(SportsNetwork.
Avalanche Jerseys 2020 .com) - The LA Angels of Anaheim try to win their third straight series when they close out a three-game set with the Atlanta Braves Sunday night at Turner Field. Catch this game live on Sunday Night Baseball on TSN2 at 8pm et/5pm pt. The Angels dropped the opener of this series, 4-3, then rebounded with Saturdays 11-6 win in 13 innings to even the set. They scored five runs in the top of the 13th inning, as Mike Trout delivered a two-run double and Albert Pujols drove in two with a base hit. Kole Calhoun opened the scoring in the decisive frame with an RBI hit. Angels relief pitcher Cory Rasmus set the Braves down in order in the bottom of the 13th to preserve the win. Trout and Pujols both had big games and each ended with three hits, a home run and four RBI. Erick Aybar had four hits, two runs scored and knocked in a run for the Angels, who ended a two-game slide and won for the sixth time in eight tries. Garrett Richards started on the mound for Anaheim and struck out 10 batters across six shutout innings. After a shaky performance early on from the bullpen, Fernando Salas threw two scoreless innings of relief for the win. "We never quit, they never quit," said Trout. "Youve got to give them props. They scored four runs and put pressure on us. We kept battling, put ourselves in a good position and we won the game." Trout extended his hitting streak to nine games and 16 straight interleague contests. Angels manager Mike Scioscia was not with the team after attending the funeral of his former Dodger teammate and 1990 Cy Young winner Bob Welch. Bench coach Dino Ebel took his place. The Angels are 3 1/2 games behind Oakland for the AL West lead and will visit Cleveland next for four games. Hector Santiago gets the starting nod for the Angels Sunday and he is winless (0-6) in 10 games (8 starts) with a 4.15 ERA. Santiago pitched six shutout innings for a no-decision in a 2-1 win over Oakland on Tuesday and recorded eight strikeouts with one walk. Santiago, a left-hander, has never faced Atlanta and is 0-3 on the road. Atlanta has been inconsistent of late with defeats in seven of the last 11 games. David Hale was saddled with the loss for allowing five runs in 2 1/3 innings of relief and starting pitcher Gavin Floyd gave up four runs in the first 6 1/3 innings. The Braves were able to rally from a 5-0 hole and used a four-run bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game. Jason Heyward drove in a run, B.J. Upton plated two with a triple and Freddie Freeman stroked an RBI ground-rule double to the even the score. Josh Hamilton put the Angels back on top with a run- scoring hit in the 10th and Atlanta knotted the game at 6-6 on another RBI hit from Heyward, who showed no signs of a hand contusion suffered on Friday. Anaheim then exploded for five runs in the 13th. "We had our chances to get the win," said Braves catcher Gerald Laird. "It was an excellent effort coming back in the ninth inning. We battled tonight. Evan Gattis had three hits, including another home run, for the Braves, who are still tied with Washington atop the NL East standings. Gattis has homered in two straight games and has gone deep seven times since May 25. He is riding a career-best 14-game hitting streak. Atlanta will host Philadelphia next for three games. Set to take the mound for the Braves in Sundays rubber match will be Mike Minor, who is 2-4 with a 4.31 earned run average. Minor is winless (0-2) in his past four outings and was hammered at Colorado the last time out on Tuesday to the tune of eight runs and 11 hits in four innings. The left-handed Minor has never faced the Angels and is 1-4 in five starts at Turner Field.
Colorado Avalanche Shirts .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch.
