but we were resilient on the defensive end from cherry452's blog
SignTheLine
LOS ANGELES -- Through most of the first two months of the season, Yasiel Puig batted second and Hanley Ramirez hit third for the Los Angeles Dodgers.Tiger Williams Kings Jersey . Ramirez is still hitting behind Puig, only now they are in the third and fourth spots, and the change is starting to generate positive results for manager Don Mattingly. Ramirez homered twice, drove in five runs and scored four times, tying career highs in all three categories and leading the defending NL West champions to a 12-2 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. "I just try to help the team any way I can," Ramirez said. "When Donnie asked me if I was OK with it, I said: "I just want to win. Puigs been doing a great job, so why not hit him third so he can learn how to drive runs in?" Ramirez, whose 4 for 4 day increased his career average against Pittsburgh to .362, hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning against Brandon Cumpton and led off the sixth against Bryan Morris with his ninth of the season. The 2009 NL batting champion and three-time All-Star shortstop is 8 for 20 with eight RBIs in five starts in the cleanup spot after missing four games because of a sore left calf. "He found some good pitches to hunt and put some good swings on some balls," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "The history hes got against this organization is significant. I saw him break in. I had him on the All-Star team in 2008. Hes a good player, a good hitter, and hes done some damage at the plate. He also stole a base today, so that shows you his wheels OK." Puig had an infield hit in the third inning and has reached base in 32 straight games, the longest active streak in the majors. He is 13 for 32 with a homer and three RBIs in nine games since Mattingly moved him from second to third in the lineup, and the Dodgers are 5-4 during that stretch. Hyun-Jin Ryu (6-2) breezed to his third straight victory, allowing two runs and 10 hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Last Monday at Dodger Stadium, Ryu did not allow a baserunner through the first seven innings of his 4-3 victory over Cincinnati. "He threw the ball really well," catcher Drew Butera said. "He had good command, changed speeds well in and out and did a real good job focusing on every pitch, and he made my job easy. Our guys do a really good job of having a plan and purpose every pitch." Jamey Wright was credited with his second save in 19 major league seasons, after pitching the final three innings and allowing one hit. His other save was in 2011 with Seattle. Cumpton (0-2) was charged with 11 runs -- 10 earned -- and 11 hits in 3 2-3 innings. The 25-year-old right-hander had allowed a total of one run during the first four innings of his eight previous major league starts. "I was getting behind guys, so they were sitting on heaters and doing what they get paid to do," Cumpton said. "When I made my pitch, it found a hole -- and when I didnt make my pitch, it found a gap. Its discouraging, but its only one start. Ive gotten beaten around before and Im sure its going to happen again. But Im not going to hang my head over it." The Dodgers staked Ryu to an 11-1 lead with two runs in the first inning, four in the third and five more in the fourth. Ramirez and Matt Kemp triggered the onslaught with two-out RBI singles during Cumptons 28-pitch first inning. Cumpton threw only 18 pitches during the Dodgers third-inning rally, as four batters put the ball in play on the first offering and two others did on the second. "I knew almost all of them were going to be aggressive early in the count," Cumpton said. "Thats a great lineup. They made me throw pitches, and when I got behind, they made me pay." Andre Ethier started things off in the third with a drive that popped out of left fielder Starling Martes glove for a two-base error as his left arm hit the fence. Ramirez and Justin Turner had RBI singles, Adrian Gonzalez doubled home a run and Kemp hit a sacrifice fly. After Ramirezs first homer, Turner chased Cumpton three batters later with another RBI single and Butera greeted Jeanmar Gomez with a two-run triple. NOTES: 3B Josh Harrison had two hits, including a single on Ryus third pitch of the game. He is batting .324 in the 19 games hes started in the leadoff spot. ... Reigning NL MVP Andrew McCutchen has no RBIs or extra-base hits in nine games and 32 at-bats since his run-scoring single against Washingtons Blake Treinen on May 22. ... Marte has no RBIs in 42 career at-bats against the Dodgers, and teammate Jose Tabata has none in 29 at-bats against them. ... Butera has three triples in 574 career at-bats. Kyle Clifford Kings Jersey . Ramon, 30, played in a career-high 97 games with the Goldeyes in 2013. He also matched a career-high eight home runs and posted 52 RBI. Dwight King Jersey .