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ATLANTA - Andrelton Simmons two-run single in Atlantas three-run fourth helped the streaking Braves beat Daisuke Matsuzaka and the New York Mets 5-4 on Tuesday night. Jeremy Hill Jersey . Curtis Granderson and Daniel Murphy hit two-run homers for the Mets, who have lost three straight and six of seven. The Braves overcame a shaky start from Mike Minor to protect their one-half game lead over Washington in the NL East. Atlanta has won six straight, its longest streak of the season. Shae Simmons (1-0) took over for Minor in the fifth and pitched 1 2-3 scoreless innings. Craig Kimbrel earned his 26th save by striking out Eric Young Jr., Granderson and Bobby Abreu in the ninth. Matsuzaka (3-3) allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings. He has lost three straight starts. On the day catcher Evan Gattis was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a bulging disk in his back, robbing the team of one of its top power hitters, the Braves found other ways to score. With the game tied 2-2 in the fourth, the Braves staged an improbable three-run inning. Chris Johnson reached on only his eighth walk of the season. With two outs, Johnson scored from second on Minors single to centre — only his second RBI of the season. Following a single and stolen base by B.J. Upton, Andrelton Simmons two-run single to left off Matsuzaka increased Atlantas lead to 5-2. Minor quickly gave back two runs in the fifth on Murphys two-run homer. Minor then gave up singles to Eric Campbell and Lucas Duda before being bailed out by rookie Shae Simmons, whose sidearm delivery produced a fly ball from Chris Young and a strikeout of Travis dArnaud. Minor lasted 4 1-3 innings, matching his shortest start of the season, and allowed four runs on nine hits and one walk. His ERA is 4.73 and he has made eight starts since his last win on May 19. Atlanta rookie catcher Christian Bethancourt, making his second straight start, singled in the second inning to drive in Johnson for his first career RBI. Freddie Freeman had a run-scoring double in the third. Grandersons third-inning homer into the right-field seats drove in Juan Lagares, who had a bunt single. It was the fifth straight start Minor has allowed a homer. Braves second baseman Tommy La Stella suffered a bruised right foot when he was hit by a pitch in the second inning. He left the game in the eighth. NOTES: A few hundred fans arrived early to watch the United States lose to Belgium in the World Cup. The game was shown on the stadium video board. ... Tejada has a 10-game hitting streak. ... B.J. Upton has an eight-game hitting streak and 13 stolen bases. He stole 12 bases in 2013. ... Gov. Nathan Deal threw out the first pitch. ... The Braves recalled RHP Juan Jaime from Triple-A Gwinnett. ... Braves RHP David Carpenter (strained right biceps) is expected to come off the 15-day DL on Wednesday. ... The series ends Wednesday night with Atlantas Julio Teheran facing New Yorks Jacob deGrom. Adam Jones . The story of the scoreless first period was Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward, as the Jets outshot the Hurricanes 13-6 and had a number of grade “A” scoring chances, the best off the stick of Bryan Little. White Brandon Tate Womens Elite Jersey .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan had ideal preparation for the playoffs at the Ford World Curling Championships with a pair of hard-fought wins over tenacious opponents Thursday.LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Russ Smith really didnt care about being top scorer in his home finale with Louisville because passing to open teammates was the better choice. The star guard is showing he can be pass-first when needed. Just ask Cardinals forward Montrezl Harrell, who scored 20 points while Smith recorded a career-high 13 assists as No. 11 Louisville routed No. 19 Connecticut 81-48 on Saturday to claim a share of the American Athletic Conference championship. The Cardinals (26-5, 15-3) finished tied with No. 15 Cincinnati atop the league. A postgame coin flip went to Cincinnati and left Louisville with the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The Cardinals still got to hoist a trophy thanks to Smiths generosity. "Russ does so much for our team," said Harrell, who added 11 rebounds and several thunderous dunks. "He doesnt just worry about scoring. He had like (three) points tonight and 13 assists, so how does he not make us better? ... Right now, hes just worried about us winning, and thats what we need." Smiths performance was appreciated by a sellout crowd that gave him a standing ovation as he went to the bench with 4:22 left in the game. The reception capped a joyous day as he and fellow seniors Luke Hancock, Tim Henderson and Stephan Van Treese were honoured as the programs winningest class. Their achievements included winning last years NCAA championship. All played key roles in Saturdays 116th win together. Smith made just one of two shots but topped his previous assist high by two. Hancock added 16 points while Henderson added an early basket on feeds from Smith. Van Treese grabbed 13 rebounds. "It was just getting the ball to my teammates to get the ball movement going," said Smith, whose audience included nine NBA scouts. "When I looked at the film after the first UConn game, I was very sloppy with the rock. I wasnt handling the ball as well as I should have. I negated any discrepancy about turning the ball over. I just kicked it out to other teammates." Louisvilles defence, meanwhile, frustrated the Huskiies (24-7, 12-6) into season lows in scoring and shooting (29. Mike Nugent Jersey. 4 per cent) in completing the sweep. Their previous shooting low was 29.6 per cent in a loss to SMU. "I didnt see anything like this coming," said UConn coach Kevin Ollie, whose team still earned the No. 4 seed. "And Im glad it came because now we know how tough we have to be to be a champion. "We werent tough enough. We werent together enough. Louisville took every opportunity to take advantage of it. ... Thats what champions do." Wayne Blackshear added 11 points and Chris Jones 10 as Louisville won this matchup between two of the past three NCAA champions. While the defending champion Cardinals werent always smooth in beating the Huskies, they shot 45 per cent (26 of 58) from the field and mounted a couple of second-half runs to put the game out of reach. DeAndre Daniels 17 points led UConn, which had its four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 0-4 at the KFC Yum! Center. Senior guard Shabazz Napier managed nine points on 2-of-13 shooting just days after scoring 26 points including a career-best seven 3-pointers in a win over Rutgers, Emotion preceded the game as Louisville honoured the seniors who helped earn the schools third national championship last spring. Smith as expected drew the loudest cheers from a red-clad sellout crowd as a montage of his and teammates shining moments was played on the video screen, which included a shout-out from rapper Pit Bull. Louisvilles 30-18 lead at the break eventually grew to 34 with 91 seconds left to put fitting end to a fond farewell to the seniors -- especially Smith. "Its a special class because for four years they totally did things for all the right reasons," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. Of Smith, he added, "how would you ever imagine Russ Smith knowing on Senior Night he would pass up all opportunities to score and get 13 assists? That shows you how much hes grown. If any pro scouts wondered tonight whether he could be a point guard, I think the thing is all closed." ' ' ' |
