LOS ANGELES -- Zack Greinke and Jhoulys Chacin both had to grind through six innings Tuesday night.
[b]Jose Altuve Jersey[/b] . The difference for the Los Angeles Dodgers was the home run ball. Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run shot against Chacin before leaving with a hand injury, and Greinke got some critical outs with runners in scoring position during a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Matt Kemp also went deep and Carlos Triunfel hit his first major league home run after replacing Ramirez. Greinke (9-3) threw a season-high 117 pitches over six innings, allowing a run and three hits with five strikeouts and two walks. "It was definitely a tough game," said Greinke, who tied St. Louis Adam Wainwright and Cincinnatis Alfredo Simon for the NL lead in wins. "It seemed like they had guys on base every inning. There were a lot of foul balls on two-strike counts where they just kept fighting it off. So it gets really tough." Ramirez, a three-time All-Star shortstop and the 2009 NL batting champion, left in the seventh with a bruised ring finger on his right hand after Corey Dickersons hard grounder to him deflected into short centre field for an RBI double that trimmed the Dodgers lead to 3-2. "That was a rocket -- kind of an in-between hop to Hanley," said Rockies manager Walt Weiss, who played 1,397 games at shortstop in the majors and 37 of them at Dodger Stadium. "Theres not much you can do there as a shortstop. You hope that you can smother it if it falls at your feet, but that ball was hit so hard, theres not a lot that Hanley could do on that one." X-rays on Ramirezs throwing hand were negative. "Thats great news for us. We obviously dodged a big bullet," catcher A.J. Ellis said. "Hanleys probably the biggest part of our lineup when were going right. He carried us last year, and I feel like hes getting close to that point where he can carry us again. Hes definitely one of the best bats in all of baseball, and well be happy to get him back whenever hes ready." Triunfel took over at shortstop and reliever J.P. Howell gave way to Brandon League. The Rockies loaded the bases, but League retired Wilin Rosario on a grounder to third. Triunfel provided an insurance run against Tommy Kahnle with a towering drive that landed in the lower seats in the left-field corner. Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless eighth and Kenley Jansen got three outs for his 20th save, the third straight season that the former catcher has reached that figure. Chacin (1-5) gave up three runs, seven hits and three walks in six innings. The right-hander escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth when he retired pinch-hitter Justin Turner on a popup. "I knew he didnt want to come out of that game. I just went out there to check with him and make sure he was OK," Weiss said. "I wanted to let him try to get through that inning because he battled all night, so I felt he earned that. He stepped up and pitched his way through that inning." Eleven members of the Los Angeles Kings escorted the Stanley Cup to Dodger Stadium for a pregame ceremony, four days after they won their second NHL championship in three years. The Dodgers posed with them for a group photo, then showed off their own "power play" as Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the third and Kemp led off the fourth with his seventh of the season. Greinke also received some defensive help. Rookie third baseman Miguel Rojas robbed Dickerson in the third with a skidding, backhanded stop down the line. Right fielder Yasiel Puig took away a potential bloop single from Rosario in the fourth with a diving grab after a long run. Greinke got through the first unscathed after giving up one-out singles by Dickerson and Troy Tulowitzki. The Rockies loaded the bases with none out in the sixth, but all they got off Greinke was a sacrifice fly from Rosario. "Zack competed. They really battled him hard and he really grinded through some tough innings," Ellis said. "That was huge for us. That inning could have spiraled out of control and really depleted our bullpen." NOTES: Conn Smythe Trophy winner Justin Williams and his now clean-shaven Kings teammates took batting practice, fielded grounders and shagged flies. Each player threw a ceremonial first pitch simultaneously to a corresponding Dodger. After that, Kings defenceman Willie Mitchell carried the Cup over to the Rockies dugout, where he posed with Canadian-born 1B Justin Morneau. ... Rockies RHP Nick Masset began serving the three-game suspension he received from Major League Baseball on Tuesday for throwing at Atlanta catcher Evan Gattis last Thursday. Masset also was fined an undisclosed amount. ... The Dodgers signed their first-round draft pick, RHP Grant Holmes, the 22nd overall selection out of Conway High School in South Carolina. He got a $2.5 million signing bonus. ... Chacin was coming off a 10-3 victory against Atlanta in which he held the Braves to two hits over seven scoreless innings. ... Ramirez came in 0 for 9 against Chacin, who had allowed four homers in 45 2-3 innings over his eight previous starts this season.
