Dein erstes Forum » e McClendon turned to his bullpen.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Robinson Cano delivered the biggest hit of the day for the Seattle Mariners, but not before a perfectly executed drag bunt set up things against one of the best pitchers in baseball. James Jones went 3 for 4, including a bunt single that wound up in the middle of three converging players and loaded the bases for Cano, whose third-inning, opposite-field double drove in two runs in Mondays 3-0 victory over David Price and the sputtering Tampa Bay Rays. "Were a team that has to do anything to win a game," Cano said. "We dont have three or four or five guys thatll hit 30 home runs, so weve got to play the little game, do the little things." Five Seattle pitchers combined on a five-hitter, blanking the punchless Rays for the second straight days. The Mariners extended their scoreless streak to 19 innings and won for the eighth time in nine games. "Our last seven or eight starts have been pretty darn good. Our starters have given us everything weve asked them and probably a little bit more," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "With that our bullpen is even better." The Rays, whove made the playoffs four or the past six seasons, have lost 13 of 14 and are saddled with the worst record in the major leagues at 24-41. The last time they were 17 games under .500 was the end of 2007, the final year they were known as the Devil Rays. "Right now, were the worst team. I dont anticipate finishing like that ... but right now, weve earned that position," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "Do I believe we can turn this around? Absolutely," he said. "But right now, if youre a baseball fan watching us, and you look at everything, you have to consider us the worst team." Canos big hit came on an 0-2 pitch during a three-run third inning against Price (4-6), who struck out 10 in eight innings. The 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner has dropped three straight decisions and hasnt won in nine starts since beating Minnesota on April 22. "It just goes to show you how good this guy is," McClendon said of Cano. "Against one of the toughest lefties in baseball and down like that. ... That was a huge hit for us." Mariners starter Erasmo Ramirez didnt allow a run, but failed to get through the fifth inning to qualify for the victory. The 24-year-old right-hander allowed four hits and walked five in 4 2/3 innings. Joe Beimel (1-1) retired the only two batters he faced to get the victory, and Fernando Rodney worked a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 20 opportunities. The Rays were shut out for the AL-high ninth time overall. Seattle finished a 6-1 road trip. The Mariners won three straight over Tampa Bay after dropping the opener of the four-game series. Price allowed three runs and seven hits and walked one. He has the best strikeout to walk ratio in baseball, but has also yielded a major league-leading 105 hits 99 2/3 innings. The Rays stranded seven runners and were 0 for 5 with men in scoring position through four innings against Ramirez, who entered the game with a 6.82 ERA. The frustration continued in the fifth, when Ramirez gave up a two-out double to James Loney and walked Ben Zobrist before McClendon turned to his bullpen. Beimel fanned pinch-hitter Jerry Sands, ending the threat and eliciting smattering of groans and boos from the crowd of 10,400 at Tropicana Field. "At some point, we have to get our bats alive," Maddon said. "The effort is wonderful. The work is great," the manager added. "The hits arent there." NOTES: Struggling Grant Balfour is out as the Rays closer. Maddon said the team instead will close games by committee. ... Mariners 1B Justin Smoak (sore left leg) and OF Michael Saunders (sore right shoulder) were out of the starting lineup for the third consecutive game. ... Rays rookie right-hander Jake Odorizzi (2-6) will go against St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright (8-3) in the opener of a two-game interleague series Tuesday night. Odorizzi grew up 35 minutes from St. Louis and called his start against the Cardinals a "special occasion." ... In a matchup of former teammates with Rakuten of Japans Pacific League, Mariners RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (4-2) and Yankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka (9-1) will start in the opener of a three-game series in Seattle. Danny Duffy Jersey . -- Andy Granatelli, the former CEO of STP motor oil company who made a mark on motorsports as a car owner, innovator and entrepreneur, has died. Raul Ibanez Jersey . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also listen to all the action live on TSN 1050 at 7pm et. The Knicks are two games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference race. https://www.cheaproyals.com/1607a-hunter...sey-royals.html. City has reached new heights under manager Manuel Pellegrini as they transition from big spending/immediate impact to perennial contender. Yaya Toures seeming discontent Tuesday may complicate that, as does the little issue of Financial Fair Play. Danny Tartabull Jersey . THE THUNDER & PACERS BENCHES: In a nutshell, not impressive at all. Scott Barlow Jersey . -- Arizona came out of its last meeting with California a bit discombobulated, hurting from its first loss and the loss of forward Brandon Ashley for the rest of the season.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Eastern Conference leading Toronto Raptors will try to get back into the win column Monday night when they welcome the Denver Nuggets to Air Canada Centre. The Raptors returned home from a 2-1 western road trip Friday night, but fell to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, 105-91. Amir Johnson had 27 points for the Raptors and Kyle Lowry scored 22 with nine assists. James Johnson managed 11 off the bench and those were the only three Toronto players in double figures. James and Kyrie Irving combined to score 17 in the third quarter and the Cavs led by as many as 14. They never let the Raptors get closer than six in the fourth. They were hitting on all cylinders, and they were executing as well as you could ask for, said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. I would say that I know this team tonight wasnt us. Sometimes in the NBA schedule (with) the first game back from a West Coast trip, the worst team you want to see is a team as talented as Cleveland. But again, hats off to them; they spanked us. The Raptors will get their chance for revenge on the Cavaliers when the two teams meet at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday. The Nuggets lost their third in a row on Sunday afternoon, a 96-84 setback in Atlanta to the Hawks. Wilsonn Chandler led the Nuggets with 29 points and 10 rebounds.dddddddddddd Timofey Mozgov chipped in 14 points with 11 rebounds, and Alonzo Gee added 14 points on 7- of-9 shooting off the bench. Atlanta completely shut down the Denver offense in the second quarter to jump out to a 57-36 halftime lead. The Nuggets shot 0-for-8 from beyond the arc, and they shot just 28.6 percent from the field in the quarter. However, the script flipped in the third quarter as the Nuggets were able to get back in the game. While they made just 1-of-8 3-point shots in the quarter, they were 12-of-16 from inside the arc. In the final 12 minutes, Denver cut the Atlanta lead to single digits four separate times and got it down to as little as seven with 3:35 remaining. On the next two possessions, Kyle Korver nailed a 3-pointer and Jeff Teague hit a layup to rebuild the Hawks lead to 92-80. Atlanta cruised from there. We played better defensively in the second half, said Nuggets coach Brian Shaw. The common denominator in terms of how that turned around is Alonzo Gee. We ended up getting 11 turnovers on them in the second half. The two teams have split the last six meetings, but the Nuggets have won five of their last six appearances north of the border. ' ' '