ekansekans's blog: "df"

DETROIT -- Down by five after one inning and facing one of the ALs hottest pitchers, the Baltimore Orioles had the Detroit Tigers right where they wanted them. Nate McLouth hit a go-ahead, two-run triple and Baltimore stormed back to beat Detroit 7-5 on Sunday. The Orioles have rallied from five-run deficits to win three times in their last 20 games. "Thats a great win for us," manager Buck Showalter said. "This is a very workman-like team. They dont get excited when something like this happens. They just look at what theyve got in front of them and start working on it." McLouth, Nick Markakis and Mark Reynolds each had two hits for the Orioles, who have won five of seven, including the last two of the key weekend series at Detroit. Chris Davis homered for the second straight game and J.J. Hardy had a two-run double. The Orioles lead Detroit by two games in the race for the second wild-card spot in the American League. The Tigers had won 17 of 20 at Comerica Park before dropping the last two this weekend. "Thats a very good team, and you know they feed off the emotions of that crowd," Showalter said. "Like I just told Jim (Leyland), Im glad they are someone elses problem for the rest of the season." The Tigers jumped all over Wei-Yin Chen (12-7), scoring five times with one out in the first. Omar Infante hit a solo homer, Miguel Cabrera walked and Prince Fielder singled to left before Jhonny Peralta drove a 2-0 pitch over the wall in centre to make it 4-0. Delmon Young singled and scored on Jeff Bakers double before Chen retired two in a row to end the inning. "In the first inning, I was trying to attack the zone, but I couldnt get any first-pitch strikes," he said through a translator. "After that inning, I got stronger, but I still have to thank my teammates for coming through for me. Thats how baseball works. You never know what can happen." Four Baltimore relievers combined for four innings of two-hit ball, with Jim Johnson recording three outs for his 37th save in 40 chances. The right-hander is tied with Gregg Olsen for the second-most saves by an Oriole, behind Randy Myers 45 in 1997. "Our bullpen has been outstanding and thats the key in games like this," Showalter said. "Detroit has great bats and they are doing a lot of great things late in games, especially with those fans cheering them on. Our guys didnt let that happen." The Orioles got back in the game in the second inning against Doug Fister (7-8). Davis connected for his 20th homer, Markakis doubled home a run and Hardy had his big hit that trimmed Detroits lead to 5-4. McLouth, who entered with just four RBIs for the season, put the Orioles in front with two out in the fourth, and Davis drove him in with a base hit. That knocked Fister out of the game, having allowed as many earned runs as his previous five starts combined. "We was just out of whack -- he wasnt good today," Leyland said. "He knows what to do with a lead, but he just wasnt crisp. I just dont think he felt right." Fister allowed eight hits, struck out six and walked three. The right-hander was 6-1 with a 1.97 ERA in his previous eight starts. "Its plain and simple -- I didnt execute," Fister said. "I was very poor at making adjustments and they made me pay for it." Detroit put two runners on with no outs in the seventh but Darren ODay struck out Cabrera on three pitches and got Fielder to bounce into a double play. NOTES: Erik Bedard was the last Oriole to win 12 or more games in a season, picking up 13 in 2007. ... With Chens next win, he will tie Hong-Chih Kuo for the second-most victories by a Taiwanese-born pitcher. Chien-Ming Wang is the leader with 61, and also has the single-season record with 19. Peterson Jersey . The Toronto Blue Jays GM said he had plenty of discussions leading up to the 4 p.m. ET deadline Tuesday, but never was really close to finalizing a deal. Authentic Peterson Jersey . The San Francisco Giants will need that trend to continue on Sunday if they want to even their best-of-five National League Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds. http://www.azulvirtual.org/new.html . The game, played in withering 30C heat, saw Canada go ahead 1-0 at the 40-minute mark on a penalty kick by captain Russell Teibert of Niagara Falls, Ont. FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jason Dufner lists Ben Hogan as his hero. At Hogans Alley, Dufner had the lead halfway through the Colonial with a chance for a Texas two-step that only Hogan has accomplished. Dufner had a bogey-free 6-under 64 on another windy day Friday to reach 11-under 129. A week after winning the Byron Nelson Championship, Dufner had a two-stroke lead over Zach Johnson -- the 2010 winner who shot a 67. The only player to win both PGA