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ST. PETERSBURG Jim Thome Jersey , Fla. (AP) — a new pitching formula.Ryan Yarbrough got his rookie-leading 16th win and the Rays turned another bullpen game into their 90th victory, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 9-4 on Sunday.The Rays (90-72) went to the unconventional plan of using relievers to open games in addition to traditional starters in mid-May because of injuries.The results were about equal, as Tampa Bay went 46-38 with regular starters and 44-34 when utilizing the bullpen, and the trend began to take hold around the majors. But no team did it as often as the Rays.“I don’t think you can really argue with the results we’ve had with it, and not just with me but with other guys too,” Yarbrough said. “For it to work that well was a big blessing, and you never know, if it didn’t work that well, we’d never know where we could be right now.”Ryne Stanek was Tampa Bay’s “opener” for the 29th time and went two scoreless innings. Yarbrough (16-6) followed and gave up two runs and four hits over three innings to get his 14th relief win.Austin Pruitt went the final 3 1/3 innings to pick up his fourth save. He’s gone three or more innings in four of his five career saves.The Rays went 87-60 after losing 12 of their first 15 games.“Hopefully the groundwork has been laid http://www.philliesfanproshop.com/authentic-scott-kingery-jersey ,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “The core group that has gotten some opportunities, played at a really high level, learned how to win together.”Outgoing Blue Jays manager John Gibbons decided to have some fun in the finale and let 35-year-old catcher Russell Martin manage the game.Martin said he “thought about it for a couple seconds” before deciding to keep himself on the bench, declining the opportunity to serve as a player-manager.“It was fun,” Martin said. “Didn’t realize how much went into it. A cool experience. It’s tougher than it looks.”Toronto announced Wednesday that Gibbons will not be back as manager next season.“He’s one of my favorites,” Martin said. “I’m going to miss him. He’s a special guy. He’s kind of like having a second dad.”Over two stints totaling 11 seasons, Gibbons went 793-789 with the Blue Jays.Toronto finished 73-89, a three-game drop from 2017.Tampa Bay improved 10 games from last year and joined the 2012 Rays (90) and 2013 Texas Rangers (91) as the only 90-win teams since the second wild card was introduced in 2012 to miss the postseason.Joey Wendle and Jake Bauers both had two RBIs for the Rays, who went 13-6 against Toronto. Tampa Bay has dominated the series at home Odubel Herrera Jersey , going 111-74.Sam Gaviglio (3-10) allowed five runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.SEATS AVAILABLEDespite the strong on-field showing, the Rays’ announced home attendance of 1,154,973 was their lowest since 2005 (1,141,699). Tampa Bay drew 1,253,619 last season. Sunday’s crowd was 13,313. Only Miami (811 http://www.philliesfanproshop.com/authentic-jorge-alfaro-jersey ,104) drew fewer fans.STAYING THE COURSEThe Rays are happy with the progress of two-way player Brendan McKay at Single-A Charlotte this season and plan to continue the experiment. “Where this ends up going I think we don’t know exactly still, but we’re really encouraged,” Tampa Bay senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said.Bloom said McKay, whose season ended prematurely because of an oblique injury, has been working in the instructional league and has gotten back “to where he’s a healthy player.”RAYS’ HOT STREAKSTommy Pham walked in the third to extend his on-base streak to 32 games, the longest active streak in the majors. Johnny Damon holds the team record with 39. … Wendle set a club rookie record by hitting .300. … Mallex Smith stole 40 bases.UP NEXTBlue Jays: Open the 2019 season at home against Detroit on March 28.Rays: Host AL West champion Houston on opening day of 2019. New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez will reportedly be placed on the disabled list after suffering a groin injury during Monday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.Olney reported a Tuesday MRI confirmed Sanchez's injury. Per Jon Heyman of Fancred, it is believed the catcher reaggravated the injury on a first-inning passed ball, which allowed a run to score from second:Sanchez later received criticism for not running out a grounder that ended the game Josh Bell Jersey , keeping the tying run from scoring in a 7-6 loss:As it turns out, he was hurt.Sanchez has been one of the most productive catchers in MLB since breaking out with 20 home runs in 53 appearances for the Yanks in 2016. While his batting average is below the Mendoza Line, his power numbers (14 HR, 42 RBI) have remained valuable.The 25-year-old Dominican Republic native suffered the first significant injury of his Yankees career in late June when he was placed on the disabled list with a right groin strain.After Sanchez's latest setback, Austin Romine should see a lion's share of the starts behind the plate for New York.Although the Yanks should have enough offensive depth to survive a short-term absence from Sanchez, any type of extended DL stay would limit the team's upside. He's a key piece of the puzzle, especially at a position where most teams don't receive high-end hitting numbers.

