e to beat the Oakland Athletics in 12 dramatic from zgr123's blog
OAKLAND, Calif. Dalvin Cook Jersey . -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox. Ortiz connected for a leadoff home run in the 10th inning, and the Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 7-6 on Sunday to avoid a four-game series sweep. "I like to go out there and make things happen," Ortiz said. "Weve had a good game, had a good series and then we go back to struggles. So hopefully everything changes at some point." Ortiz was the only Boston starter without a hit until he lined a 1-2 pitch from Fernando Abad (2-3) over the wall in left-centre for his 17th homer. The Red Sox had to go extra innings after letting a 6-1 lead slip away. The As scored three runs in the eighth, and then homered twice in the ninth against Koji Uehara (3-1). The closer had converted 31 consecutive save opportunities dating to 2013. "Im getting hit on day games," Uehara said through an interpreter. "I think its because Im old. Im not woken up." The Red Sox pulled within 6 1/2 games of first-place Toronto in the AL East. New York and Baltimore are 1 1/2 games back. Ortizs homer came four days after the designated hitter belted a tying drive in the 10th inning of a 2-1 victory against Minnesota. "He does have the knack for the moment," Boston manager John Farrell said. "More than anything he stays at rest or at peace mentally in those key spots and doesnt miss his pitch when he gets it." Mike Napoli and David Ross also homered for Boston, which had been limited to two runs or fewer in eight consecutive games. Napoli scored another run as part of a double steal, and former As player Jonny Gomes added a two-run single. Oaklands late surge negated a strong outing by Boston starter Jon Lester. Lester, who had a career-high 15 strikeouts against the As earlier this season, allowed two earned runs and four hits over 7 2-3 innings. He struck out four and walked two. The veteran left-hander left after hitting Craig Gentry and walking Jed Lowrie with two outs in the eighth. Burke Badenhop came in and gave up three consecutive RBI singles to make it 6-4 before Andrew Miller got pinch-hitter Coco Crisp to line out to shortstop. Uehara, who had the longest successful save streak in the majors, blew a shot at extending his impressive run when he yielded home runs by Stephen Vogt and pinch-hitter John Jaso. "Thats a good example of the kind of grit and determination this team has," said Oakland closer Sean Doolittle, who grounded out to second as a pinch hitter in the 10th. "Night after night it seems like its only a matter of time before our offence finds a way to come through and push some runs across." Oakland catcher Derek Norris had to leave the game in the 10th after a frightening situation when he was hit in the back of the head by Gomes bat on a follow-through swing. Norris immediately dropped to the ground as home plate Greg Gibson quickly called for As trainers. Norris was eventually helped to his feet and walked to the dugout. He was taken to a hospital as precaution and was scheduled to undergo a CAT scan. Boston broke out of its week-long scoring slump and got to Tommy Milone after loading the bases with two outs in the first on two singles and a walk. Gomes two-run single put the Red Sox up 2-0. Ross, who homered off Milone earlier this season at Fenway Park, did it again on the first pitch in the second. NOTES: Oaklands last four-game sweep of Boston came in 1971 at Fenway Park. ... Oakland 1B Kyle Blanks left after getting thrown out at home in the second. Blanks has been nursing a calf strain and aggravated it while sliding into home plate. ... With two days off in the next week, the As plan to skip Sonny Grays turn in the rotation. Gray, who has yet to pitch a full season in the majors, has already logged a team-leading 99 innings. ... Boston OF Shane Victorino (right hamstring strain) took batting practice with Triple-A Pawtucket but did not play. .. Red Sox RHP John Lackey (8-4) pitches the series opener against Seattle on Monday. ... It was Oaklands eighth sellout of the season. Ben Gedeon Vikings Jersey . -- 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. Ben Gedeon Youth Jersey . With the Nets winning streak in jeopardy, Williams scored 23 points, 11 in the final six minutes, to lead Brooklyn to a 104-99 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The game had been over for hours. Kauffman Stadium had gone dark. The roars of a sold-out crowd, which had rooted the Kansas City Royals to a sweep of the mighty Los Angeles Angels, had