AFK Shakes n Fidget Gilde » Forum » offtopic » and in the locker room, has gotten ugly.Injuries to such key players as Earl Thomas, Tyler Eifert, Jimmy Garoppolo and three Falcons defensive starters not only were tough to watch, but could have long-range impacts on their careers and their teams’ chances.Finally, the officiating.Coaches grit their
TORONTO — The Detroit Tigers will start a former Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Saturday afternoon for the second game in a row in another attempt to end a losing streak that has reached 10 games.
Former Blue Jays left-hander Francisco Liriano could not do the job Friday night — allowing three runs in six innings — as the Blue Jays defeated the Tigers 3-2 in the opener of a four-game series at the Rogers Centre.
This time http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/greg-little-jersey-authentic , the former Blue Jay is Matt Boyd (4-6, 4.15 ERA), who will face Toronto right-hander Sam Gaviglio (2-2, 3.98) in the second game of the series.
The Tigers (36-47), who are 13-26 on the road, have lost 10 games in a row for the first time since Sept. 13-22, 2003, the season in which they lost 119 games.
“We had some opportunities, but it’s the same story,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “You pitch really good and you don’t score, or you don’t pitch good enough and it just extends on. The guys are really trying, they’re bothered out there and they’re frustrated. They want to win, the guys are really pushing hard in the dugout, but it’s just not happening right now.”
The Tigers have lost 11 of their past 13 games in Toronto.
The Blue Jays (38-43), who were returning from a 3-4 road trip that easily could have been better, have won nine of their past 10 home games. They are 21-20 at home.
Boyd took the loss Sunday at Cleveland when he allowed six runs Will Grier Jersey , eight hits and two walks while striking out five in three innings.
The start Saturday will be his 16th of the season.
In four career starts against the Blue Jays, Boyd is 0-1 with a 4.24 ERA. He did not factor in the decision June 2 against Toronto at Comerica Park when he gave up four runs, six hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out three.
Boyd, who was sent to the Tigers July 30, 2015, as part of the trade that sent David Price to the Blue Jays, is 0-3 with an 8.66 ERA in four career starts at the Rogers Centre.
Gaviglio will be making his 10th appearance and eighth start of the season.
In his past three starts, he is 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA and has pitched only 12 innings.
He has faced the Tigers once in his career, allowing two runs in five innings in a no decision.
The Tigers have been outscored 64-26 during their losing streak.
Before the game Friday, the Blue Jays selected the contract of utility player Darnell Sweeney from Triple-A Buffalo. He was batting .232 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 47 games. He has played all infield positions except first base, both corner outfield positions and also pitched a scoreless inning.
Sweeney takes the roster spot of outfielder Steve Pearce, who was traded Thursday night to the Boston Red Sox for shortstop Santiago Espinal, who will play at Class A Dunedin.
Moving Pearce means that Kendrys Morales will again see regular use as the designated hitter and breaks up a logjam in the outfield. The Blue Jays return to four outfielders with Teoscar Hernandez, Randal Grichuk, Kevin Pillar and Curtis Granderson.
Espinal, 23 http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/christian-miller-jersey-authentic , batted .313 with seven homers and 32 RBIs in 65 games with Class A Salem in the Red Sox organization.
“Middle-of-the-diamond players, you can’t have enough of them,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Friday. “The athleticism, that’s where it all begins. If you can play in the middle, you can often play anywhere else, so that’s first and foremost. (Espinal) is an above-average runner and performing well at a decent level, so there’s plenty to like.”
