lucylily's blog: "ght"

(Sports Network) - While his brother provided a go-ahead homer several states over in Arizona, Tampa Bay Rays star B.J. Upton was the hero for his ballclub in last nights opener of a three-game series versus the Toronto Blue Jays. Tonight the Rays and Jays will resume a three-game set at Tropicana Field. Justin Upton lifted the Diamondbacks over Colorado with a home run in the eighth inning of Tuesdays win, while B.J. Upton provided the fireworks for Tampa Bay with a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 3-2 victory. Ben Zobrist singled to start the inning and Upton followed with a blast off of Toronto relief pitcher Jon Rauch. "Just [looking to] get a good pitch to hit," Upton said postgame. "The first pitch was a good pitchers pitch. I definitely didnt want to swing at it in that situation. Then he threw me a fastball, and I got a good piece of the barrel to it." Kelly Shoppach added a run-scoring single for the Rays, who have won seven of their last nine and welcomed the return of All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria. Longoria hadnt played since April 2 because of a strained oblique and went 1-for-4 at the plate. Wade Davis started for Tampa and allowed two runs over six innings. Kyle Farnsworth collected the win by getting the final out of the top of the ninth inning. Jeff Niemann is coming off his first win of the season and will get the nod again tonight. He was 0-3 with a 7.08 earned run average in his first four starts before defeating Minnesota last Thursday with seven innings of one-run ball in a 6-1 triumph. Niemann lowered his ERA to 5.60. The right-hander and former first-round draft pick is 0-2 in three home starts this season and 3-2 with a 4.99 ERA in eight career starts against the AL East-rival Blue Jays. Toronto has lost three in a row and four of its last six games, and wasted a solid performance from Jo-Jo Reyes, who delivered six innings of one-run ball in the no-decision. Rauch got the loss for permitting Uptons blast. "Were all human, were going to make mistakes," Rauch said. "But Im better than that, and I let my team down today. We had a chance to win that ballgame, and I screwed it up." Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion both had two hits and an RBI, while Corey Patterson finished 2-for-4 with a run scored in defeat. Jays slugger and reigning home run king Jose Bautista did not play because of back spasms and his return is uncertain. An MRI revealed no structural damage. The Jays are 4-4 on a 10-game road trip and hope Brandon Morrow can pitch them to victory Wednesday night. Morrow will make his third start to the season and is 0-1 with a 3.97 earned run average. He lost his 2011 debut on April 23 versus Tampa Bay, as he gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 6-4 loss. Morrow, who struck out 10 Rays in the loss, posted a no-decision in last Thursdays 5-2 win at Texas and was reached for just two runs through six innings with six Ks. The right-hander had been on the disabled list due to forearm inflammation and is 2-2 in nine games (5 starts) against Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay took two of three contests from Toronto at Rogers Centre from April 22-24 and has won six of the last eight meetings in this series. Patrick Willis White Jersey . - Jack McInerney scored in the 90th minute to give the Philadelphia Union a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution on Sunday night. Vernon Davis Jersey . Set to take the ice for the first time since clinching the best record in the NHL, the Blackhawks continue to prep for their run at a title when they host Calgary on Friday night in the Flames regular-season finale.http://www.49ersnflofficialjerseys.com/authentic-craig-dahl-jersey-womens.html . When Atlanta tried to get tough, the Pacers buckled down and got even tougher. Joe Staley Jersey . Messi, the three-time world player of the year, has 90 goals in 2012, surpassing Gerd Muellers 40-year-old milestone of 85 in a calendar year. Craig Dahl Jersey . Canada (3-2) went on an 11-0 scoring run started by a pair of Cory Joseph free throws with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter. Joseph accounted for six of the next eight points and a three-pointer by Brady Heslip at 2:25 cut the deficit to 60-57 before Venezuela called a timeout.ARLINGTON, Texas -- The only drama at the end of this one was whether rookie DeMarco Murray would set the Dallas Cowboys franchise rushing record, a remarkable feat considering its gone from Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett to NFL rushing king Emmitt Smith. Murray indeed pulled it off, running through a shoddy St. Louis Rams defence for 253 yards, including an early 91-yard touchdown that got the Cowboys started toward a 34-7 victory on Sunday. Murray ran for the most yards in the NFL this season and the ninth-most in league history. His touchdown was the second-longest run in team history, topped only by the NFL-record 99-yarder by Dorsett in January 1983. He also had the most yards ever against the Rams, replacing Jim Brown on that list. "I never thought in a