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Despite losing two in a row, the Toronto Blue Jays will still be in control of the American League East once they close out a four- game series with the Chicago White Sox this afternoon. Travis Kelce Jersey For Sale . Toronto, which has posted back-to-back wins only once since the first week of June, is still 1 1/2 games in front of Baltimore for the lead in the division, with just two weeks remaining before the All-Star Break. Yesterday the Jays made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning when they drew to within a single run, but that was as close as the hosts would get in the 4-3 setback. Darin Mastroianni stroked his first home run of the season and plated two of his teams three runs, the other RBI coming from Munenori Kawasaki. Starting pitcher Marcus Stroman made it through 6 2/3 innings before giving way to the Toronto bullpen. The hurler allowed just two runs on a pair of hits and two walks, while striking out six. Dustin McGowan was charged with the loss, his third of the season, after permitting three runs on three hits in just one inning of action. "If you could do things over, you leave him in," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Stroman. "But my thinking was, he pitched his butt off, it was kind of uncharted territory, I dont want him to lose the game right there. Thats the way it goes. But you always look back on things like that. I had a plan and it just didnt work." "Its tough, because obviously I want to be out there," said Stroman. "I felt strong but Im also young, so that was Gibbys choice. "Dustin has been great for us all year, so its not like I was mad about coming out of the game. I had 100-percent confidence for Dustin to come in and get that out. Just one of those things and Im sure hell be right back to it." McGowan was charged with giving up a three-run home run by Dayan Viciedo, one of his two hits on the day. Adam Dunn added a pair of hits and two walks as well for a Chicago squad that is fourth in the AL Central, six games below .500 and 8 1/2 games out of contention. Chris Sale was credited with the win for the White Sox as he worked through seven innings, permitting just two runs on four hits, although he did have some issues with his control, issuing five walks. Sale also struck out six on the day. Zach Putnam stepped in late to collect his first save of the season. The Sox now turn their attention toward Jose Quintana, their starter for the series finale today. The left-hander had gone four outings without a win until picking up a much-needed victory on Tuesday versus Baltimore on the road. In that clash Quintana surrendered just a single run on six hits and three walks, striking out eight over the course of seven innings for his fourth win of the season. When it comes to his experience against the Jays, Quintana, now in his third major league season, has a record of 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA in five starts. Going up against the Chicago batting order is former White Sox standout Mark Buehrle. Selected by Chicago in the 38th round of the 1998 draft, the left- hander started his major league career with the Sox in 2000 and remained on the staff until 2011. Now just four wins shy of 200 for his career, Buehrle has struggled of late, last earning a victory against Kansas City on the first of the month. Most recently the Missouri native went up against the New York Yankees on Tuesday, permitting four runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings, but even though the Jays eventually came away with the 7-6 win, Buehrle did not factor into the decision. Against his former Chicago team, Buehrle is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA. Chicago, which won the season series with the Jays each of the last two years, now owns a 2-1 edge in 2014 battles. Dwayne Bowe Jersey. -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. Josh Mauga Mens Red Jersey . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon has reworked his lineup in search of an offensive spark. Maddon had sluggers Wil Myers and Evan Longoria first and second Wednesday night in the lineup against Oakland. Part-time outfielder Brandon Guyer, who normally hits seventh or eighth, was the cleanup hitter. Over a 28-game stretch through Tuesday, Longoria hit .202. Myers started the day with two RBIs in his past 14 games. &quuot;I wanted to get them as many at-bats as possible to get them going," Maddon said of Myers and Longoria. Josh Mauga Jersey For Sale. "Right now its really difficult to try to set up a logical batting order based on as a group not hitting. If those two guys go, well be in pretty good shape." The Rays, last in the AL East, had scored in just one of their previous 28 innings entering Wednesday, and had 14 runs over the previous seven games. ' ' ' |