NEW YORK (AP) — One-quarter of the way through the schedule, minus the Panthers and Redskins who had byes in Week 4, there’s one obvious trend in the NFL: Nobody knows anything.Still, we’ll try to decipher what happened in a September that saw some early season swoons and some sizzling starts.THE GOODThe NFL wants offense, offense and more offense. If a game winds up 60-55, the folks on Park Avenue will have no problem with it.So the points explosion the Rams and Chiefs put forth in the first four games deserve praise for their entertainment value, and perhaps for pleasing the upper echelon bosses of the league. Both teams have young, strong-armed gamblers at quarterback, dynamic running backs, and schemes that befuddle defenses.Kudos Jordan Scarlett Jersey , too, go to some of the unexpectedly impressive teams through the opening month. We talk of:—Cincinnati . Although the defense hasn’t quite come around, the Bengals (3-1) have displayed enough with the ball, averaging 31.5 points despite playing three road games. There’s a resilience this club rarely has displayed in recent seasons, best exhibited by the way the Bengals rallied to win at Atlanta on Sunday.“We didn’t flinch,” quarterback Andy Dalton said. “We just kept going. That’s what you need to be a really good team and to be a good offense.”—Baltimore . And most notably, Joe Flacco, who with a new and much stronger receiving group, has looked like the guy who helped the Ravens (3-1) win the 2012 championship. Almost always possessing a reliable defense, Baltimore has yielded 65 points; only Jacksonville among clubs that have played four times has yielded fewer.—Tennessee . Talk about resilience, the Titans (3-1) have won three straight, each by three points. The gumption they showed in overtime versus defending Super Bowl champ Philadelphia — converting three fourth-down plays in overtime, one via penalty — is a great sign in Music City.—Chicago . Monsters of the Midway indeed. It’s been a while since a trade just before the season kicked off has had the kind of impact of the Bears (3-1) getting Khalil Mack from Oakland. This is a defense that should keep Chicago in every game — don’t go overboard, Bears fans, by Mitchell Trubisky’s six touchdown passes against a befuddled and, at times disinterested group of Buccaneers — and that bodes well for winter time for a recently downtrodden team.—Cleveland. Hey David Montgomery Jersey , the Browns (1-2-1) have a win already. And a tie.—TV ratings. They are up and, as we get closer to cold and nasty weather, the numbers figure to continue climbing.THE BADLet’s start with the new head coaches, who have a combined mark of 10-18, including Arizona, the only winless team at 0-4. Steve Wilks has a defensive background, but the Cardinals have allowed 94 points while scoring a measly 37. Already, 13 teams have scored at least 37 points in a game.You must score consistently to win in the current NFL.Chicago’s Matt Nagy and Tennessee’s Mike Vrabel (see above) each are 3-1. Indianapolis’ Frank Reich, Oakland’s Jon Gruden, Detroit’s Matt Patricia and the Giants’ Pat Shurmur all are 1-3.Also not worth bragging about:—10-minute OTs. The 2017 rule change had no effect as there were no ties. Already we’ve had two this season, nearly had three more on Sunday, and a perhaps unintended consequence of the shortening of overtime from 15 minutes, generally for player safety, could be coming. The OT structure allows the team that kicks off to begin the extra session to get the ball if the opponent opens with a field goal. What if that opponent uses up all 10 minutes and kicks a three-pointer to win it as overtime expires?—The malaise plaguing supposed Super Bowl contenders in Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Atlanta, all playing far below expectations and revealing some alarming weak spots.SHIELD YOUR EYESLe’Veon Bell’s holdout and what it has done to the Steelers http://www.bearsfootballauthentics.com/riley-ridley-jersey-authentic , on the field and in the locker room, has gotten ugly.Injuries to such key players as Earl Thomas, Tyler Eifert, Jimmy Garoppolo and three Falcons defensive starters not only were tough to watch, but could have long-range impacts on their careers and their teams’ chances.Finally, the officiating.Coaches grit their teeth or, in the case of Packers’ Mike McCarthy, slam their play sheet to the ground. Players demonstratively protest calls and reversals of calls. Broadcasters, including former NFL officiating chiefs, wonder aloud where that decision came from and how it was reached. Owners probably throw food around in their luxury boxes.Points of emphasis become so emphasized that they exceed their intent. Hey, a Miami Dolphin gets hurt trying to avoid landing too hard on a quarterback in fear of getting a penalty for something that physics say is unavoidable.Video replay in September became more intrusive than ever, and perhaps even a bit unreliable.Of course, there are three more months to go. Let’s see what October brings.