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28.10.2019 12:13
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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Henry Blanco hopped on a cross-country flight from Miami first thing Friday morning for his fresh start out West with the Seattle Mariners -- still a big leaguer as he approaches his 42nd birthday in August. And what a memorable Mariners debut he delivered -- with the bat, behind the plate catching ace Felix Hernandez, and even in a spontaneous mound visit. Blanco hit a sixth-inning grand slam to break a scoreless tie and give Venezuelan countryman and good friend King Felix all the offence he needed, and Seattle beat the Oakland Athletics for the second straight game with a 4-0 victory Saturday. He hardly saw this coming. "I was hoping I could still get a job and show them I can still play," said Blanco, who is playing for his 11th team. "That was a special day today." The 41-year-old Blanco, a .184 hitter with no home runs coming into the game, was a most unlikely candidate to provide the decisive hit for Seattle. The Mariners signed him Friday, three days after his release by Toronto. He became the oldest Seattle player ever with a slam. Mariners manager Eric Wedge wrote Blanco into the lineup right away -- and it didnt hurt Blanco had previously caught Hernandez in the bullpen for the World Baseball Classic. "Im glad he did it," Wedge said. "First of all, I thought he did a tremendous job behind home plate. You can see what he does back there, how he handles things and the way he makes it look so easy. ... Talk about going up there ready to hit, bases loaded, he goes up there ready to hit and hit it a long way." Hernandez (8-4) struck out five of Oaklands initial eight batters and seven through four innings on the way to eight Ks in seven scoreless innings. Michael Morse had two doubles among his three hits, including one in the sixth before Blancos drive stayed just inside the left-field foul pole. Blancos only other grand slam came with Milwaukee more than 13 years ago -- on May 12, 2000, off Pittsburghs Jason Schmidt. It was the fifth-longest gap between grand slams dating back to 1900, according to information provided by the Mariners from the Elias Sports Bureau -- 13 years, 34 days. Blancos slam at 41 -- he turns 42 on Aug. 29 -- topped one by Raul Ibanez earlier this season accomplished at 40 years, 347 days. "Thats pretty good. Well Ive got it now," Blanco said, smiling. Hernandez received a big defensive assist to end the fifth and save a run. Jed Lowrie doubled leading off the inning and advanced on Seth Smiths flyout to centre. But Chris Young flied into a double play in which right fielder Endy Chavez threw Lowrie out at home to keep the game scoreless. Lowrie didnt even touch the plate. "I called him out," Hernandez quipped. And, with Coco Crisp aboard on a one-out single in the sixth, Hernandez got John Jaso -- who caught his perfect game with Seattle last year -- to line into a double play at first that caught Crisp off the bag. The As also grounded into an inning-ending double play in the seventh with runners on first and second. Suddenly, Seattle has a chance to sweep the first-place As on Sunday after Oakland took three in a row from the New York Yankees before this series began, including a 3-2, 18-inning victory Thursday. Seattle snapped Oaklands 11-game home winning streak at the Coliseum on Friday night, then put together another fine performance to back its ace. The As have lost their first series in the last 10 over the past month. Hernandez allowed five hits and walked one to improve to 22-7 with a 2.70 ERA lifetime in 39 career starts in June. Seattle starters are 5-1 with a 0.94 ERA -- 6 earned runs in 57 1-3 innings -- since June 7 and have gone six straight starts of at least seven innings. Charlie Furbush and Yoervis Medina each pitched an inning of relief to finish the Mariners six-hit shutout. Still, Blanco provided the highlight of the day. "For him to come through like that is awesome, his first start here. That was unbelievable," Hernandez said. "It surprised me a little bit. But I know he has a little power. Hes good." Oaklands A.J. Griffin (5-6) dropped to 0-3 over his four-start winless stretch. The right-hander allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings, struck out three and walked two. "At the end of the day its four runs on one pitch, and when youre facing Felix, every run counts," Griffin said. "Its frustrating. Hopefully were not talking about something like this again." Blanco, meanwhile, hopes for a few more. In his 16th season, he is still fueled by one thing: "Im just trying to win a World Series," he said. "I love the game, I have passion for the game and I just want to get a ring so I can go home." Notes: Crisp returned to the Oakland lineup playing centre field and batting leadoff in his first start since bruising his heel Tuesday night against New York. He didnt move as well as usual. ... As RF Josh Reddick had the night off. ... Mariners starting pitchers have had eight consecutive quality starts. ... Wedge said 1B Justin Smoak (strained right oblique), CF Franklin Gutierrez (strained right hamstring) and demoted 2B Dustin Ackley would likely be re-evaluated after Sundays game to determine their next steps. ... The series finale Sunday has the looks of a possible pitchers duel with Oaklands Bartolo Colon (8-2) and Seattles Hisashi Iwakuma (7-1). ... Announced first-pitch temperature was 56 degrees. ... In 2001, Edgar Martinez hit a grand slam at 38 years, 220 days -- the previous-oldest Seattle player before Ibanez and Blanco this season. Chris Capuano Jersey . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Trey Supak Jersey . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/1549y-teddy-higuera-jersey-brewers.html . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Cory Spangenberg Brewers Jersey . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Robin Yount Jersey . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. RIO DE JANEIRO -- China easily won its second gold medal in diving at the Rio Olympics, dominating the mens 10-meter synchronized event while showing the rest of the world how to barely make a splash.Chen Aisen and Lin Yue totaled 496.98 points on Monday, cruising to victory by 39.87 points.American teammates David Boudia and Steele Johnson took silver at 457.11. Tom Daley and Daniel Goodfellow of Britain rallied to claim bronze in 445.45.China is aiming to sweep the eight diving events in Rio de Janeiro for the first time in the Olympics. A day earlier, the Chinese won the womens 3-meter synchro title.Chen and Lin were especially impressive on their final two dives, totaling the most points of any team in both rounds.China, the United States and Britain all performed the same dive in the fifth round, a forward 4.5-somersaults tuck that carries one of the highest degrees of difficulty.The Americans went first, scoring 85.47 points. China was next, with Chen and Lin putting on a clinic with a score of 106.56. They plunged into the water off the 33-foot tower with very little splash and earned a perfect 10 for synchronization.Daley and Goodfellow went last, scoring 92.13, good enough to move the Brits from fifth to third after the German duo of Patrick Hausding and Sascha Klein performed a less difficult dive that earned fewer points and dropped them to fourth.In the last round, the Americans and Chinese did the same dive, a bacck 2.dddddddddddd.5-somersaults with 2.5-twists pike only slightly less difficult than their previous one.Boudia and Johnson went first, scoring 95.04 points with marks as high as 9.0.Chen and Lin did even better, hitting the water in unison and being rewarded with 9.5s and 9.0s.Lin earned his first gold in the event since 2008, when he and Huo Liang teamed to win synchro platform in their home country. He didnt compete in the event four years ago in London.With lots of Chinese flags and fans in the stands, the crowd booed heartily when it saw the judges marks for Chen and Lin in the fourth round. Fans didnt think the scores ranging from 8.0 to 8.5 were nearly high enough, but it hardly mattered.Chen and Lin were in front from the start of the six-round final and never faltered.Boudia and Johnson controlled second place throughout, leaving only the bronze medal up for grabs. Four years ago in London, Boudia earned bronze in platform synchro with a different partner and gold in the individual 10-meter competition.Johnson, a 20-year-old diver at Indiana University, was clearly thrilled with winning a medal in his Olympic debut. He and Boudia shared a watery hug after their final dive, knowing they had clinched a spot on the podium. Johnson then covered his eyes with his hand and couldnt stop smiling. ' ' ' |
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