Colorado Avalanche Pro Shop .Y. - The New York Yankees made it official Saturday, announcing the completion of a seven-year deal with free-agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and a one-year contract for returning starter Hiroki Kuroda.TORONTO - When Kyle Lowry was first introduced to the city of Toronto back in the summer of 2012 he was forced to share the stage with a new teammate, Landry Fields, the two acquired by the Raptors three days apart. Lowry, Torontos fallback option after a failed attempt to woo Steve Nash, was brought in from Houston to battle incumbent point guard Jose Calderon for the starting gig. Then general manager Bryan Colangelo had high hopes for Lowry but at that moment, a consolidated news conference in the concourse of the Air Canada Centre, he was just another player. He was due to earn $5.8 million that season. For Lowry those days are long gone. Thursday morning represented the Raptors first opportunity to make sure he knew that. With the official announcement of Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquezs extensions on hold, likely until early next week, this day was all about Lowry. It was his moment, well deserved, not unlike his freshly signed contract and significant pay raise. "This is awesome," Lowry said, borrowing the phrase from GM Masai Ujiri, who had used it moments earlier. Ujiri and his star point guard sat side by side on stage in Real Sports Bar and Grill, located across from the ACC in the heart of downtown Toronto. This was not your run-of-the-mill press conference. It was an event. The Raptors had opened up the festivities to their fans, who played hooky from school and work on a Thursday morning to support a player they have adopted as their own. They screamed, they chanted, they took photos and Lowry - an introvert, who doesnt generally hand out smiles - couldnt wipe the smirk off his face. Retaining Lowry had been the Raptors top priority from the moment last seasons playoff run came to an abrupt end. They spared no expense in showing the 28-year-old how much he means to the embattled franchise and they wasted no time in getting him locked up. Lowry agreed to terms on a four-year, $48 million deal last Wednesday, officially putting pen to paper Thursday morning when the free agent moratorium period was lifted. Lowry was courted by a number of teams - including title contenders in the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat - when free agency unofficially opened on July 1. "They were real factors," Lowry admitted. Returning to Toronto, however likely, was not a lock. Along with his family and agent, Andy Miller, he considered his options, weighing pros and cons and doing his due diligence before coming to a quick decision. It didnt take long for him to realize where he wanted to spend the next three years, with a player option for the fourth. "I think the process was a difficult one but at the end of the day it was an easy one, it was the best one," Lowry said. "I didnt really think about it, honestly, until a week before free agency started. I knew it was going to be kind of stressful, but stressful in a good way. At the end of the day it was easy, it was easy to come back here." "I didnt want to wait for everybody else," he continued, taking a subtle shot at a few of his fellow free agents, who appear to be in no rush despite holding up the process for the rest of the league. "Im not going to wait for this guy to make a decision, I wanted to make my own decision and I wanted to make it when I was ready and I was ready after day one. So thats how easy the process was." Houston and Miami offered him a chance to compete for a championship right out of the gate but Toronto countered with thheir recently constructed winning environment, high aspirations, and an opportunity for incremental growth on the way to their ultimate prize.
Avalanche Jerseys China. Most importantly, Lowry - an alpha dog by nature - wanted to lead a team to the promise land. Make no bones about it, the Raptors are Lowrys team. "The driving factor was winning," he said. "Honestly, I knew the money was going to come. I knew the years [were] going to come, so that wasnt too much of a worry. I just wanted to be in a situation where I can win and personally grow, as a man and as a player, and help a team and help an organization get to the point where theyre holding that trophy up." With the spotlight comes the pay cheque. "I was [financially secure] before," he joked in response to a question about his new pay raise. "[But] this helps." His new contract will be more than twice the size of his previous one, a four-year, $23.5 million deal signed in 2010, having earned a total of $28.8 million over the first eight years of his career. Lowrys one-time reputation for being a malcontent, like his anonymity, is a thing of the past. Of course, hes not the only one that stands to benefit, shedding a less than flattering league-wide perception as a result of this remarriage with the Raptors. "Everyone says Toronto cant do this, or Toronto cant sign back their own free agents," Lowry acknowledged, with a tip of the cap to the franchises disappointing history. "I just proved that wrong. Im back." Before the Raptors can establish themselves as a preferred destination for the NBAs brightest stars, they know they must take care of their own. Even in a years time - as the team has turned its fortunes and its fan base has reminded the league why theyre one of the best - Ujiri continues to notice a significant change in how the city is perceived when speaking to players around the association. "100 percent," said the Raptors GM. "I think people saw what happened here." "Players want to win and players want to be treated well and we try to treat players well," Ujiri continued. "I think Kyle Lowry was at the forefront of that. Players in the NBA see that and they want to come play where its a great atmosphere, theyre treated well and theres a culture of winning. We expect more players to come here." According to Ujiri, Lowry was ready and willing to do his part in the recruitment process almost immediately after agreeing to terms last week. Still technically a free agent, Lowry texted the Raptors GM shortly after the two reached a verbal agreement to ask him if there was a player he could call and try to steer in Torontos direction. "I wish I had more money to sign another player," Ujiri joked. While all-star and leading scorer DeMar DeRozan remains an integral part of the teams future - and played a significant role in Lowrys decision to return - the unmistakable face of the resurgent Raptors was sitting centre stage. The team is his and, evident in Thursdays mornings turnout, so too is the city. He wont be sharing the stage, or the spotlight any time soon. Two years ago, almost to the day, Colangelo gave Lowry the keys. Now, Ujiri has given him the whole car. "You dont get many chances to say its your team," he said. "Honestly, you dont get many chances. As a competitor, as a professional, I relish in that, the fact that I get to say its my team, Im the leader of the team." ' ' '