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. BOSTON -- The Washington Wizards didnt get flustered when they trailed by 18 points. The Boston Celtics couldnt hold a big lead for the second straight game. Trevor Ariza scored 27 points capped by a 3-pointer that highlighted a fourth-quarter run as the Wizards rallied for a 106-99 victory Saturday. "We dont let anything rattle us too much," Ariza said. "We just play and chip away and know things are going to happen. Its a long game. We know teams can go on runs. They went on a run and we did, too." After Jeff Greens layup with 6:14 left gave the Celtics a 92-84 lead, they went nearly six minutes without a field goal. Meanwhile, the Wizards were going on a 14-1 run that Ariza started with a jumper from the right corner. John Wall had five of his 20 points in the surge, which was interrupted only by a free throw by Jared Sullinger that gave Boston a 93-91 lead with 3:39 remaining. "It was just, Ok. We fought back. Lets get some stops here and keep going. Keep stepping on them and lets runaway with this one," Ariza said. Nene tied it with a short baseline jumper and Wall gave the Wizards their first lead, 95-93, with a 20-footer with 2:51 to go. Marcin Gortat then blocked Sullingers shot and Ariza hit his 3-pointer with 2:25 remaining to put Washington ahead 98-93. The Celtics had led 32-14 early in the second quarter. But in the last six minutes of the game, they were outscored 22-7, committed four turnovers and had two shots blocked. "They came out and punched us right in the face in the first quarter," Washington coach Randy Wittman said, "but I never saw any downness from our guys." Avery Bradley, an outstanding defender, scored 18 of his 26 points for Boston in a span of 8:01 in the second half. He started with a layup with 4:01 left in the third quarter that gave the Celtics a 66-59 lead and ended with a jumper with 8:00 left in the fourth that made it 88-82. Bradley then went to the bench and the Wizards began their comebacck. Robyn Regehr Jersey. "He had a good roll," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "His effectiveness on the offensive end is just going to continue to improve." Washington (12-13) won its third straight game, all on the road. It started the day in fourth place in the Southeast Division but has a better record than Boston (12-16), which entered the game in first place in the Atlantic Division. Nene, Gortat and Kevin Seraphin scored 13 points each for the Wizards. For the Celtics, Sullinger had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Green added 13 points. Three days after squandering a 21-point lead and losing to Detroit 107-106, Boston wasted lost another big cushion. "You have to stay focused," Celtics guard Jordan Crawford said. "Youve got to step on the pedal when you have them down." The Celtics led 51-44 at halftime and 62-53 five minutes into the third quarter. But Washington tied it at 74 on a 3-pointer by Martell Webster with 42 seconds left in the third quarter. Then the Celtics took a two-point lead on Bradleys jumper from the top of the key with 3.9 seconds left in the period. "Avery had an amazing second half," Webster said, "but we were resilient on the defensive end." Boston got off to its second straight strong start and led 30-14 after one quarter. On Wednesday night, it outscored Detroit 42-23 in the first. The Celtics scored the first seven points of the game, took a 22-8 lead on Sullingers 3-point play with 4:07 left in the period and finished it by scoring the last five points. A layup by Gerald Wallace gave the Celtics their biggest lead, 32-14. Then Boston collapsed in the last six minutes. "We settled a lot for shots," Wallace said. "We had some bad turnovers." Notes: The Wizards had at least 30 points in each of the last three quarters after scoring 14 in the first. ... The game was the opener of an NBA-NHL doubleheader at TD Garden. The Boston Bruins played the Buffalo Sabres at night. Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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