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Joined: 24-04-2024
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Subject :MINNEAPOLIS -- After a rough first two innings, Nick Tepesch settled down and cruised through anothe
MINNEAPOLIS -- After a rough first two innings, Nick Tepesch settled down and cruised through another quality outing to help the Texas Rangers stay hot. Alcides Escobar Royals Jersey . Tepesch won his second consecutive start, Elvis Andrus and Chris Gimenez each had two RBIs, and the Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 on Monday afternoon. Tepesch (2-0) gave up both his runs in the first two innings before lasting 6 2-3. He struck out four to win consecutive starts for the first time in his career. "Thats one of the things that made me successful today, to be able to put the first two innings behind me," Tepesch said. "Treat each inning as a new inning." Alex Rios added two more hits and now has six straight multi-hit games. The Rangers have won three straight and five of six after a rough start to the season. "Early in the season everything didnt go the way we wanted it to," Andrus said. "At the same time, we still trust in each other and we knew theres a lot of baseball left. Everyone is feeling well right now as a team." Trevor Plouffe homered and Eduardo Escobar had two hits and an RBI for the Twins, who have lost four in a row since climbing two games over .500 on May 21. After Kevin Correia (2-6) set down nine straight, Roughned Odor and Shin-Soo Choo lined back-to-back two-out singles in the fifth. Andrus followed with a double to the gap in left-centre that scored both runners and broke a 2-all tie. "Its two-out hits. Thats been the theme this season," Correia said. "That one pitch or two pitches a game, you make that one pitch and its a world of difference." Gimenez made it 6-2 with a two-run double down the line in left in the eighth off reliever Jared Burton and Texas was on its way to another win. "We just got off to a bad start," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "Im so happy that were finally putting it together as a group." Minnesota had its opening day outfield back together for the first time since the first week of the season. Josh Willingham and Oswaldo Arcia were activated from the disabled list after Sundays game and started alongside centre-fielder Aaron Hicks. But the re-enforcements werent enough to overcome Tepesch, who didnt allow a runner past second base after the second inning. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire knows it might take a few more at-bats before Willingham and Arcia are able to help lift Minnesotas struggling offence. "That can be a huge part of it, driving the baseball and let them get a few at-bats here," Gardenhire said. "It takes a little time, a little different pitching up here than down there." Tepesch dominated Triple-A Round Rock after getting demoted in spring training and has a 2.95 ERA in three big-league starts since being recalled May 14. "Hes shown these three starts what hes capable of doing," Washington said. "But you cant hang your hat on a couple of outings. If hes around here healthy, hes going to get many outings. I just want him to be consistent." Hicks, a career switch-hitter, informed manager Ron Gardenhire before the game that he has decided to only hit from the right side. The struggling prospect is hitting .250 right-handed compared to .149 from the left side. He had two singles Monday. Two replay reviews went against the Twins. Arcia slided into third after a botched play in the outfield in the first, but a review showed third-baseman Adrian Beltre tagging him before his foot reached the base. Gardenhire challenged an out call at first on Willinghams dribbler down the line in the sixth, but the call stood. NOTES: Hicks told Gardenhire before the game he had no confidence swinging from the left side. "He came to me this morning and said he wants to hit right-handed. So, obviously, when a guy has no confidence left-handed, you gotta do what you gotta do," Gardenhire said. ... This was Ron Washingtons 1,186th game as Rangers manager, tied with Bobby Valentine for most in franchise history. ... Texas P Tanner Scheppers, out since April 18 with elbow inflammation, had his first rehab outing on Saturday with Double-A Frisco and will make three more with Triple-A Round Rock before being eligible to return on June 3. ... Choo hopes to return to left field on Tuesday after DHing the last two games with a sore left ankle. ... Phil Hughes (5-1, 3.15 ERA) will try for his fifth consecutive win on Tuesday against the Rangers Yu Darvish (4-2, 2.35). Kansas City Royals Hoodie . The 30-year-old Texas native was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 20th round of the 2001 amateur draft. Duke spent six years in Pittsburgh and also had stints with Arizona, Washington and Cincinnati. Joakim Soria Royals Jersey . - A pitch clock will be used this season during minor league games at Triple-A and Double-A, but it has been ruled out for the major leagues this year. http://www.baseballroyalsofficial.com/jarrod-dyson-jersey-c-21/ . