Die Jäger des Schicksals » a Bays depleted pitching staff for

TORONTO - There shouldnt have been any lingering doubt. If there was, Jose Bautista put it to rest on Monday night. He should be considered among the Blue Jays all-time greats and, one day, his name will be unveiled along the fourth deck façade as part of the Level of Excellence. Bautistas three-run home run in the fifth inning of an 8-0 win over the Cubs was his 200th as a Blue Jay, putting him into elite company. He joins Carlos Delgado (336), Vernon Wells (223), Joe Carter (203) and George Bell (202) as one of five Blue Jays in the franchises 200-home run club. "Its obviously a great personal accolade," said Bautista. "I wasnt aware of it but somebody told me and came up to me today. Im very proud and honoured to have done it here, just really happy but I think Im going to enjoy this one, again like I always say with personal goals, more in the offseason. We have a bigger goal that were focusing on right now and thats trying to make the playoffs." Mondays home run was Bautistas 32nd of the season and his eighth in the last 12 games. Bautista hit his 200th Blue Jays home run in his 791st game with the club, 55 quicker than the next fastest, Delgado. STROMANS SINKER Marcus Stroman notched his first career major league shutout in Monday nights 8-0 win over the Cubs. He needed only 93 pitches and he recorded a career-high 14 groundball outs, including one double play. Stroman faced two batters over the minimum. His sinker, developed since he arrived in the major leagues, gets the credit. "It allows me to go deep into games," said Stroman. "I used to be a high-pitch guy. Five innings, six innings, a ton of pitches and high punch outs and now I feel like Im really learning how to pitch. Using that pitch Im able to go deeper, keep the ball on the ground. Im able to get double plays when I need them and I feel like Im just really starting to learn how to pitch." Stroman was lying in bed, a baseball in hand, when he came across the grip. It felt comfortable and so he took it into a bullpen session. It wasnt long before he was using his sinker in game action. He points to his July 19 start versus Texas, a 4-1 Blue Jays win in which he went seven shutout innings, as the turning point. "That just shows you what hes all about," said manager John Gibbons before the game. "Hes got some aptitude. Hes an athlete. Hes got a feel of what hes doing … Thats what the good ones are able to do. The guys that struggle, sometimes it takes them a little bit longer to figure things out." CHATTING WITH RIZZO The Chicago Cubs are a team in transition. When Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer were hired during the offseason of 2011-2012, they set out to strip the franchise bare and rebuild it. The plan is taking shape. The next step: execution. Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro have been joined by top prospects Javier Baez, Jorge Soler and Arismendy Alcantara. Kris Bryant and Addison Russell, the latter acquired from Oakland in the Jeff Samardzija trade, did not receive September call ups but arent far behind. The Cubs have one of the best crop of prospects if not in history, than certainly in recent memory. TSN.ca sat down with Rizzo, the injured Cubs first baseman. Hes hit career highs with 30 home runs and an OPS of .889 in 2014. Still only 24 years old, hes signed long-term and figures to be at the core of the expected turnaround. Heres the conversation: TSN.ca: Is there a sense of excitement about how close you guys may be to turning that corner? RIZZO: Yeah, absolutely. Obviously we dont want to say we think weve turned it but its just about guys developing here, going through their highs and lows and going into the offseason feeling really good about themselves and what they have to work on and going into spring training really with the attitude of winning our division and taking care of business. TSN.ca: What are your initial impressions, I dont want to call you one of the veterans, of some of the younger players? A kid like Soler? And Baez? RIZZO: Theyve been great. The most you from them is to come in and work and thats what they do. They dont really come in and mess around. They come in, do their work and take care of their business. Thats the best thing you can do as a young player and Im still young, I do that, but the best thing you can do is take care of your business and play hard. Thats how you earn the respect of your teammates and theyve done exactly that. All the guys that have come up have done that. TSN.ca: On a lot of teams youd be a younger player but you have some tenure here. Is your role on this team different than it would be in a lot of other cities just because it is such a young group? Are you more of a leader already than maybe you would have anticipated? RIZZO: I dont know. This