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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Alex Cobb was happy with his return after a long absence.Cobb went five solid innings during his first start in two years, Logan Morrison hit a go-ahead two-run homer, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 on Friday night.Cobb, coming back from Tommy John surgery last year, allowed two runs and four hits in his first appearance since Sept 28, 2014, at Cleveland. He struck out seven -- six looking -- walked one and retired his final 10 batters.It was almost like debut-feeling again, Cobb said. Things were speeding up on me. I wouldnt say my stuff is exactly where I want it to be. Its back to the point where I can at least go out there and compete.Cobb needed 53 pitches to get through the first two innings. He threw just 31 the rest of his outing.He might have looked a little rusty early but its been a while since hes been in the big leagues, and hes always been one of the better competitors in the game, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. He knows how to survive.Cobb made eight minor league rehab starts.The performance was outstanding, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. Really, really impressed with the way he competed and executed pitches.Morrison put the Rays up 4-2 in sixth on his 12th homer off Marcus Stroman (9-6).My stuff feels as sharp as its been all year, Stroman said. Its just frustrating not getting the results I want to get.Stroman gave up four runs and five hits in six innings.Luke Maile hit a solo homer and Kevin Kiermaier had an RBI triple off Francisco Liriano before Brad Miller added a two-run shot against Ryan Tepera in a four-run seventh that made it 8-2.All three batters Liriano faced in his first relief appearances with Toronto after four starts scored.Danny Farquhar (1-0) worked a scoreless sixth for the win.Edwin Encarnacion had an RBI double and Russell Martin picked up his 22nd RBI in his last 16 games on an infield single as the Blue Jays went up 2-0 in the first.Eddie Gamboa, a 31-year old knuckleballer, made his major league debut and loaded the bases on a single and two walks in the eighth before departing with one out. The Blue Jays were able to score just once on Troy Tulowitzkis grounder off Brad Boxberger.MOVING DAYBlue Jays: 2B Devon Travis, optioned to Bluefield on Thursday to make room for the signing of C Josh Thole, was recalled from the Appalachian League club. ... Tepera, RHP Danny Barnes, and OFs Darrell Ceciliani and Dalton Pompey were recalled from Triple-A Buffalo. ... LHP Matt Dermody had his contract purchased from Buffalo and INF Matt Dominguez was designated for assignment. ... OF Quintin Berry signed a minor league contract and might be called up next week.Rays: Cash said RHP Chase Whitley (Tommy John surgery) should be recalled next week and used in more of a scripted relief role where hell know when hes pitching.BULLPEN DUTYGibbons said theres a good chance youll probably see Liriano start again a couple times this month,UP NEXTBlue Jays RHP Marco Estrada (8-6) starts Saturday night against Rays rookie LHP Blake Snell (4-7), who left Sundays game at Houston with a bruised lower left leg.Blake Griffin Jersey . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Isiah Thomas Jersey .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. https://www.pistonsrookiesshop.com/Jameer-Nelson-City-Edition-Jersey/ . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. Sekou Doumbouya Pistons Jersey . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Bill Laimbeer Pistons Jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half.NEW YORK -- In a sign of just how much American soccer has grown up, U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann was fired after a pair of losses in the final round World Cup qualifying.Six days after a 4-0 loss at Costa Rica dropped the Americans to 0-2, Klinsmann was terminated after nearly 5 1/2 years during a meeting Monday at a Los Angeles hotel with U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati and Secretary General Dan Flynn.Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena is the favorite to succeed Klinsmann, and his hiring could be announced as early as Tuesday. Arena coached the national team from 1998 to 2006.Gone are the days when U.S. coaches were immune to the win-now mentality that permeates soccer. Qualifying resumes when the U.S. hosts Honduras on March 24 and plays four days later at Panama, and the USSF is expecting a quick turnaround.While we remain confident that we have quality players to help us advance to Russia 2018, the form and growth of the team up to this point left us convinced that we need to go in a different direction, Gulati said in a statement. With the next qualifying match in late March, we have several months to refocus the group and determine the best way forward to ensure a successful journey to qualify for our eighth consecutive World Cup.A former star forward for Germany who has lived mostly in Orange County with his American wife since his retirement as a player in 1998, Klinsmann replaced Bob Bradley in July 2011. He led the team to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup title and the second round of the 2014 World Cup, where the Americans lost to Belgium in extra time.The USSF announced in December 2013 a four-year contract extension through 2018, but the successful World Cup was followed by poor performances. The U.S. was knocked out by Jamaica in last years Gold Cup semifinals and lost to Mexico in a playoff for a Confederations Cup berth. The team rebounded to reach this years Copa America semifinals before losing to Argentina 4-0.But this month Mexico beat the Americans 2-1 at Columbus, Ohio, in the first home qualifying loss for the U.S. since 2001.And last week in Costa Rica, the Americans were stunned by their largest margin of defeat in qualifying since 1980. They dropped to 0-2 for the first time in the hexagonal, as the final round of qualifying in North and Central America and the Caribbean is known.While there is time to recover, given the top three teams qualify for the 2018 tournament in Russia and the fourth-place finisher advances to a playoff against Asias No. 5 team, players seemed confused by Klinsmanns tactics, such as a 3-4-1-2 formation used att the start against the Mexicans.ddddddddddddToday we made the difficult decision of parting ways with Jurgen Klinsmann, Gulati said. There were considerable achievements along the way ... but there were also lesser publicized efforts behind the scenes. He challenged everyone in the U.S. Soccer community to think about things in new ways, and thanks to his efforts we have grown as an organization and expect there will be benefits from his work for years to come.Gulati planned a Tuesday telephone news conference to discuss the switch. The U.S. had not changed coaches in the middle of qualifying since the USSF made the position a full-time job and hired Bob Gansler in 1989 to replace Lothar Osiander, who also at the time was a waiter at a San Francisco restaurant.Klinsmann made controversial decisions, such as dropping Landon Donovan from the 2014 World Cup roster while taking along relatively inexperienced players such as John Brooks, Julian Green and DeAndre Yedlin. Brooks and Green were among five German-Americans on the 23-man U.S. World Cup roster, which drew criticism from some in the American soccer community.He went 55-27-16, including a U.S.-record 12-game winning streak and victories in exhibitions at Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. He has worked in the past year to integrate more young players into the lineup, such as teen midfield sensation Christian Pulisic, Bobby Wood and Jordan Morris.Arena, a 65-year-old wisecracking Brooklynite known for blunt talk and sarcasm, was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010. He coached the University of Virginia from 1978-95, then coached D.C. United to titles in Major League Soccers first two seasons before losing in the 1998 final. As U.S. coach, he led the Americans to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals in the teams best finish since 1930.He was let go after the teams first-round elimination in 2006. Gulati unsuccessfully courted Klinsmann, who won the 1990 World Cup with West Germany and the 1996 European Championship with Germany, then coached his nation to the 2006 World Cup semifinals.When Gulati and Klinsmann couldnt reach an agreement, the USSF hired Bradley, who coached the team to the second round of the 2010 World Cup. A year later, the Americans stumbled in the Gold Cup, and Klinsmann replaced Bradley.Arena coached the New York Red Bulls of MLS from July 2006 to November 2007, then was hired the following August by the Galaxy. He led the team to MLS titles in 2011, `12 and `14. ' ' '