Dein erstes Forum » Hickson 12 for the Nuggets,

TORONTO -- J.A. Happ changed his mindset Thursday night after giving up seven earned runs in his previous appearance. The Toronto left-hander decided to pitch "a little angry" against Chicago and it led to his best start of the season. Happ, who had a season-high eight strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings, combined with two relievers on a four-hit shutout as the Blue Jays blanked the White Sox 7-0 to kick off a four-game series. "He had that good life on his fastball and you could see them swinging through some pitches," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "Thats when you know hes on." It was a strong bounceback performance by Happ after he lasted just four innings in an 8-0 loss to Cincinnati last week. He originally planned to forget about that start, but it was on his mind as he took the mound on a glorious summer evening at Rogers Centre. "I did pitch a little upset, a little angry tonight at myself," Happ said. "So that helped just trying to be in the zone, trying not to let those kind of games happen (again)." Happ walked a pair and threw 79 of his 124 pitches for strikes. Dustin McGowan and Chad Jenkins completed the shutout as Toronto (45-36) moved two games ahead of the idle Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. It capped an impressive first half of the season for the Blue Jays, who lead the American League with 35 victories from their starters. "Weve played some good baseball and really we deserve to be where were at, to tell you the truth," Gibbons said. Jose Reyes had four hits and Adam Lind drove in three runs as Toronto outhit Chicago 12-4. The stumbling White Sox (36-44) have lost seven of their last eight games and dropped 10 of 11 on the road. "That game just smelled right from the start," said Chicago manager Robin Ventura. "We didnt play very well, didnt hit very well, didnt play defence very well and it showed." The Blue Jays gave Happ an early lead after Reyes and Cabrera reached on back-to-back infield singles in the first inning off Scott Carroll (2-4). Lind drove a ball into the right-field corner that easily scored Reyes from second base. The throw from former Blue Jays outfielder Moises Sierra was between home plate and third base, allowing Cabrera to score on the error. Reyes tripled in the second inning to bring home Juan Francisco, who reached on a walk. Reyes drove the ball off the top of the wall in right-centre field and it bounced high in the air and back onto the field. The play was reviewed to see if it should have been a home run but the call was upheld. Toronto started to pull away in the fourth inning as Lind drove in Reyes and Anthony Gose with a single. Lind finished with three hits to bump his average up to .342. "Against right-handed pitchers, I mean whos been better in baseball, really?" Gibbons said. "I dont think anybody has. Lind really fits that three-hole mode. Hes got great discipline, hes kind of a pure hitter." Dioner Navarro put a charge into the crowd of 23,248 in the fifth when he hit a drive to the warning track in left-centre field. Left-fielder Dayan Viciedo flubbed the catch attempt and centre-fielder Leury Garcias throw to second base was wide. Navarro ran to third when the ball rolled into foul territory and actually got the wave home -- a stunning decision by third-base coach Luis Rivera given that the Toronto catcher is probably the slowest player on the team. Abreu threw the ball home in plenty of time for Adrian Nieto to apply the tag. Gibbons joked that Navarro might not be able to play for two weeks now after that long run around the bases. "Ill kill Luis if he sends me again, but Im ready to play tomorrow," Navarro said with a laugh. Carroll gave up nine hits, five earned runs and two walks over five innings. He had four strikeouts. Notes: White Sox centre-fielder Adam Eaton left the game in the first inning due to cramping in his left leg. He was replaced by Garcia. ... Steve Tolleson replaced Francisco at third base in the seventh inning. Tolleson had been bothered by blurry vision of late but the problem was corrected after a visit to the eye doctor earlier in the day. ... Tolleson was called out on a close play at first base in the eighth inning. After a long review of nearly 3 1/2 minutes, the call stood. ... Jose Abreu singled in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. ... The game took exactly three hours to play. ... Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista continues to make progress in his recovery from a mild hamstring strain. Theres a chance he could return to the lineup on the weekend. ... Toronto has held sole possession of first place for 35 straight days. ... Before the game, the White Sox designated former Blue Jays left-hander Scott Downs for assignment and recalled southpaw Eric Surkamp from triple-A Charlotte. ... Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (6-6, 4.04 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday night against Chicagos John Danks (6-6, 4.34). ... The Blue Jays get an off-day Monday before closing out their nine-game homestand with a two-game mini-series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Paul Stastny Jersey . The club was unable to retain hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, who is bound for Atlanta. Seitzer replaces Greg Walker, who was assisted by Scott Fletcher this season as the Braves finished 79-83. Malcolm Subban Jersey . Still, Milan remained five points behind city rival Inter Milan in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League berth, after Inter beat 10-man Parma 2-0. Meanwhile, Paul Pogba led the way as Juventus stayed on course for a third consecutive title with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Bologna. http://www.goldenknightssale.com/. GQ Lundqvist quite well.Three rounds, and nearly two months later, will the Kings have the strength to reach the summit of the Empire State to claim the cup?Truer words have never been spoken. Erik Haula Jersey . People familiar with the case told The Associated Press on Friday that arbitrator Fredric Horowitz could issue his decision this weekend. Ryan Reaves Jersey . On the day after Billy Horschel posted his 12th straight round in the 60s, won his second straight tournament against a world-class field and picked up an additional $10 million bonus as the FedEx Cup champion, Watson was kicking back in his seat at a Kansas City Royals game. NEW ORLEANS -- With a quick step to his left, Anthony Davis bolted from the man he was supposed to guard and launched himself toward the backboard in time to swat away Ty Lawsons driving layup. As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. "I dont think I was supposed to (guard Lawson)," Davis said of his pivotal block. "I just tried to make a basketball play. Coach (Monty Williams) tells us all the time, If youre going to do something like that, you better go get it. Thank God I got the rebound. It got us hyped and it was a play that we needed down the stretch." Williams was delighted and amused by the play because of how it fit the theme of pregame banter he had overheard between Davis and his teammates. "Its funny because they were just talking about before the game how he wanted to just go up and grab it out of the air like Patrick Ewing used to," Williams said. "I was like, What are you guys talking about? Where is this conversation going? And then he makes a play like that, so it shows you how much I know." For Davis, it was one last historic performance before hes old enough to legally accept someones offer to buy him a drink for all hes done in less than two seasons of basketball in the Big Easy. Since the Pelicans were founded as the Charlotte Hornets in 1988, no one had racked up as many points, rebounds and blocks in the same game as Davis did against Denver. "Thats a testament to my team. Theyre giving me the ball where I can score and cutting hard so their man cant help, making big shots, playing defence, having my back if I try to go block a shot, boxing out and letting me get the rebounds," said Davis, who turns 21 on Tuesday. "It all goes to the team and not just me. I cant do it by myself." Indeed, Davis pointed out that his overtime heroics, which included four crucial free throws, never would have happed if not for teammates like Anthony Morrow, whose 14 points included a 15-foot pullup in the lane that tied the game at 94 with 1 second left in regulation. Morrow had to save a ball tipped away from Davis, then had to get off a shot over the taller Lawson. "Hes a great defender..dddddddddddd He was up under me, so I just wanted to make sure I got to where I wanted to get to and just knocked the 15-footer down," Morrow said. Tyreke Evans, meanwhile, added 20 points, his fifth straight game with 20 or more. Kenneth Faried had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, which had won its previous two games and led by as many as 16 in the second quarter. Aaron Brooks scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, nearly rescuing Denver from its collapse. After being up by as many as 13 points early in the second half, Denver had fallen behind by seven in the fourth quarter before Brooks scored six straight on three free throws and a transition 3-pointer. Later, his clutch, weaving drive around Davis for a scoop off the glass put Denver in front 94-90 with 1:20 left. But Brian Roberts free throws, followed by Morrows clutch jumper, sent the game to overtime. "It wasnt the end, it was the third quarter. We let them get back in the game," Faried said. "Its something about us and this team this year. We dont have that killer instinct quite yet." There were nine lead changes in the overtime thriller between two teams well out of playoff contention, but playing with pride. Davis deep offensive rebound and assist on Morrows 3 made it 100-98, and Davis exuberantly held three fingers in the air as the ball went down, only to see Lawson convert a quick three-point play on a driving layup as he was fouled to give Denver the lead right back. Roberts followed with a jumper for New Orleans, then Wilson Chandler nailed a 3 to put the Nuggets back up by two. Evans layup tied it for the eighth and final time at 104 before Davis free throws gave New Orleans the lead for good. Lawson finished with 15 points, Chandler with 14 and JJ who outshot New Orleans 47.1 per cent (40 of 85) to 45.6 per cent (41 of 90), but hurt themselves 27 turnovers. "Weve just got to do a better job of taking care of the ball, and our role mentality, the things we talk about when youre playing your role -- fundamentally, boxing out and doing the things that we need to do to win this type of game," Denver coach Brian Shaw said. NOTES: Davis has surpassed 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game 22 times this season, and he has 30 double-doubles. ... The Nuggets resume their five-game road trip Monday night in Charlotte, followed by games Wednesday in Orlando, Friday in Miami and Saturday in Atlanta. ' ' '