y... Anaheims 22nd road victory ties the franchise
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Detroit Tigers were soaked in the joy of another division title, jumping around in their matching, drenched T-shirts when Torii Hunter darted from the room. Cesar Cedeno Jersey . He came back a few seconds later, bear-hugging an important piece of the party: manager Jim Leyland. "I got Skip! I got Skip! I got Skip!" Hunter yelled. The gruff old skipper was smiling wide, and he even did a little dance before retreating to his office. The Tigers were sure having fun, and they want to throw a bigger celebration next month. Max Scherzer earned his 21st win and the Tigers became AL Central champions for the third straight year by beating the Minnesota Twins 1-0 on Wednesday night. "I just dont think people realize how hard it is to win," Leyland said before Hunter nabbed him. The 68-year-old managers voice cracked several times as he fought off tears during his postgame interview. Hunters single followed a leadoff triple by Austin Jackson in the first inning, and that was all Scherzer (21-3) and the Tigers needed. "For us to be able to do it three straight years now is really special and a testament to the talent in our clubhouse," Scherzer said. Scherzer gave up two singles in seven innings. Jose Veras and Drew Smyly teamed up for the eighth and Joaquin Benoit worked the ninth for his 24th save in 25 tries. A few dozen Tigers fans in attendance at Target Field cheered from their seats while Miguel Cabrera and his teammates mobbed Benoit in front of the mound after he struck out Josh Willingham to end the game. The celebration picked up even more in the clubhouse, where the Tigers sprayed sparkling wine all over each other and started smoking cigars once the bottles were empty. Scherzer spun one more solid start for the AL Cy Young Award voters to consider, except for the season-high six walks and 123 pitches. He struck out 10 and lowered his ERA to 2.90, ensuring hell finish the season with the most wins in the major leagues. Jordan Zimmermann, the next closest, has 19 for Washington. "Twenty-one wins. We call him Black Jack," Hunter said, ski goggles resting on the top of his head. Second-place Cleveland beat the Chicago White Sox, but the Tigers maintained their 4 1/2-game lead. The Indians control the second AL wild-card spot. Kevin Correia (9-13) did his best to give the Twins a chance, giving up seven hits and one run over seven innings to finish his first season with the Twins with a 4.18 ERA. "They earned it. They did a great job this year," Correia said of the Tigers. The clear favourites to win the Central again after getting swept by San Francisco in last years World Series, the Tigers havent had a losing month this season. They tightened their grip on the division with a 12-game winning streak shortly after the All-Star break. Cabrera has followed his Triple Crown season with another spectacular year despite persistent midsection injuries. The supporting cast of Prince Fielder, Omar Infante, Jackson and Hunter has helped Detroit stay one of baseballs best-hitting teams. The rotation has been even better. Anibal Sanchez and Scherzer have turned star right-hander Justin Verlander into an afterthought at times, and Doug Fister and Rick Porcello are two of the best fourth and fifth starters around. The bullpen, shaky at the start, has been more stable with Benoit as the closer. Now its on to the post-season, where the Tigers have had some success under Leyland but still fell short of the ultimate goal, the teams first World Series title since 1984. They were American League champions in 2006 and runners-up in 2011. Its still too early to tell which team the Tigers will play in the division series, but they werent worried about that on Wednesday. "When we started in spring training, it was almost like the only thing we could do was fail. People had such high expectations," Leyland said. "I talked about that and said, Dont get caught up in the expectations. Get caught up in how youre going to live up to the expectations." Scherzer struck out four straight in one stretch. The first hit, by Chris Parmelee in the fourth inning, was a slow roller that didnt reach third base. Scherzer snagged it but had no play, grimacing about the blemish on the scoreboard. He retired the next batter on an infield popup. Then in the fifth after a single and a walk with one out, Scherzer went to a 3-1 count on Brian Dozier, who has quietly become perhaps this depleted Twins teams best hitter with Justin Morneau now in Pittsburgh and Joe Mauer recovering from a concussion. Scherzer struck out Dozier on a mid-80s mph slider and watched catcher Alex Avila fire a perfect throw to third base that caught Alex Presley stealing. Scherzer pumped his arm as he walked off the mound. NOTES: Leyland said he hopes SS Jose Iglesias (left hand) will play Friday in Miami, where Porcello (13-8, 4.38 ERA) will pitch against RHP Tom Koehler (4-10, 4.45 ERA). ... With the Tigers losing their DH for the weekend, Victor Martinez could catch some and give Fielder a few innings off at 1B, Leyland said. Jose Urquidy Jersey George Springer Astros Jersey . -- Henry Josey watched helplessly from the sideline last fall, rehabbing from a serious knee injury, while Missouri was getting pushed around in its first SEC season. https://www.cheapastros.com/183o-francis-martes-jersey-astros.html . Alexander was released last week by