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the most difficult competition in the league - wh3171 - 01-03-2020
DENVER -- The St. Air Force 1 High Outlet . Louis Cardinals successfully pitched around Troy Tulowitzki. So there was Justin Morneau, waiting to make them regret it. Morneau hit a three-run homer and drove in six runs as the Colorado Rockies beat the Cardinals 10-5 on Tuesday night to snap a seven-game losing streak. "This was obviously a game we needed," said Morneau, who was batting cleanup. Morneau is making a compelling case to be an All-Star selection, which would be all the more special because its in Minnesota where he began his career. Morneau is hitting .304 with 13 homers and providing valuable protection for Tulowitzki. "If I dont get it done, he seems to get it done," Tulowitzki said. "Hes been a nice addition to our ball club. Without a doubt, hes All-Star worthy." Jorge De La Rosa (7-6) allowed five runs, four earned, in seven innings. He is the first Rockies starter to earn a win since June 12. Nick Greenwood (1-1) pitched 1 2-3 innings in relief of starter Shelby Miller, who left in the third with back tightness but believes he will be back in time for his next start. Greenwood surrendered Morneaus homer on a hanging slider in the fourth. Morneau had an RBI single in the first and a two-run single in the seventh that gave Colorado some breathing room. "Hes having a heck of a season," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. The Rockies finished with 17 hits one night after managing just three when they were shut out at home for the first time in nearly a year. Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run homer for St. Louis and Matt Holliday had another productive day at Coors Field against his former team, going 2 for 5. He is hitting .545 in his last five games at this park. De La Rosa finished strong, striking out Allen Craig to end the seventh with Holliday on first. St. Louis had something brewing in the eighth with the bases loaded and two outs. But Adam Ottavino struck out pinch-hitter Jon Jay. Pinch-hitter Drew Stubbs added an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning with a solo homer to left. Charlie Blackmon later added an RBI single. LaTroy Hawkins finished the ninth in a non-save situation. Brandon Barnes made a diving catch deep in right to bring what was left of the crowd to its feet in appreciation. "I thought he had no shot at that ball," Weiss said. "Great play by Brandon. Hes not afraid to get dirty. Hes not afraid to leave his feet." The Cardinals scored two runs courtesy of crazy bounces. In the fourth, a hustling Peter Bourjos scored from second on Tony Cruzs high bouncer off the plate to second baseman DJ LeMahieu. An inning later, a slow roller possibly grazed Hollidays arm -- replays were inconclusive -- as he sprinted toward third, the ball taking a funny hop past Tulowitzki and rolling into left field. Holliday easily ran home as Tulowitzki protested. Weiss came out to argue the ruling, but the play wasnt reviewed and the run stood to cut Colorados lead to 6-5. The Cardinals rotation appeared to take another hit with Miller leaving the game. The right-hander arched his back in discomfort soon after delivering a pitch to De La Rosa. Manager Mike Matheny and a trainer instantly trotted out to check on Miller, who took a few warm-up tosses before being taken out for Greenwood. "I could still throw the baseball. It was just kind of a nagging little sting," explained Miller, who went 2 2-3 innings and surrendered three runs. "But nothing that we cant come back from. "At the end of the day, I didnt really execute pitches at all. So, obviously, it was disappointing and frustrating." St. Louis already is missing Michael Wacha (right shoulder stress reaction) and Jaime Garcia (left shoulder inflammation), who both went on the 15-day disabled list Sunday. NOTES: Cardinals LHP Marco Gonzales will make his major league debut Wednesday. Gonzales was a high school standout in nearby Fort Collins, and his dad, Frank Gonzales, is a pitching coach in the Rockies minor league system. ... Rockies RHP Christian Bergman has a broken left hand and will not make his start Wednesday. The Rockies are expected to bring up LHP Yohan Flande from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Air Force 1 Grey Outlet . - The Mavericks built a 12-point lead with 2:50 to play, gave away all but two points of it, and still managed to hang on. Air Force 1 Cheap .com) - Whew! North Dakota States reign as the three-time FCS national champion was pushed to the limit by South Dakota State on Saturday, but freshman R. https://www.cheapairforce1outlet.com/air-force-1-retro-outlet/ . New York secured second place in the Metropolitan Division when the Philadelphia Flyers lost at Tampa Bay later Thursday. The Rangers will face either the Flyers or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. The Rangers struggled throughout against the lowly Sabres and goalie Matt Hackett, who played in just his seventh NHL game of the season.ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Tucked in the warmth on the surrounding grounds of the Big House, Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis made one point urgently clear as he announced the signing of Torontos captain through 2021. "We signed Dion to this deal because he deserved it," said Nonis on the eve of Wednesdays Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium. But the success of the seven-year extension between the Leafs and Dion Phaneuf wont just be about the 28-year-old defender, but the ability of Nonis and the organization to surround him and the Toronto core with capable talent. Right now that core includes at least six players; Phaneuf along with Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk, Joffrey Lupul, David Clarkson and Tyler Bozak – all signed until at least 2017. And while that group must remain productive – and increasingly so from a generally disappointing first half – the overall team success is likely dependent on the quality of talent the club adds in the coming years. "Weve added these pieces because we think that they can help us win long-term," said Nonis of that core group. "Its now going to be up to us to add players around them. We feel we have some pieces coming, but were not where we need to be yet. We still need to add some pieces around players like Dion and Phil and [Lupul], JVR. Those are players that will help any team in this league win, but we need to continue to add to that group." No team has done a more efficient job of surrounding their impressive core than the Chicago Blackhawks (though the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins could make equal argument). "I think theyre a model for the league, not just our hockey club," Randy Carlyle said of the defending Stanley Cup champions earlier this season. Chicagos core is among the more dynamic in the league – much of it built through the draft – but the organization has done well in surrounding that group with wave upon wave of helpful young players and outside talent. In recent years, the likes of Andrew Shaw (fifth round pick), Marcus Kruger (fifth round), Bryan Bickell (second round), Corey Crawford (second round) and Brandon Saad (second round) all proved invaluable toward the Blackhawks capturing their second Cup in four years last season. For the Leafs that means improved drafting and development. It means finding more capable assets through the draft, ever an important tool in todays cap age. "Theres still only three ways to do [build around the core] – trade, free agency or the draft," said Nonis. "We have to do a better job in all three areas. But the draft is going to be more and more important as players start to earn six, seven, eight, nine, 10 million – who knows what the numbers are going to end up being. "If you have players that are entry-level players or just coming out of entry-level that are earning substantially less that can contribute youre going to have a better chance of winning. We need to try to find some of those players." Not only does that mean the continued development of young players like Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, Nazem Kadri, Peter Holland and Jonathan Bernier, but success here and there from a solid and yet unspectacular prospectt pool that features Matt Finn, Connor Brown, Petter Granberg, Dominic Toninato, and Josh Leivo. Air Force 1 Blue Outlet. It also means finding more useful players to contribute right now. Chicago found help for example in the form of veterans like Johhny Oduya and Michal Handzus. Uneven all season, Torontos patchwork defence – which featured no major additions last summer – is a source requiring definite upgrading in the summer of 2014 and beyond. As for Phaneuf, he may be an imperfect first defender, but is a capable first defender no less in a league where commodities of such kind are difficult to find and then keep. More and more teams are locking up their most talented players long-term leaving the free agency pool increasingly weak and short of high-impact options, especially on defence. Among the top unsigned defenders for the summer of 2014 are 37-year-old Dan Boyle, 35-year-old Andrei Markov, and 29-year-old Dan Girardi. Internally, the Leafs have promising long-term options for the top of their defence in the 19-year-old Rielly and 23-year-old Gardiner, but neither is near ready to assume the difficult duties Phaneuf holds at the moment. And while the likes of Finn, Granberg, Stuart Percy, and Tom Nilsson offer prospective hope further on down the line, they are suitably unknown commodities. "If youre signing players because you dont have anyone to replace them youre making mistakes," said Nonis. "Hes going to play at this level and beyond, I feel, for seven years and maybe beyond that. Its not that you dont have anyone to replace Dion, its that hes done enough to prove to us that he is a player that is near the top of the league in terms of how he stacks up against the top defencemen." The difficulty of his minutes is easy to overlook. His role on a generally unstable Toronto defence requires him to match up nightly against the most difficult competition in the league. In Wednesdays Winter Classic for example, that tall challenge will include large quantities of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. "I dont think you can look beyond the situations and positions that Randy puts him in," said Nonis. "Theyre not always the best situations. He plays some pretty tough minutes." In fact, no defender in the league has faced more challenging competition in the past two seasons than the Leafs captain, this according to ExtraSkater.com. And though hes struggled to produce offence this season – 15 points in 39 games – Phaneuf has ranked amongst the top-20 at his position in offensive production in each of the past two seasons. The Leafs were in a surprise in 2013, finishing fifth in the conference while nearly upending the eventual Cup finalist Bruins in the first round. But theyve fallen under considerable strain this season – just four regulation wins since Nov. 1 – and have proven a poor defensive contingent again after struggling in that regard a year ago. Phaneuf is more solution than problem. The Leafs simply need better players around him. "You see some of the best players around the league," said Nonis, "if you put them on a team by themselves theyre going to have a hard time winning. We think were adding pieces that will help us win." ' ' '