miaowang123: skirmishes could be an issue

miaowang123

ATLANTA -- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez has been waiting for his offence to wake up. www.miamishopfootballshop.com/56-Jersey  . Its too soon to declare that Atlantas bats have returned to respectability, but at least the Braves are taking the necessary steps. Freddie Freeman and Justin Upton homered to help Mike Minor win his second consecutive start, and Atlanta beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-3 Monday night. "We started swinging the bats really, really well," Gonzalez said. "Not only the home runs, but there were some two-out singles, there were some base on balls, there was a lot of baserunning. It was nice to see." Pinch-hitter Ryan oumit also went deep for Atlanta in a matchup of first-place teams. The Braves, who had lost 12 of 18, never trailed in winning their second straight game. Atlanta began the night with the fewest runs in the majors. But the Braves banged out a season-high 15 hits and improved to 18-5 when hitting a home run. Minor (2-2) gave up two runs and five hits with five strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings. The left-hander, lifted with a 4-2 lead, appreciated the run support. "Were still in first place, and everybodys talking about how bad we were playing," Minor said. "It was good to have that cushion when we won a lot of games, but we have too good of players to be worried about it." Ryan Braun and Khris avis homered for the Brewers, who have lost three straight. Braun also threw out a runner at the plate from right field. Wily Peralta (4-3) allowed nine hits, a season-high four walks and three runs -- two earned -- with five strikeouts in five innings. The right-hander began the night 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA in three starts this month, but he couldnt overcome poor command of his pitches. "Thats the first time, but thats going to happen during the season," Peralta said. "You try to do your best and keep the team in the ballgame." Freeman led off the third with his ninth homer to make it 3-0. Davis lost his glove over the left-field fence on Freemans opposite-field shot. A fan picked up the glove off a ledge between the fence and the seats and tossed it back to Davis after Freeman rounded the bases. The Braves broke open a one-run game in the eighth, scoring five times off reliever Wei-Chung Wang to make it 9-3. Doumit hit a solo shot, Uptons 11th homer was a two-run drive, and Atlanta got RBI singles from Andrelton Simmons and Ramiro Pena. After Wang needed 40 pitches to get two outs, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke brought in first baseman Lyle Overbay off the bench to pitch. The 37-year-old Overbay pitched for the first time in his 14-year major league career, retiring Doumit on a popup. Doumit, who was teammates with Overbay in Pittsburgh, got a good laugh out of the at-bat. "That kids got nasty stuff," Doumit said with a smile. "Hes got a bright future ahead of him. Im going to keep my eye on him." Zach uke, who relieved Peralta to begin the sixth, gave up a leadoff single to Minor and a single to Jason Heyward before Upton reached safely when catcher Martin Maldonado was called for interference. Rob Wooten relieved with one out and gave up Evan Gattis sacrifice fly that made it 4-2. David Hale relieved Minor with a runner at second base and ended the threat when Carlos Gomez grounded out. Brauns seventh homer, an opposite-field shot to right off David Carpenter, cut the margin to 4-3 in the eighth. Atlanta took a 1-0 lead in the first when Heyward led off with a single, stole second and scored on Maldonados passed ball and throwing error to third. The Braves went ahead 2-0 in the second on Penas RBI single. Davis fifth homer, a two-run shot in the fifth, cut it to 3-2. NOTES: The Braves have won 10 of their last 12 against Milwaukee at Turner Field. ... Gomez went 1 for 3 in his first game since last Tuesday. He served a three-game suspension last week for his role in a bench-clearing dustup April 20 at Pittsburgh and missed two weekend games at the Chicago Cubs with back stiffness and a stomach virus. ... Heyward, who began the game hitting .186 in his last 43 at-bats, went 3 for 4 with two stolen bases. ... Brauns outfield assist ended the Atlanta fourth as Heyward, trying to score from second on Freemans single to right, was tagged out at the plate. www.miamishopfootballshop.com/84-Jersey  . Watching them over the past year - and in some cases, two years - has given us a starting point for this seasons Craigs List. www.miamishopfootballshop.com/77-Jersey  . -- Max Gilbert captured his first pro victory at the Tour Championship of Canada.If there are two bloodsport rivals in the Western Conference, it has to be the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors, powers of the Pacific Division, who meet at the Staples Center Saturday afternoon in Game 1 of the quarterfinals. Catch the game on TSN starting at 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt. There have been fistfights, elbows to throats, ejections, claims of "cowardly basketball," and old-fashioned physical play. That was all just on Christmas night! Actually, three of the four regular-season meetings in 2013-14 featured some sort of physical altercation. "Not to hype it up at all, but there is no love lost between these two teams," Warriors forward David Lee said after a Golden State loss to the Clippers on March 12. But, behind all of the silly pushing and shoving, lies a rivalry predicated on two teams that are both offensively proficient and defensively underrated. The Clippers finished first in scoring this season, with the Warriors 10th. Golden State was also 10th in opponents scoring and LA came in 14th in that category. Los Angeles underwent significant changes in the offseason. Head coach Doc Rivers was acquired from the Boston Celtics for a first-round pick. He runs the basketball operations and brought in J.J. Redick, Jared udley, Danny Granger and Glen avis. But the Clippers are run by Rivers newest incarnation of the Big Three. Blake Griffin will most likely finish third in MVP voting behind Oklahoma Citys Kevin urant and Miamis LeBron James. Guard Chris Paul might have come in third had he not missed significant time with a shoulder injury. And DeAndre Jordan led the NBA in rebounding and finished third in blocked shots. It all translated into a franchise-reccord 57 wins. www.miamishopfootballshop.com/91-Jersey . The Warriors also brought in a new, impactful face in the form of defensive specialist Andre Iguodala. However, the Warriors are built on their backcourt of Klay Thompson and especially Steph Curry. The two went 484-for-1,150 from long distance for 42 percent. Curry improved dramatically as a facilitator, averaging 8.5 assists per game, which ranked fifth in the NBA. He made his first All-Star team and is among the games elite. Head coach Mark Jackson tried to infuse a defensive mindset into the group. It worked for the most part, but problem is, their top enforcer, starting center Andrew Bogut, is out indefinitely with a broken rib. He was at the heart of most of the problems between the two teams. And this is a huge series for Jackson. Reports indicate his job might be in jeopardy if the Warriors lose. Allegations are he and owner Joe Lacob are at odds and, despite leading Golden State to a first-round upset of the Denver Nuggets last season, Jackson might be on the unemployment line if the Warriors lose. The two teams dont like each other as Lee pointed out, and the series should be physical. Keeping out of the skirmishes could be an issue for the Clippers, who lost in the first round last season, despite having home-court advantage over the Memphis Grizzlies. "Like weve said all season long, its about us," Paul said. "Its not about them. We have to play our game and do what were supposed to do and well be just fine. We have to realize that each game takes on its own personality. Its one win at a time." The two sides split four meetings this season with the home team prevailing each time. The Warriors have dropped four of their last five as the visitor in this series. ' ' '