the Edmonton Eskimos, where he spent the past three seasons at safety. He had 121 defensive tackles, five special teams tackles and seven interceptions in 51 regular-season and three playoff games.CALGARY - Embarrassed 7-2 by the Calgary Flames two weeks ago, the Anaheim Ducks returned to the scene of that ugly loss Wednesday night and picked up an important victory. Andrew Cogliano scored the go-ahead goal at 14:41 as Anaheim scored twice in the third period in a 3-2 victory over the resilient Flames. "Thats one of the biggest two points of the season, for sure," said Cogliano. "To come back from behind in the third period, it shows where were going as a team and I think its a big statement win for us." Stephane Robidas shot from the blue-line was kicked out by Karri Ramo but the puck went right to Cogliano at the face-off circle, who buried his 21st of the season. "Right place at the right time. It landed right on my stick. When I saw the net, no better feeling," said Cogliano, who put a shot off the post just minutes earlier. "Those are the goals were trying to score, especially myself. Getting to the net, getting some rebounds." Finishing it off wasnt easy, however. The Flames poured on the pressure in the final minute with the goalie pulled. Mike Cammalleris blast came the closest to getting past Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller, but the Ducks hung on. "Its one of those things where theyre just throwing everything at the net and youre trying to find the puck somehow. I found it once or twice there so we could at least get a whistle," said Hiller, who had 32 saves. It was a nice bounce-back game for him after getting chased less than 12 minutes into the last start at the Scotiabank Saddledome after yielding three goals on five shots. "The whole team was upset with what happened last time. I didnt feel I played terribly or whatever but those things happen and its nice if you get a chance pretty quick to do better," said Hiller. "Definitely happy with the way we responded and the way I responded. I thought we played a pretty good road game." Nick Bonino and Mathieu Perreault also scored for Anaheim (47-18-7), which kicks off a three-game road trip to Western Canada with its sixth road win in its last eight games away from the Honda Center. The win moves the Ducks to within two points of the San Jose Sharks and the lead in the Pacific Division. Anaheim still holds two games in hand. Hiller says winning the division is definitely a priority. "It would be great to be up there because if youre second, you have a good chance of playing L.A. in the first round which would be a tough match-up," Hiller said. Brian McGrattan and Jiri Hudler scored for Calgary (30-36-7). Rookie defenceman Tyler Wotherspoon had an assist to give the 21-year-old points inn his last three games. Bob Watson Astros Jersey. "Thats the way you learn sometimes, too. You learn from tough losses," said McGrattan, who was playing his 300th NHL game. "Our group hasnt given up all year. Were in every game and work our butts off right until the end and thats a good sign." Its the Flames league-leading 44th one-goal game, one shy of the franchise record set in 2005-06. "If you look at the young guys throughout the year, how theyre showing up against these teams late in the year when were playing San Jose, L.A., Anaheim — were playing all these top teams down the stretch and were giving them a run for the money every night. Thats a lot to build off of as a group and its a lot to learn from," said McGrattan. Trailing 2-1 headed to the third period, the Ducks tied it at 5:32 on Perreaults 16th goal. "We fought hard in the third and got a couple bounces our way and finally we were able to put it in and win the game," said Perreault, who extended his point streak to six games (four goals, two assists). "Coming down the stretch, we play a couple teams that are already out of the playoffs. We have to take advantage of those games." Trailing 1-0 after the first period, the Flames scored twice in the second to take the lead. The tying goal, which bounced off Kevin Westgarths glove in front and then into the net off of McGrattans hip was the rugged wingers fourth goal and 10th of his career. Calgary took a 2-1 lead with 26 seconds left in the second when a pretty fake shot then pass from Ladislav Smid set up Hudler. "Its a good effort. We know we can play with every team in the league but its not good enough — a good effort, we have to get results too. Thats the business of hockey," said Ramo, who had won his previous five decisions. Ramo, who had 31 stops, had his record fall to 13-11-4. Hiller improves to 29-11-6. "They paid the price and when they came to the net, they had a lot of shots and a lot of traffic with them," said Ramo. "They were into the game today, unlike the last game. I think they had a chip on their shoulders when they came here today." Notes: On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the trade of Jarome Iginla to Pittsburgh, the two players they received in return - LW Kenny Agostino and RW Ben Hanowski, were both healthy scratches for the Flames... Calgary LW TJ Galiardi drew back in after missing the past two games... Not in the line-up for Anaheim were D Francois Beauchemin, C Daniel Winnik and LW Matt Beleskey... Anaheims 22nd road victory ties the franchise record, previously done in 2006-07 and in 2008-09. ' ' '
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