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship.While much of the focus of the NBA Offseason is about stars changing teams, there isnt necessarily a dramatic impact, say to LeBron James production going from Miami to Cleveland. Leaving aside the possibility of more changes to come with the Cavaliers roster, there isnt an obvious reason that James numbers should be significantly different next season. His greatness will travel. On the other hand, there are some players that are looking at better opportunities next year, with the possibility of more playing time and touches leading to potentially better production. Here are 10 guys that could have bigger roles with their respective clubs next season: Chris Bosh, C, Miami - Wooed by the Rockets, Bosh decided to return to the Heat, even in the wake of LeBron James departure. Sure, newcomers Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts will have big roles in the frontcourt, but if anyone is going to have a bigger role in LeBrons absence, doesnt it have to be Bosh? He had 12.1 field goal attempts per game last season, his fewest since his rookie year (2003-2004!) and this while hes become a more effective shooter, with a career-best 55.5% effective field goal percentage, dramatically increasing his three-point attempts to 4.5 per game. Thats up from 1.6 per game, which had been a career-best, the year before. Sure, there wont be as many open threes if Deng is handling the ball instead of LeBron, but it should come as no surprise if Bosh sees his field goal attempts go back to 15-16 per game and he gets back over 20 points per game. Darren Collison, PG, Sacramento - After Isaiah Thomas departed for Phoenix, Collison moved north from the Clippers to take the Kings starting point guard job. Collison played a career-low 25.9 minutes per game last season, yet was effective enough, scoring 11.4 points and dishing 3.7 assists per game. With presumably more minutes and possibly more shots (Thomas was one of three Kings to average more than 15 field goal attempts per game), 26-year-old Collison is in position to have his numbers bounce back signfiicantly this season. Lance Stephenson, SG, Charlotte - Moving from starting shooting guard in Indiana to starting shooting guard in Charlotte doesnt necessarily mean a big change, but the Hornets let Gary Neal jack up 12.8 shots per game last season while shooting 35.3% from the field. Why not give those looks to Stephenson, who shot a career-best 49.1% from the field, averaging a career-high 14.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game with the Pacers last year. Jordan Hill, C, L.A. Lakers - There are newcomers at power forward for the Lakers, including Carlos Boozer, Julius Randle and Ed Davis and, between them, they will eat some minutes in the middle, but Hill is looking at a prime opportunity to start for the Lakers, a chance to build on a great finish to last season, when he averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in March and April. Hill shot a career-best 54.9% from the field last year and played more than 20 minutes per game for the first time in his career. If he can maintain that efficiency, he could be a real asset over 28-30 minutes per game as a starter. Patrick Beverley, PG, Houston - With the Rockets sending Jeremy Lin to to the Lakers, Beverley is head-and-shoulders above his competition for playing time at the point with the Rockets.. Ian Kennedy Royals Jersey. Beverley may not play a bunch more, than the 31 minutes a night he averaged last season, but there are more touches available and if Beverley takes an extra couple shots per game and dishes a few more assists, he will continue on his Andrei Kirilenko, SF, Brooklyn - A 33-year-old forward coming off a season in which he averaged 5.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, while playing a career-low 19 minutes per game, Kirilenko will have to compete with younger Euro forwards Sergey Karasev and Bojan Bogdanovic for playing time but, as an established NBA player, Kirilenko should have first crack at replacing Paul Pierce in the starting lineup. With significant playing time, Kirilenko has an opportunity for something resembling a bounceback season. Donatas Motiejunas, PF, Houston - One other reason that the Rockets should have some shots available is that they let Chandler Parsons go to Dallas and only James Harden (16.5) had more than Parsons 13.3 field goal attempts per game. With a thinned-out roster, because they were trying to lure a premier free agent, there is opportunity in Houston for someone like Motiejunas, a 23-year-old left-handed 7-footer who has put up 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in a little over 14 minutes per game through two NBA seasons. Motiejunas had a strong showing in the Las Vegas Summer League so maybe hell find his way into a regular spot in the Houston rotation and put up some decent numbers as a result. Cody Zeller, PF, Charlotte - With Josh McRoberts moving on, there is opportunity available in the Hornets frontcourt and last years fourth overall pick, Zeller, should have the edge over this years ninth overall pick, Noah Vonleh, for a spot in the starting lineup. Zeller started slowly as a rookie, shooting 38.0% from the field before the All-Star break, but he hit 50.7% from the field after the break, averaging 7.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 18.3 minutes per game. If Zeller is a starter, 12 (points per game) and 8 (rebounds per game) should be possible. Anthony Morrow, SG, Oklahoma City - While the Thunder are looking at a starting lineup that will effectively include two point guards, Russell Westbrook and Reggie Jackson, there should be a regular rotation role for Morrow, a three-point bomber who hit 45.1% from beyond the arc last season and has made 42.8% on threes for his career. Morrow played under 19 minutes per game in New Orleans last season, but effectively takes over a spot from Thabo Sefolosha, who was playing 26 minutes per game for the Thunder last year. Some of those minutes would figure go to Jackson, but if Morrow plays 24 minutes a game, he could score in double figures. Hollis Thompson, SF, Philadelphia - 23-year-old Thompson started 41 games for the Sixers last season, averaging 6.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. An undrafted free agent out of Georgetown, Thompson made 40.1% of his three-pointers as a rookie and there just arent that many great offensive options for the 76ers. Once Michael Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young get theirs, why couldnt Thompson double last years 4.8 field goal attempts per game? Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. 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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