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CLEVELAND -- After a difficult April, the Cleveland Indians are starting to play a bit better. Peyton Manning . Asdrubal Cabrera had four hits and three RBIs, Michael Brantley also homered and the Indians beat the injury-riddled Minnesota Twins 9-4 Thursday for their first three-game winning streak this season. Cleveland went 5-2 on a homestand that followed an 0-6 trip to San Francisco and the Los Angeles Angels. "Were still inconsistent at some things, but were doing a lot of things better than we were," manager Terry Francona said. "Were playing with a little more confidence, a little more purpose. ... Its just a little better feel." Cabrera, who entered hitting .215, had a solo homer in the second inning and RBI doubles in the seventh and eighth. He also singled in the fifth. "Shows how smart I was, I was going to give him the day off," Francona said. "He talked me out of it." Cabrera declined to talk with reporters after the game. Francona thought he should have been credited with a triple in his final at-bat, which would have given him a cycle. Brantley hit a two-run homer in the fifth and had an RBI grounder in the sixth. He also doubled and scored in the first, then singled in the third. "Hittings contagious," Brantley said. "It was fun to be a part of." Justin Masterson (2-1) allowed four runs -- two earned -- four hits and four walks in 6 1-3 innings. Kevin Correia (1-4) gave up four runs, eight hits and four walks in 4 1-3 innings for the Twins. Minnesota played its fourth straight game without first baseman Joe Mauer, who could be headed to the disabled list because of back spasms. Outfielder Sam Fuld was placed on the seven-day DL with concussion-like symptoms, leaving infielder Pedro Florimon as Minnesotas only bench player when the game began. "Were looking for nine right now, nine people that can play," manager Ron Gardenhire said. Shortstop Eduardo Escobar was forced to play the outfield for the second straight day and struggled again. He misjudged a fly ball in left field in the ninth inning Wednesday night that led to Cleveland scoring the winning run. Brantley doubled with two outs in the first Thursday, advanced on ball four to Carlos Santana and David Murphy hit a line drive directly at Escobar. Escobar froze, then broke back too late to make the catch as the ball landed on the warning track. Brantley scored, but Santana was out on a relay throw to the plate. Escobar dropped Lonnie Chisenhalls sinking line drive in the seventh, but avoided an error by throwing to second to force Ryan Raburn, who had held up to see whether the ball would be caught. Cabrera led off the second with a home run. Brantleys homer scored Nick Swisher, who started the fifth with a walk. Cleveland (15-19) headed to Tampa Bay for the start of a series. The Indians are 4-11 away from home. "Weve got to play really well," Francona said. "Were going to a tough place to play." NOTES: Indians CF and leadoff hitter Michael Bourn returned after missing three games with a tight left hamstring. He had a sacrifice fly in the seventh. ... INF Eduardo Nunez was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Fulds roster spot. ... Santana broke an 0-for-21 slump with an infield hit in the fifth. ... Minnesota added RHP Matt Guerrier to the 40-man roster after selecting his contract from Rochester. LHP Brooks Railey was claimed by the Los Angeles Angels after being placed on waivers. ... Florimon and OF-C Chris Herrmann were optioned to Triple-A Rochester following the game. Emmanuel Sanders . Kingsbury, from Deux-Montagnes, Que., finished the course with 25.90 points to take gold, while Montreals Bilodeau took silver with 25.60. "The final was pretty strong today," said Kingsbury. Eric Decker . Thorpe, who spent six seasons with the Alouettes between 2002 and 2007 before returning as the teams defensive coordinator last season, has also been appointed the teams assistant head coach. Dinwiddie, who broke into the CFL as a quarterback with the Alouettes in 2005, began his coaching career in 2013 with the Alouettes.LOS ANGELES -- UFC President Dana White is "thrilled" by the Association of Ringside Physicians call for the elimination of testosterone replacement therapy in mixed martial arts. White still believes the UFC cant be solely in charge of eliminating steroid users from its bouts, saying government athletic commissions should close the TRT loophole permanently. "The doctors came out and said they want to ban it? Well, thats the answer," White told The Associated Press on Monday. "Its legal in the sport. The commissions let you do it. You get an exemption, and you have to be monitored and all the stuff thats going on, but if theyre going to do away with it? There you go. Its a problem solved." The ARP is an association of ringside doctors involved in boxing and MMA -- the so-called combat sports. The organizations consensus statement calls for the elimination of therapeutic use exemptions for testosterone, a thorny issue in MMA circles for years. "Steroid use of any type, including unmerited testosterone, significantly increases the safety and health risk to combat sports athletes and their opponents," the ARPs statement said. "TRT in a combat sports athlete may also create an unfair advantage contradictory to the integrity of sport." Several UFC fighters in recent years have been given exemptions by athletic commissions to use synthetic testosterone before their bouts, including veteran stars Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort and Frank Mir. The exemptions were granted ostensibly for medical reasons, including a supposed deficiency in naturally occurring testosterone caused by hypogonadism -- a diminished function of the gonads. Well before the ARP added its influential voice to the chorus against TRT, many medical professionals have questioned the legitimacy of such exemptions, particularly for professional cage fighters. "The incidence of hypogonadism requiring the use of testosterone replacement therapy in professional athletes is extraordinarily rare," the ARPs statement said. "Accordingly, the use of an anabolic steroid such as testosterone in a professional boxer or mixed martial artist is rarely justified." White knows the UFCs next showdown with TRT use is imminent, and he hopes the Nevada State Athletic Commission wont grant an exemption to Belfort, who is scheduled to fight Chris Weidman for the middleweight tittle in Las Vegas later this year. Montee Ball. . The 36-year-old Belfort, who failed a steroid test in Nevada several years ago, has improbably revitalized his career with three spectacular stoppage victories in his native Brazil. Belfort knocked out the 43-year-old Henderson with a head kick in the first round last November in Goiania, Brazil, earning a title shot. Belfort has been open about his TRT use for the past year, while Henderson has acknowledged it for several years. "He drives me crazy, and me and Vitor were not on good terms a few months ago," White said. "Just because this whole TRT thing, I think, is unfair, and I said were going to test the living (daylights) out of him (during training). And we have, and he has complied, and he has been within the limits hes supposed to have." Although the UFC tests its fighters when they sign contracts and adds additional in-house testing before certain fights, White said hes wary of completely stepping in front of government regulators on the issue. When the UFC stages fight cards in areas with no appropriate athletic commission, the promotion acts as its own regulator. "We couldnt be more proactive," White said. "Drugs hurt us. Hurts our sport. Let alone our perception in the media and everything -- it destroys great athletes. Drugs destroy great athletes, because once you start on them, you can never get off them. Youre on them for the rest of your career." Other prominent fighters believe the UFC should be doing more. Georges St. Pierre, the UFCs longtime welterweight champion before stepping away from the sport late last year, re-ignited the public discussion of drug testing in MMA earlier this month with criticism of the UFCs current testing policies, calling them ineffective and beatable. St. Pierre believes performance-enhancing drugs are still a major problem in MMA. Tim Kennedy, a rising UFC middleweight and former Army Green Beret, hailed Mondays statement from the ARP in a post on his Twitter account: "So the Association for Ringside Physicians supports elimination of TRT in MMA, the fighters want it gone. Only the cheaters want to keep it." UFC middleweight Bubba McDaniel echoed Kennedys sentiments in a post on his Facebook fan page: "If you have abused Steroids so long that you need TRT to remain normal. Your time is up because youve CHEATED long enough!!" ' ' ' |
