miaowang123: Royals LHP Jason Vargas (10-6, 3.17 ERA) in the o

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TORONTO – Amid the pomp and circumstance of the home opener, the great Roy Halladay throwing out the ceremonial first pitch and the major league debut of Yankees phenomenon Masahiro Tanaka, it could be easy to lose the significance of Dustin McGowans role in Friday nights festivities. Authentic Thaddeus Young Jersey . Yet there he was, toeing the rubber to throw the first pitch of the first inning for the first time since September 26, 2011. Even greater an accomplishment, considering his significant injury history, is that McGowan is healthy to begin a season for the first time since 2008. Not many pitchers undergo three shoulder surgeries and another on a knee and continue to throw in the best league in the world. McGowan is a rare exception. Hes allowing himself to enjoy the experience but not enough to distract him from the task at hand. "I have a little bit but the last few days, my focus has been on what Ive got to do to get the Yankees out," McGowan told TSN.ca. "It feels like Ive got a lot of stuff going on in my head but thats part of it. Im ready." The shoulder surgeries chronicle like this: in 2008, to repair fraying of the labrum; two years later, in 2010, to repair a torn rotator cuff; in 2012, an arthroscopic procedure. McGowan underwent the knee surgery in 2009. Yet there he was on April 4, 2014, starting Torontos first home game of the season. His wife Jilly and their two children were in attendance. At the time McGowan spoke to TSN.ca, he was trying to arrange for his brother-in-law to be in the crowd, too. The result matters because the game counts in the standings. But in its own way, the fact McGowan is on the mound in the first place, the fact he went to the Blue Jays late last season and told them he wanted to take one more shot at being a starting pitcher and the fact he achieved the goal seems just as important as the result itself. "To be honest with you, I am," manager John Gibbons said, admitting to surprise. "All hes been through, hes defying all the odds really. So many guys thats happened to disappear and then to be able to maintain most of it, I mean hes not popping it like he once did but theres still plenty there." There really is no plan for McGowan because nobody knows what lies ahead. Hes tired of being asked how his shoulder feels after every bullpen session and each outing but those are important questions. The Blue Jays intend to monitor McGowans innings for as long as this experiment goes. The club, should it choose, could utilize its three April off days to push McGowan back, giving him extra off days in between appearances. If his shoulder starts to ache, or "bark" as players often say, McGowans bosses want to hear about it. "Ive told him multiple times, any concerns at all, youre not doing this for us, youre doing this because you want to do it," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "He had no problems at all last year. We would have loved to have been able to stretch him out but we werent in a position to do it." Halladay tosses ceremonial first pitch It was an all-too-familiar scene: the great Roy Halladay back on the mound for the home opener in Toronto. But he wasnt in full uniform and he only had the ceremonial first pitch to deliver. It was a strike. "Its pretty cool to be back," said Halladay. "It doesnt seem that long ago when you walk in. It feels like I was just here. Its exciting. Im enjoying retirement but this is pretty cool to be able to come back here." Halladay has settled in the Tampa Bay area and went to the Jays season opener against the Rays on Monday at the behest of his son. He worried that sitting in the stands would be uncomfortable so soon after his retirement. "I had my doubts," said Halladay. "But, honestly, I enjoyed it and I have no regrets, no disappointments. Im actually really happy with the choice I made and it was the right choice I made." Authentic Domantas Sabonis Jersey .Mila Kunis was a guest on Kimmel last night and revealed a surprising side of herself that comes out when she watches sports. It turns out screaming something vulgar at professional athletes is therapeutic for Kunis. Authentic Bojan Bogdanovic Jersey .Connor Graham, Alex Lintuniemi and Sam Studnicka also scored for Ottawa (11-8-2). Liam Herbst made 21 saves for the win.Brendan Lemieux had both of Barries (10-10-2) goals. CHICAGO -- Michael Bourn and the Cleveland