lucylily's blog: "ght"

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers won a game in which Andre Ethier struck out his first three times up and made up for it with three Gold Glove-caliber catches in right field. They had a sacrifice fly taken away on an appeal play, then tied the score in the ninth with one that counted -- against a closer who hadnt blown a save all season. And to top it off, Dee Gordon hit a game-ending single in the 10th after failing to bunt a runner over in a key situation the previous inning. It all added up to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday in the rubber game of an interleague series between division leaders. "We just grinded it out today and were able to come through in the end," Tony Gwynn Jr. said. "It was a bunch of guys who did it. It was good to see Dee come up big like that after he missed the bunt. He was pretty down after that." Gwynn lined a one-out triple under the glove of a diving Jordan Danks as he charged the ball in left field. Matt Treanor followed with a hard grounder to second baseman Gordon Beckham with the infield in, forcing Gwynn to stay put. Bobby Abreu was intentionally walked and Gordon lined a single to left against Matt Thornton (2-5), whose wild pitch in the eighth inning of Fridays series opener let in the decisive run. Ronald Belisario (3-0) pitched two hitless innings for the victory. Dodgers left-hander Chris Capuano yielded a run and eight hits over eight innings and had a season-high 12 strikeouts, after going 5-0 with a 1.66 ERA in his six previous home starts with Los Angeles. Chicago rookie Jose Quintana scattered five hits over eight scoreless innings, striking out six and walking none in his seventh big league start. The 23-year-old left-hander was removed by first-year manager Robin Ventura with a 1-0 lead after just 77 pitches. Addison Reed absorbed his first blown save in nine chances this season. "This is what Reed does," Ventura said in defence of his decision. "And we have a lot more games to go, even with Q. He pitched great, but right there I wanted to go to the closer." Singles by Abreu and Elian Herrera put runners at the corners with one out, and Abreu scored on Juan Riveras sac fly to right. "I made a couple of bad pitches and they hit them," Reed said. "The pitch to Abreu was supposed to be a high fastball out of the zone, but I didnt get it high enough and it got a little too much of the zone. Anytime you lose a game it stinks, especially when the starting pitcher throws as well as Quintana did." Treanor led off the sixth with a bunt single and was at third base when Herrera hit what appeared to be a tying sacrifice fly. But Treanor was called out to end the inning after umpire Jerry Meals ruled that he left the bag too soon. "Thats what he saw," Treanor said. "You cant be 100 per cent right all the time, but it fired me up because that would have tied the game -- and you dont know how many youre going to score. Nothing against Jerry, but I thought it was not the right call." Dodgers manager Don Mattingly got into a heated and animated argument with Meals, resulting in his fourth ejection of the season and seventh in less than 1 1/2 years on the job. It didnt end there, as Mattingly stood nose-to-nose with Meals for more than a minute before and after third base ump and crew chief Gary Darling joined the fray. When he was done with Meals, Mattingly got into Darlings face on his way back to the plate and waved his arms up and down like a bird in flight before finally retreating to the clubhouse. "I didnt even realize I was that fired up. I was just kind of frustrated over that call," Mattingly said. "I knew that he missed it. The video doesnt lie. It was a situation where, if youre not 100 per cent sure, how can you overturn a run? He kept telling me he got it 100 per cent right. Thats about the third time Ive heard that this year." Capuano matched zeros with Quintana until the sixth, when Brent Lillibridge led off with a single and continued to second on Herreras error in left field. Lillibridge scored from third on Dayan Viciedos single after slugger Adam Dunn struck out for the third straight time. Viciedo was robbed of a hit in the fourth when Ethier made a diving grab in short right-centre. Two innings later, the Gold Glove winner made a sliding catch of Alex Rios Texas Leaguer to end the sixth. Ethier stole the show in the eighth when he robbed Lillibridge of extra bases with a leaping grab of his hard-hit ball at the top of the fence. "Its not too often that you can get that many balls in a game that you have a chance to make a play like that on. But I had to contribute somehow today," said Ethier, who hasnt committed an error since July 9, 2010. "One thing you learn over time is that you have to play both sides of the ball and keep playing the game hard." NOTES: A ceremonial first pitch was thrown by U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Christopher Farias, who was thrown for a loop when he realized the catcher was his father, Lawrence -- dressed in a Dodgers uniform and mask when he sprung the surprise. ... Dunn, who leads the majors with 23 home runs, also has struck out a major league-leading 104 times. cheap jerseys us . -- With an efficient offence led by Carson Palmer, an opportunistic defence that stepped up in the final minutes and a clutch kick by Sebastian Janikowski, the Oakland Raiders turned a sombre mood into a celebratory one. cheap jerseys . Sidelined since his left ankle was broken by a line drive June 27 against Cleveland, the 40-year-old left-hander threw another simulated game Wednesday at Fenway Park and said he can rejoin the rotation immediately.Since I was a kid, Ive been a Lakers fan. Hearing that Steve Nash, the greatest basketball talent this country has ever produced, is on his way to Los Angeles, should be welcome news. But it doesnt feel that way at all. Why? Because Im a Torontonian thats why. I totally understand why Nash chose the Lakers over the Raptors or any other team for that matter.  He took less money to stay close to his family, play alongside one of the five greatest players ever in Kobe Bryant, will contend for a title, and enjoy warm winters in southern California. And Nash deserves it all.  Who wouldnt take that deal? But Toronto needed Nash for so many reasons beyond basketball. The city is broken. Politically, emotionally, and most noticeably with its pro-sports teams. Cities rally around teams. It happens in every city. It may be a different sport, but its what people do. What did the Stanley Cup runs in Edmonton, Ottawa and Calgary do in recent years? How about the Olympics for Vancouver? Toronto is beaten up. It has been 19 years since the Blue Jays were last in the post-season. The Raptors have won only one playoff round since joining the NBA in 1995. It has been eight years since the Argos won a Grey Cup. TFC has been a fiasco since joining MLS. And the Leafs?  Never mind the Cup drought since 1967, theyre the only NHL team not to make the playoffs in the post-lockout era.  PPolitically, the divide between the right and left has never felt greater in the GTA.dddddddddddd. Its a city that seems more rundown than the Gardiner Expressway, a traffic artery that seems to be crumbling daily. In recent weeks, a string of gun violence has left Canadas largest community shaken while local authorities plead with residents the city is still safe. Steve Nash was the perfect cure for a city with a frail psyche. He couldve provided that spark the city needed to feel good about itself again. For all this talk about how Toronto is the Centre of the Universe, Hogtown is a sensitive soul. There was anger in the winter when the Leafs collapsed, and the Jays failed to reel in Yu Darvish or even Prince Fielder. With Nash, its different. Its not anger, just disappointment. Nash represents himself globally in a way we should all feel proud of. Hes the ideal Canadian. Smart, athletic, innovative, and with an incredibly social concious. No one expected a title in Toronto from Nash, and this isnt to say he shouldve been obligated to come here in the first place. After all, hes a B.C. boy. But this city was looking for a ray of sunshine. Someone to make this city feel good about itself.  Theyll just have to find it someplace else. In the meantime, maybe we can all just crash on Landry Fields couch until the clouds over the CN Tower lift. Twitter.com/jamescybulski ' ' '