Schwarzesbrett » th save. Betts hit his first career leadoff home run, end

TORONTO – Brett Lawrie is off to a slow start at the plate, just 3-for-29 (.103) entering Wednesday nights tilt with the Astros. Approached to discuss his early season slump, Lawrie obliged but it wasnt long before he got a little help from a friend. "Hell be fine," Jose Reyes shouted as he walked by the discussion. The 24-year-old had a solid Grapefruit League, hitting .339/.373/.484 with two home runs. But thats spring training, the quality of pitching varies (Baseball Reference ranked Lawries mound opponents an 8.6/10) and the types of pitches that get thrown in certain counts are different; often times a pitcher goes into an appearance looking to work on specific parts of his repertoire. Eight games in, Lawrie insists hes not pressing. "Its a long season, man," said Lawrie. "I mean, weve still got 140-plus games so for me to push the panic button right now is no point because its a long year so stay healthy, just keep going and grinding and getting after it. The main thing is that were winning so obviously find positivity there and obviously look to do the job again today and find some way to contribute to the team." The thing is, Lawrie likely is pressing. The fact he doesnt want to talk about it, or admit to it, is fine. "Hes a little mental right now," said hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. "Hes sitting on pitches and hes guessing wrong is whats happening. When that happens you start to lose your approach; you want to get in just to try to hit the ball hard and that ends up being a recipe for disaster. Hes just pressing right now." Lawrie and Seitzer convened for an early Wednesday afternoon hitting session in the batting cage. The aim wasnt to go over significant mechanical tweaks but rather pitch recognition, which is sometimes compromised when a hitter struggles and begins to think too much in the batters box. It appears to the layman observer that the hitch Lawrie had last year has returned to his swing, which occurs just as hes cocking his bat to bring it through the strike zone. "He had some of that in spring training too," said Seitzer. "The late is from tension of reacting to fastballs instead of being ready to hit them and then when you do get one, when youre looking for one and you get it, then you try and do too much and that causes more tension." Manager John Gibbons goes out of his way to praise Lawries maturity, noting his third basemans ability to maintain his composure throughout the early season slump. "Hes come a long way," said Gibbons. Lawrie knows he can contribute in other areas. "Youve got both sides of the coin youve got to worry about," said Lawrie. "Ultimately, if I cant get it done on offence one day than hopefully I can help the team out on defence. Thats kind of how it goes, just try to find a way to contribute." CECIL TAKING CARE Brett Cecil was available for the Blue Jays on Wednesday night against the Astros. He had a 16-pitch, one inning appearance versus Houston on Tuesday and Cecils been careful since spring training not to overextend his arm. "Really what it comes down to is how I feel the day after and how much I can go, whether its just a hitter or a full inning," said Cecil. Cecil made a career-high 60 appearances in 2013, his first full season as a reliever. He was shut down in mid-September, however, suffering from elbow pain. "When I throw one day usually there are no problems, no stiffness," said Cecil. "When I throw two days in a row, the next day it will be a little bit sore. Unless its towards the end of the season, a playoff race or something, that would probably be the only time Id go three days in a row." WAGNER RECALLED Reliever Neil Wagner is back with the Blue Jays, recalled prior to Wednesdays game against the Astros. Right-hander Marcus Walden, who didnt get into a game since joining the Jays on Saturday, was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. The Blue Jays made no secret that Wagners springtime demotion was strictly a business move – Wagner had an option left and others didnt. "Wagner came into his own last year," said manager John Gibbons. "Hes a guy that can get some big outs late in the game for you." With Casey Janssen still on the disabled list with an abdominal strain and Sergio Santos in the closers role in Janssens stead, the Jays need another late-inning right-hander to work alongside Steve Delabar. Wagner fits the mold. With his mid-to-high 90s fastball, the 30-year-old stuck out 33 hitters in 38 innings over 36 appearances for the Blue Jays last season. BASEBALL PODCAST Each week, Ill sit down with Toronto Star baseball columnist Richard Griffin and MLB.coms Blue Jays beat reporter Gregor Chisholm for the Baseball Podcast. Well discuss the latest news surrounding the ballclub. The aim will be record the podcast each Wednesday but will depend on our respective schedules. Well keep you posted on Twitter. Click here for the first edition, recorded the afternoon of Wednesday, April 9. We talk about the early season performance of the starting rotation, hitters running hot and cold through the first week of the season and last weeks salary deferral revelations. Alejandro Villanueva Womens Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Im sure youve received many emails wondering what your take is on the Spezza goal that looked like Neil blatantly kicked it in while standing directly in the middle of the crease where, you know, usually a goalie is to make a save but couldnt be due to Neil being there! Thanks! Jon - Westfield, MA Jon: Lets first ask Henrik Lundqvist what he thought of the scoring of the Sens second goal with . T. J. Watt Jersey . Tristan Jackson returned a missed field goal 129 yards early in the fourth quarter as the Roughriders beat the B.C. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Steelers-Lc-Greenwood-Jersey/ .Morse gets a $1 million signing bonus and salaries of $7 million next season and $8 million in 2016 under the agreement announced Wednesday. Rod Woodson Youth Jersey . Canada was placed in one of the easiest groups during Saturdays live televised draw in Montreal. Joe Gilliam Youth Jersey .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft.BALTIMORE - The Baltimore Orioles wrapped up their regular-season home schedule with a defeat, one that was much easier to take because of the circumstances surrounding it. The Orioles 3-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday didnt impact their stature as AL East champions. Afterward, there was no heartfelt farewell to the fans, because Camden Yards will be open for playoff baseball in October. "Were excited to come back for the post-season," losing pitcher Miguel Gonzalez said. "Its exciting, definitely, for everyone." Boston took two of three from the Orioles, who have been playing without several regulars in the lineup since claiming the division crown on Tuesday. Baltimore still has a chance to catch the Los Angeles Angels for home-field advantage throughout the post-season, but manager Buck Showalters priority is keeping his team fresh and sharp for October. Centre fielder Adam Jones didnt start, and Nick Markakis and Steve Pearce were held out with minor injuries. The trend will continue during the final week, which begins with a four-game series at Yankee Stadium followed by three games in Toronto. Thats the benefit already of knowing youre in. "Its allowed us to do a lot of things we normally wouldnt be able to do," Showalter said. "Were trying to keep our priorities in order here, and thats getting Steve back and getting Adam rested up some and getting Nicky back and getting our bullpen as good as they can be." Gonzalez (9-9) allowed three runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings, his first start since Aug. 2 in which he failed to last six innings. He was pitching on a extra day of rest, which he believes will ultimately prove benficial. "It helped me. I felt good today," he said. "The ball was coming out well. I think its going to be all right for us for the post-season." The Orioles finished 50-31 at home, 31-10 since June 29. They did not lose successive games at Camden Yards after June 28-29. "Its been a good club, pretty consistent home and away," Showalter said.dddddddddddd. Joe Kelly pitched seven innings of three-hit ball and the Red Sox got home runs from Mookie Betts and David Ross. Boston may be in last place, but it hasnt quit trying to win. "With the amount of turnover that weve had and the new players weve added, theres always been good energy each day we take the field," manager John Farrell said. "It hasnt always worked out with the bottom line score, but our guys love to compete." Kelly (3-2) gave up two runs, walked three and struck out five in his fifth successive outing of at least six innings. It was his ninth start for Boston since being traded to St. Louis in the July 31 deal that sent John Lackey to the Cardinals. Edward Mujica got three outs for his eighth save. Betts hit his first career leadoff home run, ending a run of 67 at-bats without going deep, to give Boston the early lead, and a two-out single by Yoenis Cespedes made it 2-0 in the fifth. After Ross chased Gonzalez with a sixth-inning solo shot, Baltimore answered with two runs in the bottom half. David Lough hit an RBI double and Nelson Cruz drove in a run with a groundout. It was the 106th RBI of the season for Cruz, who was chosen Most Valuable Oriole before the game in balloting by the Baltimore media. TRAINERS ROOM Red Sox: SS Xander Bogaerts left in the second inning with neck stiffness and was replaced by former Orioles infielder Jemile Weeks. Orioles: Markakis (shoulder) sat out a fourth straight game and Pearce (wrist) missed his second in a row. Showalter was not concerned about eithers availability for the post-season. "Not at this point," the manager said. UP NEXT Red Sox: Boston has Monday off before opening a three-game series against Tampa Bay, the start of a season-ending homestand that includes three games against the Yankees. Orioles: LHP Wei-Yin Chen (16-4, 3.58 ERA) starts for Baltimore against the Yankees on Monday. ' ' '