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MINNEAPOLIS -- It wasnt always pretty, but considering the position theyve put themselves in this year, the Tampa Bay Rays cant be too picky. Cleveland Browns Michael Bowie Mens Alternate Jersey Elite Nike NFL Orange . James Loney had two hits and two RBIs and Chris Archer won consecutive decisions for the first time this season as the Rays won their fifth straight with a 5-3 victory against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. At one point this season it appeared the Rays might have dug too deep a hole to recover. On June 10 they were 24-42, but since that low-water mark theyve gone 23-11 and pulled to within eight games of first place in the AL East. "Were just trying to concentrate on the moment and not thinking that far ahead," Loney said. "And were not thinking about what we did yesterday." The Rays, who went on an 11-4 tear going into the All-Star break, matched their longest winning streak of the season against the punchless Twins, who scored six runs in the three-game series. But they didnt make it easy on themselves Sunday. They committed two errors, both leading to Minnesota runs. They also gave the Twins a run on a wild pitch. And on offence, they stranded 12 runners, including nine in scoring position. "We had so many opportunities to score many more runs and when you keep not doing that you get kind of concerned," manager Joe Maddon said. "When you leave that many guys in scoring position you know its going to bite you at some point." Archer (6-5) pitched 6 1-3 innings, giving up one earned run on six hits while walking two and striking out four. Four relievers combined to get the last eight outs, with rookie Kirby Yates closing out the game for his first career save. Yates had to bail out Grant Balfour, who walked two batters with one out in the ninth. The first batter he faced was Brian Dozier, who took part in the home run derby at Target Field last Monday. But with the winning run at the plate, Yates got Dozier on a grounder to third and retired Eduardo Nunez on a pop out. "Kirby came in, did a nice job against Dozier who can definitely put the ball in the seats, and same thing with Nunez. I thought he was outstanding," said Maddon, who noted that veteran set-up man Joel Peralta was unavailable due to an illness. But he added that getting his young relievers some experience in high-leverage spots is part of his master plan. "We have to grow our bullpen to permit people to not have to pitch so often," Maddon said. "Weve got to get participation from 25 players, including some who are still in Triple-A, if were going to pull this off." Kevin Correia (5-12) took over the major league lead in losses, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks in four innings for Minnesota. The veteran right-hander gave up two runs in the first and single runs in each of the next two innings. In his previous seven starts, Correia was 3-4 but had a sparkling 2.30 ERA in 43 innings pitched. Instead, Correia got off to a shaky start on Sunday and never recovered. Desmond Jennings led off the game with a double, and Correia walked the next two batters to load the bases. Loney delivered two runs with a sharp single to give the Rays a lead. "You all saw it, 90 pitches in four innings and it was a hard 90, not an easy 90," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of Correias outing. "He laboured through it and kept the damage to a minimum. But he laboured through it." Notes: Evan Longorias second double of the game gave him 216 in his career, passing Carl Crawford for the most in franchise history. He also tied Crawford for the franchise lead with 592 career RBIs. . Twins 1B Joe Mauer swung a bat on Sunday for the first time since he went on the 15-day DL on July 2 with a strained right oblique. Twins GM Terry Ryan said that Mauer didnt face pitching or hit off a tee, but the "dry swings" were a sign that "things are going in the right direction." ... Ryan also said he would wait until Monday to announce the Twins starting pitcher for Tuesdays game against Cleveland. RHP Samuel Deduno, who has made eight starts this season for the Twins, pitched three innings of relief on Sunday and is not a candidate to start on Tuesday. Cleveland Browns Jabaal Sheard Mens Home Jersey Limited Nike NFL Brown . "I like the toughness factor in certain situations where last year and two years ago wed get bumped, get hit [and] wouldnt respond," Casey said an hour and a half before facing the league-best Thunder, a team that hadnt yet lost at home. Cleveland Browns Desmond Bryant Youth Home Jersey Elite Nike NFL Brown . Five first-round trades were made Tuesday night as well as another involving an early second-round selection. THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Zach Johnson