zauberhafte bilder galerie » o put their foot down." France had a try

BALTIMORE -- During a season in which the Baltimore Orioles have made a habit of slugging the opposition into submission, there have been times when they have been forced to patiently carve out a victory one out at a time. Such was the case in their 4-2 win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday night. The game lasted 3 hours, 37 minutes. Both starting pitcher failed to make it out of the fifth inning, seven relievers saw action and neither team seemed in a hurry to put an end to the drudgery. "It was a mentally challenging game because its such a grind," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "A lot of time, a lot of deep counts, a lot of catcher visits." One night after hitting five homers against the Rays, Baltimore totalled nine hits -- eight singles and an RBI double by Nelson Cruz in the seventh inning. "Coming off last night, we had such a great game and you want to kind of repeat it, but the pace of the game kind of slows your excitement down a little bit," said Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph, who had two RBIs. "Youve got to stay into it, and our guys did a great job." Baltimore, which leads the majors in home runs, improved to 12-28 when not going deep. The Orioles also extended their lead in the AL East to seven games over the New York Yankees. "I try not to look at any scoreboards yet," Showalter said. Jonathan Schoop singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning off Grant Balfour (1-6) to help the Orioles to their 10th win in 14 games against Tampa Bay. Baltimore relievers gave up one hit over the final 4 1-3 innings. Brad Brach (5-0) got four outs in relief of starter Wei-Yin Chen and Zach Britton worked the ninth for his 28th save. "These are the type of games we have to have late in the season," Joseph said. Evan Longoria had two RBIs for the Rays, who have lost seven of 10 since reaching the .500 mark on Aug. 15. Tampa Bay stranded nine, had two runners thrown out at the plate and failed to score after loading the bases in the sixth with one out and the game tied. "Opportunity, opportunity, opportunity and then nothing happens," manager Joe Maddon said. "Its the same refrain -- inability to score with runners in scoring position." Alex Cobb gave up two runs, three hits and three walks in four innings for Tampa Bay. Cobb is unbeaten since June 23 and has a franchise-record streak of nine starts allowing two runs or fewer. The Rays got six hits in the first two innings but scored only one run, on a first-inning RBI single by Longoria. Baltimore went up 2-1 in the fourth. With two out and runners on second and third, Joseph hit a sinking liner to centre that ticked off the glove of a diving Desmond Jennings. A two-out double by Longoria tied it in the fifth and ended Chens shortest outing since June 28. But the Rays would get only one more hit after that. "We havent really played that poorly," Longoria said. "Weve played pretty well. The pitching staff has done well. I think really (we have to) just control what we can control, continue to believe and have fun." TRAINERS ROOM Rays: C Ryan Hanigan was activated from the DL after missing 38 games with a left oblique strain and C Curt Casali was optioned to Triple-A Durham. Orioles: 3B Manny Machado left the team for California to have season-ending surgery on his right knee Wednesday. UP NEXT Rays: Left-hander Drew Smyly (1-1) starts Wednesday, seeking an encore for his two-hit shutout Friday in Toronto. Smyly has an 0.64 ERA in four career appearances against Baltimore. Orioles: Rookie RHP Kevin Gausman (7-5) is 1-2 with a 7.16 ERA in four career games against Tampa Bay. UPON FURTHER REVIEW Replay was used in the third inning on, of all things, a walk. Umpires called for a crew chief review after home plate umpire Pat Hoberg awarded Nick Markakis first base. A replay of the at-bat revealed the count was full, and Markakis returned to the plate. The next pitch was a called strike three. Andre Reed Jersey . Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton and Kole Calhoun all homered to help the Los Angeles Angels get their first win of the season with an 11-1 rout of the Houston Astros. Doug Flutie Jersey . She was a pioneer. She did things on skis that made the birds take notice. http://www.shoptheofficialbills.com/Elit...h-Bills-Jersey/. MacArthur scored two goals, and the Senators outlasted Detroit in a testy third period to beat the Red Wings 4-2 on Saturday night. O. J. Simpson Jersey . However, Therrien added that Galchenyuks status for next Wednesdays game against the Detroit Red Wings is questionable. Galchenyuk has been out since Jan. 6 with a broken right hand. Jim Kelly Jersey . -- The Anaheim Ducks have signed left wing Dany Heatley to a one-year deal, returning the 33-year-old unrestricted free agent to the Pacific Division.CARDIFF -- Wales gave a two-time defending champions response to a demoralizing defeat by whipping France 27-6 and keeping its Six Nations title defence alive on Friday. So shaken to the core was Wales by its 26-3 demolition from Ireland, the only unbeaten team left in the championship, that coach Warren Gatland warned his British Lions-laden side that careers were on the line under the Millennium Stadium roof. The players answer was a robust performance of power, pace and poise, adding up to a third straight win over France last achieved 42 years ago. "That was the response we were looking for," captain Sam Warburton said. "We knew we had it in us." He admitted playing for their jobs was also an incentive. "We said in the week that we dont want to take our places for granted. We have probably worked our hardest in the last two weeks," he said. Stand-in centre George North scored after five minutes and fullback Leigh Halfpennys boot punished frequent French errors and a second-rate scrum with five penalties that propped up a 20-6 halftime lead. When Warburton reached out to plant the ball on the line in the 64th, the score became Wales biggest win over France at home since 1950. That margin will be vital in terms of points difference in the standings if Wales, which jumped over previously unbeaten France into second place, can stay on track and Ireland lose somewhere. The Irish are at Twickenham on Saturday. Wales performance wasnt assured beforehand, certainly not after lock Alun-Wyn Jones, who captained the Lions in their series-clinching win in Australia last year, withdrew just before the match with a foot injury. That gave a second Welshman, Jake Ball, his first test start beside scrumhalf Rhys Webb, whose zippy pass was a big factor in Wales frantic start. Five minutes in, lineout ball was spread left and inside centre Jamie Roberts drew two defenders. North gave Halfpenny an overlap and he chipped ahead. France fullback Bruce Dulin claimed the ball just before the tryline, but he was accidentally clipped in the head by teammate Jean-Marc Doussain and dropped the ball, which North pounced on in goal.dddddddddddd Halfpenny couldnt convert. He seemed to kick only the hardest goalkicks, and France kept giving him chances, especially from a scrum that Wales eventually got on top of. Captain Pascal Pape conceded the second penalty from a ruck, and tighthead prop Nicolas Mas the third for slipping in a scrum. Wesley Fofana was milked by North in a ruck for Halfpennys fourth, and a tighthead conceded just before halftime ended up giving Halfpenny his fifth penalty. Moments before then, referee Alain Rolland told both captains the scrum was a mess and threatened to dish out cards. He upheld his promise in the 50th, sin-binning Mas and counterpart Gethin Jenkins. By then, Wales was in charge and the outmuscled French had few options. "It was a catastrophic first half, our discipline was poor, and we gave away too many penalties," France coach Philippe Saint-Andre said. "We were totally apathetic in the first half." Dulin said, "They got on top of us very quickly and we couldnt pull ourselves together. We didnt go about things the right way. "We didnt start the game well and they just gained in confidence. After their match against Ireland they really wanted to put their foot down." France had a try rightfully disallowed early in the first half for a knockon, but the backs received no ball and didnt go close again until the 50th, when centre Mathieu Bastareaud slipped North and was stopped just short of the tryline, and couldnt offload to Dulin or winger Hugo Bonneval. The French backs were more involved in the second half, but Wales defence was smothering. Frustrated No. 8 Louis Picamoles got himself sin-binned in the 62nd and Wales took advantage. From a Roberts barging run up the middle, Warburton charged off a ruck and just managed in a double tackle with an outstretched arm to put the ball on the line. With 10 minutes to go, Wales substituted Adam Jones and Jenkins, Ball, Dan Lydiate, Webb, Rhys Priestland and Halfpenny, and all were cheered off as returning heroes deserve to be. ' ' '