MINNEAPOLIS - Despite 10 home runs in 10 career games at Target Field, Jose Bautista said there isnt anything special about the Minnesota Twins ballpark that helps him find his swing.
Rob Gronkowski Jersey. It has more to do with the opposing pitching staff than the stadium. "Aggressive pitching staff, they throw strikes," Bautista said after Toronto beat Minnesota 2-1 on Saturday night. "Missed some today, but I got the one that counted and its good enough for the win." Bautista homered for the third time in two nights and Drew Hutchison threw six strong innings for his second career win. Bautista has nine hits over his past 53 at-bats, but five of them have been home runs. He hit two in Friday nights loss, and his sixth-inning solo shot against Twins starter P.J. Walters (0-1) was the game-winner on Saturday. "There was not a lot of video on him, so we didnt really know if he had a preference on each side of the plate," Bautista said of Walters. "We just went out there and tried to get a good pitch to hit. He gave me a couple, but I managed to get the one that we needed." It was all the Blue Jays needed, with the Twins sputtering offensively and Hutchison showing poise in just his fifth appearance above Double-A. Hutchinson (2-1) allowed three hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Minnesotas run came in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk. "He bends, but he doesnt break," Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. "Tonight, much like weve seen in a couple other outings, theres that one inning where hell contribute to some trouble on the base paths, some traffic. But he kept away from the big inning." Francisco Cordero, Jason Frasor and Luis Perez combined for two innings of scoreless relief, and Casey Janssen picked up his second save in as many chances since taking over as closer for Cordero earlier in the week. Walters made his Twins debut starting in place of Francisco Liriano, who was demoted to the bullpen earlier in the week. He pitched well in his first major league start since 2010, when he played for St. Louis, allowing six hits in six innings while striking out five. "Obviously a little nervous getting out there the first inning or so, a few too many pitches, that type of thing," Walters said. "After that, I settled down and made some good pitches when I needed to." The struggling Twins offence couldnt come up with a timely hit. Minnesota went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position and stranded six runners over the final four innings. "We had plenty of chances, but it just didnt work out for us tonight," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. Hutchison breezed through his first three innings before running into trouble in the fourth, when he gave up the bases-loaded walk to Trevor Plouffe to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. The Jays tied it the next inning on Adam Linds RBI single that scored Colby Rasmus. Brian Dozier led off the sixth with a double off Hutchison, and Josh Willingham drew a one-out walk two batters later. But Hutchinson struck out Ryan Doumit and got Plouffe on a groundout. "The sixth inning might have been a growing experience for him tonight," Farrell said. Notes: Farrell picked up his 100th win as a manager. ... Twins slugger Justin Morneau (wrist) said he felt good after taking 25-30 swings off a tee before Saturdays game and was hopeful hed be able to play once hes eligible to come off the DL on Wednesday. "Well see once I start swinging more how everything goes, Im pretty happy so far," the former AL MVP said. ... Bautista also has 10 homers in 28 games at Fenway Park. "Theres an energy that you feel that he will give off when hes swinging the bat like hes capable," Farrell said before the game. "I think it just adds to the overall momentum that we can generate as a club and as a lineup." ... The Blue Jays and Twins wrap up their four-game series on Sunday when Toronto sends lefty Ricky Romero to the mound to face Minnesotas Scott Diamond.
Dwyane Wade Jersey. Freshman point guard John Wall set a Kentucky single-game record with 16 assists, breaking the mark of 15 previously set by Travis Ford in 1993. Darnell Dodson shot 6-of-10 from beyond the arc en route to a 19-point effort for the Wildcats (14-0), who received 16 points and five assists from Darius Miller.
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Rob Gronkowski Jersey. The Detroit Red Wings, who are off to a solid 8-3-1 start, will host the Phoenix Coyotes at Joe Louis Arena. Game time is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on Versus in the U.
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Kevin Love Jersey. 8, 2003 file photo, security officers stand guard outside of JW Marriott Hotel at its reopening day in Jakarta, Indonesia.DALLAS - Raymond Sawada not only gave himself a memorable birthday gift, he also helped the Dallas Stars overcome the loss of Brad Richards for one game. Sawada scored his first NHL goal on his 24th birthday, and Fabian Brunnstrom had a goal and an assist to lead the Stars past the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2 Thursday night. The rookie right wing, recalled from the minors earlier in the day, gave the Stars a 2-0 lead in his first career game. "Coming here, first and foremost, was a great birthday present," Sawada said. "Getting that goal and the win was even better." The Stars, who have won 10 of 13, were playing their first game since losing No. 2 scorer Richards to a fractured wrist. Richards, who had been among the teams best players after starting the season slowly, will be sidelined for up to eight weeks after sustaining the injury Monday night in a shootout victory at Columbus. Brunnstrom had his fifth game-winning goal of the season, which leads all rookies, after Edmonton rallied to tie it early in the second. Krys Barch, known for his physical play, had his fourth goal of the season to pick up the Stars in Richards absence. "Everyone knows that we have big names out of the lineup, big pieces of the puzzle," Stars centre Mike Ribeiro said. "I think guys were ready for Edmonton. To lose Brad is big, but hopefully it will keep us together and keep us pushing forward." Dallas Marty Turco, who had 21 saves, started his 28th straight game to extend a club record. Krys Barch and Jere Lehtinen chipped in with goals for Dallas. Liam Reddox and Shawn Horcoff had goals, and Dwayne Roloson stopped 21 shots for the Oilers who, along with Dallas, are jockeying for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. At 1:51 of the second, Ethan Moreau was called for roughing and tripping penalties to give the Stars a four-minute power play. The Stars capitalized just over a minute later when Brunnstrom took a pass from Loui Eriksson and beat Roloson from the right circle to giive the Stars a 3-2 lead.
Devin Hester Jersey. "We had a little bit of momentum in the second period when we came back and tied the game," Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish said. "But we got undisciplined in the penalties that we took, and that took the momentum away from us." Dallas, seventh in the West with 65 points, won the opener of a six-game homestand that lasts until March 1. Sawada had five goals in 48 games for Manitoba of the American Hockey League this season before his promotion to help fill in for Richards. After Barch scored to put the Stars on top 1-0, Sawada flipped a backhanded shot that got past Roloson at 16:36 of the first. "Ray is a great example of how young players develop in the minors," Dallas coach Dave Tippett said. "He has been well-coached and this is a hard step. "He was very good tonight." The Oilers responded with their first goal 24 seconds later when Reddox tipped in a rebound. Edmonton tied it 47 seconds into the second on Horcoffs goal. Edmonton is eighth in the West, three points behind Dallas. The Oilers capped a four-game road trip with a 2-2 record. MacTavish was disappointed his team didnt play better before heading home for four consecutive games. "The team that puts together a .750 road trip is one of the teams thats going to get into the playoffs," MacTavish said. "We could have really helped ourselves." After Brunnstroms go-ahead goal, the Stars built on their lead when Lehtinen scored at 8:17 of the third. Notes: Turco improved to 17-6 lifetime against Edmonton. ... The Oilers were without RW Fernando Pisani (ankle), D Lubomir Visnovsky (shoulder) and D Denis Grebeshkov (ankle). ... Edmonton hasnt won a season series against the Stars since they moved to Dallas in 1993. This was the final matchup between the teams this season and they split four games. ... Five players from both teams were called for 51 penalty minutes, including three 10-minute misconducts, during one incident near the Edmonton net with 5:07 left in the game. ' ' '