ANAHEIM, Calif. -- After the cumulative disaster of his last five starts, Dan Haren didnt spare a thought for his potential perfect game when he took the mound in the sixth inning. "Ive just been trying to have a perfect inning," Haren said. Haren and Kenley Jansen got close enough in a resilient win for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Haren pitched three-hit ball into the eighth inning, and Matt Kemp homered in the Dodgers 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night. Haren (9-9) retired the Angels first 16 batters in his best start since June for the NL leaders, who improved the majors best road record to 35-23 by beating the majors best home team. "I tried almost everything, and it finally started working a little bit," Haren said. He had lost his last five starts with a 10.03 ERA, leaving him despondent after games, but the former Angels right-hander was dominant at the stadium where he played from 2010-12. "It was nice to take him out of a game with a smile on his face instead of feeling like he let everybody down," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. Harens bullpen also helped him out -- particularly his closer. Kole Calhoun singled and stole second leading off the ninth, but Jansen struck out Mike Trout, got Albert Pujols on a fly to centre and struck out Josh Hamilton to wrap up his 32nd save. "Jansen made good pitches when he needed to against three of our best hitters," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We didnt do nearly what we needed to do to support Matty Shoemaker. I thought he gave us a good chance to win." Shoemaker (9-4) yielded six hits and struck out five over six solid innings for the Angels. Andre Ethier had an RBI double in the second inning as the Freeway Series moved down the I-5 to Anaheim after the clubs split the first two games in Chavez Ravine. Erick Aybar singled and scored in the eighth for the Angels, who missed a chance to move within one game of major league-leading Oakland in the AL West. Hank Congers one-out single in the sixth was the Angels first hit. "With a guy like him, you kind of disregard his past starts," said Conger, who caught Haren several times when they were teammates. "Because any day he could step on the mound and do what he did tonight. Hes been an elite pitcher for a long time." Haren left in the eighth after giving up a single to Aybar, who scored on Chris Iannettas long fly off Brandon League. Kemp hit his sixth homer in nine games in the second inning, a 400-foot shot to left. Ethier followed with a run-scoring double in only the high-priced outfielders second start in 13 games. OUT AT THIRD: Conger tested Yasiel Puigs throwing arm, trying to go from first to third on David Freeses single in the sixth. Puig got him with a perfect throw from centre. BIG ZEROS: Trout, Pujols and Hamilton were a combined 0 for 12. Trout, who turns 23 on Thursday, had his 20-game interleague hitting streak snapped. TRAINERS ROOM: Dodgers: Utility infielder Chone Figgins was designated for assignment after his minor league injury rehab assignment ended. Angels: Freese didnt start, ostensibly to rest a sore tendon in his left knee, but eventually replaced light-hitting John McDonald. ON DECK: Dodgers: Hyun-Jin Ryu (12-5, 3.39 ERA) goes after his fourth win in five starts. He threw a shutout against the Angels last season. Angels: C.J. Wilson (8-7, 4.74 ERA) attempts to get his season back on track after getting rocked last week in his return from the disabled list. . After not scoring 40 points in the opening quarter in the last five seasons, the Rockets have done it five times this season and twice in the last three games. . Today, he looks at the offensive line. 1. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (OT, McGill) You Should Know: Over the course of his university career, Duvernay-Tardifs commitments to medical school and the family business frequently limited him to one practice per week, yet he was still the Metras Trophy winner as the Top Lineman in CIS football in 2013.
