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an play around the infield. Its a role Izturis became accustomed to in Anaheim. So, if the Jays go with an eight-man
BALTIMORE -- The Chicago White Sox had yielded 14 hits, including a career-high 11 by starter Chris Sale, yet still stood poised to end their four-game losing streak. And then the magic vanished. Chris Davis hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the ninth inning off Ronald Belisario to doom to the White Sox to a 6-4 defeat Monday night. Chicago had no right to be in position to win, given that the Orioles got a hit in every inning and finished with three home runs. Sale, who came in 6-1 with a 2.20 ERA, worked out of one jam after another in six innings. The left-hander walked one, hit a batter and had a season-low three strikeouts. "My own manager was calling me Houdini," Sale said. "I just got lucky in some cases. I should have lost that game easily in terms of giving up more runs." Davis was excluded from the starting lineup after batting just .130 in his previous 14 starts. Called upon by manager Buck Showalter with runners on first and second and one out in the ninth, Davis launched a 3-2 pitch into the right-field seats. "I made a mistake with it," Belasario (3-4) said. "For me, its pretty tough. Im trying to get my job done, but things happen." Davis, who led the majors in home runs and RBIs last year, started the game in the dugout with a .216 batting average and 78 strikeouts in 218 at-bats. Adam Jones and Caleb Joseph also homered for the Orioles, who trailed 4-2 in the eighth before rallying to hand the White Sox their eighth straight road loss. Brad Brach (1-0) pitched two hitless innings for Baltimore. Jose Abreu hit his 22nd homer and drove in three runs for Chicago, which went 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. "Bad times are part of this and I think what we have to do is we have to play together," Abreu said. "We have to get united. Tough times are going to be there. Thats part of the game." Chicago trailed 2-1 until Abreu led off the sixth with a drive over the wall in centre. Dayan Viciedo followed with a double and Conor Gillaspie chased Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen with a run-scoring double. An RBI double by Abreu made it 4-2 in the seventh. The rookie ranks third in the AL in home runs and his 60 RBIs is tied for third. Joseph hit his second homer in two games, a solo shot off Zach Putnam in the eighth. The drive capped the rookies first career three-hit game. That set the stage for Davis 13th home run. He hit 53 last year. "I was really proud of the at-bat," Davis said. "After I got down 0-1, I was really trying to elevate the ball, get a pitch out over the plate. I was able to lay off some pitches, fouled one off that probably wasnt a strike, but at that point I was just trying to protect." Baltimore went up 2-0 in the first inning when Steve Pearce walked and Jones followed with a drive to centre that bounced off the top of the wall, only the fifth home run allowed by Sale this season. Chicago got a run back in the third. Adam Eaton reached on an infield hit, Gordon Beckham doubled and Abreu hit a run-scoring groundout. In the bottom half, Sale struck out Delmon Young and J.J. Hardy after the Orioles put runners on the corners with one out. One inning later, Baltimore loaded the bases with one out before Pearce hit a short fly and Jones struck out. The trend continued in the fifth, when three straight singles filled the bases with no outs. After Manny Machado hit into a force at the plate, Jonathan Schoop bounced into a 4-6-3 double play. NOTES: Jones HR was his 151st with Baltimore, tying Chris Hoiles for 10th place on the Orioles career list. Of his 14 HRs this season, 10 have been solo shots. ... Eaton has reached base in 18 straight games, the longest streak by a White Sox left-handed batter since Juan Pierre had an 18-game run in 2011. ... Miguel Gonzalez makes his second career start against the White Sox on Tuesday night. Lefty Jose Quintana starts for Chicago. .... Pearces career-high run of five straight multihit games ended. ... The crowd of 17, 931 pushed the season total at Camden Yards of 1 million after 33 home dates, two games ahead of last year. Alphonse Areola Jersey . -- Two nights after losing to the Eastern Conferences worst team, the Phoenix Coyotes handled the best. Marquinhos Jersey . So what happens? Stevenson lands a huge left to Dawsons temple only 76 seconds into the opening round and walks away with the championship belt. "I said Id knock him out," said Stevenson (21-1). http://www.parissaintgermainfcstore.com/Women-Adrien-Rabiot-Paris-Saint-Germain-Jersey/ . Jonathan Crompton led the team to a 40-9 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Crompton threw three touchdown passes - two to Duron Carter and one to Brandon London - and Sean Whyte connected on four field goals to power the Alouettes to the win. Timothy Weah Paris Saint-Germain Jersey . Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers were left fretting over an MRI on the stars left knee. Paul George scored 21 points, Roy Hibbert added 19 and the Pacers used a dominant fourth quarter to blow out the Cavaliers 91-76 on Tuesday The Pacers (25-5) have won eight in a row over Cleveland, their longest active streak against any opponent. Stanley NSoki Paris Saint-Germain Jersey .Y. - Major League Soccers independent review panel has taken back the fine and one-game suspension it placed on Toronto FC forward Luke Moore earlier this week.DUNEDIN, Florida – The Blue Jays kick off their 31-game exhibition schedule on Wednesday and there are decisions to be made at key positions. Heres a breakdown of where the battles will be, the players involved and how one decision may have an effect on another. This goes without saying: Were working within the confines of the current Jays roster. STARTING ROTATION: Guaranteed: R.A. Dickey, Brandon Morrow, Mark BuehrleAlmost Certain: J.A. Happ As many as nine guys, some with almost no chance of landing the job, but are included here, anyway, are vying for the final available spot. They are Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond, Drew Hutchison, Kyle Drabek, Marcus Stroman, Sean Nolin, Ricky Romero, Chad Jenkins, Aaron Sanchez and Dustin McGowan. This will be intriguing because there is a business case to be made and, depending on how spring training plays out, potential performance cases to be made. On the business end, Rogers and