ATLANTA — Nellie Fox Jersey , but at least the Atlanta Braves still have a chance in their National League Division Series.After the Milwaukee Brewers swept the Colorado Rockies to advance to the NL Championship Series earlier Sunday, the Dodgers had a chance to do the same at SunTrust Park.The Braves, though, bounced back from two shutouts in Los Angeles to edge the Dodgers 6-5 and force a Game 4 in Atlanta on Monday. If needed, Game 5 would be Wednesday at Los Angeles.Article continues below ...Freddie Freeman hit a tie-breaking homer in the sixth inning after the Braves had let a five-run lead slip away and closer Arodys Vizcaino pulled off an escape act in the ninth inning with three strikeouts to spoil the Dodgers’ sweep hopes.Only 10 of the previous 80 teams that lost the first two games of a division series have come back to win. The Braves are trying to beat the long odds as the 11th.“I like our chances,” Freeman said. “Nobody picked us to be here, so why not prove people wrong again. We can do it.”Right-hander Mike Foltynewicz, who lost the series opener in Los Angeles on Thursday, will get the Game 4 start for the Braves, while the Dodgers will call on left-hander Rich Hill.Hill, who hasn’t worked since pitching seven scoreless innings at San Francisco last Sunday, won his last five regular-season starts to finish 11-5 and is 5-0 with 1.74 ERA in nine games against the Braves.Foltynewicz was 13-10 with a 2.85 ERA in the regular-season but lasted just two innings in Game 1 while giving up a lead-off homer by Joc Pederson and a three-run blast by Max Muncy an inning later.“Fifty pitches. He’s good. That’s just a workout http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-harold-baines-jersey ,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Quite honestly, I’d rather start him than have him coming in behind somebody. He’s raring to go and itching to get the ball. It’s still elimination, so we’re going to try and go with the best we got.”The Dodgers overcame a five-run Braves second inning highlighted by rookie Ronald Acuna Jr.’s grand slam but couldn’t cash in on their chances after Freeman put the Braves back ahead.The Dodgers have seven homers in the NLDS, but just 10 other hits. Los Angeles, which received nine walks, left nine runners on base, including four in the final two innings.“The seventh, eighth and ninth, we had our chances,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We couldn’t get that one extra hit.”Acuna, at age 20, is the youngest major leaguer to hit a bases-loaded homer in the postseason. Mickey Mantle did it at 21 for the New York Yankees in the 1953 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.Acuna Luke Appling Jersey , who hit 26 homers in the regular season, had a double and single in Game 2 and followed that up impressively on Sunday. He is batting .273 (3-for-11) while Atlanta is hitting .144 in the series.“He continues to amaze,” Freeman said. ‘He’s been doing it all year and he continued it in the playoffs. He’s pretty incredible, and everybody is starting to get to see it.” CINCINNATI (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers had a surplus of outfielders. With one attention-getting deal, they reshaped their roster in hopes of another pennant run.The reigning NL champions shook up their lineup on Friday, trading Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and left-hander Alex Wood along with cash to the Cincinnati Reds for a pair of prospects as part of a seven-player deal.The Reds included starter Homer Bailey in the swap, a way of freeing them from the $28 million owed him in the final year of his contract. Bailey didn’t fit into the Reds’ pitching plans, so they wanted to include him in a deal if possible. The Dodgers plan to release him.“It was to grant him his release, more of fitting into the overall construct of the deal,” said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations.The Dodgers get minor leaguer infielder Jeter Downs and right-hander Josiah Gray. The Reds got catcher Kyle Farmer for depth at the position.“I think if you look back over last few years http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-bo-jackson-jersey , a hallmark of our teams has been depth on our roster,” Friedman said. “This put us in position with a surplus in the outfield and pitching. A big focus was to figure out moves on those fronts that made sense.”For the Reds, it’s another move toward becoming competitive after four straight 90-loss seasons. Cincinnati has been rebuilding since 2015, and decided it’s time to spend some money and make some deals to complement its core of young players.