Mondschüsse » competing at the NHL level. Ultimately, ita€

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Mark Buehrle allowed two walks and both runners ended up scoring. So despite pitching into the seventh inning Thursday night, and helping the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals that staved off a series sweep, the veteran left-hander still had something to ruminate over in the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium. "Id rather give up 10 hits and no walks. I hate it. Make them earn it," Buehrle said. "But you know, our offence bounced back and the defence played well behind me." Apparently, nobody is tougher on Buehrle than Buehrle. Juan Francisco and Colby Rasmus each homered and drove in two runs, and Anthony Gose also had a pair of RBIs after getting recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to start in place of injured outfielder Melky Cabrera, helping Toronto avoid its first three-game sweep by the Royals since 1993. Buehrle (5-1) worked through plenty of trouble in 6 2-3 innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and those two walks. Aaron Loup pitched 2 1-3 shutout innings for his third career save. "(Buehrle) pitches to win," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Hes going to do whatever it takes, and hes on a nice little roll. Hes having a good year for us." The Royals Jeremy Guthrie (2-2) left trailing 4-3 after six innings, but his bullpen was unable to keep it close. Billy Butler drove in a pair of runs, but that was just about it for Kansas City, which had its three-game winning streak come to an end. "He mixes speeds. He locates. He frustrates you," Butler said of Buehrle, no stranger to Kansas City having pitched for the AL Central rival White Sox. "He feeds off your over aggressiveness." The teams traded blows most of the way. Toronto struck first when Chris Getz singled in the first inning and then swiped bases all the way to third, where Edwin Encarnacion drove him in with a fielders choice. Kansas City answered in the second when Justin Maxwell walked and Alcides Escobar singled to right. Jose Bautista flubbed the pickup, allowing Maxwell to score easily. The Royals pulled ahead in the third on Butlers single, though they squandered another scoring opportunity when Eric Hosmer was thrown out at home for the second straight night. The Blue Jays regained the lead the next half inning when Francisco, who had two homers in three at-bats off Guthrie last season, hit a two-run shot over the bullpen in right field. But the Royals answered again on Butlers two-out double to left in the bottom of the fifth. "Im seeing the ball good now," Butler said. "I knew it was going to come." The Royals kept shifting dramatically to deal with the Blue Jays left-handed power hitters, but it didnt matter when Rasmus came to bat in the sixth. He powered a 1-2 pitch right over the defence for a two-out homer that gave Toronto a 4-3 lead. "I was trying to go down and in and didnt get it there," Guthrie said. Guthrie finished off the inning, but was lifted after allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks in just six innings. His bumpy night stood in stark contrast to his last four outings against the Blue Jays, when he went 1-0 with a 1.44 ERA. The Blue Jays tacked on some insurance in the eighth. Rasmus drew a bases-loaded walk off Michael Mariot, and then Gose hit a two-run double off Louis Coleman that broke the game open. "It was definitely a big win," Loup said. "Close game like it was, back and forth, back and forth. Hopefully it gets us on a roll, gets us some wins." NOTES: Toronto selected the contract of INF Steve Tolleson from Triple-A Buffalo. INF Jonathan Diaz was optioned to Buffalo and OF Moises Sierra designated for assignment. ... Royals LHP Bruce Chen (back inflammation) is expected to go on the DL, manager Ned Yost said. It was unclear who will start in his place Saturday against Detroit. ... Cabrera got the night off after getting hit in the left shin Wednesday. Gibbons said he should be available for this weekends series in Pittsburgh. Minnesota Vikings Dru Samia Jersey .com) - In the absence of Dwight Howard, Donatas Motiejunas had a career night to keep the Houston Rockets winning streak alive. Minnesota Vikings Irv Smith Jr. Jersey . Alvarez hit his first career home run, pitched six innings and hurt his right hamstring while running the bases in the Miami Marlins 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. http://www.cheapvikings.com/72w-cheap-cu...