Post by lingzi on Sept 20, 2012 6:42:32 GMT 1
(Sports Network) - Its been almost a month since Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero tasted victory, and he has a tough task ahead of him this afternoon to try to turn things around when he faces the New York Yankees. Vince Wilfork Jersey . Romero is 0-4 with an 8.14 earned run average in his last four starts and last prevailed on June 22 at Miami. Romero turned in a quality start in Fridays 1-0 loss to Cleveland and gave up the lone run and six hits in six innings. He is 8-5 in 19 starts this season and managed to lower his earned run average to 5.03. The left-hander will face the Yankees for the first this season and is 3-3 with a 5.65 ERA in 10 starts against them. He also is 3-2 with a 4.95 ERA in seven starts at Yankee Stadium, spanning 43 2/3 innings. Romero went 1-2 in four starts against the Yankees last season. Toronto hopes to salvage the finale of this set in the Bronx before heading to Fenway Park for a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox. With slugger Jose Bautista on the disabled list with a wrist ailment, the Jays displayed no power last night. Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind finished with two hits apiece for Toronto, which lost for the sixth time in nine tries. Colby Rasmus provided the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. Encarnacion has recorded a hit in 23 of his last 24 games on the road, dating back to May 13. Brett Cecil started for the Blue Jays and was dealt the loss for surrendering three runs and six hits in six innings. Sam Dyson allowed three more runs in relief. "It was a pretty solid outing," said Cecil. "I kept the ball down for the majority of the game." Toronto won two meetings with New York back in May, but has lost seven in a row at Yankee Stadium, getting outscored 42-20 in that time. The Blue Jays seven straight losses at Yankee Stadium marks their longest road losing streak against New York since dropping eight straight from June 23, 1995-June 4, 1996. The Yankees lead the majors with 145 home runs and target their eighth series sweep of the season (one short of 2011). They have scored six runs in each of the first two games of this series and are coming off Tuesdays 6-1 triumph behind the return of All-Star left-hander CC Sabathia. Sidelined with a strained groin, Sabathia was activated off the disabled list in time to toss six scoreless innings. He struck out six batters, walked one and allowed four hits for his 10th win of the season (10-3). "He looked like he (did) before he got hurt," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said of Sabathia. "He did exactly what weve come to expect." Five relievers held the Blue Jays to a run the rest of the way and closer Rafael Soriano nailed down his 24th save by getting the final two outs in the ninth inning. New York, which leads the AL East by 9 1/2 games ahead of Tampa Bay, has won eight of 10 games and has scored three or more runs in 41 straight games. The team record is 49 games from Sept. 7, 1950 through May 16, 1951. Cleveland did it in 48 games back in 1994. Andruw Jones hit a three-run homer and Robinson Cano went 1-for-4 with a run scored to extend his career-high hitting streak to 20 games. Cano has 13 runs, six homers, 20 RBI and 11 multi-hit games during the surge. The Yankees have homered 44 times in the past 23 contests and are 38-2 when holding opponents to three runs or less. The Yankees will start a seven-game road trip out west following todays game and will visit both Oakland and Seattle. Taking the mound for New York Wednesday will be Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda has been shelled in each of his last two starts -- both no-decisions -- and has allowed a total of 11 earned runs. He took the hill in Fridays 6-5 win over the LA Angels of Anaheim and gave up five runs and eight hits in 7 1/3 innings. He is still 8-7 on the season with a 3.67 earned run average in 18 starts. Kuroda is 6-3 in 10 starts at Yankee Stadium in 2012 and lost his only appearance against the Blue Jays in an 8-1 loss on May 16 up north. The Japanese right-hander was reached for seven runs and eight hits in five innings. Troy Polamalu Womens Jersey . Jeff Withey netted 12 points as the Jayhawks (16-3, 6-0 Big 12) picked up their ninth straight win. JCovan Brown finished with a game-high 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Longhorns (12-7, 2-4), who suffered their first loss in 12 home games this season. Heath Miller Jersey . "The Grey Cup really belongs to every Canadian, so our goal for this special year of the 100th Grey Cup game is to bring it to as many cities, towns and Canadians as we can," said CFL commissioner Mark Cohon in a statement. Dustin Keller Jersey . But whether or not he chases the real Cup with the Edmonton Oilers wont be known until the NHL draft later this month. Aaron Hernandez Jersey . The Austrian, who was four strokes off the lead going into the final round, finished with an overall 19-under 269. He is the second Austrian winner of the event after Markus Brier in 2006. Brian Cushing Womens Jersey . "I