BALTIMORE -- For much of the first half of the season, the Baltimore Orioles were selective and cautious with their use of rookie Kevin Gausman. Now that things are getting serious, Gausman has become a fixture in a starting rotation that has thrust the Orioles into first place in the AL East. Gausman pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Adam Jones homered and the Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-3 on Wednesday night for their seventh win in nine games. From April through mid-July, Gausman bounced between Baltimore and the minor leagues to keep his innings-count down. Those restrictions are no longer in place, and the 2012 first-round draft pick looks rather comfortable being part of a pennant push. Gausman (5-3) retired the first 14 batters he faced and ended up allowing three runs and three walks in his first career start against the Angels. "I was just establishing my fastball in and out," he said. "I think they had a little bit of trouble with that, especially (when) I was getting some pitches down in the zone that I loved, which was great for me. I just felt in rhythm and in control and I was able to slow it down when I needed to and speed it up when I wanted to." Angels leadoff hitter Kole Calhoun said of Gausman: "He threw his pitches well. He obviously has electric stuff. Hes got some good off-speed pitches to complement the good fastball. He threw the ball well, he kept the ball down and they made some great plays behind him too." Darren ODay struck out two in a perfect eighth and Zach Britton gave up a single in the ninth before earning his 21st save. The victory lifted the AL East-leading Orioles to 14 games over .500 (60-46) for the first time July 22, 2013. "Weve been able to stay where we are because of the pitching," manager Buck Showalter said. Garrett Richards (11-4) gave up four runs and six hits in seven innings. It was his second straight defeat following a seven-game winning streak. Jones put the Orioles up 2-0 with a two-run homer, his second in two nights. It was his 21st of the season and 11th in the first inning. In the Baltimore fourth, David Lough picked up his first RBI since June 7 with a double and scored on a single by Ryan Flaherty. Gausman got some early help from his defence. Right fielder Nick Markakis made a sprawling catch in the third and third baseman Manny Machado snared a grounder down the line and staggered deep into foul territory before throwing out Albert Pujols in the fourth. The Angels first hit was a two-run single by Chris Iannetta in the fifth inning after Gausman walked the bases loaded. Calhoun followed with an RBI double. TRAINERS ROOM Angels: Left-hander C.J. Wilson (right ankle sprain) threw in the Camden Yards bullpen and remains on course for a possible return from the 15-day DL this weekend. Orioles: First baseman Chris Davis missed a second straight game with a stomach virus. ... Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (right ankle sprain) will likely make his final rehabilitative start Sunday or Monday for Triple-A Norfolk. After his rehab start for Class A Aberdeen on Tuesday, he paid for a postgame spread of steak and lobster. ON DECK Angels: Left-hander Tyler Skaggs (5-5, 4.49 ERA) will make his first career start against the Orioles on Thursday night. Skaggs has not walked more than one batter in each of five starts since coming off the disabled list with a right hamstring strain. Orioles: Bud Norris seeks to continue his mastery of the Angels. In three career starts against LA, the right-hander is 3-0 with a 0.46 ERA. NOT SO FAST C.J. Cron thought he had just taken ball four leading off the third inning. He flipped the bat toward the Los Angeles dugout and began jogging in the direction of first base. But it was only ball three. So, after umpire Kerwin Danley waved him back to the plate, Cron grounded out on a 3-2 pitch. . Poti played in 824 regular NHL games with four teams in his career; the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals. . Pillar is batting .305 with 17 extra-base hits, 19 RBI and five stolen bases in 34 games for Buffalo this season. The right-handed hitter had an International League high, 18-game hitting streak this season and currently owns an IL high 26-game on base streak.
http://www.wholesaleauthenticairjordan.com/.C. United to a 4-1 victory over short-handed FC Dallas on Saturday night. . -- Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman is undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone above his left eye but has no other serious injuries after being hit in the face by a line drive in a spring training game. .J. -- Rampage Jackson scowled, howled, then bellowed to the crowd: "Im back! Im back!" With rebuilt knees and a new promotion, Jackson might have one more act left in MMA.TORONTO - If you had just started watching Raptors basketball two days prior you wouldnt have recognized the team that was run out of their own building Friday night. Coming off their most encouraging victory of the season in Memphis Wednesday, the Raptors were out-muscled, out-worked and ultimately out-played against a Chicago Bulls team missing their star point guard. The Bulls - as they tend to do, with or without Derrick Rose - set the tone with their defence in the opening minutes. By the time the buzzer sounded 24 minutes into the contest, the Raptors booed off the floor by their home fans, Toronto had mustered just 31 points on 26 per cent shooting. "Theres nothing redeeming about tonight," said Dwane Casey, who later relented and cited DeMar DeRozan as the lone redeeming spot on the night. "Tonight was one of those stinkers that you have. We were mentally fried, physically fried but this is the NBA [and] theres no excuses. That wasnt us. Weve had stretches like that but not an entire game, the way we were running in mud." DeRozan, just 3-of-9 at the half, caught fire late in the third quarter. He scored 28 of his career-high matching 37 points in the second half, including 19 of the Raptors 21 points during a stretch that extended into the fourth quarter. He couldnt miss, knocking down off-balance jumpers, four three-pointers and crowning Joakim Noah on a tomahawk slam. If it was conceivable for the Raptors guard to bring his team back on his own at that point he may have, he certainly tried. But it was a little too little too late. "I just wanted to win," DeRozan said solemnly after his offensive outburst was wasted in a game that was lost early in the first half. "Thats the only thing. Just looking at the score, I knew it was going to be tough. Its just my passion, just trying to win." "He was the one redeeming spot tonight," Casey eventually acknowledged. "The way he came out in the second half, but its a 48 minute game. Youve got to start the game out that way.dddddddddddd" First Half Credit the Bulls and their defence for what turned out to be a nightmare of a first half for the Raptors offence. The same team that registered 11 assists and hit 7-of-9 three-point attempts in the first half of Wednesdays game against a quality opponent had just seven dimes and missed all seven shots from long range. The Raptors were routinely pushed around under the rim, as the Bulls front line of Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng got the visitors off to a quick start on both ends of the floor. "You cant allow someone to come in your home and outwork you like that," Casey said. "Its hard to get to the basket on them," DeRozan admitted. "They all load in. Theyre a good defensive team so youve got to find counters and different ways to try and get to the basket." However, the game was lost on the other end, where the Raptors failed to match Chicagos defensive effort. With Rose on the sideline - ruled out prior to the game, nursing a sore right hamstring - the Bulls didnt miss a beat. They moved the ball with precision and shredded Toronto in the paint, outscoring them 26-18. "Mental frustration I think is more than anything else," Casey said. "We allowed them to do that. Youve got to make a team miss. We didnt play with the desperation weve played with this week." Regrouping With five of their next six games at home, the Raptors will benefit from more practice time, something they expect to take advantage of immediately as they return to the gym on Saturday to reflect on this loss. "Its a long season, its a marathon," Casey pointed out. "But its how you bounce back from these types of games that define you." "I dont want to get too overly alarmed because you have those. You have about five or six of those a year but we cant make it a habit." Toronto is back in action at the ACC Sunday afternoon when they host the Portland Trail Blazers. ' ' '
