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BOSTON -- Mark Buehrle got his major league-leading eighth win with a big boost from Torontos powerful lineup. Adam Vinatieri Elite Jersey . Neither was surprising. "Look what hes done all year," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said after a 7-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. "Whos pitched better in baseball?" Buehrle (8-1) has eight wins through May for the first time since 2002 and an ERA of 2.16. He gave up two runs in the first two innings, but by then Toronto had seven, starting with homers on consecutive pitches by Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista in the first inning. That gave the Blue Jays a major league-high 67 homers and gave Buehrle a big cushion. The 15-year veteran lefty blanked the Red Sox for his final five innings and allowed seven hits and no walks while striking out five in seven innings. Dustin McGowan pitched two shutout innings as the Blue Jays took a half-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East. "Its nice, obviously" to lead the majors in wins, "but Ive always said you can go out your next eight starts and (stink) and be under .500," Buehrle said. "I try to throw it out the window and get ready for my next start." Toronto improved to 8-2 in its past 10 games, while Boston lost its seventh straight. The Red Sox went 0-6 on their homestand, the first time since June 1994, when they also lost six in a row at Fenway Park, that they were winless on a homestand of at least six games. "Were in a stretch of games here where were giving up too many runs early and were scuffling to score runs," Boston manager John Farrell said. "Thats a dangerous combination." Red Sox ace Jon Lester (4-6) had his worst outing of the season, allowing seven runs and seven hits through 1 1-3 innings. Then he settled down and retired 12 straight batters before giving up a single to Kevin Pillar with one out in the seventh. But Pillar was caught stealing. Lester left with one out in the seventh after allowing 10 hits and striking out just three. He had averaged an AL-best 10.83 strikeouts per nine innings. "The list goes on and on of things that I just flat out didnt do," Lester said. "I just wasnt able to do it with anything. Pick a pitch, I wasnt able to do it." Buehrle retired 11 of his last 12 batters. He began the day tied with Zack Greinke, Rick Porcello and Adam Wainwright with seven wins each. The Dodgers Greinke was scheduled to pitch against the New York Mets on Thursday night. Buehrles only loss came at home against Boston on April 25 when he allowed seven runs in an 8-1 loss. Lester retired the first batter of the game, Jose Reyes, on a grounder. But Cabrera hit a 1-0 pitch for his eighth homer and Bautista followed with his 12th. "You never anticipate that because (Lesters) one of the best," Gibbons said. In the second, six of Torontos first seven batters reached base on five hits and a walk. Steve Tolleson and Pillar singled and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Anthony Gose. Reyes doubled in both runners and stole second. Cabrera walked and Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion followed with RBI singles. Bautista came across when Brett Lawrie grounded into a forceout at second, making it 7-1. The inning ended when centre fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. made a diving catch on a fly ball by Dioner Navarro. Boston scored in the first on a leadoff double by Dustin Pedroia and a single by Jonny Gomes then added a run in the second on Xander Bogaerts third homer. NOTES: Toronto manager John Gibbons lost a challenge in the sixth when the on-field ruling that Pillar was caught stealing was upheld. ... Bautista has reached base in 48 of his 49 games. ... Boston has been outscored 37-16 in its seven-game losing streak, its longest since dropping its last eight games in 2012. ... The Red Sox open a three-game series against Tampa Bay on Friday night with John Lackey (5-3) facing Chris Archer (3-2) of the Rays. Toronto returns home to start a three-game set with Oakland, with Liam Hendricks (0-0) pitching against Scott Kazmir (5-1) of the Athletics. The Blue Jays called up Hendricks on Thursday from Triple-A Buffalo, where he was 5-0. R.A. Dickeys start was moved from Friday to Saturday.Bjoern Werner Elite Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson thinks hes finally figured out the NBA game. Cory Redding Jersey . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jon Beason is going be back in the middle of the New York Giants defence, and he is going to have help at the linebacker spot. The Giants confirmed Friday that they re-signed Beason and later said they also signed former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Jameel McClain. The team did not disclose contract details, but reports said Beason got $19 million over three years. Terms of McClains deal were not immediately available. The moves shore up the linebacking position with the team having already given a tender to restricted free agent Spencer Paysinger, the weakside linebacker. The Giants also announced they re-signed fullback Henry Hynoski. Beason came to the Giants in a midseason trade with the Carolina Panthers and stabilized the defence. The three-time Pro Bowl linebacker had 98 tackles after joining the team in the sixth game of the season. New Yorks defence finished eighth in the league overall after being near the bottom. "You know how when you pick up a good book and its good because they develop a character and theres always some type of turmoil, something bad happens," Beason said. "And then the character has to come out and overcome it and then its like, Man, that was a really good read. For me, I think it just made my career story better, having to overcome some things. "You come out, you get drafted high, you start making Pro Bowls and become the highest-paid player, All-Pro and all that stuff. Thats a boring book. For me, I feel like its prepared me for whats still to come. If youre going to lead men, especially at this level, you have to be battle-tested." Undrafted after college, McLain has played in 87 regular-season games with 55 starts and in nine post-season games with three starts. In six seasons with Baltimore, McClain had 338 tackles (214 solo), 4 1/2 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries. He also had 60 special teams tackles. "Its an opportunity," McClain said. "I believe in opportunity and I believe that everything happens for a reason. Now I get a chance to re-create myself. I get a chance to re-create my own identity without being placed with any label. No disrespect to anything that Ive been through or anybody anywhere else, but when you get into this position you have to choose the best for your family, the best for your career, the best for your longevity. This was one of those circumstances for me where I could come here and create myself and compete and be the pllayer that I want to be or the player that I can be. Andrew Luck Elite Jersey. Beason was limited to five games in 2011 and 12 because of injuries and he was relegated to a backup role after three games in 2013. The Panthers were willing to take a seventh-round draft pick from the Giants for Beason, who was the 25th pick overall in the 2007 draft. "You go through some stuff, you feel like youre getting dragged through the mud and all of a sudden you just keep fighting, fighting. And then you come out clean on the other side," Beason said. "For me, a fresh start was great. But obviously I know who I am and what Ive already accomplished, so why cant I continue to do that? I feel like Im just scratching the surface." McClain is familiar with injuries. He started the first 13 games of the 2012 season before injuring his neck at Washington on Dec. 9. He was inactive the following week, sitting out for the first time in his career and snapping a streak of 77 consecutive games played. He was sidelined for the Ravens four-game post-season run in 2012, including their victory in Super Bowl XLVII, because he was on injured reserve with a spinal cord contusion. "I missed that, so I really dont have a ring," he said. "I feel I have a chance to win one with his organization. Winning is everything. If youre in this game, you should only be playing to win and to compete. Without that, what are we left with? A bunch of numbers on the board? It really doesnt mean anything. I play this game to win, I play this game for respect and this organization does that at the highest level. Im happy to be a part of it." McClain missed the start of last season recovering from his injury. He started all 10 games in which he played and had 50 tackles (27 solo) and a forced fumble. Hynoski, who suffered a knee injury in an off-season team activity in May, missed most of last season after a shoulder injury in third regular-season game. "Im finally 100 per cent healthy now," Hynoski said. "Im ready to go. Im just extremely anxious to get back on the field. It was a humbling year." Hynoski will have to compete with John Conner for the fullback job. Conner started seven of the 13 games. "This is where I was comfortable, and luckily everything worked out," said Hynoski, who made the Giants as a free agent in 2011. "The Giants had a mutual feeling, the same feeling I had about them. They wanted me back, I wanted to be back here and Im glad it worked out." cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