“We still have (financial) resources to make this team better — we’re not done yet,” said Dick Williams, the Reds’ president of baseball operations. “We did trade some good prospects here, but we acquired four major league players that address needs for us and I think we’re better in the short-term.”Last week, the Reds traded pitching prospect Tanner Rainey to the Nationals for 32-year-old starter Tanner Roark, who led the National League in losses last season while going 9-15 with a 4.34 ERA.Cincinnati didn’t know what to do with Bailey, who went 1-14 last season with a 6.09 ERA and resisted a move to the bullpen. He threw a pair of no-hitters before his career was sidetracked by three arm operations. He was entering the final year on a six-year, $105 million deal.The rotation has been the Reds’ biggest problem, with prospects failing to produce consistently http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-luis-aparicio-jersey , and Wood provides another upgrade. He was an All-Star for the Dodgers in 2017, going 16-3 with a 2.72 ERA. He was 9-7 last season with a 3.68 ERA in 27 starts and six relief appearances.“We think he’s a solid middle-of-the-rotation guy who’s going to fit in really well,” Williams said.The Reds’ outfield was in flux when they chose not to tender a contact to Billy Hamilton, making him a free agent. Puig is expected to play right field. He’s in the final year of a seven-year, $42 million deal.Kemp, 34, batted .290 with 25 doubles, 21 homers and 85 RBIs last season, when he was an All-Star for the third time.The Dodgers felt good about the chance to deal from their glut of outfielders and pitchers.“If you look at our rotation and outfield four hours ago, it was not a functional roster,” Friedman said. “It’s a deal that makes sense.”

— The Houston Astros aren’t putting up big numbers with their injury-depleted lineup. But the World Series champions are making up for that with a couple of timely home runs.Tyler White hit a two-run drive in the eighth inning and the Astros pulled off a late rally for the second straight game Luis Valbuena Jersey , beating the San Francisco Giants 2-1 on Tuesday.The win followed the Astros’ 3-1 victory Monday night in which Marwin Gonzalez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth.This time, the AL West leaders again trailed 1-0 when Gonzalez doubled and White hit a high, arching shot to left field off Ray Black (1-1).“It’s not easy to win games in the eighth and ninth,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “We kind of make a habit of it every now and then, but different guy every day.”Houston has hit 13 home runs in its last eight games. The Astros have won six of seven and the Giants have lost four of five.“I was trying to put a good swing and then I saw it went up in the air to left field,” White said. “It was a good moment.”And it followed an anxious moment.On an 0-2 pitch, White was brushed back by a high 96 mph fastball from Black, who topped 100 earlier in the at-bat.“That’s always scary,” White said. “He let one get away a little bit, you just have to calm yourself down because it’s little bit scary. You just have to look for a good pitch to hit on the next pitch, and that’s what I was doing.”Joe Smith (4-1) struck out the only two batters he faced in the seventh for the win. Hector Rondon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 13th save in 16 tries.Astros starter Dallas Keuchel gave up one run and three hits in six innings http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-chris-young-jersey , striking out five and walking two.Giants starter Madison Bumgarner pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out seven. He is 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA in six career starts against Houston.“It’s hard to take when you get that kind of pitching,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.“Give them credit; they beat two of our hottest relievers. Lightning hit us twice. Black has been lights out. That was the first hit he allowed since his debut. He had a 1-2 count and made a mistake. He missed his spot. It looked like it was right down the middle.”D’ARNAUD’S DAYGiants INF Chase d’Arnaud left the game with a bruised left knee after fouling a ball of himself in the fourth. He hit an RBI single in the second.“He’s day-to-day,” Bochy said. “I’m guessing he’ll be fine with the day off (Wednesday).”TRAINER’S ROOMGiants: 1B Brandon Belt, on the DL with a hyperextended right knee since July 26, is ramping up baseball activities and could be activated for next week’s series opener against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Monday, Bochy said.UP NEXTAstros: After a day off, the Astros and RHP Justin Verlander (11-6, 2.19 ERA) will open a series at home against Seattle. He has won just two of his last eight starts, posting a 3.54 ERA over that stretch.Giants: LHP Andrew Suarez (4-7, 4.60) with make his 20th career start Thursday in a series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at home. The Houston Astros traded for ace relief pitcher Roberto Osuna when he was in the middle of a 75-game suspension related to a domestic assault charge. There was bound to come a moment when that decision looked as bad on the field as it