-vikings.html.C. -- Martin Kaymer set a U. Minnesota Vikings Garrett Bradbury Jersey . According to TSNs Farhan Lalji, Richardson is heading to Toronto for a physical and is expected to sign with the Argonauts. Stitched Minnesota Vikings Jerseys . -- Mississippis Andrew Ritter said his game-winning, 41-yard field goal felt good off his foot.At the dawn of the emergence of analytics in the National Hockey League, two franchises a€“ the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals a€“ had cornered the market of puck possession dominance. While the success of those Capitals teams were something of a mixed bag come playoff time, the Red Wings were able to parlay their five-on-five dominance into two Stanley Cup appearances, and one victory in 2007-2008. Both, of course, were machines during the regular season during their peak years. And they shared one commonality: an ability to push tempo with Blitzkrieg-like efficiency, sending shot-attempt after shot-attempt in the direction of opposition goaltenders. Detroit did it with a never-ending supply of top-six forwards and the indomitable Nicklas Lidstrom on the back-end; Washington leaned on an in-his-prime Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green, though Nicklas Backstrom, Viktor Kozlov, and Alex Semin were no slouches in their own right. The thing about both of these organizations, though, is that time hasna€?t been kind. Teams around them have improved. Their core group has aged out of the league, or aged out of their prime, or have been shuffled to other teams in an assortment of deals. And, ita€?s had a demonstrable effect on their offensive output. Take, for one example, the below table. It shows the successes of each team and their ability to generate five-on-five shot-attempts, per sixty minutes. YEAR DET CORSI/60 LG RANK WAS CORSI/60 LG RANK 2007-08 56.7 3 58.4 1 2008-09 59.8 4 62.2 1 2009-10 58.1 5 61.3 2 2010-11 59.3 4 57.1 8 2011-12 56.8 8 52.9 17 2012-13 55.1 11 53.5 15 2013-14 51.7 22 51.9 20 That is a significant loss of goal-scoring opportunities for both teams. Of course, we can replicate this table to illustrate just that a€“ the drop-off in goal-scoring the teams have experienced over the years, almost certainly the result of fewer chances attacking the net. YEAR DET G/60 LG RANK WAS G/60 LG RANK 2007-08 2.42 7 2.40 9 2008-09 2.77 1 2.48 9 2009-10 2.15 23 3.29 1 2010-11 2..dddddddddddd57 3 2.22 20 2011-12 2.77 3 2.22 15 2012-13 1.97 26 2.38 8 2013-14 2.28 14 2.07 23 Goal scoring is a bit of a noisy event, but I think the trend for both teams is as clear as it is in the original table. Therea€?s less to go around these days, and ita€?s largely because both teams are spending less time in the attacking third. In the last two years, we have seen both Detroit (2012-2013) and Washington (2013-2014) finish near the bottom of the entire league. This, of course, felt unfathomable a few years ago. With Detroit, the problems seem to be tied up moreso in the aging process of the core group. Of the regular skaters from Detroita€?s 2007-2008 Stanley Cup winning team, only five players exist on the current roster: 36-year-old Pavel Datsyuk, 33-year-old Henrik Zetterberg, 34-year-old Johan Franzen, 35-year-old Dan Cleary, and 33-year-old Niklas Kronwall are active. Detroita€?s done a considerably impressive job getting some of their younger talent competing at the NHL level. Ultimately, ita€?s been impressive that Mike Babcocka€?s been able to get the right side of the shot-share with older rosters over the past few years despite the slowing attack. Ita€?s one of the biggest reasons why hea€?s going to be perhaps the most desirable asset on the free market come next summer, his contract set to expire at the end of this season. On the Washington side, the argument has been routinely made that the organization was too quick to pull the trigger on Bruce Boudreaua€?s release. Boudreaua€?s now flourishing with his up-tempo, heavy-forecheck style in Anaheim; Washingtona€?s juggled through an assortment of coaches since his exodus, none of whom have been able to capture his magic with the current roster. Can Mike Babcock and the newly-appointed Barry Trotz recapture the magic of yesteryear? It seems implausible considering the teama€?s current trends, but to each organizationa€?s credit, they have been aggressive at restocking the cupboards. Detroita€?s made a concerted effort to get young players like Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar into bigger roles. Washingtona€?s expecting big seasons from their youngsters, too a€“ Andre Burakovsky and Evgeni Kuznetsov both made the team out of camp, and could help turn things around on the offensive end of the rink. Cheap Buffalo Sabres Gear Wholesale Calgary Flames Jerseys Cheap Adidas Colorado Avalanche Jerseys Montreal Canadiens Outlet Store Wholesale New Jersey Devils Jerseys Adidas Arizona Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Adidas Boston Bruins Jerseys Cheap Adidas Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys Chicago Blackhawks Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys Dallas Stars Shop Free Shipping Cheap Adidas Detroit Red Wings Jerseys Anaheim Ducks Jerseys China Wholesale Edmonton Oilers Jerseys Florida Panthers Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Minnesota Wild Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Nashville Predators Jerseys Cheap Adidas New York Islanders Jerseys New York Rangers Winter Classic Jerseys Cheap Adidas Ottawa Senators Jerseys Cheap Adidas Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys Wholesale Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys Cheap Adidas San Jose Sharks Jerseys St. Louis Blues Winter Classic Jerseys Wholesale Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys Toronto Maple Leafs Outlet Store Vancouver Canucks Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Adidas Washington Capitals Jerseys Cheap Adidas Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '