Sonstiges » 1 at Yankee Stadium. Jose Veras (3-1) got

TORONTO – Chad Jenkins is living the life of the 25th man. Cheap Cubs Jerseys China . On his fourth recall this season, hes been on charter planes and stayed in five-star hotels. Hes ridden buses along freeways and turnpikes and stayed in not so five-star hotels, which is the routine of minor league life. Sometimes, most of the time in fact, hes been a reliever. During his last stint in Buffalo, with the Triple-A Bisons, he was a starter. There was that time, shortly into the season, his recall was announced and then retracted because he hadnt spent the first 10 days on option to the minor leagues. Its been a whirlwind, to say the least. "Its funny, I think after the second send down this year a teammate of mine in Buffalo goes, I dont know how you do it. Id be so mentally wrecked I wouldnt know which way I was going," Jenkins told TSN.ca. "Its funny. I laugh, you know, there are times when it really gets to me and I have like a rough day and Im down and out." There are other days, too, like when he was traveling with Buffalo in Louisville, Kentucky. His parents had come to visit from their Atlanta-area home. Jenkins was in a bad mood, moping and struggling to accept the up and down nature of his role. The Bisons had a game that night and not long before first pitch, something clicked. "At the end of the day I realized that I get to play a sport for a living and no matter where I am Im healthy, my familys healthy and thats all that really matters," said Jenkins. He feels a part of this team this time round. Jenkins is pitching. He threw a clean inning on June 4 in Detroit, using his patented sinkerball to induce three groundball outs. The next day he left an out from his first career big league save, hurling two-and-a-third scoreless innings in relief of J.A. Happ. Fast forward five days, to Tuesday night, when Jenkins put up another three-and-a-third scoreless frames in relief of Happ. The Jays lost but Jenkins, as is the demand of the long reliever, stopped the bleeding and gave his team a chance to win. Thanks to his three outings since the last recall, his ERA has dropped from 9.00 to 2.79. "Im not a big stat rat but I dont like seeing my ERA in the nines and I had to sit on that for two weeks," said Jenkins. "Every opportunity I get, in the end, is to the help the team win but at the same time its like, a little pride in myself. I dont like seeing such a high number beside my name." Jenkins had made four starts for Buffalo prior to rejoining the Jays. Thrust into the bullpen, he was forced to rearrange his routine. "Whats tough is when I start, I pitch, day off, side, two days off and pitch again," said Jenkins. "Your body gets into a routine. You run long distance. I lift heavy weights because thats just how I like to work out. I get back here, I switch my lifting. I lift every other day, every two days, just trying to get my body going. I stretch a lot more." Hes doing his best to "preserve bullets," as pitchers will say. Jenkins has incorporated a number of mobility exercises, including the use of the foam roller to loosen up his core muscles. He doesnt need to throw more. Hes been doing plenty of that. "Im getting hot it feels like every night," said Jenkins. "I know since the second day in Detroit Ive had one day when I havent thrown off a mound. Arms holding up great, I cant complain there and hopefully I can keep it going." Manager John Gibbons has been a vocal supporter of Jenkins. The 26-year-old former first round pick often is the odd man out because the Jays can send him to the minor leagues without first exposing him to irrevocable waivers. Jenkins doesnt have a hard fastball and isnt a strikeout pitcher. Despite being selected 20th overall in the 2009 draft, hes come to believe the cautionary tale he heard from a minor league teammate shortly after turning pro: its hard to make it to the big leagues; its even harder to remain in the big leagues. "I didnt really heed that warning," said Jenkins. "Now that Ive been racking up a lot of miles I know for a fact its hard to stay." Pillar optioned to Buffalo The Blue Jays sent down Kevin Pillar before Wednesday afternoons series finale with the Twins. The move seemed strange, although the purpose was two-fold. First, the club needs relief help with its two long men, Todd Redmond and Chad Jenkins, unavailable on Wednesday due to their recent workloads. Reliever Bobby Korecky fills the need and its likely only for one day. "The thinking was, weve been talking about it the last couple of days anyway, we havent faced many lefties lately and for this next, pretty much this whole road trip, even when we get back, we dont face a lefty starter," said manager John Gibbons. "Send him down and get him some at-bats instead of sitting out there rotting." Toronto embarks on a three-city, 10-game road trip, which starts in Baltimore on Thursday. The Orioles will throw four right-handers at the Jays. Based on the pitching matchups the Jays believe they will see, the Yankees and Reds will each throw three right-handers. When the Jays return home on June 23 to play New York, the Yankees will throw three right-handers. The Jays arent scheduled to see a left-hander until their home series against the White Sox, which begins on June 26. In the absence of Colby Rasmus, Pillar has been part of a platoon with Anthony Gose in centerfield. In 38 plate appearances this season, Pillar is hitting .243/.237/.324. Three