http://www.cheapbearsjerseysonline.com/ ... sey-online. Mark Van Guilder, Austin Watson and Colton Sissons also scored for the Admirals (22-13-10), who are 2-0-2 in their last four outings, while Roussel tacked on an assist for a two-point night. Greg Pateryn scored once for the Bulldogs (20-22-4), who lost their fifth straight contest, and also assisted on Gabriel Dumonts goal. . Although head coach Randy Carlyle jokingly wondered how much actual training Bolland got done while in London. "I dont know how much training goes on when you go back to the junior team that you played for so I wouldnt read too much into that," laughed Carlyle after the Maple Leafs were put through an up-tempo practice that concluded with a 10-minute bag skate on Thursday. . DeGrom outpitched Jake Peavy in a tantalizing hitless duel that carried into the seventh inning Saturday night before the New York Mets broke loose and beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Panthers say theyd like to find a replacement for longtime No. 1 wide receiver Steve Smith in this years NFL draft. The big question is when theyll do it. The Panthers have the 28th overall pick, but the NFC South champions have a variety of needs after getting hit hard in free agency, and could go in a number of directions with their first-round choice. General manager Dave Gettleman said recently that wide receiver, offensive tackle and cornerback are among the teams top needs, but qualified that statement by adding he wont got out of his way to land one. "When you reach for a position of need youre in trouble," he said. Gettleman said he has some reservations about drafting a receiver in the first round because it often takes them longer to adjust to the NFL game than those who play other positions. "History tells you that its a very difficult position to assimilate into (the NFL), especially with the current game being played at the college level," Gettleman said. Gettleman called it a "wide receiver heavy" draft that includes several players whove put up big numbers. He said the trick is finding guys who can easily make the transition to the next level. "Ill look at a guy and hes caught 90 balls ... but of those 45 were flash screens," Gettleman said. "The other 45 he caught, he ran to three spots. So, do they understand coverage? Theyre going to have to learn the whole route tree. How long is it going to take them to assimilate? Its an issue. Its a problem." Smith was released in a salary cap move earlier this off-season. Replacing his toughness and production wont be easy. He caught 836 passes for 12,197 yards and 67 touchdowns for the Panthers in 13 seasons. However, after averaging 76 receptions for 1,284 yards receiving and 5.5 touchdowns in his first two seasons playing with quarterback Cam Newton, Smiths numbers fell off in 2013. He caught 64 passes for 745 yards and four TDs. The Panthers signed free agents Jerricho Cotchery, Jason Avant and Tiquan Underwood, but none is expected to become the next No. 1 receiver in Carolina. Five things to watch from the Panthhers in the draft: ON THE FRONT BURNER: Jordan Gross retired this off-season, leaving a huge hole at left tackle — one the Panthers potentially could address in Round 1.dddddddddddd. Gettleman said there are some tackles in the draft dont have "left tackle feet," but said that doesnt necessarily matter. "There are only so many elite tackles," he said. "There are plenty of guys playing left tackle in this league that dont have classic left tackle feet." Finding a left tackle might take on added importance given Newton is coming off ankle surgery this off-season. FIRST ROUND SUCCESS: The Panthers have had tremendous success with their first-round picks the last three seasons. They grabbed defensive tackle Star Lotulelei from Utah at No. 14 in 2013, and he looks like hes going to be around the league for quite a while. They drafted linebacker Luke Kuechly at No. 11 in 2012 and quarterback Cam Newton first overall the year before that. Kuechly was the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, while Newton was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2011. BLUE GOOSE: Last year, Gettleman said the Panthers needed to add some "hog mollies," or big linemen. This year, the Boston native switched gears, saying if there is a "blue goose" pass rusher available at No. 28 he wouldnt pass on him. Tough to know what a blue-winged bird native to Ethiopia has to do with building a football team, though. CORNERBACK ON RADAR: The Panthers lost starting cornerback Captain Munnerlyn to Minnesota in free agency. While they signed free agent Antoine Cason, dont rule out cornerback as an option with one of the teams top three picks. The Panthers have one pick in each of the seven rounds. DONT BE REACHING: The Panthers are determined not to reach for picks at positions of need. They followed that plan last year and took defensive tackle Kawaan Short from Purdue in the second round — even after selecting Lotulelei in the first. "Last year, K.K. (Short) was obviously the best value in that second-round pick," Gettleman said. ___ AP NFL website:
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