that had "nothing to do" with his performance. "I practic

DENVER -- John Lackey was originally going to throw an inning simply to stay sharp. That plan was changed to a full-fledged start, to keep in rhythm. Only, this wasnt exactly the outing he was looking for with the post-season drawing near. Lackey allowed three solo homers, including one to Charlie Blackmon, the first batter he faced, as the Boston Red Sox fell to the Colorado Rockies 8-3 on Tuesday night. "Not our best night from the mound," manager John Farrell said. "I thought John made a couple of mistakes that he had to pay for, particularly in a ball park where you put the ball in the air and its going to carry." Even more, Lackey (10-13) struggled on the road again, allowing four runs and six hits in six innings. The right-hander is 1-5 away from Fenway Park since the All-Star break. Lackey also surrendered solo homers to Troy Tulowitzki and Corey Dickerson. Not that hes too concerned with this performance. "Im good to go," Lackey said. "Feel good." Tyler Chatwood (8-5) shut down a potent Red Sox lineup as he gave up one unearned run and three hits before being pulled for a pinch hitter with a 4-1 lead in the seventh. The Rockies went on to score four times that inning to seal the win, with DJ LeMahieu and Michael Cuddyer delivering two-run singles. Cuddyer finished the night 2 for 4 with a double to raise his average to an NL-best .335. For the Rockies, this was a confidence-inducing victory. "For sure. Boston is a great team, going into the playoffs," Dickerson said. "You want to play well, show our resilience as a team and to play hard to the last game." With the AL East title wrapped up, the Red Sox are now focused on securing the best record in the league. They maintain a one-game lead over Oakland after the Athletics lost 3-0 to the Los Angeles Angels. Farrell is using these last few games as a way figure out his final post-season roster spots. Farrell said there are a couple still up for grabs. David Ortiz played first base instead of Mike Napoli without the use of a designated hitter. Ortiz showed off his glove, too, snaring a scorching liner from Dickerson to end the sixth. Chatwood pitched carefully to the dangerous Ortiz, even intentionally walking him in first with a runner on second. The ploy worked as Jarrod Saltalamacchia grounded out. Later, Ortiz hit a fly to the deepest part of the park, but Blackmon tracked it down. The only mistake Chatwood made wasnt on the mound but covering first base in the seventh. With two outs and Will Middlebrooks on second, Todd Helton made a diving stop on Jackie Bradley Jr.s grounder and quickly flipped it to Chatwood, who dropped the ball before stepping on the base. Chatwood scooped it up and threw wide to home plate and into the Red Sox dugout, allowing Middlebrooks to score. Chatwood was charged with two errors on the play and Bradley advanced to third. But Chatwood escaped more damage when his wild pitch bounced off the wall behind home plate, allowing catcher Jordan Pacheco to quickly field the ball and flick it to Chatwood, who tagged out Bradley, keeping the score 4-1. "That lineup is really tough," Chatwood said. "Youve got to execute every pitch." Blackmon, the reigning NL player of the week, began the game with a homer to right on a fastball from Lackey. Cuddyer soon followed with a double and scored on Heltons single. Helton clapped his hands after his hit as the crowd roared. The first baseman will retire at the end of the season after 17 years with the Rockies. Before the game, Helton said he didnt "do nostalgia" and didnt want to reflect back on his career just yet. He holds virtually every hitting category in Rockies history and will play his final home game Wednesday night. Helton nearly was a member of the Red Sox had a rumoured trade before the 2007 season taken place. That was the season the Red Sox went on to sweep the Rockies to capture the World Series title. Asked how close he was to being in a Boston uniform, Helton said: "I have no idea. You have to talk to the people that were making the decisions." NOTES: Saltalamacchia hit a two-run homer in the ninth after Ortiz singled. ... Red Sox OF Jacoby Ellsbury (right foot) may return to the lineup as soon as Wednesday. ... Rockies owner Dick Monfort is pleased with the performance of first-year manager Walt Weiss and hopes he returns. Monfort said the sides have yet to talk about a new deal. Jordan Eberle Jersey . Ribery, who won UEFAs best player in Europe award for the 2012-13 season, helped Bayern Munich win the Champions League and Bundesliga and German Cup titles. Messi, winner of the last four Ballon dOr awards in voting by coaches, team captains and media, was injured late in the season and could not prevent Barcelona from being beaten by Bayern in the Champions League semifinals. Clark Gillies Islanders Jersey . This has become the Raptors mantra as they embark on a new era with a new regime and, in the not-so-distant future, a new image. http://www.islanderssale.com/authentic-anthony-beauvillier-islanders-jersey/ . -- Aaron Rodgers looked fine on the practice field Thursday. John Tavares Islanders Jersey . