Im very proud of him,
Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 8:05 am
SEATTLE -- Roenis Elias took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, Dustin Ackley led a potent Seattle offence with a home run and four RBI, and the Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 13-3 on Thursday night. . Elias (9-9) allowed only one walk before Conor Gillaspie hit a one-out double in the fifth. The rookie stranded Gillaspie, but left the game after giving up a two-run home run to Dayan Viciedo with two outs in the sixth. Elias allowed a season-low two hits, walked three, and struck out five. Ackley gave the Mariners an early lead with a solo home run, and Endy Chavez, Robinson Cano, and Kyle Seager added two-run shots. Scott Carroll (4-7) pitched five-plus innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits. He walked three and hit a batter. Four relievers combined to allow six runs, five hits, and four walks. Viciedos sixth-inning home run was his 15th of the season. Despite allowing the home run, Elias has a 2.08 ERA and 26 strikeouts in four starts since the All-Star break. Elias leads the majors with 23 starts and 134 2-3 innings pitched. Elias left with a 5-2 lead, but the Mariners offence never slowed down. Ackley led the charge with a two-run single and RBI groundout. He has four homers in seven games. Alexei Ramirez added an RBI single in the eighth for the White Sox, but Seattle relievers Brandon Maurer and Danny Farquhar shut the door. TRAINERS ROOM Mariners: Willie Bloomquist will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Friday. Bloomquist went on the disabled list on July 24 because of a bruised knee. ... OF Michael Saunders, on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique, began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday. White Sox: Chicago expects to activate RHP Zach Putnam (right shoulder inflammation) from the disabled list on Friday, manager Robin Ventura said. UP NEXT Mariners: Hisashi Iwakuma looks to continue his success against the White Sox on Friday. He is 0-0 with a 1.71 ERA in five appearances -- three starts -- in his career against them. White Sox: Starter Jose Quintana has been a bright spot lately for Chicago, putting together quality starts in seven of nine outings. Quintana will attempt to earn his first career win against Seattle on Friday in his fifth try. .com) - Marian Hossa scored two goals and the Chicago Blackhawks ended the Nashville Predators seven-game home winning streak with a 3-1 win on Saturday. .5 million per season with defenceman Chris Phillips. Phillips deal reportedly includes a no-trade clause. . -- A municipal court hearing for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe on speeding and marijuana possession citations has been rescheduled.CINCINNATI – Theres a lot to say about what happened at Great American Ballpark on Friday night but Erik Kratz needed only three words to aptly describe a 14-9 Blue Jays win over the Reds. "It was awesome," he said. Coming off an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, Toronto found itself in a deep hole early after the Reds put an eight spot up on starter Liam Hendriks (six runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched) and Todd Redmond in the second. All seemed lost, but then the offence, relatively dormant in a stretch of nine losses in 12 games, came to life. As it is with these Blue Jays, as it seems it must be, home runs played a significant role in the comeback. Edwin Encarnacion hit two. The first was the most important. Encarnacion took Mat Latos deep for a three-run shot in the third, a comparatively meek answer to Cincinnatis eight runs the half-inning prior, but the Jays were on the board nonetheless. Brett Lawrie hit a one out homer in the seventh to cut the deficit to 9-6. Three batters later, pinch hitter Juan Francisco hit a two-run shot off journeyman Reds reliever Jumbo Diaz. The score was 9-8, officially nail-biting time for the 33,103 predomiantly Reds fans in attendance. Encarnacion sealed the deal with another three-run home run in the ninth. By that time the Jays were ahead and the second deck shot extended the lead to 14-9. Suddenly, Encarnacion is baseballs leader with 23 home runs. He has three in two games, a sign hes coming out of his slump. "I think we got the emotion back," said Encarnacion. "Everybody in the dugout felt very happy. We felt we could come back." Starting catcher, Dioner Navarro, hit a two out, game-tying double off Jonathan Broxton in the eighth. His replacement in a double switch, Erik Kratz, hit the go-ahead double off flamethrower Aroldis Chapman in the ninth. That Jays put up runs on Cincinnatis formidable one-two bullpen punch (Broxton had a 0.40 ERA entering the game, Chapman a 0.98 ERA) was a feat in itself. "His ball, it comes out of a different slot, too," said Kratz of Chapman, who consistently throws a fastball harder than 100 miles per hour. "Hes coiled up and he comes at you with the noise and thats why hes had so much success." Adam Lind contributed a pinch hit RBI single. Jose Bautista walked four times. Brett Lawrie, who missed Thursdays game in New York with a bruised hand, returned and had three hits. Lawrie was one of six Blue Jays who registered a multi-hit performance. "Yeah, wed lost three in a row," said Kratz. "Yeah, we had lost three in a row but I dont think anybody was sitting here, like, Uh, are we going to win another game? Just like when we had won nine in a row but nobody ever said we had to win 20 in a row. We tried to win our 10th in a row and I think thats something the team does incredibly well. You saw tonight, grinding ouut each at-bat. . Each at-bat that we grind out is just the way were going to play the game. We cant beat anybody tomorrow but we can beat them today." Manager John Gibbons wasnt aware of the specific details but hes been around long enough to know these types of comebacks are historic. "I may never see another game like that, you may never see another game like that so enjoy it and hope it leads to better things," said Gibbons. The eight-run comeback marked the second largest deficit the Blue Jays have overcome in the franchises 38-year history. Long-time fans, certainly those old enough to remember, will recall June 4, 1989 with fondness. The Jays trailed the Red Sox 10-0 at Fenway Park and rallied for a 13-11 win in 12 innings. VOTTO TALKS ENCARNACION Toronto-born Joey Votto is taking it in from a distance. Hes enjoying the success his former teammate and good buddy, Edwin Encarnacion, is enjoying in Vottos hometown. "Hes a teammate that I really am very fond of and Im very proud of him, how well hes done," said Votto. "There are some guys you tune into and you almost, I dont want to use the word awe but you watch and you think to yourself, what do I have to do to get my swing to that point? That May stretch certainly was like that and he and Bautista are two really fun guys to watch." Encarnacions 23 home runs lead Baltimores Nelson Cruz (22). His 62 RBIs also lead the Majors. So enamored was Votto with Encarnacions 16-home run month of May, he sent Encarnacion a text on the afternoon of May 29. Votto admitted the message was profanity-laced and jokingly disparaging. He called upon Encarnacion to hit two home runs in the Jays game against the Royals that night. Encarnacion did just that. "He didnt answer me back until the second home run in the seventh inning," said Votto. "He responded back that night and I asked for some hitting tips. He was kind of coy about it." Encarnacion and Votto were teammates in Cincinnati from the time Votto broke in to the big leagues, in 2007, until Encarnacion was traded to the Blue Jays in 2009. BAUTISTA AND TWITTER Jose Bautista is amongst the major leaguers most active on social media. He has accounts on Twitter and Instagram (@joeybats19) and maintains Facebook and Youtube pages. "Its part of being an athlete today," said Bautista. "If youre not taking advantage of social media and using it to interact with your fans and giving them a sneak peak into your personal life and how you prepare and what youre about then shame on you." If you give Bautista a Twitter follow, chances are hell follow you back. Bautista is closing in on 514-thousand followers. He follows almost 230-thousand accounts. "Im glad Ive been able to use it in the right way I believe," said Bautista. "Just connecting with the fans and giving them the access that theyve wanted for so long." ' ' '