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Geplaatst: 20-12-2017 09:24:27 Onderwerp: Theyll have to improve on stopping the run though as they le |
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TORONTO – Just when you thought the Blue Jays starting rotation was poised for the protracted regression so many are expecting, enter Drew Hutchison and one of his brilliant performances to set the clubs proverbial planet back on its axis. Larry Fitzgerald Jersey . This one was special, rivaling and perhaps exceeding his two-hit shutout in a 2-0 win over the Rangers on a May night in Arlington, a night when he was better than Yu Darvish. Hutchison had his fastball grooving, painting either side of the plate and working high and low, and his slider dancing with a nasty down-and-away bite that made the likes of Manny Machado and J.J. Hardy look silly. He threw 8 2/3 innings of one-run, one-hit, one-walk, two-over-the minimum baseball. If not for a Chris Davis opposite field home run into the second deck in the second inning and an adrenaline-related two out walk to Nick Markakis in the ninth, Hutchison would have pitched a complete game and vied for a perfect game. As the old saying goes, timing is everything. "Perfect timing," said manager John Gibbons, whose club snapped a four-game losing skid and made up the game in the standings it lost to Baltimore on Tuesday night. "Weve been struggling a little bit. Against a good ballclub we needed that. We scored some runs early and made them stand up. He looked good. Hes pitched some great ballgames for us this year but perfect timing tonight." Hutchison improved his record to 2-0 against the Orioles in four starts this season. How dominant has he been against Baltimore? His ERA against the AL East foe actually went up after his performance. He entered with a 0.95 number, which skyrocketed to 0.98 following the outing. The Orioles boast one of baseballs best offences. Consistently shutting down a lineup that includes Nick Markakis, Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Nelson Cruz and Chris Davis is no small feat. "I approach it the same as always, whether its on the road or here at home, whoever Im facing," said Hutchison. "You approach them all the same. You game plan the same way and Ive just had good success against them." Hutchison made a small mechanical adjustment in his between-starts bullpen session, which he said allowed him to stay more on top of the baseball, driving through his delivery. "Locate my heater down, which was more important and the slider comes off of that," said Hutchison. "I think that was more a byproduct of getting through the ball and getting through with the fastball command first and that came off it. I thought my changeup was really good tonight." The search for consistency continues. Hutchison hasnt put together back to back quality starts (six or more innings, three earned runs or less allowed) all season. Hell look to do that on Monday when the Blue Jays open a three-city, eight-game road trip in Seattle. His mound opponent is scheduled to be "King" Felix Hernandez. "You want to be as consistent as possible and as a competitor you expect yourself to be consistently good every time out so when youre not it is frustrating," said Hutchison. "Youre not going to be great every time out. I think the key is the nights you arent great to be able to get through them without a lot of damage, which I havent been great at yet this year but going forward thats obviously something that you want to do." Hutchison is only 23. Hes also working his first full big league season coming off Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery, which nowadays is routine but always will be a major procedure. "Thats a glimpse of what we think hes going to be down the road," said Gibbons. "He gets a year or two under his belt from his Tommy John, hes going to be physically stronger. We forget hes a young kid. Hes got a chance to be a real good one." LAWRIES STATUS UNCERTAIN Brett Lawrie underwent an MRI on Wednesday after feeling tightness in his lower back during Tuesdays loss to the Orioles. He left that game after three innings. Hed just returned from a 36-game absence with a fractured right index finger. As of this posting, the Blue Jays hadnt revealed the results of the MRI but the club announced that team doctors in Toronto and Florida were reading the imaging and comparing it to the MRI taken of Lawries oblique injury in 2012. Lawrie missed 30 games, mostly in the month of August, that season. Last year, he suffered an oblique strain in a Team Canada tune up game for the World Baseball Classic on March 5. He didnt make his 2013 season debut for the Blue Jays until April 16. Expect the club to reveal more details on Thursday. LIND NEARS RETURN Adam Lind, out since July 8 with a fracture in his right foot, will begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment with the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays on Thursday. Use a pencil, not a pen, to write Lind back into the Blue Jays lineup at the start of the next road trip, Monday in Seattle. "That would be a good goal," said manager John Gibbons. "Hell start playing games in the Gulf Coast (on Thursday) and well see where hes at." The Blue Jays have missed Linds left-handed bat in the middle of the order when the club faces right-handed starting pitching. Few in baseball hit right-handers better than Lind. In 166 plate appearances this season, hes worked a .369 batting average and 1.004 on-base plus slugging percentage versus righties. NORRIS PROMOTED TO BUFFALO Daniel Norris rapid ascent through the minor leagues continues. Hes been promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. In 21 starts with Single-A Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire, the 21-year-old lefthander is 9-1 with a 2.38 ERA in 102 innings. Norris appeared in the Florida State League All-Star Game in mid-June and then was moved up to New Hampshire. Justin Bethel Jersey . -- Jim Furyk was 10 shots worse and right where he wanted to be Saturday in the BMW Championship. Blaine Gabbert Jersey . He will be practicing with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) on