CINCINNATI -- Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts admits to feeling fortunate that his club is in the thick of the pennant race despite myriad injuries, most notably the herniated disk that has kept ace Clayton Kershaw out for nearly two months, but Roberts says hes not surprised. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping .Were right where we need to be in the race coming into September, he said. If you look at what weve endured (with injuries), I feel fortunate. Thats fair to say to be within a half game of first place. Am I surprised? No. With the players we have, Im not. Our guys are focused on winning baseball games. Thats what we need to do moving forward.LA will face the Cincinnati Reds on Monday afternoon in the finale of a four-game series.The Dodgers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory on Sunday behind six shutout innings from 20-year-old rookie left-hander Julio Urias.Left-hander Scott Kazmir will start for Los Angeles. Kazmir picked up his 10th victory on Wednesday, allowing two runs and eight hits in five innings of a 7-2 Dodgers win.He has been stellar away from Dodger Stadium, going 6-0 with a 4.77 ERA on the road while limiting opponents to a .223 average.Kazmir last faced Cincinnati on May 25 when he gave up one run and four hits in six innings of a 3-1 win on May 25 in Los Angeles. In two career starts against the Reds, Kazmir has gone 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA with 17 strikeouts and just three walks in 13 innings.Getting Homer Bailey back from injury has been a boost for Cincinnati. On Sunday, Bailey will make his fifth start of the season and 10th career start against the Dodgers.Coming off multiple arm surgeries, Bailey has gone 2-1 with a 3.66 ERA in four starts. Shortly after signing a six-year, $105 million contract, the injuries came hard and fast for the former first-round draft choice and owner of two no-hitters.On September 15, 2014, Bailey had surgery to repair the torn flexor tendon in his right forearm. Then, on May 8, 2015, he had Tommy John surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.Early returns indicate that Bailey has come back stronger than ever. He has gone 4-3 with a 3.84 ERA in nine career starts against the Dodgers.The Reds have gone 21-13 since the All-Star break and have won eight of 10 series. Theyll have a chance to make it nine of 11 with a win over the Dodgers on Monday.Cincinnati will have both right fielder Scott Schebler and first baseman Joey Votto back in the lineup after both got days off Sunday.After residing in last place in the National League Central for 98 straight days, the Reds were in fourth, a half-game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers after Sundays loss.We were on a prodigious run lately, Reds manager Bryan Price said. Like the Jeffersons said, were moving on up. Wholesale Jerseys Authentic .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. http://www.cheapnfljerseysbywholesale.com/ . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina coach Will Muschamp is looking at more than just preparing for the Birmingham Bowl during his postseason practices.Muschamp believes what the Gamecocks (6-6) do the next two weeks in prepping to play South Florida (10-2) on Dec. 29 will carry over with his team into spring workouts and next season.You can feel the buzz in the building, Muschamp said Thursday.There was far less buzz at the midseason point of the year when South Carolina was 2-4 and couldnt get anything done on offense or defense. The Gamecocks, though, turned things around going 4-2 the second half of the season, including a 24-21 upset of then-No. 18 Tennessee to qualify for a bowl.The resurgence means two more weeks of improving freshmen starters like quarterback Jake Bentley, tailback Rico Dowdle and receiver Bryan Edwards who otherwise wouldve been left to get better on their own before the next team workouts come spring.Muschamp said hell concentrate on fundamentals the first four practices -- Seniors arent practicing the first two practices, he said -- before turning his attention to South Florida on Monday.Its all about us and how we can get better, Muschamp said. Hand placement, pad level, strike and play.Muschamp also does not think his players will be held back by how the regular-season ended with an embarrassing, 56-7 loss to rival, No. 3 Clemson , where the Gamecocks came apart after a couple of early scores by the Tigers.Ill look at the totality of the season and not one game, Muschamp said. There was a glaring issue that we had a bunch at the end of the day, our ability to run the football consistently against good people and our ability to stop the run on defense. Weve got to get better.South Carolina finished last in the Southeastern Conference rushing at 138 yards per game, even with Dowdle gaining 100 or more yards in three of the last five games. Wholesale NFL Jerseys For Sale. The Gamecocks did a bit better at stopping the run, ending ninth in the 14-team SEC in allowing an average of 202 yards on the ground.Muschamp said it was more than any one thing that led to South Carolinas issues, including playing two freshmen quarterbacks this season, and all areas will receive attention during bowl practices.One, the offensive line, will practice with a new, temporary face in charge. Retired longtime assistant John Latina will replace offensive line coach Shawn Elliott, who was hired by Georgia State as its head coach last week. The Gamecocks brought in Latina, who worked with offensive coordinator Kurt Roper at Duke.Muschamp he wont hire a permanent replacement until after the new year.Muschamp is eager to see the extra practice time help young players like Bentley, who saw his first college action after South Carolina struggling first half.Bentley, at 6-foot-3 and 223 pounds, jazzed up South Carolinas offense with his strong and accurate arm. He completed better than 66 percent of his passes for six touchdowns and just one interception his first five starts.However, he and the rest of the Gamecocks crashed with a loud thud at Clemson three weeks back. Bentley threw for only 41 yards against the Tigers and the offense was outgained 622-218 in the blowout.Muschamp is certain Bentleys past that poor performance and ready to help the Gamecocks show out strongly against the Bulls.We didnt do much very well, the coach said. Weve gotten better in some areas, but I think we have a lot of improvement to make on both sides of the bowl.And the Gamecocks have a few more practices to make that happen.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '