Stars und Sternchen! » h a wrist shot at 18:53 after Fasth va

DUNEDIN, Florida – Surely, after Drew Hutchisons latest Grapefruit League performance, only injury or a couple of calamitous outings will keep him out of the Blue Jays starting rotation when camp breaks in a little over two weeks. Manager John Gibbons wasnt taking the bait on Friday afternoon following his clubs 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Red Sox. "When we put the team together, well announce it at the end," said Gibbons. "Nice try, though." Pressed further, Gibbons was only slightly more willing to share what everyone believes hes thinking about his 23-year-old right-hander. "Hes doing everything he needs to do," said Gibbons. "When the time comes, everybody will know." Hutchison pitched five innings on Friday with his only blemish coming in the fifth, when a Corey Brown double cashed in Jonny Gomes. He struck out seven Red Sox, didnt walk a batter, scattered four hits and threw 51 of his 71 pitches for strikes. Once again, Hutchison commanded the strike zone. Continuing the trend he set from the start of camp, Hutchisons fastball routinely clocked at 95 miles per hour. Surely the young hurler knows hes pitching his way onto the team. Regardless, he insists hes not looking ahead, his post-start dance with the media as seasoned as his stuff on the mound. "Stay in the moment," said Hutchison. "It doesnt do me any benefit to think ahead or think behind. You just focus on each pitch and continue to execute and perform." The Blue Jays love Hutchisons will to compete. Coaches say hes not satisfied with being a big leaguer. He wants more; he expects to be a staff ace one day. Hutchison displayed that mentality in a full count showdown with Red Sox slugger Mike Napoli to lead off the second inning. He lamented a two-strike change-up earlier in the at-bat. Napoli fouled it off. Hutchison felt he could have better gotten on top of the pitch. He went back to the fastball and, on the eighth pitch of the showdown, froze Napoli with a heater on the outside corner. He addressed the approach to Napoli. "When you get in that deep of a count, youve got to win that," said Hutchison. "It drives your pitch count up, so youve got to make sure you get him." If the Blue Jays are to contend in the American League East, the club needs at least one pitcher to step up and pleasantly surprise. Hutchison fits the bill, although he isnt shocked in the least by his successful spring. "No, Im not surprised," he said. "As far as everybody else, Im not really concerned about it. I prepared myself coming into camp to have a good camp and have a good year." HAPP FEELS "GOOD" J.A. Happ threw three scoreless innings in a minor league game on Friday. It marked his first appearance in more than a week with what the Blue Jays and Happ say inflammation in his back. "I felt good," said Happ. "It was good. Exciting. I felt normal out there, which is really nice." He threw 43 pitches, giving up a hit and a walk, while striking out two. Happ was away from the Blue Jays for two days last Friday and Saturday. The Blue Jays say Happ was prescribed bed rest. Happ didnt want to miss any time. "I wasnt too far away," said Happ. "It was just something we need to take a step backward in order to go forward. We tried to take care of it with a few things and I think it definitely helped." What exactly was wrong? "Just some inflammation," said Happ. "We think there was something that was kind of pushing on the nerve that was sending some discomfort my way for a little while. We tried to ease that and I think weve taken a step in the right direction." The Blue Jays had a radar gun at Happs start. Happ said his fastball clocked 91-93 miles per hour. He hopes to build to 90 pitches by his final spring start. Happ didnt wish to address comments made last week by general manager Alex Anthopoulos that hes now competing for a spot in the starting rotation. "My comment is no comment," he said. "That was probably disappointing to hear but theres nothing I want to say about it." Manager John Gibbons has only one concern about Happ. "Weve got to make sure his back is healthy." DIAZ BACK "HOME" After one season with the Red Sox organization, infielder Jonathan Diaz is back where his career began. "It almost feels like I never left," he said. "It feels like home. I was here for so long and Im very familiar with a lot of the guys and the coaches, so it just feels like home." Diaz, 28, was a 12th-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2006. At 59" and 165 pounds, hes a smaller player known for his big glove. Often playing in the back end of Grapefruit League games, hes seemingly matched starter Jose Reyes big play for big play. It hast been an easy journey. Diaz was the final cut from Blue Jays camp in the spring of 2011. Playing at Triple-A Las Vegas, hed gotten off to the best offensive start of his career. In mid-May, he and his wife Kerry were in the backseat of a Vegas taxi. The driver ran a red light. The car was t-boned. Diaz suffered a concussion. Kerry had broken ribs, a separated shoulder and a lacerated spleen. Both were knocked unconscious and awoke in hospital. Diaz needed two months to recover from the symptoms. "It was hard focusing, disoriented and all that stuff," he said. "The funny thing was, when I started running, my eyes had a hard time adjusting and they would wobble." When he returned after the All-Star Break, Diaz was at Double-A New Hampshire. He would finish the season there. When Yunel Escobar went down in September, Diaz hoped for a call up and the chance to make his major league debut. It wasnt to be. Fast forward almost two years to June 29, 2013, the day Diaz first appeared in a big league game. It was Fenway Park. The Blue Jays were there, but he was wearing a Boston uniform. "It was just like, youre writing a story," said Diaz. "It kind of made me more comfortable because I knew a lot of guys on the other side. I knew what they did and I had a scouting report in my head already about all of the guys, so it made me more comfortable in my first game." Diaz appeared in only five games for the Red Sox, spending most of the season with Bostons top minor-league affiliate in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Still, hell be getting a World Series ring. "Its very special," he said. "I wish I would have played a little bit of a bigger part in the whole process, but its definitely something Im going to cherish for a long time." Just getting to the major leagues, when it appeared the taxi cab accident had taken away his chance, means more to Diaz now than he could ever have imagined. "I feel blessed enough to finally make it to the big leagues last year because sometimes the windows in this game are very small and it could have been my only window," he said. "Luckily, I got the opportunity last year with Boston. That took away a lot of the emotional stuff that I had from the accident that maybe Ill never make it again because of it." Atlanta Falcons Kaleb McGary Jersey . The Mariners ace allowed just one hit over eight innings while striking out nine, and Robinson Cano backed him with a two-run homer as Seattle earned a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. Atlanta Falcons Jerseys China . Louis second-period goal increased the New York Rangers lead but Dustin Brown has countered for the Los Angeles Kings who now trail the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Madison Square Garden. http://www.cheapfalcons.com/ . Even that couldnt slow them down against the New Orleans Hornets. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 31 points apiece and the Thunder overcame injuries to two key backups to beat New Orleans 101-93 Monday night for their 10th straight home win. Atlanta Falcons John Cominsky Jersey . -- LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the Trail Blazers lineup, happy to know that things didnt go awry without him. Cheap Atlanta Falcons Jerseys Online . - Kobe Bryant and LeBron James traded hugs, big shots and verbal jabs all night with warmth and humour.WASHINGTON - During a season in which theyve already gone through two coaches and won fewer games than any team in the league, the Edmonton Oilers entered the All-Star break with a victory to savour.Teddy Purcell scored the decisive goal in a shootout after Edmonton rallied from a two-goal deficit late in regulation, and the Oilers defeated Washington 5-4 Tuesday night to end the Capitals seven-game home winning streak.Purcell beat goaltender Braden Holtby in the fourth round of the shootout after Edmontons Viktor Fasth stopped Eric Fehr.The victory was the 12th in 47 games for Edmonton and only the fourth on the road. After defeating Florida in a shootout on Saturday, the Oilers have a week to sit on their two-game winning streak.We can definitely take some positives from this, coach Todd Nelson said. It was a good character win. The guys stuck with it.The Capitals, on the other hand, enter the break mired in a three-game skid after blowing a late lead at home against a team that has endured losing streaks of seven and nine games.I said to the guys, Maybe we dont make the playoffs, coach Barry Trotz said. There are some good teams out there.Washington has earned at least a point in 19 of its last 22 games. But that was of little consolation in a sombre locker room.Its just disappointing, defenceman Brooks Orpik said. Its the last-place team in the league, but its pretty obvious that any team can beat any team in this league if theyre fully committed.Alex Ovechkin scored twice in the opening 14 minutes for the Capitals, who held leads of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 before the Oilers made one final push during the final five minutes of regulation.Purcell scored at 15:49 to make it 4-3, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tied it with a wrist shot at 18:53 after Fasth vacated the net for an extra skater.Derek Roy andd Nikita Nikitin also scored in regulation for Edmonton.ddddddddddddThere were a couple of times in the second (period) that I think we were thinking that theres no chance we should even be in this game, Purcell said. We hung around and found a way.Ovechkin has five goals in his last three games and 27 for the season. It was his seventh multi-goal game of the season and 92nd of his career, one short of the franchise record held by Peter Bondra.Ovechkin would have felt a lot better about that if his two strikes came in a winning effort.We had to forget about it and get ready for the most important time of the season, he said.Ovechkin put Washington up 1-0 at 1:48 of the first period, firing a slap shot over Fasths left shoulder during a delayed penalty.Ovechkin scored again at 13:58 following an interference call on Edmontons Jeff Petry. The slap shot, fired from the left circle, smashed the goalie camera that hangs from the back of the net.Held to one shot on goal over the first 14 minutes, the Oilers closed to 2-1 when Roy scored at 14:51.Jay Beagle restored the two-goal cushion at 17:34 when he deflected a shot by John Carlson into the net. It was Beagles seventh goal of the season, a new career high.Nikitin got a power-play goal at 19:56 of the second period, firing a lengthy slap shot just three seconds after Matt Niskanen was sent to the penalty box for kneeing Roy.Nicklas Backstrom made it 4-2 at 6:38 of the third period, deflecting a shot by Carlson past Fasth.The lead wouldnt last.Theres a point we gave away, Trotz said.Notes: Edmonton swept the season series, 2-0, with its first win in Washington since 2009. ... Carlson has 21 points in his last 25 games. ... Fasth improved to 4-10-2. ... Mike Green had two assists for Washington and has four in his last three games. 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