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lingzi
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Dec 5 2012, 08:00 AM
Post #1
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HOUSTON -- The Kansas City Royals figure their offence will come around sooner or later. Wes Welker Jersey . Until then, theyre happy to rely on a bullpen that keeps helping them eke out close wins. Bruce Chen pitched into the sixth inning on three days rest and the Royals used four relievers to close out a 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday. Alex Gordon tripled and scored for Kansas City, which took two of three from the Astros and has won seven of nine overall. Thirteen of Kansas Citys last 14 games have been decided by two or fewer runs, including six one-run games. Manager Ned Yost smiled when asked what all these close games are doing to him. "Im fine. Piece of cake. We had them all the way," he said. Chen (6-6) struck out six in 5 2-3 innings and was charged with one run and five hits. Pitching on three days rest for the sixth time in his career, Chen bounced back from his last outing when he yielded six runs and seven hits in just 1 2-3 innings against St. Louis, but still received a no-decision in the Royals 10-7 loss. Houston put runners on the corners with one out in the ninth, but Jonathan Broxton struck out Brian Bixler and retired Jordan Schafer to earn his 18th save in 21 chances. "Theyve been doing it all year and once again they came up big today," Gordon said of the bullpen. "A 2-1 win, it feels like weve been doing that all year. I swear one of these days our offence is going to get rolling and were going to start giving the bullpen a rest. Hopefully it will come soon." Yost was impressed with Broxtons poise in the ninth. "The thing about him is he doesnt panic," Yost said. "He stays calm and continues to make pitches." Kansas Citys pitchers have been particularly good late in games, posting a major league-best 1.31 ERA in the ninth inning or later. That performance has helped make up for an offence that has scored the second-fewest runs in the American League. "Well start putting some big numbers up, but these wins are important, too," third baseman Mike Moustakas said. "These 2-1 wins, these nail-biters give us a lot of momentum going home." Houston starter Jordan Lyles (1-4) gave up two runs and three hits in seven innings. He has bounced around between the Astros and Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. "Ive been looking for an outing where I can just turn that corner," Lyles said. "Hopefully, this was it and thats what Im striving for. It is big because I know I can pitch up here and get outs." The Astros had eight hits, compared to just four for Kansas City, but they went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. "Its the key situations where were just not able to find the holes," Houston manager Brad Mills said. "Theres a lot of things we can point to like guys trying too hard, putting a little too much pressure on themselves. When you start to struggle in those situations, it starts to mount." The Royals grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fifth. Moustakas hit a leadoff double, moved up on Alcides Escobars grounder and scored on Brayan Penas infield out. Gordon tripled with one out in the sixth and scored when Yuniesky Betancourt reached on an error by shortstop Jed Lowrie. Billy Butler then bounced into a double play to end the inning. Houston got on the board in the bottom half, but lost out on a chance for a bigger rally. Schafer and Carlos Lee opened the inning with consecutive walks, and Schafer moved to third when J.D. Martinez grounded into a double play. Lowrie drove in Schafer with an infield hit and Chris Johnson chased Chen with a single to left, but Kelvin Herrera struck out Chris Snyder to end the inning. The Astros also had a chance to take the lead in the eighth. Lee hit a one-out single into right field, barely beating Jeff Francoeurs throw to first. Martinez then walked before Greg Holland struck out Lowrie and Johnson. Chen got into a jam in the fourth when Martinez doubled with one out and Lowrie was hit by a pitch. But he struck out Johnson and Snyder to end the threat. Lyles got off to a great start, retiring 12 of his first 13 batters, including the first six. NOTES: The Royals recalled INF Irving Falu from Triple-A Omaha and optioned reliever Louis Coleman to their top farm club. ... Houston pitcher Bud Norris, on the DL with a sprained knee, threw a light side session and is expected to start for Triple-A Oklahoma on Saturday. ... Mills said OF Fernando Martinez, on the DL for concussion-like symptoms, could begin a rehabilitation assignment in the next couple of days. ... Houston CF Justin Maxwell left with a sprained left ankle. ... Both teams are off on Thursday before Houston hosts the Indians and Kansas City plays the Cardinals. Tom Brady Youth Jersey . Usually, he might have let the lucky fan keep it as a souvenir. Only Uptons down to just a handful of bats after breaking quite a few on this road swing, so he had this one retrieved. Vince Wilfork Youth Jersey . His professional baseball career is just beginning. The Chicago White Sox agreed to terms on Monday with the 18-year-old outfielder, 13th overall pick in this years draft. http://www.prostorepatriots.com/wes-welker-jerseys . Lewis caught the last of his three touchdowns in overtime as the Calgary Stampeders rallied from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit for a 41-38 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Thursday. Rob Gronkowski Jersey . when they face an Anaheim Ducks club who will be hoping to avoid their longest losing streak in over six years. Kevin Faulk Jersey . Now, the Tigers are hoping to quickly rebound from their sour Sunday after twice blowing leads to the Cleveland Indians. NEW YORK -- Four Detroit Lions, including quarterback Matthew Stafford, and two Chicago Bears were fined Friday by the NFL for incidents in their game last Sunday. Stafford instigated a scuffle when he grabbed the helmet of Bears defensive back D. J. Moore and threw him to the ground. Stafford was fined US$7,500, while Moore was hit for $15,000 for striking back at Stafford and being ejected. Also docked $15,000 was Lions rookie DT Nick Fairley for driving Bears QB Jay Cutler into the ground. Chicago receiver Earl Bennett was fined $10,000 for wearing orange shoes, his second uniform violation. Detroit DE Kyle Vanden Bosch was docked $7,500 for unnecessary roughness: Vanden Bosch threw Bears RB Matt Forte to the ground late. Detroit guard Rob Sims also was hit for $7,500 for a late tackle. Seattle safety Kam Chancellor was fined $20,000 for his hit on Baltimore receiver Anquan Boldin. Baltimore quarterrback Joe Flacco was fined $7,500 for a horse-collar tackle on Seattle linebacker David Hawthorne, who had intercepted a pass. Rob Gronkowski Womens Jersey. Ravens defensive tackle Arthur Jones was fined $7,500 for his unnecessary roughness violation following an exchange with a Seattle player after Billy Cundiff kicked a field goal. Three Panthers were fined $7,500 each from the Tennessee-Carolina game, all for the same thing: striking an opponent in the face or facemask. Fined were Panthers tackles Byron Bell and Jordan Gross and defensive end Charles Johnson. Gross hit was on William Hayes, while Johnson fouled Titans tackle David Stewart. Titans safety Michael Griffin was fined the same amount for a late hit in the head area with his helmet. Browns guard Shawn Lauvao also received a $7,500 fine for unnecessary roughness in a loss to Houston on Nov. 6. He head-butted Houston LB Brian Cushing. ' ' '
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