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MILWAUKEE -- Jean Segura smiled in his first game at Miller Park since returning to the Milwaukee Brewers following the death of his 9-month-old son. wholesale nfl jerseys . The shortstop still grieves, but it will be nights like the one Segura had in a 5-2 victory Monday over the Cincinnati Reds that will provide some distraction. Segura went 2 for 3 with a triple and scored two runs, and Milwaukee took advantage of two misjudged balls in the outfield by Chris Heisey to hand Cincinnati its fourth straight loss. "It was a tough week for me, and for my family, too," Segura said. "I (came) here, worked, trying to do the best I can to help the team." The 24-year-old Segura took bereavement leave after learning of son Janniels death following a 7-6 loss on July 11 to the St. Louis Cardinals. He went home to the Dominican Republic before returning to the club after the All-Star break for the weekend series in Washington. Segura said he wasnt nervous coming back to play before his hometown fans. Manager Ron Roenicke said he thought Segura was back mentally into the game. "Hes still going to have those times when he thinks about it, but I liked when he first came back," Roenicke said. "I thought it was really important for him to know that the team was behind him." Wily Peralta (11-6) allowed three hits, including Billy Hamiltons solo homer, in seven innings. Francisco Rodriguez threw a 1-2-3 ninth for his 29th save. Cincinnatis Mat Latos (2-2) gave up four earned runs and eight hits in seven innings. It could have been a much closer game had Heisey made those two plays in left. The lights were on at Miller Park for an evening game that started under overcast skies, though Heisey seemed to be most bothered by the conditions. "Tonight was just one of those nights where I didnt have a very good day," Heisey said. Three runs scored on the two plays. In the third, Ryan Braun hit a two-run double that Heisey took a couple of steps in on before retreating as the high liner went over his head. The four-year veteran with 134 career starts in left field lost Carlos Gomezs high fly ball to the warning track in the fourth inning that turned into an RBI ground-rule double that made it 4-0. Arms turned upward near his waist, Heisey looked lost as the ball bounced a couple of feet away. Heisey tried to reach for the ball as it caromed over the wall, and Segura scored from second on a play that could have gotten Latos out of the inning. "I ended up running to a perfect spot, just couldnt pick the ball back up when I turned my head," Heisey said. "It just disappeared into the bluish-white sky. I couldnt find the ball." Gomez then scored on an error by Donald Lutz, subbing for the injured Joey Votto at first base. An errant relay throw by second baseman Ramon Santiago in the third inning allowed Segura, who had tripled, to score. Segura, who has been struggling all season at the plate, has his average back up to .236. He has been driving the ball more of late. "Ive been working at it all year long. Its going to come," he said. The Reds lost again after resuming the season with a three-game sweep by the New York Yankees. Manager Bryan Price was ejected Monday in the sixth inning by home plate umpire David Rackley after Devin Mesoraco got into a heated argument over a called third strike on a checked swing. NOTES: Reds OF Jay Bruce, in an 0-for-15 slump, got the night off. ... The last four homers hit by Hamilton have come against the Brewers. ... A kitchen fire at a Miller Park restaurant early Monday morning left the restaurant, escalators, elevators and a few other areas in left field unusable because of water damage. ... Cincinnatis Homer Bailey (8-5) opposes Milwaukees Jimmy Nelson (1-1) on Tuesday night. wholesale jerseys . The Formula One circus has arrived in town and on this Thursday afternoon the teams crew members are setting up their equipment in the pit lane ahead of the three day race weekend. cheap jerseys .C. -- Al Jefferson thinks hes finally figured out the NBA game. GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The next time Aaron Rodgers steps under centre, it will have been 20 days since he last played for the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers sat out the regular-season finale against Detroit, and Green Bay gets a bye in this weekends wild card round after earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Packers will host a divisional round game Jan. 15. For Rodgers, the opportunity to rest outweighs everything else. "Im not too worried about rust or anything," Rodgers said Thursday. "Its not that big of a deal, I dont think. You take some time off in the preseason, you dont play a lot in the first game or the fourth game, so theres breaks in there. "You just have to stay mentally sharp. I think thats the most important thing. You want to stay up on your conditioning. So make sure I do that, got to take a lot of (practice) reps the last couple days so I feel good about where Im at. Im not worried about getting back out there." Coach Mike McCarthy found a way to help Rodgers stay mentally sharp during the season-ending 45-41 victory over Detroit. With backup Matt Flynn starting in Rodgers place, McCarthy had Rodgers call some plays. "Its nerve-racking," Rodgers said. "Its a lot more nerve-racking than playing, to be honest. "Matt can attest to that. I was a little bit nervous in the locker room knowing that I was probably going to get a chance to get some calls in there. But when youve got a quarterback thats in the zone and hot, it makes it a whole lot easier." Flynn certainly was. He broke Packers records for yards passing (480) and touchdown passes (six) in a game. It was a big day for Flynn, who could become a free agent at the end of the season and is likely to attract interest from other teams. "It was fun," Rodgers said. "Me and Matt spent some time together making sure we were on the same page and knowing kind of what he was comfortable with. "I dont want to take too much credit because he played incredible. It wasnt like I was out there making some amazing calls. I was making some stuff that he liked and he made it work." Now its time for Rodgers to get ready for a playoff opponent yet to be determined. Rodgers said he will watch this weekends games on television, even if it isnt as valuable as the game film the Packers will see early next week. "Its hard now bbeing in the league seven years not to watch a game and kind of take mental notes and look at different things with what youre seeing on TV," Rodgers said. cheap jerseys from china. "Obviously, its a little different than what youre seeing through film, but Im a fan like the rest of us. "Ill pay attention to it. Im not sure if Ill watch the whole game. Ill be interested for sure." McCarthy will be watching, too. "Its important to see the game live," McCarthy said. "Ive always felt if you had the opportunity, that theres some things you can get off TV that you can probably apply to your film study. "Ill sit and watch the Saints and Lions on Saturday night. Well be working Sunday as a staff so were going to come in here and watch Sundays game, if needed." And while the Packers already have faced and beaten Atlanta, Detroit and the New York Giants this season, McCarthy doesnt seem to believe that will be a huge advantage. "I think maybe some people like playing a team for the second or third time," McCarthy said. "Ive always felt, based on our coaching staff, I feel we do a very good job against opponents when we play them for the first time. "I feel like weve given our players an edge; thats just a feeling just because of the way that we operate offensively and defensively. I think itd be a challenge if youre going to play us for the first time on a seven-day week. On the other side of it, theres the personnel matchups that youre in tune with because you have played the other opponent and things you may not have done a good enough job matchup-wise in the first game that you can try to prevent the second game. It could go either way." Players were off starting Thursday afternoon and will be back at work Monday. And when they do get back, Rodgers wants them to rediscover the sense of urgency that carried them through last years playoffs -- even if their situation is far different this year as a No. 1 seed and Super Bowl favourite. "I think the way we handle it will kind of be demonstrated by how we handle this weekend," Rodgers said. "Everybodys going to do different things to get away, refresh mentally and physically, but I think as professionals we need to make sure we come back Monday with that extra sense of urgency. "Thats kind of what separated us last year." cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
