifted the New York Giants to a 23-20 win over Detroit on Sunday. But the Lions (7- dropped themselves out of the NFC North race by losing five of their last six games, blowing fourth-quarter leads in each setback.DUNEDIN, Fla. -- After watching Esmil Rogers stumble, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons pulled out a baseball maxim. "Some of our top guys are putting together some good at-bats and some things like that," he said. "The key is pitching though. Thats going to take us as far as were going to go this year. Were trying to iron some things out, find out whos going to do what. We want strike-throwers." Rogers, in the mix for the Jays fifth starter, struck out six in his three innings Thursday in a 7-5 exhibition loss to the Houston Astros. But he also walked two and gave up four runs on five hits including two homers. "First inning he was good. Then he was shaky after that," was Gibbons pithy assessment of Rogers performance. "The key to him is throwing enough strikes. He could be a heck of a pitcher when he gets the ball into the strike zone. Weve seen it before, thats where he runs into trouble." With spring training entering its final weeks, the Jays are still looking wondering about their starting rotation. Gibbons pronouncement on pitching, while accurate, is hardly soothing to Toronto fans. Barring injuries, R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Brandon Morrow are expected to emerge as the first three starters. Rogers is competing against Drew Hutchison, J.A. Happ, Ricky Romero, Todd Redmond, Kyle Drabek, Marcus Stroman, Sean Nolin and Dustin McGowan for the fourth and fifth spots. Hutchison has drawn praise from general manager Alex Anthopoulos -- "We think Drews got a chance to be outstanding" -- while Gibbons called Romero "the big talk of camp right now." But questions remain. Rogers likely did not do himself any favours Thursday after a 1-2-3 first inning that featured a groundout and two strikeouts. Things went downhill from there. "My pitches were a little bit high," he said. "I lost my control." Teenage shortstop Carlos Correa, a 19-year-old who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft, and Jon Singleton hit back-to-back homers for Houston in the third inning off Rogers. Correa then drove in two more runs with a blast to centre in the eighth off Neil Wagner. In between, he made a slick fielding play in the fourth to throw out Brett Lawrie. Rogers said the Singleton homer came off a change-up, a pitch he suggested he might put aside for the time being. Starter Dallas&nbbsp;Keuchel pitched four scoreless innings as Houston (7-6) posted its fourth straight win in the spring. Cheap Jerseys From China. . The last time the Astros won four in a row in the Grapefruit League was in March 2011. McGowan was the best of the Blue Jays pitchers with two scoreless innings despite not having pitched in 10 days after being sidelined by a stomach bug that saw him lose eight pounds. The only blemish on his outing Thursday was a walk. McGowan still thinks of himself as a starting pitcher but, with only four spring innings under his belt, he is behind others. "Theres what I want to be," he said. "If Im there, great. If Im in the bullpen, also great. Its a win-win situation, I think." Houston went ahead 2-0 in the second on a Cesar Izturis single after Rogers dug himself in a bases-loaded hole with two walks and a single. Lawrie did his bit for the Toronto defence, gunning down Jesus Guzman at the plate before the Izturis hit. The Blue Jays (6- scored three in the fifth off Collin McHugh to cut the lead to 4-3. Houston made it 5-3 in the sixth via a sacrifice fly. Houston threatened again when Toronto pitcher Jeremy Jeffress loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs. He struck out one before giving way to Wagner, who struck out another and then escaped the inning when Ryan Goins made an eye-popping fielding play off a ball that flew off the pitchers body. There was action in the bottom of the seventh as Anthony Gose somehow turned a shallow fly ball into a triple when sliding Houston outfielder Adron Chambers was unable to chase the ball down. Kevin Pillar then was drilled by Josh Zeid with the Jays outfielder taking a long look at the Astros pitcher as he left the batters box. Gose scored on a fielders choice when Pillar was cut down stealing second, cutting the lead to 5-4. Gose also scored on a sacrifice fly in the ninth to make it 7-5 after Correas second homer extended the Houston lead. Keuchel has yet to give up a run in nine innings this spring. He scattered six hits over his four innings Wednesday, striking out two with no walks. The game featured half-brothers Cesar and Maicer Izturis, both starting at second base and batting ninth (the older Cesar for Houston and Maicer for Toronto). Toronto outhit Houston 13-12. The contest, which lasted three hours 11 minutes, drew 4,510 to Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on a 15-degree day. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' |
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