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as free agent wing Evan Turner.Portland was one of the biggest surprises of last season, advancing to the second round of the pl

#1 von t123 , 28.04.2019 06:51

CLEVELAND -- Joey Bats and the Blue Jays forgot their bats.Torontos meaty lineup loaded with power hitters scored just one run in the first two games of the AL Championship Series, a stunning turn for a team that blasted baseballs against Texas.The Blue Jays managed just three hits in Saturdays 2-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians, who took a 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Canada.Everyone in this room is confident that we can get it done, Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson said. Were not out of it. I still believe we can do it.After hitting eight homers and scoring 22 runs in their Division Series sweep of the Rangers, Toronto entered the ALCS as a well-oiled machine.Its only thrown parts so far, and the Blue Jays are down 0-2 in the ALCS for the second straight year.Jose Bautista , the aforementioned Mr. Bats, is 0 for 6 with five strikeouts and has yet to put the ball in play. Russell Martin is 1 for 7 and has missed a couple chances to drive in runs. Edwin Encarnacion has grumbled about the strike zone, and the Blue Jays are batting .159 with just two extra-base hits and 25 strikeouts.Clevelands pitching, especially lights-out lefty reliever Andrew Miller, has had something to do with Torontos offensive malaise.Weve pitched well, theyve pitched well, said Donaldson, who has continued his torrid October and has three of Torontos 10 hits. Theyve just scored more runs than we have. Were going to get the last at-bat now and we feel confident about it.The Indians arent taking anything for granted. They know that the middle of Torontos order -- Encarnacion, Bautista and Troy Tulowitzki -- remains dangerous.Those big guys have been carrying that team for a few years now, Indians closer Cody Allen said. They can do some damage. They really make you think about how you want to attack. You cant stay in one spot. You cant get them out the same way every time. You try to make some good pitches and try to have some good luck.Maybe going home will help the Blue Jays, who went 46-35 at the rocking Rogers Centre and drew an AL-high 3.4 million fans in the regular season.Having home-field advantage is good -- and were going to need it, said left-hander J.A. Happ, who took the loss in Game 2, allowing two runs in five innings. Hopefully, we can feed off the fans.The Blue Jays won their only home game in the ALDS, beating Texas 7-6 in 10 innings on Oct. 9, when Donaldson dashed home with the winning run.Being at Rogers Centre makes all the difference in the world, second basemen Darwin Barney said. Its an opportunity for us to get back in it.Clevelands players know theyre heading into one of the games most hostile home environments.Its hockey fans and I mean that in the best way because Im a hockey fan too, said Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis, a die-hard Chicago Blackhawks fan. Theyre intense. They stand up for most of the entire game and theyre always into it, rallying their team.Right now, the Blue Jays would take any kind of rally. PORTLAND, Ore. -- Allen Crabbe was upset three years ago when he wasnt selected until the second round of the NBA draft. His new contract with the Blazers alleviates some of that disappointment.Crabbe, a restricted free agent, has re-signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, who matched Brooklyns four-year, $75 million offer for the 6-foot-6 wing.He talked about the deal, finalized last week, on Friday at the teams practice facility. Center Meyers Leonard also spoke about his new contact with the Blazers.Crabbe was the 31st overall pick by Cleveland in the 2013 draft, but Portland traded two future second-round picks to acquire him. He called the experience of waiting for his name to be picked in New York as terrible.Im just thankful for the opportunity that Portland traded up to get me, he said. I feel that its really worked out to my benefit over these three years. Theyve done a great job in developing me into the player I am today.Crabbe, who played at California, averaged career highs with 10.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 81 games last season, shooting 46 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range. He was the teams leading scorer off the bench.Neil Olshey, Portlands president of basketball operations, called Crabbe a foundational player for the Blazers who grabbed the leagues attention in his breakout third season. He said there was never a question whether the Blazers would match offers that came his way.We all saw what he was able to do last season when he was given the opportunity, Olshey said. Those opportunities will increase as we go forward. Hes an incredible young player in this league.Leonard is staying in Portland for the next four years with a brand-new $41 million deal.The 11th overall pick in tthe 2012 draft, Leonard averaged 8.dddddddddddd points and 5.1 rebounds last season, which was marked by injuries. He dislocated his left shoulder in November and before having surgery in March for a torn labrum that cut short his season.Leonard, who was surrounded at Fridays news conference with family and friends, said hes close to getting his full range of motion back.My hope is to be ready right around the start of the season, he said. Its a progression, first introducing rebounding, grabbing stuff overhead, then one-on-one, three-on-three, extending to the full court. Well see. You just never know.It was a busy offseason for the Blazers, who also signed free agent forward Festus Ezeli, and acquired guard Shabazz Napier in a trade with the Orlando Magic for cash considerations. Portland also formally signed forward Jake Layman, acquired in a draft-day trade, as well as free agent wing Evan Turner.Portland was one of the biggest surprises of last season, advancing to the second round of the playoffs with one of the youngest rosters in the league after losing four starters in the offseason.Last year it was the fork in the road with the veterans, and we had to choose a path, Olshey said. What we wanted was a model of young guys, whose rights we controlled, who wanted to be here, part of a set roster that can grow together. Now were just in the tinkering and playing in the margin. So I feel good about it. I think we maximized our cap room. We had some holes, maybe not positionally, but in terms of skill-set, that we identified. We were able to do, I think, a pretty admirable job in free agency. ' ' '

t123  
t123
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en you try to do too much, youre not being someone you have to be.Ryan Howard also homered for Philadelphia, which avoided a thr
.Its like being a rookie again, he said. Everybody got this image on me thats a straight lie. So I got to show the teams in pers

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