SHANGHAI, China -- Mercedes set the fastest practice times again at the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday, though rivals Ferrari and Red Bull may have closed the gap somewhat on Formula Ones runaway leader. Wayne Gallman Jersey . Mercedes Lewis Hamilton, winner of the past two F1 races, was quickest around the Shanghai International Circuit in the afternoon session after a suspension problem limited him to only nine laps in the morning session. Ferraris Fernando Alonso, however, was just 0.141 seconds behind Hamilton under the watch of new team principal Marco Mattiacci, who arrived in Shanghai to take charge following Stefano Domenicalis abrupt departure this week. Alonso also set the quickest time during the morning practice. Hamilton was delayed in the garage for a half hour in the afternoon session while his crew tried to resolve the suspension trouble. "Its great to be still up front even though we have those issues," he said. "But, still, you want to get the car ready, you want to get the long runs feeling a little better, so theres some work to do." Teammate Nico Rosberg had the third-fastest practice time, about 0.4 seconds behind Hamilton. He said Mercedes still expects to win the race on Sunday, even if its rivals performed well in practice. "Were still looking pretty decent at the moment," he said. "The competitors are pushing -- today, Ferrari was very close." Mercedes has dominated the season, with Hamilton winning in Bahrain and Malaysia and Rosberg in Australia. Only an engine problem on Hamiltons car in the opening race in Melbourne prevented three successive one-two finishes. But Alonso, the defending Chinese GP champion, kept pace with them in the cool conditions of Shanghai, indicating his struggling team may just emerge as a challenger on Sunday. Ferrari has lagged behind Mercedes following the series switch to V6 turbo hybrid engines, and new fuel-saving regulations. The slow start prompted Ferrari to part ways with Domenicali after six years, replacing him with Mattiacci, formerly president of Ferrari North America. Red Bull also kept up the pace on Friday, with Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Ricciardo said, however, he believes Mercedes may have been holding back during practice. "We have to see where they are tomorrow. The gap seems a bit too close for now," he said. "I would like to say weve caught up but theyve got a bit more in there." He was pleased with Red Bulls improvement since Bahrain, where both drivers finished off the podium. "Were making small improvements," Ricciardo said. "I mean, the gap is a big one so its not going to come over one race, but weve crept up a little bit more." Felipe Massa of Williams was sixth fastest in afternoon practice, followed by Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen, who missed the morning session due to a mechanical problem. McLarens Jenson Button, Lotus Romain Grosjean and Toro Rossos Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top 10. Smog hampered visibility at the circuit on Thursday, but conditions were relatively clear for Fridays practice. Rain and cool temperatures were forecast for Saturdays qualifying session. Harry Carson Jersey . Sure, Josh Browns 45-yard field goal on the third drive of overtime lifted the New York Giants to a 23-20 win over Detroit on Sunday. But the Lions (7-8) dropped themselves out of the NFC North race by losing five of their last six games, blowing fourth-quarter leads in each setback. Dalvin Tomlinson Jersey . Iwakuma pitched seven strong innings to stay unbeaten in road games since last July, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.TORONTO – R.A. Dickey said it best after Casey Janssens disastrous ninth inning coughed up a 4-2 lead and sent the Blue Jays to their sixth loss in seven games, a 5-4 defeat to the Tigers. "They all hurt," said Dickey, who stood to win after tossing six innings of two-run ball. "From here on in it all matters. It mattered back in May when we were losing a game or winning a game. It matters. It always matters." Yes, all losses hurt and its understood there will be plenty of them over the course of a long, 162-game season. Some will hurt more than others and it has to do with a combination of timing and circumstances. First, the timing: the Blue Jays are about to embark on a stretch of three games in which they will face the last three American League Cy Young award winners. It happens theyll face the three pitchers in order, starting with the most recent. Max Scherzer, last seasons winner, hurls on Saturday. David Price, acquired from Tampa Bay on July 31, was voted the ALs best pitcher in 2012. A road trip begins in Seattle on Monday against the 2011 winner, the man known as "King" and who has a court of yellow-shirted minions down Safeco Fields leftfield line, Felix Hernandez. "Thats a tough one," said manager John Gibbons. "Theres no question. Thats a tough one." The Blue Jays are looking up at the Yankees and the Royals and maybe the Mariners, pending Seattles late result on Friday, in the race for the second wild card spot. Its available to any of the above-mentioned teams and more. Its important for Toronto not to allow too many clubs in-between; that creaates increased difficulty in nailing down that playoff spot. D.J. Fluker Jersey. Dont worry about the Orioles for the moment. They were busy blasting the Cardinals all over Baltimore to stretch their lead in the American League East to six over the now-third place Blue Jays. Janssen was hit hard. J.D. Martinez lined a shot to the left-centre field gap to start the ninth. One out later, with Martinez on third, Nick Castellanos caught a hanging breaking ball and deposited it over the left field wall to tie the score. Next up, shortstop Eugenio Suarez belted a go-ahead homer off the facing of the batters eye in dead centre field. Janssen was pulled one out later after allowing an Ian Kinsler double. Three runs on four extra-base hits in two-thirds of an inning. The crowd, and Janssen, was stunned. "My arm felt great," said Janssen. "I felt great and you know what? They beat me." Janssen has pitched to a 9.72 ERA since the All-Star Break. Hes long since over a virus, perhaps food poisoning, he contracted during a vacation to the Dominican Republic. Still, he hasnt been the same. "I havent pitched that great," said Janssen. "Sometimes things can be streaky. Right now it doesnt seem like its streaking in the right direction for me but Ive just got to continue to work, to continue to execute pitches and maybe at times mix up what Ive been doing. The hitters might be adjusting to me so now its my turn to adjust to them. Im not quitting and weve got a long ways to go." Theres a lot of baseball left to be played. Why not start with three games against three of the sports best pitchers? Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '