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panxing18 · Geregistreerd op: 23 Jun 2018 Berichten: 137

Mired in the worst slump of his career Jim Kelly Jersey , George Springer has been trying everything to break out of it.

His latest tactic came on Thursday night when he swiped reigning American League MVP Jose Altuve’s bat to use in the ninth inning.

The change worked, with Springer hitting an RBI single in Houston’s two-run rally that helped lift the Astros to a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.

”My bat wasn’t seeming to work, so I figured I would try somebody else’s bat so I went with the hit king. I went with (No.) 27,” he said of Altuve, who has led the AL in hits the last four seasons and is in first place this year. ”It’s mine now, but it has his name on it.”

The Astros trailed by 1 when Joakim Soria (0-3) walked pinch-hitter Tony Kemp with no outs in the ninth before advancing to third on a single by pinch-hitter Marwin Gonzalez. Springer snapped an 0 for 8 slump and tied it at 3-3 with his RBI single to shallow center field. It was a much-needed hit for the World Series MVP who has been struggling lately, going 6 for 70 since June 15.

”I didn’t execute my pitches when I needed to,” Soria said.

Manager A.J. Hinch noted that Springer’s clutch hit was even more impressive considering the success Soria’s had against right-handers this season.

”Tough matchup for any right-handed hitter, especially if you’re carrying the weight of 65, 70 at-bats that players do when they go through what George has gone through,” Hinch said.

Alex Bregman walked to load the bases and Altuve struck out before Yuli Gurriel sent a ball over second baseman Yoan Moncada’s head into right field to start the celebration.

Altuve hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to help Houston to the victory.

Justin Verlander bounced back from his last start where he allowed nine hits and five runs – both season highs – in a loss to Tampa Bay with a solid outing. He yielded four hits and two runs and struck out 10 in seven innings.

Joe Smith (3-1) allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth for the win in his first appearance since June 6.

Omar Narvaez homered with two hits and Leury Garcia’s solo shot in the eighth inning put the White Sox up 3-2.

The score was tied at 2-all with one out in the eighth when Garcia sent a fastball from Chris Devenski into the bullpen in right-center to put the White Sox on top.

Chicago trailed 2-0 when Narvaez got Chicago within one with his solo homer to right field off Verlander to lead off the sixth. Moncada singled with two outs in the inning and Chicago tied it up when Yolmer Sanchez doubled to left field.

White Sox starter Carlos Rodon allowed five hits and two runs while tying a career-high with six walks in six innings.

Gurriel was on third base with one out in the eighth inning, but got caught in a rundown before Tyler White struck out to end the inning.

Rodon worked around singles by White and Jake Marisnick in the second inning and a pair of walks in the third. Houston couldn’t get anything going on offense until Bregman doubled with one out in the fifth inning and Altuve followed with his eighth homer of the season to make it 2-0.

Chicago’s Avisail Garcia went 0 for 4 with a strikeout to end his career-high 14-game hitting streak James Daniels Jersey , which was the longest active streak in the majors.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: Manager A.J. Hinch said SS Carlos Correa (back stiffness) is unlikely to come off the disabled list before Monday and he wouldn’t speculate on Thursday about whether he’ll return before the All-Star break. ”I don’t know how the next 11 days are going to go,” Hinch said. ”I know he’s probably not going to play this series. We’ll get to Monday and ask me again.”

White Sox: SS Tim Anderson left the game with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning after being plunked on the left forearm by Devenski in the top of the frame. He looked to be in quite a bit of pain, but remained in the game and stole second base before leaving in the bottom of the inning. ”It’s always the next day, the after effects of a blow like that,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. ”We’ll re-evaluate him (Friday). He’s day-to-day until I know more.”

THEY SAID IT

Narvaez on homering off Verlander after going 0 for 5 in his career against the right-hander: ”I had three years facing him and I haven’t gotten any hits. It was kind of exciting.”

