Author: krstking2
Post subject: Righty Colby Lewis aims for his first career win over Baltim
Posted: Today, 11:52
(Sports Network) - Righty Colby Lewis aims for his first career win over Baltimore tonight when the Texas Rangers host the Orioles in the opener of a three-game set at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. cheap nfl jerseys china . The Rangers enter the series in a dead heat atop the American Leagues West Division, where they and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are each 44-41 through 85 games. Texas lost the final two games of a three-game weekend series, including Sunday, when Logan Morrison hit key a two-run double during a decisive eighth inning as the Florida Marlins rallied for a 6-4 victory. Nelson Cruz and Adrian Beltre hit solo homers for the Rangers, who have lost three of four. Cruz and Beltre had three hits apiece. Texas starter C.J. Wilson gave up two runs -- one earned -- on five hits over 7 1/3 innings. Mark Lowe (2-2) allowed two unearned runs in the eighth to take the loss. On Sunday in Atlanta, Mark Reynolds hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning and the Orioles beat the Braves, 5-4, to avoid a three-game sweep at Turner Field. Nick Markakis had a career day, going 5-for-5 with an RBI double, while starter Zach Britton worked six innings in a no-decision and contributed offensively with a pair of hits, including his first career home run. Jim Johnson (5-1) gave up a run over two innings in relief to earn the victory for Baltimore, which snapped its five-game losing streak. Kevin Gregg tossed a perfect ninth to nail down his 15th save of the season. The Orioles are last in the five-team AL East, trailing the first-place New York Yankees by 13 1/2 games. Lewis, who has 31 wins in 120 career big-league appearances, is 0-3 in five matchups with the Orioles, whove tagged him for 27 hits and 15 runs in 20 2/3 innings. The 31-year-old Californian has pitched well of late, however, winning three of five decisions in June, including his last two against Atlanta and Houston while allowing a combined 35 hits and 19 runs across six starts. He lost, 5-0, at Baltimore on April 9. For the Orioles, 32-year-old right-hander Chris Jakubauskas starts against the Rangers for the first time in his 47th big-league appearance. Hes won two of three decisions in five starts in 2011, all in June. Jakubauskas defeated Oakland on June 7 after allowing three hits in five scoreless innings, then topped Washington on June 19 with five innings of six- hit, three-run ball. His last start was a 5-1 loss to St. Louis on June 29. Hes met Texas three times in bullpen outings, allowing 13 hits and eight runs in nine innings. Texas took two of three from the Os earlier in the year. cheap jerseys nfl . Hes been on the disabled list enough during his 16-year career to have a greater appreciation for the time he does spend on the field. wholesale jerseys from china . The Atlanta Braves said Saturday the 80-year-old Aaron fell on ice on Friday and had the procedure later in the day.TORONTO -- In playing Real Salt Lake this weekend, Toronto FC is taking on the kind of team it aspires to be -- a perennial playoff side with a winning tradition and championship character. Now in its 10th season, Real Salt Lake has made the playoffs the last six years, winning the MLS Cup in 2009. Until overtaken in the MLS record books early last year, Real Salt Lake held the league mark for consecutive home wins at 29. Rio Tinto Stadium was an impregnable fortress from June 2009 to May 2011. Toronto (2-0-0 this season) has a 1-5-0 lifetime record in Sandy, Utah. RSL (1-0-2 this season) was also the first MLS team to reach the CONCACAF Champions League final, losing to Monterrey 3-2 on aggregate in 2011. Last season Real Salt Lake made it to two finals but lost both: beaten in the MLS Cup by Sporting Kansas City in an agonizing penalty shootout and 1-0 by D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup. There has been stability on the sidelines with Jeff Cassar, who has been with the team since May 2007, moving up the ladder to head coach last December after Jason Kreis became the first head coach of New York City FC. Cassar is the third head coach in RSL history. Toronto was on coach No. 5 in Year 4 and is currently on its eighth manager in Ryan Nelsen. RSL captain Kyle Beckerman arrived in 2007 in a trade from the Colorado Rapids. The midfielder with the distinctive dreadlocks credits coaching and a little luck for the franchises success. "We were able to get players into this team that were ready to be coached by a coach like Jason and Jeff Cassar and Robin Fraser (a former RSL assistant coach who is now with the New York Red Bulls)," he said Thursday. "It just so happened that we were able to get a group of guys together that ... really just needed a good environment -- an ownership that cared, a coaching staff that did the right thing. A lot of the guys were coming from places that didnt do the game right. "A lot of us, that core group thats still here, it was a breath of fresh air that we really needed. And we just took full advantage because we knew exactly the opportunity that was in front of us, because wed had it the opposite way, where the owner doesnt care or the coach just doesnt get it. "So I think we lucked out a little bit that we had the core in the same place, here in Salt Lake, tthat was just absolutely ready to explode and take full advantage of what was in front of us. nfl jerseys china. And thats what we did." The 31-year-old Beckerman is joined on the team by fellow U.S. internationals Nick Rimando (a goalie who came on board in 2007) and Luis Gil (a midfielder who joined in 2010). Other veterans include defenders Nat Borchers (2008) and Chris Wingert (2007), midfielders Ned Grabavoy (2009) and Javier Morales (2007) and forwards Robbie Findley (two stints since 2007) and Alvaro Saborio (2010). Players want to come to winning clubs. And RSL does a good job checking out new talent. "They want to bring in not only good players but good people," said Beckerman. Toronto FC has followed the same road this off-season, with marquee signings Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, Gilberto and Julio Cesar all fitting in. Beckerman acknowledges that he respects Torontos search for success. "The thing that I really admire about Toronto is that they wont stop. Theyve kept at it. Theyve kept trying to fix and get the right recipe. And it doesnt seem like theyre going to stop any time soon. Theyre going to keep going and keep spending until they get the right recipe. "And I admire that. Thats something a lot of other teams would love to have that. With the fan base, theyve been loyal there and theyve stuck with them through tough times. The ownership and what theyre doing there, is kind of a reward to that loyalty and giving them a successful team. "Time will tell if this is the right one. But it seems so far that theyve brought in the right players so far. So I think its definitely on the up and up over there." Like Toronto, the early days were bleak in Salt Lake. The team went 5-22-5 with just 20 points in its inaugural season in 2005. In 2005-06, the fledgling franchise endured a league-record 18-game winless streak. But it didnt take long for Real Salt Lake to turn the corner. It had 39 points in Season 2 and 40 in Season 4, going 10-10-10 and reaching the 2008 playoff semifinals. In 2009, it was another 40-point season and the 11-12-7 team went on to win the title. Since then, RSL has collected 56, 53, 57 and 56 points. In contrast, Torontos points total since entering the league in 2007 is 25, 35, 39, 35, 33, 23, and 29. The two teams meet Saturday. ' ' '