of his nine hits have been doubles. Jays make hay Despite the Jays recent slide, four losses in five games, the club has wrapped up a stretch in which it played 16 of 19 games at home. Toronto went 13-6 in that span. The Jays have 29 games remaining before the All-Star Break, 20 of which will be played on the road. After the trip to Baltimore (four games), New York and Cincinnati (three each), the Jays will return home to play the Yankees (three games), the Chicago White Sox (four games) and the Milwaukee Brewers (two games). The pre-All-Star Break road trip will be a demanding one and will rack up the frequent flyer points. The Jays will go to Oakland for four games, to Anaheim for three games and then head east to play the Rays three times in Tampa Bay. Authentic Kosuke Fukudome Jersey . After not scoring 40 points in the opening quarter in the last five seasons, the Rockets have done it five times this season and twice in the last three games. Authentic Mark Grace Jersey . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. http://www.cheapcubsjerseysshop.com/ .com) - The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings are ready to put all the talk and hype surrounding their meeting at Dodger Stadium behind them. HOUSTON -- Jose Altuve leads the majors in hits and is 11 away from 200 for the season. He insists hes not counting. "If youre thinking hits, youre not paying attention to wins," Altuve said Sunday after leading the Houston Astros past the Texas Rangers 3-2. Altuve matched his career high with four hits, including two doubles. His single with two outs in the eighth inning drove in the go-ahead run. Matt Dominguez hit a tying home run off reliever Neal Cotts (2-8) with one out in the eighth to make it 2-all. Jake Marisnick was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on Altuves single. "Hes the kind of guy you want to have in that situation," Dominguez said. "It seems he gets three hits a game." Dominguez had an RBI single earlier in the game. The Astros won a series for the first time since Aug. 19-21 at Yankee Stadium. Jose Veras (3-1) got the win and Chad Qualls posted his 16th save. Dallas Keuchel went seven innings for the Astros, allowing two runs and five hits. He struck out three and walked two. "Each and every time this guy goes to the mound we feel pretty good about our chances as a team to win the ballgame," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "Today was no different." Alex Rios doubled and singled for Texas, driving in a run and scoring run. His RBI single in the sixth scored Daniel Robertson to put Texas ahead 2-1. Rios doubled and scored on Ryan Ruas grounder in the first inning. "My only concern when I go out there and play is to limit the other team to (fewer) runs that what we score," Keuchel said. "In the month of August I really didnt do my job. Im just thankful we got the win today." Texas rookie Nick Martinez pitched 5 1-3 innings, giving up one run and six hits. He struck out four and walked three. "I told him he did his job when he came off the field," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "It was up to the bullpen to finish it off. We had the two best weve got in there and we just didnt do it." Porter praised his team for coming up with clutch runs late in the game. Keuchel said thats the difference between this years team and last seeasons squad. Authentic Ian Happ Jersey. . "This is team is a year older, a year wiser and were not where we want to be yet, but were getting there," Keuchel said. "Whether we are crawling or inching, were going to fight. Thats really the big difference." That, and they have players like Altuve on their side. "Hes been unreal all year," Dominguez said. FINDING HIS GROOVE Dominguezs 2-for-4, 2-RBI outing was a much-needed boost for the third baseman. "Hes been in a funk, and hes been working hard," Porter said. "He got a pitch that he could handle and put a really good swing on that ball." Dominguez, whose eight-inning homer was the first at Minute Maid Park since late July, said the extra work is paying off. "Im feeling a little bit more confident at the plate," he said. ROTATION WOES The Rangers are keeping a close eye on RHP Miles Mikolas as they decide on the fifth spot of the rotation. "Lets see how Mikolas is," Washington said. "If we feel we need to miss him another start we can always fill it with (Scott) Baker. Robbie (Ross Jr.) is in the mix, but well see where it goes." Mikolas was scratched from Saturdays start with shoulder fatigue. Texas plans to start RHP Colby Lewis, LHP Derek Holland and RHP Nick Tepesch at Kansas City. TRAINERS ROOM Rangers: Whether RHP Yu Darvish (right elbow) can return to the mound this season remains unclear. "I dont know," Washington said. "Waiting until Dr. (Keith) Meister tells him he can pick up a baseball to make a decision." Darvish was placed on the 15-day DL Aug. 13, retroactive to Aug. 10. Astros: INF Marwin Gonzalez was kept out of the lineup one day after being scratched with discomfort in his right hamstring. Gregorio Petit started at SS. UP NEXT Rangers: Lewis (9-11) looks to build on his previous outing -- his second complete game of the season, snapping a three-game losing streak -- when he starts Monday night at Kansas City. Astros: After an off-day, Houston starts RHP Brad Peacock (3-8) on Tuesday night at home against the Los Angeles Angels. He is looking for his first win since July 8. 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