Tour events in the Dallas-Fort Worth market in the same year was Hogan in 1946. "That would be great company to join, obviously," Dufner said. "To have anything compared to him or be talked in the same sentence with him is something that would be pretty unique and special to me." With the way Dufner is playing these days, his game certainly is in a different class. Both of Dufners PGA Tour victories came in his previous three starts. He has led or shared the lead after 11 of his last 34 rounds. "When I step to the first tee, I feel like Im going to play a good round of golf. Thats a nice way to play. Its a comfortable way to play," Dufner said. "Im just trying to be confident and think about the things Ive been doing for almost a year now, and realize that those are the things that are making me successful out here, and not get too caught up in everything else thats going on around me." Johnson, who had an opening bogey-free 64, started the second round eagle-birdie-bogey. Then there was a four-hole stretch on the back nine when he alternated birdies and bogeys twice. During the third round Saturday, Johnson will be paired with his buddy Dufner. "Hes got a good rhythm about him, about his game right now," Johnson said. "But its irrelevant who I play with. Im not playing against him. Im playing against the golf course and the conditions and the elements that are presented. So thats my focus." Two years ago, Johnson set the Colonial tournament scoring record at 21-under 259 en route to the last of his seven PGA Tour victories. Van Pelt (64) and Tommy Gainey (67) were tied for third at 133, a stroke better than Tom Gillis (69). Defending Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial champion David Toms shot a 71 and missed the cut at 5-over 145. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., just made the cut at 143 with rounds of 71 and 72. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., shot a 72 to finish at 144 and miss the cut. With the wind again blowing steady about 20 mph with higher gusts, Dufner stood in the middle of the fairway at No. 5, his 14th hole of the day. Dufner stepped back twice before changing clubs, then hitt the approach to about 18 feet for his sixth and last birdie.dddddddddddd That is the end of Colonials "horrible horseshoe" -- as Nos. 3-5 are known because of their layout and with the longest par 4s sandwiching a 243-yard par 3. Dufner has played those holes 4 under through two rounds, and wasnt even aware of the trios reputation. "Its just a product of playing well and having good control of my golf ball," he said. "It doesnt really matter what holes youre playing." Starting on the back nine, Dufner had two birdies, a 5-footer at the 166-yard 13th hole and 7-footer at the 363-yard 17th. He then birdied Nos. 1-3 for the second day in a row. "I got off to a great start. ... I had a chance to catch Dufner, is he not hot right now," said Gainey, who opened his round with three consecutive birdies before bogeys at Nos. 7 and 8. "I got hot and then let a couple get away." After Colonial, Dufner -- who got married between his two victories -- plans to take a short break before beginning preparations for the next major. The U.S. Open is in three weeks at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. The 35-year-old Dufner, who has moved up to 14th in the world, had consecutive weekend rounds of 75 at the Masters and tied for 24th after starting 69-70. It was during the final round of the PGA Championship last August when Dufner had consecutive bogeys on holes No. 15-17. That cost him the lead and forced him into a three-hole playoff that he lost to Keegan Bradley. "I think it helped me out a lot this year. It kind reaffirmed the things that I was doing was right, and I was on the right direction and right path," he said. "I didnt think too much about losing. I just thought about all of the good things that happened. ... I think at the PGA kind of showed me that I could really play at a high level." Divots: Sergio Garcia, the 01 Colonial champ, followed his opening 66 with a 73. That included an 8 on the 387-yard ninth hole when he hit his approach into the water fronting the green, and then knocked his drop in there as well. ... Ben Crane (141), who lives just north of Fort Worth, finished his second-round 71 with an eagle at the ninth hole. He holed a wedge shot from 104 yards. ... Harrison Frazar missed the cut with rounds of 72 and 74. He still had a highlight Friday, a hole-in-one with an 8-iron at the 183-yard 16th. ... The last of 14 players to win both the Colonial and Byron Nelson Championship was Rory Sabbatini, at the 2007 Colonial and 2009 Nelson. When Hogan did it in 1946, the tournaments werent played in consecutive weeks. ' ' '