Forums » Off-Topic Discussions
Note to opposing pitchers: Fear the beard.
-
The Colorado Rockies‘ Charlie Blackmon is starting to return to the form that saw him lead the National League with a .331 batting average last season Chris Lindstrom Jersey , when he also had career highs with 37 home runs and 104 RBIs.
The bearded Blackmon homered in the first inning for the second time in the past three games Friday and added two other hits, sparking the Rockies to a 7-1 victory at Seattle. It was Colorado’s fourth straight win and seventh in the past eight games.
“It’s really good to continue to try and win games, play team baseball, even if you’re not feeling real awesome at the plate,” Blackmon told MLB.com earlier this week.
Blackmon hit a first-inning homer Tuesday in an 8-1 victory against San Francisco, then went deep against longtime Mariners ace Felix Hernandez on Friday.
During the Rockies’ four-game win streak, Blackmon is batting .471 (8-for-17) with two homers, four RBIs and has six runs scored. By contrast, from June 6 to Monday’s 5-2 victory over the Giants, Blackmon hit .216 (22-for-102) with two homers.
“This guy is the National League batting champion,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He’s an All-Star, started the All-Star Game, hit 37 home runs, knocked in 100 runs from the leadoff position. He’s going to be pitched tough the next year, for sure.
“And Charlie, at times http://www.lionsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jahlani-tavai-jersey , has come out of his game a little bit. Our conversation with Charlie has been, ‘Hey, be yourself.’ “
And that’s when opponents fear the beard.
“I’ve felt pretty good the past couple of days,” Blackmon admitted.
Blackmon will face a tough task Saturday afternoon in Seattle against Mariners left-hander James Paxton (8-2, 3.39 ERA). Paxton is 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA in two career starts against the Rockies.
In his most recent start, Paxton pitched eight shutout innings, giving up just two hits while striking out 11, in a 1-0 victory over the Royals on Sunday.
Blackmon has a .305 career average against lefties. Of the left-handed batters with a minimum of 750 plate appearances, the only ones in baseball history with a better average against southpaws are Ichiro Suzuki, Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew and Larry Walker.
Colorado will send left-hander Kyle Freeland (8-6, 3.25) to the mound. Freeland has made one career start against the Mariners, a 6-3 win at Safeco Field last season. He pitched six innings in that game and allowed two runs on six hits. In five career interleague starts, Freeland is 4-0 with a 2.14 ERA.
The Mariners hope to have outfielder Mitch Haniger back Saturday.
Haniger, who is second in the American League with 62 RBIs, has missed the past two games with a bruised right knee.
“(Thursday) it was really sore Kyler Murray Jersey , but it’s calmed down quite a bit,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said before Friday’s game. “He had it looked at by the doctor and it’s day-to-day. Hopefully he goes along good today and he possibly could get back in there (Saturday). He was definitely moving and feeling better.”
Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon left Friday’s game in the sixth inning after trying to score from third base on a ball that was in the dirt and got away from Colorado catcher Tony Wolters. But Wolters quickly recovered and flipped to pitcher German Marquez, who tagged out Gordon, who tried to score standing up. Gordon landed awkwardly after crossing the plate and Servais said Gordon “tweaked his hip.”
“I think he’ll be OK,” Servais said. “We’ll know more (Saturday) morning.”
BALTIMORE (AP)The Baltimore Ravens fully understand the ramifications of Sunday’s regular-season finale against Cincinnati. ”It pretty much lets us know if we’re going to be on the couch next week or on the field,” Ravens tackle Brandon Williams said. ”Definitely don’t want to be on the couch.” Beat or tie the Bengals (6-9), and the Ravens (9-6) end a two-year hiatus from the postseason. Lose, and Baltimore will need help (a loss or tie by either Buffalo or Tennessee) to get in. So, the plan for the Ravens is to take care of business themselves. ”This is the most important game for us this season,” tight end Benjamin Watson said.”We understand the urgency of it.” This could be the final game for Marvin Lewis as Cincinnati’s head coach, now in his 15th season with the Bengals. Lewis brushed aside reports that he’s preparing to move on, insisting that his future is secondary to guiding Cincinnati to an upset. ”I’m not going to reflect if this is my last game or not,” Lewis said. ”You never know when the last game is, so I don’t do any reflection.” His players aren’t sure what to expect. ”We don’t have enough validation as to whether or not that’s true. It’s all speculation,” defensive end Carlos Dunlap said. ”Come the new year, it may be a new year. But right now we’re going to prepare for the Ravens as if we were playing in Week One.” Ah http://www.arizonacardinalsteamonline.com/byron-murphy-jersey , Week One. This game is a rematch of the season opener, when the Ravens set the tone for Cincinnati’s season in a 20-0 rout. — Some things to know about the Bengals-Ravens game: LOOKING BACK: Lewis usually deflects questions about returning to Baltimore, but on this occasion he reflected on his time with the Ravens as a defensive coordinator from 1996-2001. ”I have incredible memories,” Lewis said. ”Obviously, with the franchise moving there in 1996 and the things that we were able to do.” Lewis earned a Super Bowl ring with the 2000 Ravens. He has enjoyed a good run with Cincinnati, and was asked if his players might want to send him out on a high note. ”I don’t know where they are sending me to,” Lewis said coyly. ”They want to send themselves out with a high note.” JUST CHILL: The temperature could be in the single digits, and the Ravens aren’t looking forward to it. ”If anybody tells you that they don’t think about it, they are lying,” Watson said. ”They are trying to be the `tough football player.’ We definitely think about it, but I will tell you, it is one of those things where you know what it is going to be this time of year.” Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said: ”I would rather play in 65 degrees and sunny, but it is what it is.” Flacco has thrown eight touchdowns and only two interceptions over the past six games. Baltimore is 5-1 during that span. SHOWING UP: The Bengals gave two uninspired performances in 33-7 and 34-7 losses to the Bears and Vikings before rebounding last week with a 26-17 win over the Lions. That seemingly ended the questions about whether they’d packed it in during their second straight losing season. ”We’re confident right now because the last few weeks had been pretty rough, almost demoralizing,” safety George Iloka said. ”When you start losing by 20 points, 30 points Andy Isabella Jersey , it’ll do something to you as a player. But I’m happy how we responded last week. I’d say right now, we’re confident.” SUGGS APPRECIATION: It’s been a heck of a season for 35-year-old Terrell Suggs, who has 11 sacks for a Baltimore team that leads the NFL with 33 takeaways. ”Obviously, there is no one that has seen Terrell more than I have, literally, since his pro day at Arizona State,” Lewis said. ”A physical linebacker, defensive end, whatever you want to call it. He just produces year-in and year-out.” Williams said: ”When you look at the outside linebacker position, that’s the first person you think of. He’s an X-factor. As long as he’s there, you have a chance. It’s great to have him. Hopefully he has many more years to go.” LINE SHUFFLE: The Bengals have lost left tackle Cedric Ogbuehi and right tackle Andre Smith, forcing them to improvise for the last two games of the season. Against the Lions, they moved left guard Clint Boling to tackle – he hadn’t played there since college – and gave second-year guard Christian Westerman his first NFL start. The combination worked well, but it should be tougher against Suggs and the Ravens. — AP Sports Writer Joe Kay in Cincinnati contributed to this story. —