drifted away into the cool night air.A few miles away, at a bar and grill called McFaddens, the party was just beginning.Greg Holland had showed up, the All-Star closer watching with a grin as highlights of the game played on television. Salvador Perez and Jarrod Dyson, both integral parts in the Royals playoff push, posed with fans for more pictures than they could count. First baseman Eric Hosmer put down his credit card and for a full hour picked up the tab for hundreds of strangers.Its fun to get to enjoy it with the whole entire city. Its a special time, Hosmer said a few days later. I think the buildup to this, its been so long. Theyve been hungry for a winner. What were doing now has just been a blast.So much so that Hosmer didnt mind his credit card taking a hit — he shared the $15,000 bar bill with some teammates — after beating the Angels in their AL Divisional Series.We realize how bad the fans want it, how bad the city wants it, Hosmer explained. I think this team symbolizes the attitude of this city — tough, were not going to quit and were going to fight to the end. Its a pretty special bond weve created.Its a pretty rare bond, too, in modern professional sports.As the Royals prepare to play the San Francisco Giants in the World Series on Tuesday night, capping their first post-season appearance since winning the title in 1985, the relationship they have established with their long-suffering fans harkens back to a bygone era.Its reminiscent of a time when players lived in the same neighbourhood as working-class fans, because they too were working class. When they had to find off-season jobs just to make ends meet, long before million-dollar contracts. When you walked into the barbershop or the supermarket and would see Duke Snider or Red Schoendienst getting a trim or perusing the vegetables.Only now, players and fans are connecting over drinks at a bar in the trendy Power and Light District of Kansas City. Or theyre connecting on Twitter in 140-word bursts.Didnt hear about that one? Well, life-long Royals fan Nicholas Knapple didnt have the cash for playoff tickets, so he messaged a few players on Twitter with a pplea. Dalvin Cook Youth Jersey. . One of them was Brandon Finnegan. The rookie pitcher promptly hooked him up.Knapple found himself watching Game 3 of the AL Championship Series against the Baltimore Orioles with his girlfriend and Finnegans mom — and an entire section filled with friends and family of other Royals players.After the seventh inning, his mom told us we were going downstairs for the celebration, Knapple said in a phone interview. So after the game, we got to go down outside the clubhouse. We got to meet Danny Duffy, take pictures. It was unbelievable.About as unbelievable as the Royals post-season run.The happy marriage between the Royals and their fans was a rocky relationship earlier this summer. Third baseman Mike Moustakas was getting booed off the field. Manager Ned Yost had gone back to using an alias when he ordered at Starbucks. Even longtime designated hitter Billy Butler was starting to feel the wrath of a fan base that had been pining for success.Then two fans popped onto the Royals radar, and things seemed to change.One was Tim Grimes, a 28-year-old fan battling Stage 4 cancer. Doctors gave him a 5 per cent chance of surviving the next 18 months. He is spending it relishing every pitch and every hit.The other was SungWoo Lee, a fan from South Korea. He wakes up in the middle of the night, every night, to watch the Royals online. In August, he finally made it to Kansas City.Perhaps it was coincidence, perhaps it was fate. But at the same time their stories were told, the Royals started to win. They climbed out of a deep hole in the AL Central, made a big push for the pennant, and then qualified for the wild-card game.Then they rallied from a four-run hole to beat the Oakland Athletics in 12 dramatic innings.I think thats really when it all came together, said Bob Fescoe, the host of a popular morning talk show on 610 Sports in Kansas City. The players saw the way the fans reacted, and the way fans cheered for them and stayed through that entire game.In fact, they keep staying through games, until long after theyre over. When the Royals clinched their first pennant in 29 years, security had to begin ushering them out of the ballpark so the cleaning crews could begin their work.No matter. There was almost certainly a party they could go to somewhere.Good chance that some of the Royals were already there. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
The Wall