is where I am. On other teams I dont know how its been. I just know here we have a good bunch of guys here, a good group. I just go out and play. Play hard and try to produce as best I can and prepare to be the best I can that day and whether I do well or dont do well I try to come in and be the same guy in the clubhouse and set the example, set the bar high for everyone else. TSN.ca: Shortly after the Samardzija trade, you told me in July you could see the plan falling into place. Thats still the case? RIZZO: Its been really nice in having Javy (Baez) come up and Soler come up. Mendy (Alcantara), (Kyle) Hendricks and all the guys. You hear about people talk about so much this, this, this and now that its here its about them getting their feet wet with the expectation of next year doing some damage in this league. TSN.ca: Is your pitching underrated. Everybody says youve got a bunch of positional talent, wheres the pitching? If you look at your team ERA I think over the last four or five weeks, especially, its been really strong. RIZZO: Yeah, our bullpen has really come along, in my opinion. Theres no guy in our bullpen that comes and were kind of worried about giving up a lead. Thats always comforting, knowing a starter can go six or seven and then get it to the bullpen and have them shut it down. As long as we score runs, it doesnt matter whos pitching, we score a couple of runs early for them and let the pitcher get into a little groove, itll take care of itself. TSN.ca: Your first time in Toronto, your first time in Canada. You going to climb the Tower? RIZZO: Well, Im not going to be playing so Im probably definitely explore and probably go up the Tower. Curtis McElhinney Jersey . Chris Heisey connected for his first grand slam and Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs as Cincinnati took advantage of Tampa Bays depleted pitching staff for a 12-4 victory on Sunday. Dave Keon Jersey http://www.officialmapleleafsfanstore.com/authentic-morgan-rielly-maple-leafs-jersey/ . Gaborik was acquired in a trade with Columbus on Wednesday and skated on the top line with centre Anze Kopitar and right-winger Justin Williams. "We created some things," said Gaborik, who logged 16:38 of ice time. Bobby Baun Jersey . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. Borje Salming Jersey . -- Mississippis Andrew Ritter said his game-winning, 41-yard field goal felt good off his foot.SAN DIEGO -- Clayton Kershaw struck out 10 in seven dominant innings, Yasiel Puig and A.J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. Kershaw (15-9) lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.88. He leads the NL with 224 strikeouts. Kershaw held San Diego in check on three hits after losing to the Padres in three other starts this season. The left-hander is trying to become the first pitcher to lead the majors in ERA in three consecutive seasons since Atlantas Greg Maddux from 1993-95. Ellis homered in the fourth off rookie Burch Smith (1-2). Puig then connected on a shot to centre field off Tim Stauffer in the seventh that was estimated at 457 feet. Kershaw reached on a bunt single to lead off the inning. Kershaw retired 14 of his last 15 batters. He was 0-3 with a 4.67 ERA in his first three starts against the Padres, while going 14-6 with a 1.71 ERA in his other starts. Kershaw skipped his last scheduled start on Wednesday as the Dodgers attempt to give him rest heading into the post-season. Relievers Ronald Belisario and Brian Wilson each pitched a perfect inning for the Dodgers. Los Angeles played all of its starteers, except shortstop Hanley Ramirez.dddddddddddd. The Dodgers held out all of their regulars in a 2-0 loss to the Padres on Friday night, one day after clinching their first division title since 2009. Smith gave up two runs on three hits in six innings. The rookie struck out six and walked a career-high five. NOTES: Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is resting Ramirez to help him recover from back and hamstring injuries that have plagued him throughout the season. Ramirez is expected to see limited playing time before the post-season. ... Dodgers OF Andre Ethier (sprained left ankle) missed his eighth straight game. Ethier, who took batting practice and did running drills before the game, could return when the Dodgers start a three-game series at San Francisco on Tuesday. ... Smiths third-inning single was his first major league hit. ... Dodgers RHP Zack Greinke (15-3, 2.75 ERA) will pitch at Petco Park for the first time since he sustained a broken left collarbone on April 11 during a brawl with Carlos Quentin, who was hit with a pitch and charged the mound. Quentin, who recently had knee surgery, is out of the season. ... RHP Andrew Cashner (10-8, 3.21) pitches for San Diego on Sunday. 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