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kaisy
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Mar 22 2013, 08:20 AM
Post #1
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- Posts:
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ATLANTA -- While the Atlanta Braves wore down Matt Garza with home runs and long at-bats, Mike Minor put together a confidence booster heading into the All-Star break. Authentic Anaheim Ducks Jerseys . Jason Heyward and Brian McCann each hit a two-run homer in the first inning, helping Minor and the Braves beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 on Thursday night. Freddie Freeman and Juan Francisco also connected for Atlanta, which salvaged a split of the four-game series. Minor (5-6) held the Cubs without a hit until the fifth and gave up three runs, two earned, and three hits in 6 1-3 innings overall. The left-hander has won consecutive starts after losing two in a row. "He made his pitches when he needed to," McCann said. Minor entered with an ugly 6.20 ERA after giving up four runs in each of his last three starts, putting his rotation spot in jeopardy. "Every week Im trying to get better," Minor said. Due to Minors struggles, manager Fredi Gonzalez was asked before the game if he needed a good start to protect his place in the rotation. Gonzalez said "every start is important" but said Thursday nights game wasnt especially crucial for Minor. Gonzalez said after the game Minor should "go into the All-Star break feeling good about himself." Garza (4-7), who could be one of the top starters on the market ahead of this months trade deadline, allowed five runs and five hits in four innings. He struck out six and walked three while throwing 94 pitches. Garza struck out Michael Bourn in the first, but the inning quickly unraveled from there. Martin Prado hit a one-out single before Heyward drove a 1-2 pitch over the wall in right for his 14th homer. Freeman then singled to right and McCann sent another 1-2 offering over the wall in right for his 10th of the season. Francisco ended the inning with a 16-pitch at-bat, fouling off pitch after pitch until he finally hit a bouncer to first base. "A couple pitches hit out of the ballpark and then the 16-pitch at-bat to Francisco kind of killed the whole outing, really," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. Garza threw 44 pitches in the inning. "I dont think he ever recovered from it," Gonzalez said. Francisco added another long at-bat in the fourth. He made Garza throw 12 pitches before taking a walk. "Two at-bats. We kind of got tired of him," Sveum said of Francisco. "Move on to the next guy." Garza downplayed the effect of Franciscos long at-bats on his short night. "Thats just an at-bat," Garza said. "Thats all it is. He battled, I battled. I won the first one, he won the second one. Thats all it is." Freeman had a solo shot in the third and Francisco went deep in the eighth against Manny Corpas. Atlanta went 5-5 on its longest homestand of the season. The Cubs first hit off Minor was a homer by Geovany Soto with one out in the fifth. "I wasnt really all that worried about the home run," Minor said. "I was trying to throw strikes. McCann set up in the middle and (Soto) hit it." The Braves answered Sotos shot with a run off Scott Maine in the bottom half. Prado singled, moved to third on Heywards single and scored on McCanns fly ball to right field. Anthony Rizzo led off the seventh with a single off Minor, who then walked Alfonso Soriano. Minor struck out Bryan LaHair before he was replaced by Kris Medlen. Pinch-hitter Reed Johnson delivered a two-out RBI single and Heyward made a wild throw to third base for an error, allowing Soriano to score. There is new reason for Minor, Randall Delgado and perhaps other Atlanta starting pitchers to be wary. The Braves recently signed four-time All-Star Ben Sheets, who had mixed results for Double-A Mississippi in his first minor league start on Wednesday night. He gave up four runs in five innings but retired the last 10 batters he faced. NOTES: The Braves placed LHP Jonny Venters on the 15-day disabled list with a left elbow impingement. The team recalled LHP Luis Avilan from Triple-A Gwinnett. ... Bourn finished second to David Freese of St. Louis in online voting for a spot on the NL All-Star team. ... Prado has an 11-game hitting streak. ... Sveum said he will announce Friday if Ryan Dempster will come off the disabled list to start on Sunday against the Mets. Dempster has been on the 15-day DL since June 18 with tightness in his right lat muscle. ... Atlanta opens a three-game series at Philadelphia on Friday night with Tim Hudson (6-4) facing the Phillies Kyle Kendrick (2-8). ... The Cubs are at the Mets on Friday night with Travis Wood looking for his fourth win against New Yorks Johan Santana. Saku Koivu Authentic Jersey . The veteran forward is in the final year of his contract, which carries a cap hit of $4. Ryan Getzlaf Authentic Jersey . -- Robbie Keane scored early in the first half, Christian Wilhelmsson added another goal early in the second half, and the Los Angeles Galaxy posted its fourth consecutive shutout in a 2-0 victory Friday night over Colorado. http://www.nhlducksteamshop.com/saku-koivu-jersey/ . -- Marcel Desjardins has no problem being the face of Ottawas new CFL franchise. Ryan Getzlaf Premier Jersey . By that stage it will be almost eight months since its last league victory -- a 2-1 decision over the visiting Colorado Rapids on July 18. Bobby Ryan Jersey . KV Racing Technology said Tuesday it had signed the 24-year-old Swiss driver and will have a two-car operation with Tony Kanaan It will be the first time de Silvestro will have a teammate in IndyCar, where she has spent the last three seasons driving for single-car team HVM Racing. KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Serena Williams moved into the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open by beating Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-2, 6-1 on Saturday. Williams started early and finished fast. Walking onto the stadium court at 11 a.m., she dominated with her serve, played consistently from the baseline and was done shortly after noon. "Im not a morning person," she said. "I actually hate morning matches, but I always do my best at 11 oclock matches." In mens second-round play, Andy Roddick lost only five points on his first serve, never faced a break point and beat Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-3, 6-2. Roddick hopes to improve a ranking that has dropped to 34th, the lowest he has been since 2001. Williams won most of the short points and a successsion of long rallies as well. Bobby Ryan Authentic Jersey. She hit 25 winners while committing 20 unforced errors. Seeded 10th, Williams is making her return to tournament tennis after a two-month absence because of a left ankle injury. At No. 20, Vinci is the highest-ranked player Williams has beaten this year. Williams is seeking her first tournament championship since August, and shes bidding for a record sixth title at Key Biscayne. "I need trophies," she said. "I want to add more and to do more. There are records to break. So Ill do it. Ive just got to believe it. I do believe it." No. 12-seeded Sabine Lisicki of Germany edged No. 17 Peng Shuai of China 6-4, 7-5. On the mens side, No. 5 David Ferrer beat Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-4, 6-4. ' ' '
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