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CLEVELAND -- Yordano Venturas dominating performance Friday night produced plenty of superaltives. cheap nfl jerseys . "He was extraordinary," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said after the rookie right-hander pitched 8 1-3 stellar innings in the Royals 7-1 win over the Cleveland Indians. Ventura (6-7) blanked the Indians on four hits until Michael Brantley hit a leadoff homer in the ninth. He was pulled after Jason Kipnis one-out single. Ventura allowed six hits and struck out four in the longest outing of his career. Indians centre fielder Michael Bourn had one of the hits off Ventura, a double in the eighth. "Well he throws 100 (mph), first of all," Bourn said. "He has a good changeup and a good curveball. We had a couple chances but for the most part he was on tonight." Mike Moustakas, who hit a three-run homer in the sixth gave Kansas City a 5-0 lead, was also impressed with Ventura. "Hes got such electric stuff," Moustakas said. "Thats what hes capable of doing." Salvador Perez and Christian Colon, making his first major-league start, had three hits apiece while Lorenzo Cain snapped an 0 for 11 skid with an RBI single in the third and a run-scoring double in the fifth. The Royals, who are a major league-best 11-2 on the road since June 2, rode Ventura to their latest win away from home. He retired the first 10 hitters before Brantley singled with one out in the the fourth. Carlos Santanas single moved Brantley to third, but Kipnis bounced into a double play. Ventura entered the ninth with 103 pitches, making it an easy decision for Yost to let him start the inning. "I wanted to throw the complete game shutout, but I couldnt do it," Ventura said through teammate Bruce Chen, who translated for the pitcher, "I was getting ahead of the hitters early in the game. They made some really good plays behind me and that gave me a lot of energy." Ventura, who finished with 113 pitches, came within two outs of recording Kansas Citys first complete game of the season. "I wasnt going to take him past 120 pitches," Yost said. "After the home run it was like, OK the next guy who gets on thats it. He pitched very well." Josh Tomlin (5-6), coming off a one-hit, no-walk, 11-strikeout performance against Seattle, allowed five runs and 11 hits in 5 2-3 innings. Moustakas homer to right on a 3-2 pitch broke the game open. The rally began on singles by Perez and Alcides Escobar. Colon, a late addtion to the lineup when second baseman Omar Infante was scratched with lower back tightness, was 3 for 4, including a triple in the second for his first major league hit. Colon added a double in the fifth and an RBI double in the ninth. "That was a lot of fun," he said. "I was taking my ground balls (in pregame activities) and was told I was going to play." Ventura has allowed three runs in 21 innings in three career starts against Cleveland. He held the Indians to one run in seven innings in a 4-1 win on June 11 in Kansas City. Ventura gave up two runs and seven hits in four innings Los Angeles Angels in his last start, an outing that was cut short by a four-hour rain delay. He had pitched seven innings in each of his previous three starts. The Royals, who are second in the AL Central, are 3-1 on a nine-game road trip and lead third-place Cleveland by four games. The Indians, who opened a 10-game homestand, have lost four straight at home after winning 11 of 12 at Progressive Field. Cleveland was swept by Detroit in a three-game series June 20-22. Tomlin turned in the best performance of his career against the Mariners last Saturday. He retired the first 12 hitters before allowing a leadoff single to Kyle Seager in the fifth, Seattles only baserunner. Tomlins gem marked the sixth time an Indians pitcher recorded 11 strikeouts with no walks in a shutout over the past 100 years. It was also only the third time since 2002 that a pitcher has recorded a one-hit shutout with at least 11 strikeouts and no walks. Kansas City left fielder Alex Gordon was hitless in four at-bats and is in a 2-for-36 slump. Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was 0 for 4 and is in a 4 for 35 skid. NOTES: The Indians announced the game as a sellout, their third of the season. ... Indians C Yan Gomes, a native of Brazil, wore his countrys soccer jersey during batting practice. He kept an eye on the scoreboard, which showed Brazils 2-1 win over Colombia in the World Cup. ... Raul Ibanez, signed by the Royals on Monday, started in right field. He made an awkward sliding catch on Gomes line drive in the fifth. ... Royals RHP Jeremy Guthrie (5-6) faces LHP T.J. House (0-2) on Saturday. wholesale jerseys . -- As usual, Aksel Lund Svindal was super fast on this hill. jerseys from china . Now he can be had by any team willing to pay his salary. According to a report from ESPN, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shopping the veteran CB and plan on releasing him Wednesday if they cant find a trade partner.BARCELONA, Spain -- An equalizer from Neymar saw Barcelona salvage a 1-1 draw at home to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday after a stunning opener by Diego Ribas in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. Atleticos chances were dealt a major blow half an hour in when striker Diego Costa came off injured, while Barcelona had lost defender Gerard Pique to injury before that. But Diego Ribas, who replaced Costa, stunned the Camp Nou 56 minutes in with a powerful shot from about 25 metres (yards) that grazed the fingertips of goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto as it soared into the top corner. With Lionel Messi kept quiet by Atleticos well-organized defence, Neymar stepped up to curl the equalizer around goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the 71st. Courtois made a number of acrobatic stops after that to preserve the draw, including in the 85th when he tipped Messis free kick around the post. "They played a good game and they made it very hard for us to create chances," Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said. "We have to try and score in the return -- this was not a good result for us." Atletico, which leads Barcelona by a single point in the Spanish league, leaves with a valuable away goal before the return on April 9. In Tuesdays other quarterfinal first leg, defending champion Bayern Munich drew 1-1 at Manchester United. For the fourth time this season, neither team emerged victorious but Atletico returns to the Vicente Calderon buoyed by its performance after having lost its top player to a hamstring injury that could sideline him from the second leg. Pique has already been ruled out with a hairline fracture of his right hip. "This is a team of men, who play with heart and pride, who never give up," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. "Im happy because we can compete with them. Im very happy because we are in this." While Piques exit hurt Barcelonas brittle defence, Dieggo Costas injury left the visitors without their leading scorer and scrambling for options off the bench with Raul Garcia suspended. jersyes nfl wholesale. Diego Ribas was the lone option. Striker David Villa had Atleticos best scoring chances in the first half as the former Barcelona forward curled wide a clear opportunity from inside the area five minutes in -- before forcing Pinto into a diving stop just before halftime. Between those efforts, Barcelona dominated possession, with Diego Godins sliding block keeping Andres Iniestas effort out before Diego Costa pulled up clutching his right thigh. Atleticos physical play proved wearing for Barcelona, and pressured Pinto into errant goal kicks like the one that gave Villa his opening opportunity. Courtois was alert to a Messi header to keep it scoreless at the break, but Atletico regrouped and emerged for the restart to stun the hosts with Diego Ribas opener. Neymar and Messi failed to link up on a cross in the 65th, as Atleticos back four continued to make life difficult for the Spanish champions -- until Iniesta spotted Neymars run and the Brazil striker curled his shot around Courtois. Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino brought Alexis Sanchez on for Cesc Fabregas and shifted Neymar to the left side. The extra attacking player clearly helped as Iniesta threaded a perfect ball into the area for the Brazil striker to equalize. The goal lifted the Camp Nou crowd and turned the tables on Atletico. But Courtois settled his teams nerves by making a diving save to Iniestas long-range shot in the 73rd minute, before then stopping a late effort from Messi. "Its going to be such a hard game against a great opponent. Its going to be a very passionate game," Simeone said before calling on his players to seize the opportunity should Diego Costa not be available. "Its up to the team and the players to respond and make up for his (possible) absence." cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys' ' ' |