UP NEXT

Houston’s Lance McCullers (9-3, 3.55 ERA) opposes Chicago’s Reynaldo Lopez (4-5, 3.6 Cool

when the series continues on Friday night. McCullers allowed three hits in seven innings of a 1-0 win over Tampa Bay for his third straight win in his last start. Lopez yielded seven hits and two runs in 6 1/3 innings of a 10-5 win over Texas his last time out.

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes will end the NHL regular season the way they began it, by playing each other. What’s interesting is how that first game back on Oct. 5 set the stage for both teams’ seasons to follow.

The Coyotes, in their first game under new coach Rick Tocchet, led 4-1 at the Honda Center following Christian Fischer’s goal at 13:50 of the second period, only to give up four consecutive Ducks goals and lose 5-4 M.J. Stewart Youth Jersey , with Rickard Rakell scoring the game-winning goal at 16:30 of the third period.

Arizona (29-40-12) went on to lose its next 10 games, going 0-10-1 to start the season, and never recovered despite a respectable second-half surge in which it has gone 20-13-7 this calendar year. The Coyotes still haven’t reached the postseason since 2011-12.

Anaheim (43-25-13) took that first game and built its sixth consecutive playoff season, with its opponent and its playoff seeding to be determined by its final regular-season game Saturday night at Gila River Arena.

The Ducks moved into third place in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings, by beating the Dallas Stars 5-3 Friday night behind right wing Jakob Silfverberg’s goal and two assists.

They trail second-place San Jose by only one point, so if the Ducks beat Arizona and the Sharks lose Saturday to the Minnesota Wild, Anaheim will claim second place and home ice for the first round of the playoffs. However, should the Ducks lose and the Kings beat the Stars at the Staples Center, Anaheim would fall back to being a wild-card team.

“It’s a long season, and we worked hard to make it,” Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin said. “Now that we’ve made it Cheap Uchenna Nwosu Jersey , we need to take the next step and we’re going to need everybody going. … Everybody in here is hungry for more. Now we’ve got to take that next step.”

The Ducks will head into the postseason as one of those teams no opponent really wants to play. They’ve won four in a row and are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games, 16-5-2 in their last 23 games and 24-10-4 since their bye. They’re 2-1 against the Coyotes.

“We felt if we played the right way and gave ourselves a chance, this group was capable of putting together a longer string of wins and qualify for the playoffs,” coach Randy Carlyle said. “Now the goal changes.”

And it all began with that momentum-shifting win at the Honda Center six months ago.

That’s not to say the Coyotes will go into the offseason without any significant positives.

Goaltender Antti Raanta proved to be a true No. 1 goalie once he was fully healthy — he is 21-16-6 with a shiny 2.24 goals-against average — and was rewarded this week with a $12.75 million, three-year contract extension.

Reliable backup goalie Darcy Kuemper also is locked up for multiple seasons, giving the Coyotes strength at a position that was remarkably weak when Raanta was hurt at the start of the season – contributing to the terrible start.

Clayton Keller, the 19-year-old center, started strong with 11 goals in his first 16 games and is finishing strong, too, with five goals and 12 assists in his last 14 games – giving him 23 goals and 65 points for the season.

Center Derek Stepan (56 points) had a solid season in his first year with Arizona, especially from a leadership standpoint. Oliver Ekman-Larsson recovered from a slow start to have a typical season for one of the Western Conference’s best two-way defensemen.

Defenseman Kevin Connauton has scored 10 of his 11 goals since Feb. 1.

Still, the Coyotes’ 4-3 loss Thursday at Vancouver was another defeat that summed up their season Sam Darnold Youth Jersey , despite their 6-3-1 record in their last 10 games. They led 3-1 in the third period, but didn’t get a shot off the entire period and went on to lose in overtime on Daniel Sedin’s second goal of the game, set up by brother Henrik in the soon-to-retire twins’ final game on home ice.

“I’m embarrassed for us we couldn’t get a shot on net,” Tocchet said. “A couple of guys showed up, but that was about it.”

Now, for the sixth consecutive season, the Coyotes won’t show up in the playoffs. And, for a sixth consecutive season, the Ducks will. And the roots of both streaks go back to that Oct. 5 game.
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