cross that bridge when we get there.Right now, he said, brightenin | Forum
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Jan 4 '18
MIAMI -- The Miami Marlins have gone 19 consecutive innings without scoring a run. Nike Air Max Zero Essential Mens .Help could be on the way in the form of second baseman Dee Gordon and first baseman Justin Bour, but that wont happen until Thursday for Gordon and sometime after that for Bour.When it comes to the Tuesday game against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Marlins best hope to get back in the win column may be their starting pitcher, Tom Koehler.The right-hander is 1-1 with a 1.64 ERA in three starts against the Phillies this season, beating them last Thursday with eight innings of solid work, allowing just two hits and one earned run.Koehler, who is 7-8 with a 4.42 ERA overall this season, will face Philadelphias Jerad Eickhoff (6-11, 3.98 ERA).Eickhoff has good memories of Marlins Park. It was here that he made his major league debut, keeping the Marlins off the scoreboard for six innings on Aug. 21, 2015.This year, though, Eickhoff is 0-2 with a 6.55 ERA against the Marlins -- though that was earlier in the year before the current Miami slump.It remains to be seen if Eickhoff will face Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna, who is hitting just .173 in his past 14 games. Miami manager Don Mattingly may opt to rest Ozuna, inserting instead 42-year-old Ichiro Suzuki in center.Suzuki, just four hits away from 3,000, has not started a game since Thursday, when he finished 2-for-5 at Philadelphia. Since then, he is 0-for-4, all as a pinch hitter.Ozuna, though, has two doubles and a homer in nine career at-bats against Eickhoff for a .333 batting average. It is a small sample size, but maybe it will be enough to sway Mattingly against the idea of resting him.Gordon, who led the NL in steals and batting average last season, is nearing the end of an 80-game suspension after he was caught using performance-enhancing drugs.He is eligible to return on Thursday, when his speed should inject some life at the top of the Marlins lineup.Bour, who has 15 homers this season and 38 in his past 622 at-bats, is trying to come back from a sprained right ankle. He has been on the disabled list since July 5, and the injury has been slow to heal. He is expected to start a minor league rehab on Thursday and should arrive at Marlins Park next week.With Bour gone, the Marlins have gotten little pop from their first basemen, and that has been especially true against right-handed pitchers such as Eickhoff.Don Kelly, a left-handed hitter who has been used in a platoon with righty hitter Chris Johnson, has been ineffective, batting just .053 in 19 at-bats.Getting more punch in the lineup is crucial because the Marlins (53-46) -- by virtue of their 4-0 loss to the Phillies on Monday -- fell percentage points behind the idle New York Mets in the race for the second and final wild-card spot in the National League.The Phillies (46-55) are out of contention at this point, but they own a 6-5 record against the Marlins this season. Nike Air Max Zero Essential Womens . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Nike Air Max Zero Essential White .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend.http://www.airmaxzerosale.com/ . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. CHICAGO -- The T-shirt in the window of a shop on Damen Avenue elicited plenty of nervous laughs from Cubs fans before Game 4.It read: If We Lose, Its Rigged.While its unlikely that line from GOP candidate Donald Trumps stump speech will catch on in a deep-blue, Democratic stronghold like Chicago, Clevelands 7-2 win Saturday night left more than a few of those fans were grasping at straws.How could a team that had five starters picked and seven players total at the All-Star game find itself on the brink of elimination? How could a team that won a major league-leading 103 times in the regular season turn around and hit .204 -- 50 points lower -- in the biggest games?Heres how: Third baseman Kris Bryant, last seasons Rookie of the Year and the front-runner for the NLs Most Valuable Player Award this season, is batting just .071. Shortstop Addison Russell, who collected 21 home runs and 95 RBI in the regular season, has two total bases in the four games. Javier Baez, who tore through the Giants and Dodgers pitching staffs in both the division and championship series, is at .118.Small wonder the Indians have won as many World Series games in two nights at Wrigley as the Cubs have in total since the ballpark opened more than a century ago.Its just been abnormal in some ways, Chicago manager Joe Maddon said afterward. But theyve been pitching great. ...We just need that offensive epiphany somehow to get us pushing in the right direction. And if we do that, he added a moment later, based on what they have left pitching-wise, I kind of like our chances.Try telling that to fans whove waited 71 years just to see a World Series game in their hometown, never mind the 108 years since their beloved Cubbies actually won it all. Then again, plenty of them believe they saw it coming.Behind the old ballpark on Waveland Avenue, the limousines and town cars were lined up and idling in the bottom of the eighth. It didnt help that Cub fans were again done in by one of their own. Just an inning earlier, Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis, who grew up in suburban Northbrook -- and went to the same high school as Steve Bartman -- put the game out of reach with a three-run home run, then pointed to his family in the stands.I did, I knew where they weree sitting and I saw the red towel, Kipnis said, nearly blushing, so I knew where to look. Nike Air Max Zero Essential Grey. endors, meanwhile, were fast changing their pitch. One selling Cubs-themed floppy hats had already begin hawking them as warm-weather gear instead of historic souvenirs. Stay warm, look cool, wear them for Halloween, he yelled.If you want to scare Cubs fans, sure.Anne Riecken, 92, was being wheeled out of the park by her daughter trying to beat the rush. She stopped long enough to register her displeasure.I dont know why I though this year was going to be different, she said. But I guess its enough we finally made it back.She thought about it, then added quickly, Last night I was so mad about the way they were hitting I would have kicked some of them in the shins.Considering the lack of success most of the moves Maddon has made have registered in that department, it might have been as good a suggestion as any. As she headed for a waiting gold cart to shuttle her back to the familys car, Riecken was asked whether shed lost faith in the teams unofficial motto, Wait `Til Next Year.I dont think Im going to be around next year, she replied with smile and a rueful laugh.But John Hurley, with his 5-year-old son in tow, vowed to return if the Cubs made it back. Both wore Cubs caps and matching oversized, black-rimmed glasses, a style made popular around town by the late Harry Caray, the teams legendary announcer. John Hurley grew up here, but lives in California now.Just another year of being a Cub fan, I guess, Hurley said. But dont call me `disappointed. This is progress and its historic. And if they get back, and this team is more than good enough to do it, well definitely come back.Of course, he starts kindergarten next year so Im not sure well be able to do this for a whole week again. Or maybe well just pull him out of school, he laughed. I guess well cross that bridge when we get there.Right now, he said, brightening, were just concentrating on tomorrow night.Theyre not alone.---Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and https://Twitter.com/JimLitke . Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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