Abwesenheiten » weve got to protect home court

BOSTON -- A year after the Boston Marathon bombings, the Red Sox had plenty of chances to make a special day even more memorable. Dikembe Mutombo Jersey . They almost succeeded. Boston scored one run in each of the last three innings -- stranding runners in scoring position in all of them -- -- in a 7-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in Mondays traditional Patriots Day morning game Not bad, though, considering the Red Sox trailed 6-0 after three innings. "Our guys battled and fought and did a good job of making a game of it and it came down to the last pitch," David Ross said. "We did a good job of representing Red Sox baseball today. We just want to win, obviously, for the fans and the whole situation." Boston beat Tampa Bay 3-2 in last years Patriots Day game. About 40 minutes after the final out, two bombs went off near the marathon finish line a little over a mile from Fenway Park, killing three spectators. This year, Mondays game began at 11:09 a.m., 12 hours, 28 minutes after Bostons 6-5 win ended Sunday night. "Once you show up here, we have a job to do," Baltimores Adam Jones said. "It doesnt matter what time it is." The game started about an hour before Meb Keflezighi crossed the finish line as the first American man to win the Marathon since Greg Meyer in 1983. A long, loud cheer went up when the result of the race was shown on the centre field video screen. Bostons Mike Napoli called Monday "a special day." "Of course, you want to go out there and win," he said. That seemed unlikely when Baltimore scored six runs off Clay Buchholz in the third inning. The Red Sox, who overcame a 5-0 deficit Sunday, started to come back again. "It never seems to be enough against these guys," said Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis, who fielded Mike Carps grounder and stepped on first for the last out. "They claw and battle and continue to score runs and put pressure on us to score more runs." Boston loaded the bases with one out in the ninth on a single by Brock Holt, a double by Dustin Pedroia and an intentional walk to David Ortiz. One run scored on Napolis groundout to second before Tommy Hunter escaped with his fifth save. Nothing special for Hunter. "Its another inning, another game," he said. "I was actually pretty calm." Wei-Yin Chen (3-1) and five relievers pitched well enough for Baltimore to gain a split of the four-game series. Baltimore started the third with consecutive singles by Steve Lombardozzi, David Lough, Nick Markakis, Nelson Cruz and Davis that produced three runs. Jones drove in another on a forceout at second base before a run-scoring double by Steve Clevenger and an RBI single by Jonathan Schoop made it 6-0 and knocked out Buchholz (0-2). Buchholz had slept over at Fenway Park after Sunday nights game and doesnt regret the decision. "Id have had to wake up earlier than I did here to get here this morning," he said, "so that had nothing to do with it." Boston cut the lead in half with three runs in the fifth on RBI doubles by Jackie Bradley Jr. and Pedroia and a sacrifice fly by Holt. In the seventh, Boston made it 6-4 on Ross first homer and then had a chance to go ahead after Holt singled and Pedroia walked. But Ortiz hit an inning-ending groundout. Ryan Flahertys RBI single in the eighth made it 7-4 before Napolis solo homer in the bottom half. Singles by Xander Bogaerts and Daniel Nava put runners at first and second with one out, but pinch-hitter Jonathan Herrera struck out as the runners took off and Bogaerts was tagged between second and third. "It takes some added energy," Boston manager John Farrell said of the repeated comeback attempts. "Wed certainly like to get the offence going a little bit earlier rather than having to dig out of a hole." NOTES: Marc Fucarile, who lost his right leg in last years Boston Marathon bombing, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. He was married in Fenway Park last Thursday. ... Bostons jerseys had the word "BOSTON" on the front instead of the usual "RED SOX." ... Davis singled and walked twice and tied his career-high by reaching base in 17 straight games. ... The Red Sox send Jon Lester (2-2) to the mound Tuesday night for the start of a three-game home series against the Yankees. Masahiro Tanaka (2-0) pitches for New York. The Orioles will start Miguel Gonzalez (1-1) against R.A. Dickey (1-3) of the Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game series at Toronto. Jeremy Lin Jersey . The 18-year-old centre was the Senators first-round pick (17th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. The six-foot 196-pound native of Salmon Arm, B. Taurean Prince Jersey . The Cavaliers first-year forward will miss at least three weeks with a strained left knee, the latest setback for the No. http://www.authenticbasketballshophawks.info/spud-webb-hawks-jersey/ .com) - Novak Djokovic captured a mens Open Era-record fifth Australian Open title on Sunday by defeating rival Andy Murray in the final in Melbourne.TORONTO - In a play that sort of typified the evening and maybe even their season, Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry led a second-quarter fast break by delivering a one-handed bounce pass to Greivis Vasquez, who lateraled to the trailing Amir Johnson. Johnson, the beneficiary of a couple perfectly placed passes, capped off the sequence with a tomahawk slam that put Toronto on top by 20 points. Fouled on the landing, Johnsons momentum carried him into the first row, where he proudly pointed to the team name on his jersey and slapped hands with fans seated on the baseline. It was that kind of night. The proceedings began with the unveiling of a second Atlantic Division Championship banner and concluded with a well-deserved standing ovation