will give them a full explanation of what has happened this week so they can have complete comfort about the actions of the organizing committee, and the two sports and the IOC, in preparing the track," John Furlong, VANOCs chief executive officer, told The Canadian Press on Thursday. CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Bronson Arroyo hasnt seen many good second halves in his seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, so the veteran right-hander is trying to enjoy this one as much as he can. Arroyo shook off a shaky start, Todd Frazier hit a two-run home run and Ryan Ludwick and Jay Bruce added solo shots as the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 in the opener of a four-game weekend series on Friday night. Cincinnati, coming off a loss to the New York Mets on Thursday that snapped a five-game winning streak, began the day leading the NL Central by six games and improved to a major league-best 25-9 since the All-Star break. "Usually, weve had big slides in the second half, and thats taken the wind out of our sails," Arroyo said. "This year, we feel like the balls always rolling in your direction." Manager Dusty Baker liked knowing the Reds would at least pick up ground on one of their two closest pursuers with second-place Pittsburgh playing at third-place St. Louis. "Any time you win, its good, but with the Pirates playing the Cardinals, you know youre going to pick up ground on somebody," he said. Arroyo (9-7) has been a big part of the surge, improving to 5-1 in his last six starts. He gave up nine hits and three runs with three walks, three strikeouts and a wild pitch in 6 1-3 innings. Jose Arredondo, Jonathan Broxton and Aroldis Chapman combined to pitch scoreless relief the rest of the way. The Reds had six extra-base hits in five innings against streaky former teammate Travis Wood (4-9), who has lost his last six decisions after winning four straight starts. Luis Valbuena led off the second with his fourth homer of the season and first since June 29 against Houston. His 418-foot fly into the right-centre field seats gave Chicago a 1-0 lead. The Reds tied it in the bottom of the inning when Frazier scored from second on Woods error as he tried to handle first baseman Anthony Rizzos throw on Ryan Hanigans grounder. Chicago capitalized on another Reds fielding misplay to take a 3-1 lead in the fourth. After Castro led off with a single and Valbuena flied out, Brett Jackson hit a line drive to second baseman Brandon Phillips that got away from him after he appeared to be distracted by the passing Castro. Castro went to third on what was ruled a single and scored on a wild pitch to Steve Clevenger, who then walked. Wood drove Jackson in fromm second with a single to centre for the pitchers first RBI of the season. Marcell Dareus Jersey. The Reds then got five runs and six hits in the bottom half of the inning, starting with Ludwicks 23rd homer of the season, a 425-foot drive into the left field seats on Woods first pitch of the inning. Wood hit Bruce with a pitch, and Frazier gave the Reds a 4-3 lead by hitting a 2-2 pitch 419 feet into the left field seats for his 16th homer of the season. "I couldnt really tell you what was going on," Frazier said. "He throws that cutter a lot. I was sitting on it. That was a big five-run inning for us." Cincinnati added two runs with two outs on doubles by Arroyo and Zack Cozart and a triple by Drew Stubbs. "It didnt look good for a while, but we answered back when they scored," Baker said. "We were on (Wood) pretty good in that inning." Wood allowed more runs and hits in that inning than the five hits and one run he allowed in seven innings against Cincinnati last Sunday in Chicago. "The doors fell off," he said. "We took a game plan out there, and I didnt make adjustments soon enough." Fridays Wood obviously wasnt the same as last Sundays, Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "He probably spent everything he had in that last outing," Sveum said. "He velocity was down, and his pitches were flat. He went into a gunfight with a knife." Bruce hit Woods 0-1 pitch 411 feet into the right-field seats with one out in the fifth for his 25th homer of the season. The streaky Wood, traded with two other players by Cincinnati to Chicago for pitcher Sean Marshall during the off-season, lasted five innings, getting roughed up for nine hits and seven runs -- six earned -- with three strikeouts. NOTES: RHP Todd Redmond is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Saturday to start the second game for the Reds in their split doubleheader against the Cubs. Redmond, acquired from Atlanta for INF Paul Janish on July 14, has been recalled three times by two teams this season, but hes still waiting to make his major league debut. ... The Cubs are expected to recall LHP Brooks Raley from Triple-A Iowa to face Redmond. ... Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan flipped the coin to determine who would serve first for Fridays Western & Southern Open tennis quarterfinal match between Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber in suburban Cincinnati. ' ' '