ekansekans's blog: "df"

NEW YORK -- Adam LaRoche grabbed a different bat and suddenly solved the enigma of R. Tom Brady Youth Jersey .A. Dickey. LaRoche hit a tiebreaking homer and the Washington Nationals handed Dickey his first loss in three months, beating the sinking New York Mets 5-2 Tuesday night behind Gio Gonzalezs seven crisp innings. At the suggestion of injured teammate Ian Desmond, LaRoche switched bats in the sixth to a lighter model that belonged to speedy outfielder Roger Bernadina. "Ive been using a heavier bat and obviously it hasnt been working against Dickey, so I figured it was time to try something new," said LaRoche, who was 2 for 14 against the knuckleballer before his long home run. Gonzalez (13-5) gave up only two singles in a rematch of All-Star pitchers, five days after New York hit him hard to back Dickey during his 13th win. This time, it went the other way. "Just wanted to redeem myself from the last start," Gonzalez said. "You always want to bounce back as a pitcher. You dont want to feel down and out. A lot of these guys came up to me and gave me some positive energy, positive feedback. So the best I wanted to do was return the favour." Dickey (13-2) allowed five consecutive hits in the sixth, ending his 11-game winning streak, as the Mets lost their fifth straight and 11th in 12 games. Their lone victory since July 7 was Dickeys 9-5 win over Gonzalez last Thursday in Washington. In a mini shake-up before the game, New York demoted slumping right fielder Lucas Duda to the minors. "When youre not playing good baseball against teams like this, they exploit you pretty quickly," Mets third baseman David Wright said. "This stretch is not going to define us over the course of the year." Ryan Zimmerman kept up his tear at the plate with three hits and the Nationals won their fourth in a row to improve the NLs best record to 57-39. They are 8-3 against the Mets this season, winning all four series so far, and will go for a three-game sweep Wednesday at noon with ace Stephen Strasburg on the mound against rookie Jeremy Hefner. "I think were clicking pretty good," LaRoche said. "It can get better, but its pretty good right now." Sean Burnett got three outs in the eighth and Tyler Clippard fanned two in a perfect ninth, finishing the three-hitter for his 17th save. Gonzalez struck out four, walked two and did not allow an earned run in his longest outing since May 27. "It was a masterpiece," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "He had something to prove." Jordany Valdespin set a Mets record with his fifth pinch-hit homer of the season. The rookie connected off Ryan Mattheus leading off the eighth, breaking a mark he previously shared with Mark Carreon (1989) and Danny Heep (1983). Dickey was 11-0 in his previous 16 starts since getting roughed up in a 14-6 loss April 18 on a rainy day in Atlanta. Trying to become the first 14-game winner in the majors, he was unable to stop New Yorks nasty slide. He yielded five runs -- four earned -- and eight hits in six innings. The 37-year-old right-hander tossed an inning of relief Saturday against the Dodgers to help an overworked bullpen, only two days after throwing 111 pitches over 7 1-3 innings in Washington. He has a 5.36 ERA in his last seven outings. "I had a good knuckleball," Dickey said. "I should have pitched into the eighth inning. I felt too good for that to happen." Dickey whiffed star rookie Bryce Harper all three times on knuckleballs ranging from 66-81 mph and was in command until the sixth, when he gave up five straight hits with two outs. Michael Morse singled and LaRoche drove a low knuckler into the upper deck in right, snapping a 1-all tie with his 17th homer. Danny Espinosa singled, Bernadina beat out a slow dribbler toward first and Jesus Flores hit an RBI single to left. Jason Bays wide throw to the plate got away for an error that allowed Bernadina to score, making it 5-1. Espinosas throwing error at shortstop led to an unearned run in the second. Ronny Cedeno hit an RBI single to right with two outs, giving New York its first lead in 42 innings since last Thursday, but was thrown out by Harper trying to stretch it into a double. Gonzalez retired his next 11 batters and did not permit another hit until Ike Davis two-out single in the seventh. A switch-hitter, Espinosa batted right-handed against Dickey to get a better look at the knuckleball. The first time up, Espinosa struck out swinging. But in the fourth, his two-out double tied it 1-all after Zimmerman opened the inning with a bloop double. NOTES: Flores (back) was back behind the plate after sitting out two games. ... Washington is 9-1-3 in series against NL East opponents. ... Harper is 0 for 10 against Dickey with six strikeouts. ... New York released RHP Miguel Batista, designated for assignment Sunday. Tom Brady Womens Jersey . Moores civil lawsuit for damages and lost wages stems from an incident during a game on March 8, 2004, in Vancouver between the Canucks and the Colorado Avalanche. Bertuzzi, then with the Canucks, attacked Colorados Moore from behind and punched him in the side of the head, driving him to the ice. Stevan Ridley Jersey . Showing that age wasnt slowing them down, the Spurs lost only five times this season when stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili all played. http://www.nikenewenglandpatriotsjerseyssale.com/tom-brady-jerseys . Burrell will officially retire as a Phillie during the Boston Red Sox series in May at Citizens Bank Park. Hell be honoured May 19 and throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Nate Solder Jersey . Clinching an upset win for Ohio over the Wolverines in the NCAA tournament is just a bit sweeter. Offutt, who ended up at Ohio by way of Wright State, grabbed a loose