|
(SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Blue Jays will try to figure out the Kansas City Royals on Saturday when the two teams meet at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays hope to follow the lead of prospect Marcus Stroman, making the first start of his Major League career, pushing Drew Hutchison back to Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers. Stroman, a 23-year-old righty, struggled in five relief appearances with the Blue Jays earlier this month, giving up nine earned runs over 6 1/3 innings while opponents hit .419 against him. In seven starts at Triple-A Buffalo this year, Stroman has gone 2-4 with a 3.03 ERA. "We want to get Stroman up here to give him a look," Gibbons told his teams official website. "And the thinking was, well back Hutchison off a couple of days. (Mark) Buehrle will start Sunday, Hutchison on Tuesday in Detroit. Weve been trying to pick some spots, give Hutch a little breather. After his last start, I thought he looked a little bit tired. We thought it would be a perfect time to give him a couple of extra days." Hutchison gave up five earned runs over five innings in his last start on Monday versus Tampa Bay. Kansas City took the first two contests of this four-game set with an 8-6 win in extra innings on Thursday and a 6-1 victory on Friday night. Lorenzo Cain nearly single-handedly led the Royals to victory on Friday, going 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. Billy Butler also went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and Alex Gordon blasted his fourth home run of the season as well. "This is more of the offense that we envisioned coming out of spring training," Royals manager Ned Yost said. Jason Vargas earned his fifth win of the season as the starter, limiting the Blue Jays to just one run, while matching seven hits with as many strikeouts. "Vargas keeps you off-balance," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "If youre sitting on a pitch, you dont get it." Jose Bautista provided the only offense for the Blue Jays with his 14th home run of the season. J.A. Happ took the loss, laboring through 7 2/3 innings during which he gave up six runs on nine hits. Toronto has dropped back-to-back games after winning nine straight contests. Kansas City will turn to Aaron Brooks on Saturday. Brooks will be making his first MLB start, having just a single relief appearance to his name this season, his first in the majors. In his only other outing the 24-year-old let up six runs on seven hits over two innings during a 9-2 loss to Detroit on May 3. Brooks, who was drafted in the ninth round of the 2011 amateur draft out of Cal State San Bernardino, was 4-1 with a 3.12 ERA in eight games for Triple-A Omaha this season. The Royals have won three of the first five games between these teams this season. . The New York State Supreme Court only partially dismissed the lawsuit, meaning the case could be headed for trial. The tour announced a year ago that Singh would be suspended for saying in a Sports Illustrated story that he took deer antler spray, which was believed to contain the banned substance IGF-1. .85 million contract with the two-time Gold Glove outfielder. Parra earned his second Gold Glove last season when he set a club record with 17 outfield assists. . Hes recovered from a scary injury and cleared to play. Mingo, who was hospitalized with a bruised lung he sustained in an Aug. .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills will head into the regular season short on experience at quarterback after trimming the roster on Friday. . With one week left in the regular season, Cornish - voted The Toughest Player To Bring Down - is a leading candidate for the CFLs Most Outstanding Player award. He has rushed for 1,799 yards and could break Willie Burdens club record for rushing yards in a single season with a 98-yard performance against the B.TORONTO -- Jerry DAmigo has watched the Toronto Maple Leafs seven-game losing streak from the nearby Marlies of the AHL. In a hockey market like this, its impossible to avoid hearing all about it. Now DAmigo will likely be thrust into the lineup against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night to try to do his part -- however small it might be -- to end the skid and save the Leafs playoff hopes. "Im not trying to solve the whole thing here," DAmigo said. "Im just going to put in my best effort and give the guys some energy here. Hopefully (raise) them up a little bit." Unless DAmigo manages to score or create a big goal, itll take much more than a fourth-line energy guy to make the Leafs rise up and find a consistent level of play that has been lacking of late, even against a banged-up opponent. If theres any time to find that extra gear, its against a Red Wings team the Leafs are tied with at 80 points. "Obviously weve been fighting it of late," winger Mason Raymond said. "But this is a team we are battling with for a playoff spot. Theyve been doing well of late so we have quite the test ahead of us." Figuring 92 points as a legitimate target to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, a loss to the Red Wings at Air Canada Centre would just about force the Leafs to win out in their final six games. A victory and some help from the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Wasshington Capitals puts Toronto right back into it.dddddddddddd Coach Randy Carlyle knows this is a difficult spot but doesnt find it difficult to remain positive when speaking with his players. "This isnt a fun place to be right now, Ill tell you that, and theres pressure being applied in different areas, but the No. 1 thing that we have to do is we have to focus on self-improvement by a certain amount, and that will help the team grow," Carlyle said. The Red Wings havent been in a tailspin like the Leafs, but theyve been in the thick of this playoff race long enough to know what to expect Saturday night. "They need a win and we need a win and thats been the case each night weve played probably for 20 games," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "So were used to the environment were in. It should be a lot of fun here tonight. They need a win and we need a win, its just that simple." NOTES -- Jonathan Bernier is expected to be in goal for the Leafs, which would mark the first time this season he starts on back-to-back days. Jimmy Howard starts for Detroit. ... Toronto is 6-9 in the second half of back-to-back games, including losses in the last two of those situations. ... Defenceman Paul Ranger (neck) is "an option" for the Leafs, according to Carlyle. If Ranger plays, it could mean going back to 11 forwards and seven defencemen, though it was not clear which forward would come out of the lineup. ' ' '
|