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. Andrew Ladd Islanders Jersey . - Leon Draisaitl scored a hat trick as the Prince Albert Raiders stormed past the Swift Current Broncos 5-2 in Western Hockey League action Tuesday. WASHINGTON -- The Charlotte Bobcats have leapfrogged another team, increasing the odds that their return to the playoffs wont be a token appearance. The Washington Wizards have dropped a spot and are having issues. Or, as centre Marcin Gortat put it: "The way we play right now, we aint going to beat anybody, including Milwaukee." The Bobcats blew a 20-point, first-half lead to the Wizards on Wednesday night before winning 94-88 in overtime, moving Charlotte into position for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. "To go from basically the worst team going to the six seed, I mean, it shows a lot," said guard Kemba Walker, who scored the only field goal in overtime for either team. The win left both teams at 40-38 with four games remaining, but Charlotte won the season series 3-1 and therefore holds the tiebreaker. Both teams want to stay out of seventh or eighth to avoid a first-round series against the two conference powerhouses, the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. The Bobcats have been in the playoffs only once before, when they were swept in the first round in 2010. "We getting better as a team, we two games above .500," said Al Jefferson, who had 20 points and 18 rebounds. "But does it really matter where were at for seeding-wise? No, we just happy to be in the mix." Walker made a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws in the extra session, and Jefferson added two free throws to account for all of the Bobcats scoring. Charlotte went 1 for 7 from the field in overtime, while Washington was 0 for 8 and got its only point from a free throw by John Wall with 34 seconds remaining. Walker finished with 17 points and 12 assists for the Bobcats, who have their longest winning streak since March 2010. "Hes got courage," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "He wants the ball late and hes not afraid to take the big shot." Wall had a candidate for most underwhelming triple-double of the season -- 14 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists -- and Gortat finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Wizards, who were nearly run out of their own building in the first half for the second straight game and are limping toward the finishh line of their first playoff season since 2008.dddddddddddd Among Washington coach Randy Wittmans reviews: "To have no more energy or drive or enthusiasm than we showed in that first half, its disappointing. ... I was just not expecting to come out and go through the motions. ... When you dont put effort in, youre not going to have (a) good showing." Added veteran Gortat: "I guess were immature and just not experienced enough and I guess everything starts in the practice. The first few minutes were walking and just fooling around and this is how you start a game." Such comments put the focus on young All-Star Wall, who went 6 for 18 from the field and committed five turnovers. Wall disagreed with his coachs "go through the motions" assessment. "I dont feel that way," Wall said. "I feel like we competed. ... The last couple of games we havent been able to knock down shots." Wall had called this game the most important of the year, but he also made a whirlwind overnight trip to Texas on Monday to watch Kentucky lose the NCAA championship game. He said that had "nothing to do" with his performance. "I practiced yesterday and had a good day," Wall said. "Came here and had a game today. Its not like I went the night before." Trevor Ariza, who has been battling the flu, went 0 for 6 from the field for the Wizards. Washington was 1 for 15 from 3-point range. The Wizards again made defence optional in the early going, echoing their beatdown by the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. But Washington hit its stride in the third quarter and took its first lead of the game on Bradley Beals 15-foot jumper with 5:28 to play. Jefferson forced overtime with a layup that tied the game with 3.2 seconds remaining. Wall didnt get a shot off as time expired in regulation. Notes: Wizards F Nene, back after missing six-plus weeks with a sprained left knee, was understandably rusty. He missed all four of his free throws and finished with 10 points in 17 minutes. ... It was Walls third career triple-double and second this season. ... Bobcats F Josh McRoberts returned after missing three games with a sprained left ankle. ' ' '