Redmond are out of options, meaning both must break camp with the club or risk being lost on waivers. The bullpen is an option if neither gets a starting spot – more on that later when we look at the possibility of a seven-man or eight-man bullpen. Hutchison and Drabek each have big league experience. Drabek dating back to 2010 and when he cracked the opening day roster a year later and Hutchison when he was a mid-April call up two seasons ago. Both are back to full health following Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgeries in the summer of 2012. Drabek needs to drastically improve on 1.683 career WHIP over 169 1/3 innings, particularly in the walks department – hes averaged 5.8 bases on balls per nine innings over his brief career. Hutchison is a control pitcher, not overpowering, and appears to be the most polished of the non-established big leaguers in the group. Nolin, a big lefthander, and top prospects Stroman and Sanchez would have to mesmerize Torontos brass to break camp with the club, which itself will be a tall task. There are voices amongst the decision-makers who caution against putting too much value on Grapefruit League numbers because there are occasions when pitchers are facing what amount to minor league-calibre line-ups. Jenkins, like Nolin, has options remaining and can be sent to the minor leagues without waivers. Stroman and Sanchez arent on the 40-man roster at the moment and can be sent to the minors without burning one of their three option years, at least not right away. Romero appears to have been relegated to afterthought status, a deep valley for the one-time ace, just three years removed from a 15-win season and All-Star appearance. McGowan has interest in starting, but after multiple shoulder surgeries and not having consistently started in six years, its an unlikely scenario. Hell be stretched out this spring, but McGowan is likely destined for the bullpen. Barring an incredible spring performance, it seems one of Rogers, Redmond, Hutchison or Drabek will come away with the final starting spot. Stroman has an outside shot. If the decision is strictly business, itll be Rogers or Redmond starting the season in the rotation. Regardless, most of the kids on the list are bumping their heads on the minor league ceiling and are expected to be contributing to the Blue Jays sooner rather than later. BULLPEN (SEVEN-MAN or EIGHT-MAN?): Guaranteed: Casey Janssen, Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil, Sergio Santos, Aaron Loup and Dustin McGowan. General manager Alex Anthopoulos has to decide on whether to go with a seven-man or eight-man bullpen. Choose the latter and youll have one fewer bench player (three instead of four) at manager John Gibbonss disposal. The eight-man bullpen scenario occurs if neither Rogerrs nor Redmond secures the final rotation job.dddddddddddd The Blue Jays were reminded last year that a club cant have too much pitching and theres a strong probability either would be lost if exposed to waivers. Jeremy Jeffress, a flame-throwing right-hander, who briefly impressed with a 0.87 ERA over 10 1/3 big league innings last season, also has a shot at making the team. He adjusted his arm slot downward late last season and is in the process of successfully treating a juvenile epilepsy diagnosis. Jeffress is out of options and clubs love hard-throwing pitchers. The Jays got Jeffress through waivers at one point last season. There is no guarantee they could do it again. Left-hander Juan Perez, 35, has returned to health after straining his elbow last summer. Hes caught in a numbers game. Meantime, Neil Wagner appears destined for Triple-A Buffalo regardless of performance. He has an option and he, too, is caught in a numbers game. SECOND BASE: Competing: Ryan Goins, Maicer Izturis, Chris Getz (non-roster invitee,) Jonathan Diaz (non-roster invitee,) Munenori Kawasaki (non-roster invitee) and Steve Tolleson (non-roster invitee.) Goins is the incumbent, having concluded last season as the Jays second baseman. Anthopoulos loves Goinss defense, saying last week he believes Goins is the best in Toronto since the days of Orlando Hudson. Goinss biggest challenger is Getz, a former Royal, who has familiarity with both Gibbons (Royals bench coach, 2008-2011) and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer from his days in Kansas City. Getz is a left-handed bat. BENCH: Here is where the Blue Jays thin out considerably, especially if they begin the season with an eight-man bullpen. Backup catcher: Erik Kratz or Josh Thole. Kratz, who strikes an imposing figure at 64", 255 lbs, is a right-handed bat whos hit 18 home runs in 378 at-bats over the last two seasons with the Phillies. Considering the likelihood the second catcher will play more this season (Dioner Navarro hasnt played more than 89 games in a season since 2009,) the Jays could value Kratzs offense over Tholes long history with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Navarro wont catch Dickey. Kratz spent a week with Dickey in Nashville in the offseason and has caught all of his bullpen and live batting practice sessions so far this spring. Right-handed Bat to Platoon with Adam Lind: Moises Sierra is out of options and Toronto needs to determine if he is the viable option. Backup Infielder: Manager John Gibbons has said on more than one occasion that he prefers to use Izturis off the bench because he can play around the infield. Its a role Izturis became accustomed to in Anaheim. So, if the Jays go with an eight-man bullpen, thats it. Anthony Gose, under the scenario presented above, would begin the season in Buffalo. Should the Jays go with a seven-man bullpen, the roving outfielder spot opens up and is likely Goses to take with the likes of Kevin Pillar and Kenny Wilson getting more seasoning in the minor leagues. REPLAY Each club will play five games this spring under the new instant replay rules. Managers will be encouraged to throw the challenge flag at some point each game during the exhibition contests. "We had that meeting last week and they said the umpires will notify us before the game and say, hey if you get a chance, try it," said manager John Gibbons. INTRA-SQUAD GAME The Blue Jays played a four-and-a-half inning intra-squad game on Tuesday at the Bobby Mattick Complex. Drew Hutchison, Marcus Stroman and Sean Nolin each pitched a scoreless inning. Aaron Sanchez gave up the games only run, a Maicer Izturis single. It was the fourth and final hit he allowed in his inning of work. ' ' '