Hilfe » John Gibbons is one of those special “baseball” guys that makes th

e game fun Wilmer Difo Jersey , makes it a little more interesting.On Sunday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla., Gibbons’ second stay as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays comes to an end with the final game of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays, and Gibby is going out in style.He’s having veteran catcher Russell Martin manage the team.Article continues below ...“I’m having a little fun with it,” Gibbons said Saturday. “Let him see how tough it is.”Technically, Martin will be a player/manager, but he hasn’t played since Sept 3 as the Jays have been looking at younger players.While the game will be an emotional one for Gibbons and the Jays, it really has some importance to the home team.Blake Snell didn’t win his 22nd of the season Saturday night, but the Rays won the game 4-3 for their 89th victory of the season — thus giving them a shot at 90 in a year most people thought would be a washout.They could reach 90 wins for the first time in five years.On Saturday night, Tampa Bay notched its 50th home win.Marco Estrada, slated to close the season and the Gibbons Era, was scratched with the sore back that has bothered him through much of the season. Sam Gaviglio will start against another Rays “opener Brian Goodwin Jersey ,” likely Ryne Stanek, with several relievers following.“The good thing is it’s nothing major,” said Estrada, a free agent at the end of the season. “It’s something the doctor feels it should be just fine. If we hit the right spot, this should be cleared away for a while. Pretty excited about it. He said, ‘Keep doing your core program, all the stretching you can, and it should help.’ I’ve stayed on it all year. Just sometimes it froze up.”As far as his future, the 35-year-old Estrada said: “Obviously, there’s always a chance of me coming back. I’m not sure in which direction they’re going, (or) if they want to go younger. It seems to be going that way. But I’m never right about these things. So I don’t really know. But I definitely would love to hear from them again. I’m comfortable here. I do love this team.”Snell pitched five innings and struck out 10 in a no-decision Saturday night, finishing his season at 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA — and apparently headed for the second Cy Young Award in franchise history.He came up short Saturday in his bid to become the first pitcher since Justin Verlander in 2011 to win 10 straight starts.“There’s not really much debate in my opinion http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-adams-jersey ,” said his manager, Kevin Cash.Said Snell: “I have a good case.”The Rays’ official Twitter account posted: Congrats to @snellzilla4 on an outstanding season. We’re rooting for you.”Toronto hitters struck out 18 times Saturday night.Gaviglio is 3-9 with a 5.19 ERA this season and 0-3 in his last five starts. He is 0-2 with a 5.27 ERA in three starts versus the Rays this season, dropping him to 1-2 with a 4.34 ERA in four career starts against Tampa Bay.Cash said before Saturday’s game that Matt Duffy and Ji-Man Choi likely would not play because of injuries.Also before the game, Rays right-hander Andrew Kittredge learned he had been suspended for three games and fined for throwing behind Austin Romine on Thursday. That led to CC Sabathia plunking Jesus Sucre with Sabathia suspended for five games.Kittredge said he might appeal, but both sentences would be served next season.“I understand, I do, I get it,” Cash said. “I had some really good conversations with MLB, (chief baseball officer) Joe Torre and (senior vice president, baseball operations) Peter Woodfork. And you know what? Kitt, from my understanding, will go through the appeals process and kind of let it be heard Brandon Kintzler Jersey , his viewpoint. And then go from there.” PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — The New York Mets hope their hard-throwing pitchers can dominate in the NL East this season.First, they have a little work to do controlling the strike zone.Noah Syndergaard walked five over 2 2/3 innings and Edwin Diaz gave out two free passes in his spring debut Saturday, shaky efforts for two of the biggest arms in the sport.Syndergaard opened by walking Houston’s George Springer on four pitches and was charged with an unearned run when Springer scored on a throwing error by shortstop Danny Espinosa.“Probably not his best outing ever,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. “But when it’s something not typical of a player like that, kind of scattering the ball around, you don’t really worry about it.“It’s kind of an anomaly in my mind. The stuff was good, the sliders he clicked were really good, he threw some good change-ups and we know the velocity is there and he was feeling good. He just didn’t have command of the ball like he usually does.”Syndegaard averaged 97.4 mph on his fastball last season, second best in the majors among pitchers with at least 100 innings behind the Yankees’ Luis Severino. He said the timing of his delivery was off Saturday.“My lower half and my upper half weren’t really quite synching up,” he said. “I just tried to guide the ball instead of drive it through the mitt.”This was Syndergaard’s second outing of the spring, and he pitched well in the first one. He said he wasn’t totally comfortable for the debut Tanner Roark Jersey , either, but thinks it might be beneficial to have to grind through some innings in early March.“I always think it’s great to struggle, that separates the men from the boys. It’s how you react and make adjustments … when you realize you don’t have your best stuff,” said Syndergaard, who held the Astros hitless.Diaz posted an MLB-high 57 saves last season for the Mariners and ranked 13th among qualified relievers with a 97.3 mph average fastball.The Mets were anxious to watch their new closer make his blue-and-orange debut. Diaz walked a pair in a scoreless sixth inning, fanned one and didn’t allow a hit to the Astros in an 8-7 loss.“He was a little rusty because he hasn’t pitched in a game until today for a while,” Callaway said. “He’ll get it all honed in and over the plate and be aggressive. His stuff is great.”NOTES: OF Michael Conforto hit a solo homer off Justin Verlander in the first inning, his first shot of the spring. … Catcher Wilson Ramos hit a grand slam and went 3 for 3. … Callaway said Travis D’Arnaud will serve as the DH on Sunday and Monday. It will be his first action since Tommy John surgery in April. … INF Jed Lowrie held a clinic with a Colombian baseball team Saturday on Field 2. One of the players was Jose Mosquera, who lost his right leg in a car accident. A big supporter of Project Beisbol, Lowrie and wife Milessa covered the cost of a prosthetic leg and fitting procedure for Mosquera. “It speaks volumes of what the game means to so many,” said Lowrie of Mosquera’s commitment to baseball.