MIAMI -- The Miami Marlins may have a closer controversy brewing ... or maybe it is just a good problem to have.The Marlins, fresh off a road sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates, open a three-game series against the 2015 World Series champions, the Kansas City Royals, on Tuesday.Kansas City (64-60) is even hotter than Miami, having won eight consecutive games -- the majors longest active streak. Miami (65-59) has won three in a row. Still, neither team would be in the playoffs as the race currently stands.The Marlins have been coping with a power void caused by injuries to right fielder Giancarlo Stanton and first baseman Justin Bour, who have combined to hit 40 homers in 171 games this season.It is dubious whether either slugger will return this year.In the meantime, both of Miamis left-handed starting pitchers -- Adam Conley and Wei-Yin Chen -- are on the disabled list.The bullpen issue surfaced Sunday, when All-Star closer A.J. Ramos returned from the disabled list -- but not in his former role.Fernando Rodney, who also made the All-Star Game this year on the strength of his work with the San Diego Padres, closed all three games in the Pirates series.Ramos pitched the eighth inning Sunday, which left Marlins manager Don Mattingly to do some explaining.A.J. and I have talked, Mattingly said. Were going to do what is best for the team.The Marlins, trying to chase down the St. Louis Cardinals for the second and final NL wild-card berth, are just hoping that either Rodney or Ramos is in position to save Tuesdays game.Miami will send right-hander Andrew Cashner (4-9, 4.92 ERA) to the mound for the series opener. Since being acquired from the Padres on July 31 in a package that included Miamis top hitting prospect, Josh Naylor, being sent to San Diego, Cashner has gone 0-2 with a 5.48 ERA in four starts.His numbers are even worse in his past three starts: a 7.04 ERA. Cashner also has nine walks and just six strikeouts in his past two starts.To get his first win with the Marlins, Cashner will have to cool off a red-hot Kansas City team and defeat right-hander Yordano Ventura (8-9, 4.46 ERA). The Royals have won each of Venturas past four starts, and he has a 2.52 ERA during that span.Royals left-hander Danny Duffy expects another quality outing from Ventura.Our rotation has been unbelievable, Duffy said Sunday. Our bullpen is back, doing what were known to do. The teams been doing great. We just have to keep that up.Indeed, Kansas City has won five straight series and 13 out of 15 games. And after the series at Marlins Park, 20 of the Royals final 35 games are at home.Other story lines to watch:--Marlins executive Michael Hill said Chen (left elbow) may not be back until late September. Hill said Conley (left hand) could be back sooner.--The Marlins are rotating three players at first base -- Derek Dietrich, Xavier Scruggs and Chris Johnson. The team is also reportedly looking to make a trade to acquire outfielder Jeff Francoeur from the Atlanta Braves. Francoeur would be used as a backup and a pinch hitter.--This will be the first series between Miami and Kansas City since the Marlins took two out of three from the Royals three years ago.
jerseys nfl cheap . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament.
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http://www.wholesalejerseyscheapfreeshipping.com/ . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season.
wholesale nfl jerseys usa . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes.
cheap jerseys free shipping . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings have not come to a decision yet about whether Adrian Peterson will play in the preseason, coach Mike Zimmer said Monday. If the leagues leading rusher does see the field before the start of the regular season, it will be in large part because he wants to get in an exhibition game.Im going to sit down and talk to him about it and if he wants to play then well discuss what we think, Zimmer said. If he goes in there, hes probably not going to get one pass and out. So hes going to play (for a longer period of time if he does play).Zimmer said he has discussed the possibility of playing in the preseason with Peterson, but reiterated he hadnt settled on anything with his running back. If Peterson were to get some work in the Vikings third preseason game, it would also coincide with the teams nationally-televised opening of U.S. Bank Stadium on Aug. 28 against the San Diego Chargers. But the coach wasnt terribly concerned with the marketing side of the decision.Nor did he feel like he needed to see Peterson in a game before the Vikings begin the season on Sept. 11 at Tennessee. I see him on highlight films every week, Zimmer said.Peterson hasnt carried the ball in a preseason game since he returned from knee surgery in 2012, and his only exhibition game appearance during that time came in 2013, when he played one series in the Vikings third preseason game against San Francisco. Last year, as the running back returned from a NFL suspension that cost him 15 games in 2014, the Vikings decided not to put Peterson on the field during the preseason. The teams offfense began the season misfiring in a 20-3 loss to the 49ers, in a game where Peterson gained 31 yards on 10 carries, posting just 10 yards on his four runs out of the shotgun.dddddddddddd After that, the Vikings largely scrapped the idea of shotgun runs, returning Peterson to the I formation sets where hed been most comfortable. Zimmer admitted at the end of the 2015 season the transition might have been smoother had Peterson played in the preseason.I probably made some mistakes going forward -- hes out for the year, we come back, I dont play him in the preseason games and then were kind of figuring out things, Zimmer said in January. I felt like we were figuring things out a little bit at the beginning of the year, especially offensively with that whole dynamic. That was probably a mistake that I made. I probably should have been more involved with trying to get things, and I dont know, maybe playing him.With Peterson present and healthy for all of the Vikings organized team activities and minicamp, though, Zimmer left things more open-ended through the spring. The Vikings two joint practices with the Cincinnati Bengals last week gave Peterson a chance to work against another team without the risk of injury from live tackling, and its possible those practices will be the closest he comes to game action before the regular season.Ultimately, the decision will largely be in Petersons hands. Asked why he would play the running back, Zimmer simply said, If he wants to. ' ' '
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