is like most players at the World Challenge, not sure whether hes still playing in 2013 or if hes in the middle of the new wraparound season that officially started in October. All he knows is that hes leading. Johnson, who already has two official PGA Tour events under his belt in the "new season," came out a few days early to the unofficial World Challenge to work on new equipment with Titleist at its test centre in Carlsbad, and to meet with his team of coaches to outline goals for 2014 and to identify weakness. One priority is to score better on the par 5s, and Johnson wasted little time on that. Sherwood has five par 5s. He made birdie on four of them for a 5-under 67, giving him a one-shot lead over Matt Kuchar. Hunter Mahan and Bubba Watson were at 70, while tournament host Tiger Woods missed short putts at the beginning and end of his round and had to settle for a 71. "A highlight that were looking into next year is trying to play those holes a little bit better," Johnson said of the par 5s. "I dont know what I did that today. I hit it close. I had good shots in there with the proper spin, nothing more than that. But youve got to take advantage of them. Youve got five of them. The thing is ... one errant shot, youre staring a 6 right in the face, if not more. Theres a lot of penal areas." Johnson said he still considers Kapalua to be the start of the season. Woods, meanwhile, is still trying to get his head around the schedule change. He hasnt played an official tournament in the 2013-14 season. The only event he played was the Turkish Open, where he tied for third in the European Tour event. After this week, he wont play again until Torrey Pines at the end of January. Thats his usual starting point, except that the PGA Tour already has had six guys win tournaments. "To me, Im still on the old calendar, so to me this is the end of the year," Woods said. "I know that Im going to be pretty far behind on points by the time I tee up again, and thats just kind of the way its going to be. ... But you have the entire summer, you have the entire major championship season, you have the big events and then the playoffs. Anything can happen. But its going to be interesting to see how far behind some of us are when we start." This sure didnt feel likke summer. Cleveland Browns Joe Haden Youth Road Jersey Elite Nike NFL White. The temperature was in the upper 20s before the sun came up in the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains. There was a one-hour frost delay. A combination of firm turf, chilly weather, some breeze and firm greens made for tough scoring, and it showed. Steve Stricker was among those under par until a bogey-bogey-double bogey finish put him at 75. Jordan Spieth, coming off a sensational rookie season and playing for the first time since the HSBC Champions in Shanghai a month ago, had a 77 and was last in the field. Jason Day, who won the individual and team title at the World Cup two weeks ago at Royal Melbourne, had a 76. Rory McIlroy, with girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki following him, was hopeful of building momentum from his first win of the year last week in the Australian Open. He missed a few short putts, found the water on the par-3 15th and had a 73. He played with defending champion Graeme McDowell, who had a 72. McDowell saw a note that his last eight rounds at Sherwood were in the 60s. That streak ended Thursday, though for good reason. "The course hasnt been this tough in a couple years," McDowell said. "The scoring reflects that. The greens are much firmer. The speed of them caught me by surprise a little bit today. My speed was a little clumsy, and it showed today on the greens." This is the final year the tournament is being played at Sherwood. It moves to Isleworth just outside Orlando, Fla., next year. Any rust Woods felt had to do with the greens, which he said showed on some of his putts. "I made a few mistakes today," Woods said. "I also hit a couple of good shots that ended up in some interesting spots. That can happen out there. I shot about the score ... maybe could have gotten one or two more out of it." Johnson had few complaints. He opened with two birdies, and then surged ahead on the back nine with five birdies in a seven-hole stretch, three of them on the par 5s. Johnson has a pair of runner-up finishes at this event, and with the tournament moving, this is his last shot at Sherwood. "I did everything decent," he said. "Just a real solid day all around. I was aggressive when I needed to be aggressive, and I was conservative when I needed to be conservative. Its nothing more than a decent start." on that. cheap nfl jerseys [url=http://www.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com/]cheap jerseys[/u
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