BOSTON – The Blue Jays scorching offence finished a three-game sweep of the Red Sox at Fenway Park and sits at or near the top of a number of the sports essential statistical categories. Toronto is first in home runs with 67; its second in slugging percentage (.445) and on-base plus slugging percentage (.773) and sixth in walks (168). Jose Bautista was the celebrated hero of April, smacking eight of his 11 home runs, working to a 1.065 OPS in the opening month. In May its been Edwin Encarnacion, the other half of the Blue Jays deadly three-four lineup combination, who has done most of the damage. With 11 of his 13 home runs this month, including four two-home run games and an OPS of 1.090, you could argue Encarnacions been carrying the lineup. Bautista doesnt want to hear it; not about himself and not about someone else. Theres plenty of credit to go around. "I think everybodys been contributing since day one," Bautista told TSN.ca. "Melky, for instance, is leading the league in hits. Adams (Lind) hitting .320. Brett (Lawrie), even though his average is down a little bit, hes got 20-something RBI. Everybodys helping out. Franciscos got seven, eight home runs and 20 RBI as well. Navarros hitting close to .300." While Bautista insists he hasnt been pitched to differently since Encarnacion has heated up, he expects opposing teams to change their approach once they peruse the pre-scout books and video. "Im sure its going to change," said Bautista. "I think people are definitely noticing and now its going to be more on their radar how hot he is so hopefully that means Im going to get a couple of more mistakes over the plate." Taking his word for it, teams may not be pitching differently to Bautista but at least they now are pitching to him. Consider that in April, while Encarnacion laboured through a relatively slow opening month, Bautista walked 30 times in 122 plate appearances (24.6 per cent). In May, through to the end of Thursdays game, Bautista has walked 11 times in 94 trips to the plate (11.7 per cent). Through Thursday, the Blue Jays had won six of seven and 12 of 17. They have a number of individuals at or near the top of a number of categories. They include: Melky Cabrera: 64 hits, the most in Major League BaseballEdwin Encarnacion: 13 home runs (Tied-3rd); 39 RBI (6th). Jose Bautista: 12 home runs (Tied 6th), 41 walks (1st); .435 on-base percentage (5th); .988 on-base plus slugging (5th). Mark Buehrle: Eight wins, the most in Major League Baseball; 2.16 ERA (8th). GIBBONS LIKES HIS OFFENCE The story of Torontos offensive production got lost earlier this season amid the worry over the starting pitching and the bullpen blowing leads. With the Jays winning, the bats move to the forefront. The skipper has seen it all year. "We can hit, top to bottom," said manager John Gibbons. "Its a strong American League lineup and thats kind of what you need in the American League. Were really a home run threat with most of those guys in that lineup we can burn you that way. I really like the approach we have at the plate. Were taking some hits the other way when its called for. The better pitchers, thats the way theyre attacking you. Were confident right now. You have good games when youre feeling good. Baseball is a game of ups and downs all year long but its a good strong lineup." HENDRIKS TO START FRIDAY The Blue Jays will recall right-hander Liam Hendriks from Buffalo on Friday and he will start the series opener against Oakland. R.A. Dickey will be pushed back to Saturday when he will throw on an extra days rest. "We just decided to split up Buehrle and Dickey," said Gibbons. "Theyre our old reliable guys, kind of our innings eaters." Hendriks is 5-0 with a 1.48 ERA and a 0.801 WHIP for the Triple-A Bisons. The 25-year-old is hoping for his first period of sustained major league success. In parts of three seasons with the Twins, Hendriks was 2-13 with an ERA of 6.06. A corresponding roster move will be made before Fridays game. HOME COOKING The Jays kick off a season-high 10-game homestand on Friday. After the Athletics come in for three, the Tampa Bay Rays will check in, followed by the Kansas City Royals for a four-game series. Toronto has a bus trip series to Detroit for three games June 2-4 and then will return home for six games, three each with the St. Louis Cardinals and Minnesota Twins. For the Blue Jays, it isnt so much about capitalizing on home field advantage as it is trying to create a home field advantage. Toronto is 10-11 at Rogers Centre and 16-11 on the road. "We have to play good at home," said Gibbons. "Weve played actually better on the road this year than we have at home. Were there for awhile so hopefully we can take advantage of that." "I never want to have any outlook at any period of the season and start a sentence with We have to or We need to or Its imperative that we do anything," said Bautista. "Every time in baseball when you have that mentality things seem to go the other way. Weve just got to focus on the preparation, go out and give it our all every single day and take it one day at a time and hope for good results and if we get them, we get them." Oakland comes to town the leader of the American League West with a record of 30-17. Despite a 5-2, 11-inning loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday, the Athletics have won 11 of their last 13 games. Trevor Story Rockies Jersey .J. -- While Martin Brodeur wasnt willing to say he stole one for the New Jersey Devils against the Columbus Blue Jackets, almost everyone else was. Trevor Story Jersey . With the win, the Marlies complete a three-game series sweep of the Admirals and move on to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. T.J. Brennan added an empty netter with less than 25 seconds remaining for his second of the playoffs. http://www.baseballrockiesproshop.com/ja...rockies-jersey/. Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better. Carlos Gonzalez Rockies Jersey . The international synchronized skating competition takes place from January 31 - February 1, 2014, and features 39 teams from 10 countries, in senior, junior, and novice. Colorado Rockies Hoodie .com) - Australian Open champion Li Na, former Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and former world No.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Dallas Mavericks will go for a third consecutive victory Wednesday night when they invade the Target Center to face the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavericks have won three of their last four and two of their last three on the road. On Monday, Dallas earned an excellent road victory, a 103-95 triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies. Monta Ellis scored 25 points and the Mavericks pulled away for the win. Dallas ended the game on a 14-4 run after Mike Conleys 3-pointer gave Memphis its first lead since the first quarter with 4:03 remaining. The Southwest Division-leading Grizzlies missed nine of their last 10 shots and had a four-game winning streak snapped. Dirk Nowitzki got eight of his 21 points in the game-ending run and Chandler Parsons scored 15 for the Mavericks, who pulled within a half-game of Memphis lead atop the division. Devin Harris scored 12 points and Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 16 rebounds for Dallas. Rajon Rondo scored just six points and only handed out a single assist. We knew we had a long way to go as a team, said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. This is a beginning. We by no means have it figured out ... the only way were going to come together is to go through struggles like we did today. The Timberwolves have gone 2-2 over their last fourr, which is a marked improvement over the 16-game losing streak they were embroiled in prior to this .dddddddddddd500 run. Minnesota went 1-3 on a recent road trip, but is home for Wednesdays contest and a date with the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Last time out, the T-wolves were crushed by the Charlotte Hornets, 105-80, on Monday. Charlotte started the second quarter on a 17-2 run and led by 17 at the half. The Timberwolves lost for the second time in three games despite 18 points from Thaddeus Young. Andrew Wiggins added 12, but shot just 3-of-14 from the field. Mo Williams, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, had 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting from the floor. Gorgui Dieng scored nine points, grabbed 10 boards and blocked four shots. The Timberwolves could be getting some reinforcements shortly in the form of Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic. Martin couldve played during the road trip, but held off until the T-wolves returned home. Yeah, theres a chance (I could play), Martin said after practice Tuesday. There was a chance on this last road trip but it didnt feel right. Hopefully it feels right tomorrow. The Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves by 14 in Big D on Nov. 15. The two teams have split their previous 10 meetings and prior six in Minnesota. Black China NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Hoodies Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Stitched Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys 2020 ' ' '
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