Hibbelforum » gue Baseball over Tuesday nights

NEW YORK -- Craig Kimbrel hardly ever needs help with the ninth inning. He got some Saturday night. Jordan Walden nailed down the final out with the bases loaded after Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez pulled his star closer following a shaky performance in a 7-5 win over the New York Mets. Sidelined recently by shoulder discomfort, Kimbrel threw 24 pitches during his first outing in a week. The Braves didnt want him to go any longer, and Gonzalez thought the reliever was rusty. "The good thing is that we got him on the mound and got him pitching and well go from there," Gonzalez said, adding that Kimbrel was pain-free. "He was fine. He was good. Thats a good, positive sign." Freddie Freeman had three hits and hustled his way through a weird play that brought the Braves two runs when the Mets were unable to challenge a costly incorrect call. Ervin Santana pitched seven crisp innings for his second win over New York in three starts with Atlanta. Justin Upton hit a three-run homer in the ninth to make it 7-3, and that became crucial when the Mets rallied against Kimbrel. They scored twice off the hard-throwing right-hander, who loaded the bases with a two-out walk to Lucas Duda. Thats when Gonzalez went to the mound and lifted Kimbrel, who wasnt happy about it. "Thats what makes him good," Gonzalez said. "At that point of the game he dont care about his arm, he dont care about anything, but he wants to finish that inning." Kimbrel waited an extra moment or two before reluctantly handing over the ball. "Im a competitor and anytime you get taken out, obviously you get upset about it and I did," said Kimbrel, who apologized to Gonzalez after the game. "Thats disrespectful to him, to the team and its just not the type of person I am and I felt awful about it." Walden retired Travis dArnaud on a grounder to secure his first save of the season and Atlantas seventh victory in eight games. Gold Glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons was shaded toward the hole and made a strong throw to get dArnaud. "I was ready. Im always ready," Walden said. Santana (2-0) allowed one run and struck out seven, giving the Braves their latest outstanding start. Despite several significant injuries in spring training, Atlantas rotation entered with a 1.47 ERA -- best in the majors by nearly a full run. David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Chris Young all had three hits for the Mets, held to one by Aaron Harang and two relievers in the series opener Friday night. Bartolo Colon (1-3) gave up three runs in seven innings for New York. Young cut it to 4-2 with an RBI single in the eighth off David Carpenter. Duda made a bid for a three-run homer with a long drive that was caught on the warning track in right field. "I thought it was a home run," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "I thought he hit that ball good." A single by dArnaud brought the Mets within one, but Carpenter ended the inning by retiring Ruben Tejada on an easy grounder with runners at the corners. Uptons fifth homer came off Jose Valverde and followed an intentional walk to Freeman. Atlanta was trailing 1-0 with two outs in the third when Freeman fisted a soft bouncer between the mound and home plate. Colon appeared to be in no particular rush to pick it up -- and then he threw wildly past first base as Freeman hustled down the line. Two runners scored on Colons error, and Freeman was credited with an infield single. But replays showed the ball hit Freemans front foot before bounding onto the grass, so it should have been ruled foul. Collins could not challenge the call because only batted balls that "first land at or beyond the set positions of the first or third base umpire" are subject to video review for fair or foul, according to baseballs replay rules. Since the ball rolled right in front of the plate, the Mets had no recourse. "Nobody saw it and you cant challenge it," Collins said. "You have to understand that this is a whole work in progress." Freeman doubled home a run in the fifth, and Upton scored on Daisuke Matsuzakas wild pitch in the eighth to make it 4-1. NOTES: Braves LHP Mike Minor (left shoulder tendinitis) gave up two earned runs in six innings during a rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett. He could come off the disabled list next week. ... Backup outfielder Jordan Schafer injured the middle finger on his right hand but said he got X-rays and everything is fine. ... Young doubled in the fourth for his first hit with the Mets. Cheap Stan Smith Wholesale . This week, topics cover the World Series champion Red Sox, John Farrell and what to look forward to this off-season. Adidas Stan Smith Wholesale . Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored in the shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday night. http://www.discountstansmithuk.com/.com) - The Memphis Grizzlies signed guard Seth Curry on Tuesday. Stan Smith Sale Uk .Then came December.Three straight losses, including a crushing 27-24 defeat to Washington (4-11) on Saturday, has the Eagles (9-6) on the brink of playoff elimination. Discount Stan Smith Uk . That further limits the options of Australia coach Ewen McKenzie, who on Monday suspended six players who were involved in a night out in Dublin ahead of the Saturdays 32-15 win over the Irish. The Wallabies play Scotland on Saturday before facing Wales on Nov.CHICAGO - Jake Peavy is showing signs of getting back on track, and his timing couldnt be better for the San Francisco Giants. The 33-year-old right-hander pitched seven solid innings in his fifth start with San Francisco, and the Giants rolled past the Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Wednesday, hours after they won a protest regarding a rain-shortened loss from the night before. Peavy (2-3) has won two straight after losing his first three starts with San Francisco following a July 26 trade from Boston where he was 1-9. "I never gave up hope or thought I wasnt going to win," Peavy said. "I didnt really do anything different tonight other than just the team scored and made my job a whole lot easier. "Weve got five or six more starts and Ive got to try to find a way to win those with us trying to get in (the playoffs)." Peavy allowed 10 hits, struck out eight and walked none. Chris Valaikas two-run homer in the second inning accounted for the only runs against him. Hunter Pence and Andrew Susac homered, and Travis Ishikawa drove in three runs with pair of doubles among three hits to help the Giants strengthen their hold on an NL wild card spot. The Cubs Luis Valbuena added a solo homer and a triple in going 3 for 4. Struggling starter Edwin Jackson (6-14) was hit hard in just 2 2-3 innings, his shortest outing of the season. He allowed seven runs, eight hits and two walks. Jackson has lost seven of eight decisions. "Its just terrible," Jackson said. "Theres no excuse for it, pretty much. Tonight I didnt help myself. I didnt help my team." Before the game, the Giants won their protest filed with Major League Baseball over Tuesday nights rain-shortened loss that was called in the fifth inning. A problem in getting the tarp onto the field caused unplayable conditions, and the game was ruled a 2-0 Cubs win after a delay of over four hours. The suspended game will be completed on Thursday before the regularly scheduled game between the teams. "We needed Jake to get somewhat deep in the game," manager Bruce Bochy said. "A long day tomorrow. We have a lot of innings to play." MLB ruled the tarp hadnt been properly put away after its previous use, and therefore there was a "malfunction of a mechanical field device under control of the home club.dddddddddddd" MLB said this was the first successful protest since 1986. On Wednesday, the Giants jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning as five of their first six batters reached base. Ishikawa drove in two runs with his first double to cap the outburst. Ishikawa doubled in another run in the third and scored on Susacs first career homer as San Francisco opened a 7-2 lead. Pence led off the fourth against Carlos Villenueva with his 17th homer of this season to make it 8-2. UP NEXT The suspended game will resume on Thursday with the Cubs batting in the bottom of the 5th inning and leading 2-0. San Franciscos Yesmeiro Petit (3-3, 3.89) and Chicagos Jacob Turner (4-7, 5.80) will step in to start that one. In the regularly scheduled game, Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner (13-9, 3.14) is slated to face Cubs LHP Travis Wood (7-10, 4.86). TRAINERS ROOM Giants: C Buster Posey was out of the lineup because of soreness in his left hip. Bochy likened it to an unscheduled day off and expected Posey to be back behind the plate on Thursday. Posey is batting .278 with 13 home runs. He was replaced by Susac. Cubs: SS Starlin Castro was a last-minute scratch from the lineup due to a family emergency. The team didnt provide details or say how long he would be out, but said it was likely hed be placed on the bereavement list. LHP Felix Doubront, placed on the DL with a left calf strain on Aug. 1, threw on the side on Wednesday. He is expected to make another rehab start at Double-A Tennessee on Sunday or Monday. Manager Rick Renteria said Doubront, acquired from Boston on July 30, is in line to be recalled and start on Aug. 30 when the Cubs play a doubleheader at St. Louis. BALLPARK WATER-GATE The infield was still damp and the areas under the stands at century-old Wrigley Field reeked of mould even more than usual following Tuesdays nights downpour that led to the game being called at 1:16 a.m. The storm apparently was very localized. Cubs GM Jed Hoyer said it didnt rain at his house, some 12 blocks from the ballpark. ' ' '