a conditioning assignment. - @AnaheimDucks Corey Perry has a knee sprain and will miss the next three to four weeks. http://www.azcardinalsfanspro.com/Black-Josh-Bynes-Cardinals-Jersey.html?cat=925 . Didnt need any help this time. Wood beat Cincinnati for the first time in his career, repeatedly pitching out of threats for seven innings, and Chicago stalled the Reds week-long surge with a 2-0 victory Monday night.Its been 14 long years since Kevin Dyson caught a lateral from Frank Wycheck after a kickoff and proceeded to run down the field for the game-winning touchdown as the Tennessee Titans beat the Buffalo Bills 22-16 in the 2000 AFC Wild Card game, dubbed the “Music City Miracle.” That infamous day in Bills history is the last image fans have of their beloved team in the playoffs. And they really havent come close since as their drought has reached a NFL-leading 14 years. With all their past failures and the rising concern that a group led by rock star Jon Bon Jovi will buy the team with the intent of moving them to Toronto, the franchise could really use a “pick-me-up” and the 2014 version of the Bills might be able to grant that desire. Led by second-year head coach Doug Marrone and second-year quarterback EJ Manuel, the Bills seem to be a young team headed in the right direction and will look to improve on the 6-10 record theyve held for each of the past three seasons. If the Bills are going to break their postseason drought, chances are it will be because Manuel has a breakout season. The 24-year-old only played in ten games during his rookie season as a knee injury suffered in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns caused him to miss considerable time. Manuel threw for 1,972 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions during the time he was able to play. The Florida State product will need to take a few steps forward, not back, in order for the Bills to have a chance at extra football. Marrone enters his sophomore season with the Bills and has been trying to change the culture surrounding the club after failed attempts from the likes of Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey, Dick Jauron and Chan Gailey. His first year may have been unsuccessful in the win column, but he was praised for how he handled such a young, inexperienced squad and will be expected to do much of the same this year. The Bills are hoping for a better year out of 27-year-old running back C.J. Spiller in order for their offence to be more multifaceted. The club expected big things out of Spiller in 2013, but he suffered through a high ankle sprain for most of the season and only managed 933 yards rushing with a pair of touchdowns. Buffalo knows that they can rely on the veteran Fred Jackson to perform, but will need more from a healthy Spiller in 2014. Buffalo needs to hit the ground running and pick up as many wins as possible in the early portion of the season if they want to be in meaningful games once December rolls around. The Bills have the 14th toughest schedule this year with an opponents winning percentage of .500 (from last year) and have winnable games in the first half of the season against the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers, Houston Texans, Minnesota Vikkings and New York Jets. Tyrann Mathieu Jersey. Buffalo needs a good record going into the final month with contests against powerhouses like the Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots. Beating those teams with a possible playoff spot on the line will be no easy feat. If the Bills can stay healthy, get a great year out of Manuel and have a few youngsters surpass expectations, Buffalo might have a chance at breaking their playoff drought in 2014. “Might” is the key word in that sentence. They are the Bills after all. Watkins and Company One of the bright spots for the Bills in 2014 should be their young and talented receiving core. Out is Stevie Johnson (traded to San Francisco) and in is the highly touted Sammy Watkins (drafted fourth overall this year) out of Clemson and 27-year-old veteran Mike Williams who was acquired in the off-season from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The group also includes sophomore Robert Woods, who could be penciled in as the top wide out on the depth chart once Week 1 rolls around, as well as the speedy Marquise Goodwin. Manuel should have plenty of options to throw to in 2014. Kiko is KOd Probably the biggest question mark going into this season for the Bills is, who will replace the loss of Kiko Alonso? The linebacker had a terrific rookie campaign in 2013, but suffered a torn ligament in his left knee during the off-season and is out for the entire year. The Oregon product racked up 159 tackles with four interceptions and was a candidate for defensive rookie of the year last season. General manager Doug Whaley picked up linebackers Brandon Spikes from the Patriots and Keith Rivers from the Giants in the off-season and theyll be trusted to help fill the Alonso void. Buffalo also lost ball-hawking safety Jairus Byrd to the New Orleans Saints and may struggle in the secondary because of it. New Coach in Town Jim Schwartz will be the man behind the defensive side of things for the Bills this season. Buffalo picked up the former Detroit Lions head coach after Mike Pettine left to take the Browns vacancy. Schwartz will bring his 4-3 base defence along with him to Buffalo which might actually be a positive change for the team. The Bills used a 3-4 defence in 2013, but with Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus - who came to training camp out of shape - manning the line of scrimmage, Buffalo could have one of the most intimidating collection of pass rushers for opposing quarterbacks and offensive linemen. The Bills were second in the NFL in total sacks - behind the Carolina Panthers - last season with 57 and theres no reason they cant replicate that performance again. Theyll have to improve on stopping the run though as they let the fifth most rushing yards per game (128.9) in 2013. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' |
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