[b]Will Harris Jersey[/b] .That is precisely what they got Sunday.The Ravens trailed at halftime and never built a comfortable lead against lowly Jacksonville, yet did just enough to squeeze out a 20-12 win to stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race.
[b]J. R. Richard Jersey[/b] . The club was unable to retain hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, who is bound for Atlanta. Seitzer replaces Greg Walker, who was assisted by Scott Fletcher this season as the Braves finished 79-83.STANFORD, Calif. -- Jurgen Klinsmann tried to dance around the questions: Why take unproven youngsters to the World Cup and leave Landon Donovan home? A day after announcing his momentous decision to drop the most accomplished player in American mens soccer, the U.S. coach hinted at answers without ever saying specifically why Donovan was among the final seven cuts. "As a coach, you have to make a decision based on what you want to execute in Brazil, what you want to see, how do you want to build those components into the entire group. And then I felt -- we coaches felt -- the guys that we chose, theyre a little step ahead of Landon in certain areas," Klinsmann said Friday. The 32-year-old Donovan, the American record holder with 57 international goals and second with 156 appearances, was trying to make his fourth World Cup roster. He is scoreless in seven games with the Los Angeles Galaxy this season, and Klinsmann dropped him from the roster for the first half of 2013 after Donovan took a four-month sabbatical. Asked for specifics, Klinsmann said Donovan "maybe is not the one now anymore to go one against one all the time or going into the box or finishing off." But the coach praised "his outstanding passing game, his experience, which is a big factor always." "He changed his game over the last few years, which is normal at that stage of his career," Klinsmann said. Donovan has five World Cup goals, including a stoppage-time score against Algeria four years ago that advanced the Americans to the second round. "We all have an incredible amount of respect and appreciation and admiration for everything that Landon has done for this team and for soccer in this country," said Toronto FCs Michael Bradley. "To see him walk out the door yesterday, to see six other guys walk out the door yesterday, is not easy." Klinsmann said Donovan took the decision Thursday "with an amazing composure." "Obviously, big disappointment. That is expected, and he said that, he doesnt kind of understand it," Klinsmann said. "He thinks he should have been in the 23." Donovan was scheduled to discuss the decision Saturday after training with the Galaxy. "Just sad for all the guys who got cut and what comes with it," U.S. captain Clint Dempsey said. "You bring inn 30 players who have a lot of quality and it makes difficult decisions for the coaches to make.
[b]Luis Gonzalez Jersey[/b]. " Klinsmann said he hopes Donovan remains in the player pool in the future: The Americans have the CONCACAF Gold Cup next year and the Copa America in 2016, when qualifying for the next World Cup also starts. Donovan also could return for the World Cup if there is an injury to one of the players selected for the roster. "How this new cycle will start after Brazil obviously depends a lot on the outcome in Brazil," Klinsmann said, "but the vision is, absolutely, that Landon continues his national team career." A World Cup champion with West Germany and European champion with Germany, Klinsmann was hired in July 2011. Less than a week after the Americans were drawn in December into a difficult World Cup group with Ghana, Portugal and Germany, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Klinsmanns contract had been extended through 2018. He maintained the new deal didnt make him think more toward the future when making his picks. "This is based on today. This is based on what hopefully goes well the next seven, eight weeks, so that had nothing to do with my contract or with the perspective that those young players have for the longer run," he said. His roster includes 18-year-old winger Julian Green, who made his national team debut last month and has just six minutes of first-team experience with Bayern Munich; 21-year-old central defender Anthony Brooks, who has three international appearances; and 20-year-old right back DeAndre Yedlin, whose only national team appearances were as a second-half substitute this year. "Some have a learning curve ahead of them, theres no doubt about it," Klinsmann said. "But they are ready for that learning curve, and they might surprise some people out there." Since returning to the World Cup in 1990 after a 40-year absence, the U.S. has alternated first-round elimination with advancement. The Americans open against Ghana, which knocked them out in the group stage in 2006 and the second round last time. "As of today Im very strongly convinced this is the right way to go for it," Klinsmann said. "Now time will tell. If Im not getting the job done at the end of the day, you know the outcome of things in the soccer world." ' ' '