just over two hours later. The Raptors - trotting off the court following a 110-100, wire-to-wire win over the Bucks - had set a new franchise record with their 48th victory of the season, while also going 15 games above the .500 mark for the first time in team history. "Its definitely great because we fed off our fans," said DeMar DeRozan, who stood centre court and counted down from three, as the banner was uncovered from the rafters atop Air Canada Centre, hanging adjacent to the one they had earned in 2006-07. The final home game of the season - Fanapolooza, as its been dubbed - had been a somber event for five years running. It was an opportunity for the Raptors loyal, albeit frustrated supporters to come bid farewell to a team that had let them down, a chance to vent their disappointment but mostly to guzzle up free t-shirts, pizza and whatever swag the remorseful organization was offering up. Most importantly, it meant the end of basketball in Toronto for another long summer. Not the case on Monday. Monday night was a celebration, a show of appreciation from a starved fan base to a team that has captured their admiration with resilience and hard play. It was a night of reflection, looking back at where they came from and rejoicing in what theyve accomplished. It wasnt a goodbye. Theyll see them again in five or six days. "Weve got to have some of the most devoted fans in the league," he continued. "Ive been here through the struggles and tough times and our fans were still right there with us on this journey. So it definitely felt good to share it with them because they played a major part in it as well." Although DeRozan was in uniform, available to play if it would have come to that, he was given the night off to rest going into his playoff debut next weekend. As it turns out, they didnt need him, not against the league-worst Bucks on Monday night. It was the 11th time theyve played without a member of their first unit - a group that has won more games than any starting five in franchise history - and the 11th time theyve come away victorious. With the Raptors all-star guard cheerleading from the sidelines, Greivis Vasquez started in his stead, pacing the team with 25 points and seven assists. "It was a fun win," said Vasquez, who knocked down his first six shots, five of them from beyond the arc. "They gave me a chance to start, I just went out there and did my job." Performances like his, like Tyler Hansbroughs double-double in 20 minutes, are a big part of whats gotten them to this point. Cheap Atlanta Hawks Jerseys. DeRozan has carried this team more often than not, so too has Lowry - who scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half - but when one or both have needed it, someone has generally been waiting and ready to back them up. "All it takes is the right chemistry, the right group of guys and you can do whatever it takes," DeRozan said. "You dont need no big name players, you dont need this, that and the third, what people supposedly say you need. Were proof of that and we continue to keep growing, keep learning and keep building. On to the next step." The next step, as the Raptors leading scorer puts it, is Wednesdays regular season finale in New York. With a win over the Knicks, Toronto would lock down the Eastern Conferences third seed and face whomever slots into sixth, most likely Washington. The Raptors would fall to fourth and play the fifth place team - likely Brooklyn - if they should lose on Wednesday and the Bulls defeat the Bobcats in Charlotte. "Im more worried about us, more so than who we play," said Casey. "Its about us, about our health, the rest, whatever we decide to do in that situation. If we play Brooklyn we play Brooklyn. If we play Washington we play Washington. There are no easy teams left in the playoffs right now. All of the teams are very capable. Brooklyn is probably more playoff-ready. But we cant control that. And Im not going into [Wednesdays] game trying to control that." The Raptors coach said he has not decided whether DeRozan - second in the NBA in minutes logged this year - will play in Wednesdays season finale. Home sweet home The Raptors will finish the season with 26 wins at home for the fourth time in franchise history. After dropping eight of their first 12 games at the ACC, they have become one of the toughest teams to beat on home court, winning 22 of 29 since the end of December. "Coach definitely stressed to us, weve got to protect home court," DeRozan said of the turnaround. "Thats big. We cant let teams come in here and think they can get wins. We really started taking it personally, understanding weve got to use our crowd to our advantage. Everybody bought in, so every time we were home we felt comfortable and felt that we could get any win." "I think our guys have gotten better, matured, improved, I think more than anything else," Dwane Casey said of their success at home. "You should have the same approach whether youre on the road, playing on the moon, wherever youre playing youve got to have the same approach and our guys have done a good job of that, whether were on the road or at home." They were undefeated, 19-0 in games they led going into the fourth quarter in Toronto, something that should serve them well as they go into the first round of the playoffs with home-court advantage. The stat With their fourth straight win over Milwaukee, the Raptors swept the season series with the Bucks for the first time in team existence. The quote "We had group at the start of the season that was motivated, dedicated to winning," said Lowry, "and when everything didnt pan out we made a move and we got a group of guys who came in that really filled the voids that we needed. Everyone is on the same page. 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