ball, was fouled by Evan Smotrycz and sank both of his free throws with 6. Brandon Lloyd Jersey .Y. -- Shanshan Feng set two personal goals this year on the LPGA Tour.MONTREAL -- Each Formula One race this year has tossed up a different winner and on Sunday, it was McLaren Mercedes star Lewis Hamiltons turn to shine at the Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton passed defending F1 champion Sebastian Vettel and two-time world champ Fernando Alonso late in the 70-lap race to post his third career win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Hamilton got the first of his 18 career F1 victories in Montreal in 2007 and won it again in 2010. He became only the third driver to win the race three times, after Michael Schumacher who had seven wins from 1994 to 2004 and Nelson Piquet who had three between 1982 and 1991. "Its been five years since I won for the first time here, but it feels just as good," said the 27-year-old, whose strategy of pitting for two tire changes while his main opponents planned only one stop proved to be the difference. "It feels like one of the best races Ive had for a very long time. "I knew today would be tough but I loved every single minute of it." He was joined on the podium by two of the seasons big surprises -- newcomer Romain Grosjean of Lotus and Sergio Perez of Sauber. Vettel and Alonso, sliding about on spent tires, dropped to fourth and fifth respectively. It was without the usual crashes and blown engines that have marked many Canadian races, and there wasnt a whiff of trouble from protesters who disrupted events away from the race track during the week. Race promoter Francois Dumontier said ticket sales were down as much as six per cent from previous years, partly due to the troubles, but there were still about 110,000 spectators packed into the grandstands on a warm, sunny afternoon. With the victory, Hamilton leapt four places into top spot in driver standings with 88 points, two more than Alonso, three up on Vettel and nine ahead of Red Bulls Mark Webber. It has been a topsy-turvy year for F1, which has never seen seven different race winners in as many races to start a season. Equally surprising was that it took Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, this long to get a win. Many team bosses, drivers and fans expect "normality" to set in at some point, with proven powers like McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull taking over. But it hasnt happened yet, and who knows what surprises will crop up at the next Grand Prix June 24 in Valencia, Spain? "I think this mix-up is normal," said Hamilton. "Its just my feeling, but I think it will continue to be like this throughout the year. "I think its great for Formula One and the fans. There was a lot of overtaking today. Seven different winners in seven races, I cant remember hearing about anything like that." He then added with a laugh: "I hope theres no more. I hope theres not eight winners." Earlier this year, Jenson Button (Australia), Alonso (Malaysia), NNico Rosberg (China), Vettel (Bahrain), Pastor Maldonado (Spain) and Webber (Monaco) won races -- which was already a first since F1 began in 1950. Tedy Bruschi Jersey. Vettel, starting from pole position for a second year in a row, held the lead until he pitted for super-soft tires after 16 laps, putting Hamilton in front until he went in a lap later. Hamiltons pitted again after lap 49 with fading tires and returned in third place behind Alonso and Vettel. On fresh tires, Hamilton cranked up the speed and passed Vettel on lap 62 and Alonso one lap later to regain the lead. "The team did a great job with the pit stops," said Hamilton. "I was surprised I was able to look after my tires and push at the times I needed to push. "I was surprised I was able to close the gap on Sebastian. I never thought theyd have such (tire) degradation. I wasnt able to do a one-stop. I would probably have fallen back more than they did." Vettel and Alonso were all over the track on the final laps, allowing Grosjean and Perez to slip past. But neither could catch Hamilton, who crossed the finsh line with a 2.5-second lead. Before this week, Grosjean only knew the track from play-racing it on his X-Box. "On the video game, its my favourite," the Frenchman said. "Its more bumpy than on X-box sitting on a sofa, but its pretty interesting." It was a second top-three finish this year for Grosjean, who was third at Bahrain, and for Perez, who was second in Malaysia. "It means a lot," said Grosjean. "It means were in good shape on the team. Were improving all the time. It wasnt one shot we got in Bahrain." Perez started 15th on grid after troubles balancing the car in qualifying Saturday. "It was a great race for the whole team," the Mexican said. "We had to fight in a different way and make the strategy work. It was a lottery, basically, but the team did a great job with the strategy and myself with keeping the tires alive." It was a tough week for Ferrari, who looked strong in qualifying after reworking their rear end and exhaust position. The second Ferrari of Felipe Massa was 10th, after a promising sixth in Monaco two weeks ago. The race got off to its cleanest start in memory and all 24 cars stayed on the track until lap 25, when Narain Karthikeyans HRT spun out and stopped on the first turn. A lap later, Pedro de la Rosas HRT was pushed into the garage with smoke billowing from its engine. Seven-time world and Canadian Grand Prix champion Schumacher got the DRS device on his Petronas Mercedes stuck on lap 45 and went off the track and out of the race. Spanish Grand Prix winner Pastor Maldonado was bumped from 17th to 22nd on the starting grid following a penalty for having to change his gearbox after a crash during practice on Saturday. ' ' '