million years that Id ever have a day like this," Murray said. "This is what Ive been working hard for since my Pop Warner days." As impressive as Murrays performance was, it came against the Rams, who fell to 0-6 and came in with the NFLs worst defence against the run. They had allowed 163 yards per game, more than two first downs more anyone else. The holes were so plentiful that when Murray took himself out to catch his breath in the fourth quarter, fourth-stringer Phillip Tanner finished that drive with 35 yards on the first four carries of his career, capping it with a six-yard TD run. St. Louis wasnt even able to exploit a line featuring a starting left guard who was unemployed as of Monday. "Its easy to run the ball when youre not making tackles," Rams safety Quintin Mikell. "When youre not getting guys on the ground, theres not much you can do." For Dallas (3-3), the real satisfaction was ending a two-game losing skid and emphatically breaking a stretch of 11 straight games decided by four points or less. "It was the first one where we could take a knee to win," receiver Miles Austin said. "Its a good feeling." The Cowboys never trailed and left no reason for team owner Jerry Jones to criticize coach Jason Garretts play-calling -- except maybe to wonder why Murray didnt have a bigger role in the offence until this game. Get this: Murray didnt even start against the Rams. With lead back Felix Jones out with a high ankle sprain, Tashard Choice trotted out first. The plan was for him to share the load with Murray, a third-round pick whose development was slowed because he missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury. It took all of one carry for Murray to become the main option. On a first-and-19 from the Dallas nine-yard line, Murray went through a giant hole on the left side, cut through an attempted ankle tackle, then outran Mikell. It was a heck of a way to score the first touchdown of his career, and it more than doubled his career rushing total of 71 coming into the game. Murray had 187 yards through three quarters, and the Cowboys were up 20-7. Because they wanted to run to protect the lead, it was clear that Murray would get a shot at Smitths club record of 237 yards set Oct.dddddddddddd 31, 1993, at Philadelphia. Murray followed with a 43-yard run that couldve gone for a 73-yard touchdown had he not run out of gas along the way. He finished it two yards shy of Smiths mark. "I just wanted to get down and protect the ball," he said. The record fell on his next try, an eight-yard run. He finished with 25 carries and an average of 10.1 yards. Dallas ran for 294 yards overall, spiking a season average of 84.8 that had been among the leagues worst. For the local fans, it was a terrific start to a baseball-football doubleheader between teams from Dallas-Fort Worth and St. Louis. Game 4 of the World Series began just down the street less than an hour after this game ended. Josh Hamilton of the Rangers and Lance Berkman of the Cardinals showed up in uniform as honorary captains for the pregame coin toss. The Rams were the perfect foe for the Cowboys to cure all that ailed them. In addition to their trouble stopping the run, they were without quarterback Sam Bradford (high ankle sprain) and were averaging the fewest points in the league even with him. A.J. Feeley made his first start since 2007 and was 20 of 33 for 196 yards with one interception and one sack. But the offence gained only four yards in the third quarter, and had only two good drives. The first ended in a six-yard touchdown run by Steven Jackson that got St. Louis within 14-7. The other ended with a fourth-and-goal from the 1 that was stuffed in the final minutes. "We couldnt get any rhythm and left the defence on the field entirely too long," Jackson said. "For whatever reason, this keeps being the same old story." Jackson finished with 70 yards, 46 coming on the touchdown drive. Brandon Lloyd caught six passes for 74 yards in his St. Louis debut. He was acquired from Denver earlier this week. St. Louis also saw right tackle Jason Smith and backup defensive tackle Darell Scott carted off. Both were taken to a hospital for evaluation and were expected to fly home with the team. Smith, a Dallas native, had a strained neck; Scotts injury was called a blow to the head. Dallas Tony Romo was 14 of 24 for 166 yards, with two touchdowns. He didnt have to throw much because the running game was doing so well. However, he hit Dez Bryant for four passes and a touchdown in the second half, which was significant because theyd hooked up for only two catches after halftime all season. Romos other TD throw went to Jason Witten. Notes: Dallas rookie kicker Dan Bailey made two field goals, including a career-best 51-yarder, giving him 16 in a row. ... Brown had 237 yards against the Los Angeles Rams in 1957. ... Murrays 91-yarder also was the longest against the Rams. ... Both teams came in with a single rushing TD. Only Kansas City had less. ... The Cowboys havent allowed a first-quarter touchdown this season. ... Ronnie Dunn sang the national anthem, just like he did the night before at the World Series. ' ' '