did in the department of basic decency.This moment arrived Tuesday Cam Bedrosian Jersey , October 16. Specifically, in the eighth inning of Houston's 8-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.It was a one-run game when Osuna entered in the top of the eighth at Minute Maid Park. He initially looked like the same pitcher who was an All-Star with the Toronto Blue Jays and put up a 1.99 ERA in 23 regular-season appearances with the Astros. Two of the first three batters he faced made outs.But then Osuna hit Brock Holt with a pitch to load the bases. Then he hit Mitch Moreland. Like that, Houston's deficit was doubled.After that came Jackie Bradley Jr. with the gamebreaker off Osuna: a grand slam into the right field seats that pushed the Red Sox's lead to six runs and, ultimately, clinched a 2-1 series lead.Boston Red Sox RedSoxThe Grand Slam Train continues in the #postseason! 馃殏#DoDamage nwSAOJ8PErAll told, Osuna was charged with five runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. It is the worst performance of his four-year major league career.In the words of Astros manager A.J. Hinch, per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand: "It's a 3-2 ballgame until all hell broke loose there."It's tempting to view Osuna's collapse as karma for what got him suspended by Major League Baseball in the first place. But that's equal parts tricky and foolish.The details of what led to his May arrest and subsequent suspension have been kept under wraps, and revelations aren't coming any time soon. The charge against the 23-year-old was dropped when he agreed to a peace bond. The accuser鈥攁 woman who has a young child with him鈥攈ad declined to travel from Mexico to Toronto to testify.Whatever Osuna may have done to deserve his punishment, karma isn't going for him when he's on the mound anyway. Scales such as these can't be balanced by a couple of bad pitches in a silly game for kids.For the Astros, on the other hand, what happened in the eighth inning Tuesday is absolutely karmic retribution.Bob Levey/Getty ImagesThough the Astros didn't break any rules when they traded for Osuna ahead of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-blake-wood-jersey , the very act of doing so made them guilty of extreme cynicism.The Astros didn't look at Osuna and see a toxic asset. They looked and saw a marked-down item. All they needed to give up to get him was a few spare parts (fallen closer Ken Giles and fellow right-handers David Paulino and Hector Perez) and perhaps a little dignity.The Astros may have underestimated how much dignity the deal would cost them, however.The backlash was immediate and fierce. General manager Jeff Luhnow didn't help matters by insulting everyone's intelligence in a statement meant to reassure everyone that Osuna would "fully comply with our zero tolerance policy related to abuse of any kind." When you claim zero tolerance for abusers while bringing in a guy accused of abuse, then you don't actually have a zero tolerance policy.As far as the Astros were clearly concerned, however, what mattered was the long game. Unlike the joint drug agreement, MLB's domestic violence policy doesn't include postseason bans for suspended players. The more Osuna did to help deliver their second straight World Series championship, the more the controversy of his acquisition figured to blow over.Well, go figure that his biggest game as an Astro to date resulted in a critical ALCS loss. As MLB.com's Brian McTaggart noted, history is now firmly on the Red Sox's side after Osuna's meltdown:Brian McTaggart brianmctaggartRed Sox beat the Astros, 8-2, to take a 2-1 series lead. In the history of best-of-seven series with the 2-3-2 format Zack Greinke Jersey , teams that win Game 3 on the road to grab a 2-1 advantage have gone on to take the series 27 of 36 times (75 percent).After opening with a 7-2 thud at Fenway Park in Game 1, the Red Sox have certainly looked more like a 108-game winner in claiming Games 2 and 3.Their hitters have worked tough at-bats against Gerrit Cole, Dallas Keuchel and an array of Houston relievers. Chris Sale, David Price and Nathan Eovaldi bent but didn't break at the start of games. And after a rough showing in Game 1, Boston's bullpen has allowed one run on three hits in 7.1 innings over the last two.Of course, it would be foolish to write the Astros off entirely. They were 103-game winners in their own right in the regular season, and one can still look at them and see a team that matches up well with Boston. The Astros can come back on the Red Sox by outpitching, outhitting or outfielding them. Osuna putting Game 3 behind him and getting back to his dominant ways could indeed be part of the equation.For now, though, they're reeling from an ugly loss that's the fault of a player whose very presence on the team is outrageous to many. Darn it if something about that doesn't feel right.Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.