Indians are feeling pretty good heading into a big series with Kansas City. Bourn had two triples among his three hits, leading Carlos Carrasco and the Indians to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night. Cleveland took two of three from scuffling Chicago and has won 11 of 16 overall. It begins a three-game series at the AL Central-leading Royals on Friday night. "The thing is, try not to look too far ahead," Bourn said. "Thats the biggest key -- dont focus on what everybody else is doing every day. All we can control is whats in (the clubhouse), then go play." The Indians trail the Royals by 5 1/2 games, with Detroit in second place. But the Indians have six games left against Kansas City and seven against Detroit. "Were going to fly the same flight," manager Terry Francona said. "Were going to eat the same food. I mean, its exciting. Shoot, (the Royals) are playing great, so we dont need to get ahead of ourselves." Carrasco pitched into the seventh inning for Cleveland, and Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley each singled in a run. Alexei Ramirez had two hits for the White Sox, and John anks (9-9) pitched six solid innings. Carrasco (6-4) improved to 3-0 with a 0.73 ERA in four starts since he returned to the rotation. The right-hander also began the year as a starter, but then lost three of his first four outings. He struck out seven in 6 2-3 innings while holding the White Sox to one run and four hits. "You know, thats what Ive been doing the last few games -- attack the hitters," Carrasco said. "I just need to do my job and keep the team in there." Cleveland grabbed the lead for good in the sixth. Jose Ramirez led off with a single and stole second. Then he advanced to third on a groundout and scored on Kipnis base hit, giving the Indians a 2-1 advantage. Brantley added an RBI single in the seventh. Danks allowed two runs and five hits while falling to 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in five August starts. Chicago closed to 3-2 on Adam unns RBI single in the eighth against Cody Allen, who struck out the next four batters for his 18th save in 19 attempts. "Hes pretty good," Francona said when asked about the closeers dominant performance. Authentic Reggie Miller Jersey. . "You may need to get cable or something to watch him." White Sox rookie Jose Abreu hit a run-scoring single in the third, tying it at 1. It ran his total for the season to 97 RBIs, tied with Miamis Giancarlo Stanton for the major league lead. Cleveland jumped in front when Bourn tripled on the first pitch of the game and scored on Jose Ramirezs grounder. The Indians threatened to take a 3-0 lead in the second, but Alejandro e Aza made a leaping catch above the left-field fence to rob Zach Walters of a two-run homer. LIKE OLD TIMES Francona said he keeps track of the Chicago Cubs when possible. Francona and Cubs executive Theo Epstein were part of two World Series titles with the Red Sox. "I know they have a lot of young kids coming and theyre pretty excited about it," said Francona, who has exchanged voice mails and text messages with Epstein in recent months. "Im not surprised. To anybody who ever asked me about Theo when he came to Chicago, the two things Ive said were, he wont get outworked and hes too smart not to figure it out." SAFE AT HOME Kipnis hit safely for the 25th time in 27 career games at U.S. Cellular Field. The Chicago-area native also escaped serious injury when White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspies heel inadvertently clipped him in the face. TRAINERS ROOM Indians: C Yan Gomes is on pace to return from the seven-day concussion list before the series opener in Kansas City on Friday. As a precautionary measure, Gomes will take part in the pregame workout before the roster move is completed. ... 1B Nick Swisher is expected to spend most if not all of September in Los Angeles, where he is recuperating from recent surgeries on both knees. White Sox: OF Moises Sierra continues to work his way back from a strained left oblique. He was 4 for 12 in the first three games of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte. UP NEXT White Sox: In a matchup of right-handers, Scott Carroll (5-8, 5.05 ERA) will oppose the Tigers Justin Verlander (11-11, 4.82 ERA) on Friday. Indians: RHP Danny Salazar (4-6, 4.52 ERA) will take the mound against Royals LHP Jason Vargas (10-6, 3.17 ERA) in the opener of the three-game set on Friday cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '